How to Do A Bibliography: Citing Sources

The guide below is based on the MLA style [Modern Language Association Handbook (LB 2369.G53). Your instructor may recommend other citation styles like Turabian (LB2369.T8) or Chicago (LB2369.C432)

• REFWORKS
  St Thomas subscribes to RefWorks web based software to make citing sources semi-automatic. You create your individual account and import references. RefWorks automatically formats citations in many styles for you (ALWAYS check the accuracy of the results!)
  .
• ZOTERO
  This is a completely free online citation tool, easier to use, and versatile.  It only runs in the Firefox browser, though, and requires a small downloaded application

MLA Book Examples

PART ONE

Your Bibliography or List of Works Cited:

Coppa, Frank J. The Modern Papacy since 1789: An Ecclesial Perspective. London: Longman, 1998. 

Your Paper's Endnote or Footnote:

12. Frank J. Coppa, The Modern Papacy since 1789: An Ecclesial Perspective, (London: Longman, 1998) 120. 

Subsequent reference in your paper records author and page number: 

16. Coppa 210. 

In-text citation in the text of your paper:

(Coppa 120) or simply (120) if author clearly indicated in the paragraph of your paper.  

Note: ibid., op cit. etc. not used anymore in MLA style

PART TWO

Your Bibliography (book in a numbered series) Note that numbers following the series name without punctuation are from the series numbering system, always given in simple form.

Guelich, Robert B. A Commentary on Mark's Gospel. Word Biblical Commentary 34. Dallas: Word Books, 1990. 

Your Paper' Endnote or Footnote:
15. Robert B. Guelich, A Commentary on Mark's Gospel, Word Biblical Commentary 34 (Dallas: Word Books, 1990) 199. 

Subsequent reference:
Single work cited: 15. Guelich 234.
Several works by same author: 15. Guelich, Commentary 234. 

In-text citation:
(Guelich 199)
or (199)

PART THREE

Bibliography (books with editors, other editions, multi-volume sets) Note abbreviations Ed., Rev. ed., and Eds. 

Henz, Otto, and Edith Jones, eds. The Hope of the Christian: A History of Theological Promise. Rev. ed. Vol. 2. Collegeville: Liturgical
Press, 1995.  

Endnote or footnote:

3. Otto Henz and Edith Jones, eds., The Hope of the Christian: A History of Theological Promise, rev. ed., vol. 2 (Collegeville: Liturgical
Press, 1995) 32-35.  

In-text citation:
(Henz 32-35)

 
PARTS OF BOOKS 

Encyclopedia entry
To find entry authors, look at the end of the entry -- often "signed" by contributor. Cite unsigned articles by title only.

Bibliography (entry author, set editor, multi-volume): 

Klauck, Hans-Josef. "Lord's Supper." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. David Noel Freedman. Vol. 2. New York: Doubleday, 1992.  

Endnote or footnote:

8. Hans-Josef Klauck, "Lord's Supper," The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman, vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1992) 485.  

In-text citation:
(Klauck 485)  

Note quotations around entry title. From the book itself be sure to record publishing data and editor(s) from title page of the whole work. Also note that normal word order style is used for editor's name.

Essay in a collection. 
Many items indexed in the ATLA Religion Database are essays that are a contribution to a published work -- a 'collection.'  Cite these essays as a "part" of a collected work, that is, use quotation marks around the essay title.  Be sure to correctly include all needed full book data in which the essay appears.

Bibliography (authors, editor, multi-volume). Note abbreviations for editors, editions, and volume numbers.

Ewbank, Michael B, and H. Aityni. "The Difference Diversity Makes." Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars. Ed. Robert A. Herrera. Vol. 2.
New York: Peter Lang, 1993.  

Endnote or footnote:

11. Michael B. Ewbank and H. Aityni, "The Difference Diversity Makes," Saints, Sovereigns, and Scholars, ed. Robert A. Herrera, vol. 2.
(New York: Peter Lang, 1993) 13-14.  

In-text:
(Ewbank 16-17)   

Bible Commentary in a larger work
(See Books above for series volume by individual author). In a larger work like a commentary with many essays on specific books or chapters, individual commentaries are often written by separate authors, and not the work's overall editor.  In these cases, the editor is NOT the author. In MLA style the editor need not be listed but, for clarity, many students add the general editor after the book title.

Bibliography:

Option 1:
Weems, Renita J. "Song of Songs." The New Interpreter's Bible. Vol. 5. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

Option 2:
Weems, Renita J. "Song of Songs." The New Interpreter's Bible. Ed. Leander E. Keck. Vol. 5. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

See MLA Handbook 4.6.1 etc., for detailed full citation discussion, a list of all elements (in order), and punctuation rules. For endnotes or footnotes see MLA B.1. For the in-text citation option, see MLA 5. 

JOURNAL & MAGAZINE ARTICLES

See MLA 4.7 for detailed, full citation style discussion, a list of all elements (in order), and punctuation rules. For endnote or footnote, see MLA B.1. For in-text citation option, see examples at  MLA 5. 4. For rules on citing non-continuous pagination, weekly magazines, and other cases, see MLA 4.7 and B.1.6. 

In a few cases. there can confusing.  If driving you crazy, email Jan  jan.malcheskiATstthomas.edu

PART ONE (a scholarly article) 

Your Bibliography or Works Cited

Dommel, F. William, and Duane Alexander. "The Convention of Human Rights and Biomedical Ethics." Kennedy Institute for Ethics Journal 7.3 (1997): 259-77.

Your Paper's Endnote or Footnote

67. F. William Dommel and Duane Alexander, "The Convention of Human Rights and Biomedical Ethics," Kennedy Institute for Ethics Journal 7.3 (1997): 261.  

In-text:
(Dommel 261)   

PART TWO (a newspaper article)

Your Bibliography or Works Cited

 "Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: Working Groups." L'Osservatore Romano 31 Oct. 2001: 5-9.  

Endnote or footnote

20. "Tenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: Working Groups," L'Osservatore Romano 31 Oct. 2001: 6. 

BOOK REVIEWS 

Book reviews are cited like articles, except you cite by book reviewer not the author of book reviewed!

Note "Rev. of" element abbreviated for Review of the title. The author of reviewed book itself is listed AFTER the book title (underlined), with lowercase "by" added before the name which is given in normal order. .

Bibliography:

Lefebure, Leo D. Rev. of The Divine Matrix: Creativity of East and West, by Joseph Bracken. New Theology Review 10.1 (1997): 120-22.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

A decent online guide to citing electronic material can be found at: <http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/1.2/inbox/mla_archive.html>.

Also see MLA Handbook 4.8  and 4.9. If not all elements can be found, provide as many as possible. In any case, if available to you, it may well easier to cite the hard copy version of an article even though you have used an online version.   

JOURNAL ARTICLE from an electronic only sources. Cite as if a web page especially if published from a full-text online source, that is to say, not in a standard "hard copy" form OR ITS EQUIVALENT. In many cases the version you used "online" is an exact version of the printed version as in the journal.   Many instructors recognize this allowing citation AS IF to the printed version, as long as contents by page number are identified in the online version.  If there are no page numbers in the e-version, it is prudent to cite as a web page, as below. But even then you may want to consult your instructor about what to do with journals accessed in St Thomas databases/indexes.

Holtzman, Henry. "The Birth of the Messiah." Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 45 (1998): 799-807. Religious Periodicals/ProQuest. University of St. Thomas Libraries. 5 March 2001.
<full web http or https address> 

World Wide Web document (add document date and date accessed by user)

John Paul II. Letter to Families.1994. 23 Nov. 2000.
<full web address>.  

Material from a CD-ROM or non online or web service (add version, format, and producer)

"Logos Bible Map: Old Testament Israel." Logos Bible Software. Vers. 2.0b. CD-ROM. Logos Research Systems, 1995-96.

SOME MLA STYLE HELP for SEMINARY STUDENTS

THE BIBLE

It is advisable simply to cite by chapter/verses with Scripture abbreviation, chapter/verse placed parenthetically in your text. Do not use an endnote. In the bibliography, list the version/translation of the Bible as given on the title page, making sure the version/translation is indicated even if not actually given on the title page proper. You can add it on your own When citing more than one Bible version in your paper, consult your instructor.

Follow Bible book title abbreviations as in MLA 6.7.1 or as recommended by your instructor

Within the text of your paper:

(Gen 22:10)
(1 Cor 13:5)

In your paper's bibliography (you must indicate the version):

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University, 1996.

 
CHURCH DOCUMENTS
 
Note: Some variations are common in church document citation, depending on audience and sources being cited, or the advice of the instructor.

In MLA style, honorific titles like "Pope," "Father" or "Cardinal" or "D.D." are not added after, or before, a name.

If a document is issued by a constituted church body or organization (rather than by an individual as ecclesiastical authority) use the title page information as far as practicable. Also cite the group's name from the title page, preferring an English version if given (this is often not the case in CLICnet records).

A published work that is issued under authority of the overall Church (like the Catechism, or Vatican II documents) -- not a specific group or person -- is cited ONLY by its title as determined from the title page or the advice of your instructor. That is to say, for example, there is no need to precede a citation with Catholic Church listed as "author." If in doubt, ask your instructor. See examples below.

It is important that a first citation be complete. Subsequently, many well known texts can be cited (in text of your paper, even if using endnotes) simply by customary Latin title (the first few words), if that practice will be clear to your readers.

In theology and church writings, citing the paragraph or section number of a work is regular practice.  This is often preferred over MLA style of page number citation in the actual edition consulted. Nonetheless, it is usually acceptable to use paper numbers from the publication. See MLA 5.4.8 on page numbers taken from copy. Your instructor may ask you to cite by paragraphs or section numbers alone and not page numbers. Always follow your instructor's requirements in every case. Be sure to ask if in doubt.  

Bibliography:

John Paul II. Encyclical Letter, Evangelium Vitae: On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life. Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1995.

First endnote/footnote:

12. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Evangelium Vitae: On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life (Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1995) 7; par. 13.

Subsequent reference:

If the actual copy you used does not include the Latin title on the title page, this Latin title can still be indicated by note or comment. 

Endnote:

13.  Evangelium Vitae 24; par. 4.
In-text: (Evangelium Vitae par. 4) or even  cited as (EV 4) if that would be clear to the reader.  

Other first use examples to use as models: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance with the Official Latin Text Promulgated by Pope John Paul II. 2nd ed.
[Vatican City]: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997.  

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation.
Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1989.  

Tanner, Norman P., ed. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. 2 vols. London: Sheed & Ward; Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1990.  

NOTE:
MLA 4.6.10 provides one method for noting documents in a collection (like the Norman Tanner example above). Consult your instructor about other ways of citing individual documents that are published in larger collections.

Here is one example from Tanner, your bibliography MUST provide a full citation:

13. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen
Gentium, Tanner 2 869-870; sec. 7.

For help, please feel free contact Jan Malcheski, Theology Reference Librarian at Ireland Library.

j9m: updated april 2009