Overview

List all of the sources for your report, using the style preferred by your field. The References section is where you credit the sources that contributed to your report. You need References to ensure that readers know which information is yours and which was gathered from outside sources. Without References, it will appear that you plagiarized the report.

Where You Can Find Help

• From Markel & Selber, Chapter 18:
  
  • The details on References, from p. 502–503:
    “Many reports contain a list of references (sometimes called a bibliography or list of works cited) as part of the back matter. References and the accompanying textual citations throughout the report are called documentation. Documentation acknowledges your debt to your sources, establishes your credibility as a writer, and helps readers locate and review your sources.”
  • Example References section, on pp. 526 (part of the sample recommendation report in Figure 18.8).
  • Appendix B, “Documenting Your Sources,” pp. 632–675.
• From LinkedIn Learning:
  • “How to identify and credit sources” (4m 9s), from the Technical Writing: Reports course.
  • “Create a bibliography or works cited section” (2m 29s) from the Research and Create Citations course [on using Microsoft Word].
• From other websites:
  • “Add a citation and create a bibliography,” from Microsoft Word.
  • “Add citations and a bibliography,” from Google Docs.
  • Documentation and Citations for Your Project, on our Canvas site.

How You Do It

1. Complete the body of your report before beginning this section so that you know which sources to include in your References.
2. Scroll through your document to the location for your References.
3. Add the headings for your References:
   1. Add the word References as the heading at the top of the page and center the line.
   2. Format the word so that it is clearly the heading for the page. You can use the built-in headings in your word processor. See the Tech Tip on p. 55 for help.
   3. Skip a blank line.

Citation Builder Websites

• NC State Citation Builder creates Council of Science Editors (CSE/CBE), MLA, APA, and Chicago citations for free.
• EasyBib online citation builder creates MLA-format for free.
• Son of Citation Machine creates MLA, APA, and Chicago citations for free.
• Cite This For Me creates several styles, including IEEE, for free.
4. Add bibliographic citations for the sources that you used as you wrote your report.
   1. Use the style that is appropriate for your career field. For instance, electrical engineers use IEEE, and biologists often use CSE.
   2. Add a citation for every source that you mention in your report, including every webpage, every journal article, and every book.
   3. Arrange the citations in the order that your style requires. For instance, some styles list references alphabetically by the first author’s last name while others list references in the order they are mentioned in the text
5. Review your citations to check for the following:
   1. Are all sources in the document listed?
   2. Are the citations complete? For instance, are all page numbers included?
   3. Are the citations in the correct order?
   4. Is a line skipped between the citations?
   5. If indentation is required, are all the citations indented?
6. Make any revisions that are needed after your check.
7. Move on to the next part of your report that you want to work on.