banner
Home >> Secondary How To >> Citing Sources >> General Guidelines

Cite WorksCiting Sources
General Guidelines for a "Works Cited"

 





  • Put all entries in a single list under the title "Works Cited" at the end of the report.
  • Quadruple space between the "Works Cited" title and the first entry.
  • Order entries alphabetically by authors' last name, or, if author is not given, by the first important word in the title, excluding "a," "an," and "the."
  • If more than one work by an author is cited, do not repeat the author's name, but use three hyphens and a period (---.) for the author's name in the second and subsequent entries, and alphabetize the works by the first important word in each title.
  • Indent all lines of each entry five spaces, except the first line, which is flush with the left margin.
  • Double-space.
  • Use a period at the end of each entry.
  • Paginate the works-cited section as a continuation of your text.
  • Underline the titles of works published independently--books, plays, long poems, pamphlets, periodicals, films.
  • Use quotation marks to indicate the titles of short works that appear in larger works.
  • Use Arabic numerals except with names of monarchs (Elizabeth II) and except for the preliminary pages of a work (ii-xix), which traditionally use Roman numerals.
  • Use the following format (see the PDF files for the wide range of formats):
    Author (last name first). Title of book (underline). Publication city (nearest your state): Publisher, Date of publication (most recent).
  • Separate author, title, and publication information with a period followed by one space.
  • Abbreviate the names of months except May, June, and July.
OPEN Home Page OPENC Site Map OPENC Help Search the OPENC Site