Image: aga7ta, Getty Images/iStockphoto

A bibliography is a list of sources referred to in a document. Many scholarly documents crave ane, and yous probably had to create a few while in school. The list comprises citations, which include the championship, writer, publisher, engagement of publication, and and then on for each source. You lot'll employ a bibliography to credit quotes and other facts to lend legitimacy to your document. The technical process in Microsoft Give-and-take is like to footnote/endnotes or indexing and has three steps: Adding the sources as a citation, citing the citation, so generating the bibliography. I'll show you how simple information technology is to add sources and generate a bibliography.

I'm using Role 365, but you can use earlier versions of Word. When using the .doctor format, y'all will lose some features. You can work with your own document or download the sit-in .docx and .doc files. Word'south browser edition will display existing bibliographies, simply y'all tin can't add together or edit sources or generate a bibliography while in the browser.

LEARN MORE: Office 365 Consumer pricing and features

How to add a source in Microsoft Word

Sources tin be whatsoever kind of published work, from books to manufactures on the web. The information you include for a source will depend on you or the publisher. Word supports several styles, but the three nearly common are Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Clan (APA) and Chicago. These styles make up one's mind the information needed and how that information is formatted. We won't comprehend private styles in this article–yous will need to do a piffling inquiry to determine what your publisher or recipient requires.

First, yous need a source, then let's run through a quick example.

  1. After entering the quote or fact that requires verification, click the Reference tab.
  2. In the Citations & Bibliography group, choose the appropriate style. APA is the default and, for our purposes, we'll retain it.
  3. Click Insert Citation and choose Add together New Source from the dropdown listing.
  4. In the resulting dialog, enter the fields required past your style (Figure A). You lot can enter the name using first name lastname or lastname, first proper noun format. Separate multiple authors with a semi-colon ( ; ).
  5. Click OK. As you tin can meet in Figure B, Word adds a text reference to the citation. (Don't worry if your results don't match mine.)

Figure A

Create the citation.

Most of these fields (Figure A) are self-explanatory, though I want to phone call your attention to two options:

  • Prove All Bibliography Fields: When enabled, it shows a lot more fields. Most of us will never need those fields, but they're available.
  • Tag Name: This field is automated–it's comprised of the writer's name and yr. Word uses this tag internally to place each citation.

Figure B

Word inserts a reference to the source.

Once the citation exists, you don't take to enter the information again. When referencing that source again, click Inert Citation in the Citations & Bibliography group and cull it from the resulting dropdown (Effigy C).

Figure C

Once a commendation exists, you can rapidly select it.

Note most the author name and tags: When inbound author names, y'all should exist consistent considering of the tags. Word uses the commencement three characters of the showtime name yous enter: Susan Harkins 2001 is Sus01 but Harkins, Susan 2001 is Har01.

Before we continue, enter a few more sources using the different types of sources (books, periodicals, etc.)–you'll want more than than 1 citation when yous create the bibliography. Notice that the fields modify with different source types. Although this tool is flexible, it can't correct typos. Be conscientious with your case, spelling, and so on. Bibliographies are very difficult and tedious to proof after the fact.

How to add a bibliography in Microsoft Discussion

Subsequently you have added all your sources and cited (marked) all your text references, you're ready to create the bibliography. It'south similar to adding an index or tabular array of contents—Word does most of the work for you lot. To add the bibliography, follow these steps.

  1. Click where you lot want to insert the bibliography—usually at the stop of the document.
  2. Click the Reference tab. Then, click Bibliography in the Citations & Bibliography group.
  3. From the resulting dropdown listing, choose a bibliography. There are several, and I suggest you explore the options at another time.

That'south it! Everything you demand is already in the document. Word will pull everything together for you. Figure D shows the results of choosing the first item in the dropdown listing.

Figure D

Add together the bibliography to your document.

If you had called a style other than APA, the list would be formatted a chip differently, but Word knows where to put all the commas, periods, what needs to be italicized or in quotes, so on.

Agreement sources

If you don't get all the items you lot expected, yous might demand to have one more step. In the Citations & Bibliography group, click Manage Sources. If at that place are citations in the left list (which is the primary list) that aren't in the current list to the right but should be in the current document's bibliography, copy them to the current list (Figure E). Y'all can besides see a preview of the APA style. Then, endeavor over again. This isn't a bug–you control which citations go in the document and which don't. Once you add a source, information technology's available to other documents.

Figure E

The Current List on the correct should contain all of the citations you want in the current document.

The Source Manager gives you access to all sources. You can search for a title or sort past author. You can edit a source. Sources are stored separately from the document, so you lot tin can cite a source that you created for one document in some other. The master and current lists stand for all sources and sources for the current certificate, respectively.

You tin can edit a source without using the Manage Sources dialog. Yous can practice a lot from the commendation at the document level considering these "text" references are really field codes. Simply click information technology and then click the dropdown arrow to display the available options shown in Figure F.

Figure F

Edit a citation at the document level.

How to fix a known bug with the APA style

At that place is a known bug with the APA way (sixth), and fortunately, it has an easy set up. If you stop up with multiple citations from the same author, Give-and-take might fill in the championship when information technology isn't supposed to. If this happens, try this quick fix.

  1. Click the citation (code)—the one in the document that follows the in-text reference.
  2. Click the dropdown arrow and choose Edit Citation.
  3. Click Title checkbox and click OK.

Share your experiences of creating a bibliography in Give-and-take

Creating a bibliography in Word is easy. You tin can create a custom style if necessary, merely doing and then requires specialized knowledge in .xml development. If you've had trouble with a complex certificate and worked through it, share your experience in the comments section below.

Send me your Microsoft Office question

I answer readers' questions when I can, merely in that location'due south no guarantee. Don't send files unless requested; initial requests for aid that arrive with attached files will be deleted unread. Y'all tin send screenshots of your data to help clarify your question. When contacting me, be equally specific every bit possible. For case, "Delight troubleshoot my workbook and ready what's wrong" probably won't get a response, simply "Can you tell me why this formula isn't returning the expected results?" might. Please mention the app and version that you're using. I'one thousand not reimbursed by TechRepublic for my fourth dimension or expertise when helping readers, nor do I ask for a fee from readers I help. You lot tin contact me at susansalesharkins@gmail.com.