Formatting Your Dissertation Bibliography And Appendices

Writing a dissertation naturally implies that you will use information and data from different sources. You need to source information from other’s works on the subject for analysis and formation of your arguments and also to recapitulate the existing knowledge on the subject and assign a perspective to your research. In this scenario, acknowledging these sources properly is essential and important. Compiling a bibliography or an index for these references is a common method of acknowledgement.

While this may seem arduous and time consuming, it is essential and important as this also authenticates your paper. You can consider professional help with dissertation writing and assign the task to dissertation writers. Whether you plan to write the paper or buy dissertation online, knowing what to include in an ideal bibliography will help you. Here are some simple points for your understanding:

Organize your sources
Identify all the probable sources you will require and make a list of their locations and availability. Recording the details of the sources will save a lot of time and confusion when you are actually using them in the paper. It will also be convenient if you arrange all your references neatly in an easily available manner.

Stick to the format
Every Institute follows a certain formatting style and you should strictly stick to your Institute guidelines. Formats differ according to disciplines. Of the three popular formats, APA is generally is used for science while Chicago manual style and MLA are used for humanities. The main characteristics of these formats are –

  1. APA
  2. The American Psychological Association (APA) is a very detailed formatting style. For in-text citations and foot notes it is better to consult your faculty. In this formatting style you need a ‘reference list’ instead of a bibliography. As the name suggests in this list you are only required to list the sources that you have used in the paper. The basic rule for citation here is –
    Author’s last name, First initial. Year of publication. Title of the work. Publisher’s location: Publisher’s name.

  3. Chicago manual style
  4. This formatting style requires a bibliography page for your paper. The citation in this format should appear as –
    Author’s last name, First name. Title of the text. Place of publication, Publisher house, Date of publication.

  5. MLA
  6. MLA stands for the Modern Language Association. This formatting style requires a ‘works cited’ page in place of the bibliography. This formatting style also stipulates to list the medium of publication, e.g. print, film or DVD. The basic rule for citation is –
    Author’s last name, First name. Title of the book. City of publication: Publisher house, Date of publication. Medium of publication.

  7. General Format
  8. There also is a general format apart from these specific styles. In this style, you have to list all outside sources in an alphabetical order in the bibliography. A typical entry contains –
    Author’s name, Title of the work, Journal of publication, Publisher house, Date of publication.

If you are intent on professional online help, be very selective before you click the write my dissertation button. Out of the numerous services on the web, it is really difficult to find the custom writing services perfectly suited to your needs. Start your search early and state your needs clearly to get the best deal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *