How to Make a Bibliography for a Textbook
It’s critical that a textbook have an accurate bibliography because the statements and conclusions drawn by a textbook are used as the basis for the content of many K-12 and college courses. If there is any confusion over a topic, students and teachers will consult the bibliography to locate the original source and learn more about how the textbook authors arrived at their information. A missing or incorrect bibliography entry makes it difficult to track down resources.
Step 1
Add a new section to the end of the textbook. Title it "Works Cited," if you are following MLA style guidelines, or "References," if you are following APA style guidelines.
Step 2
Cite another textbook by using this format:
MLA Style:
[Editor's Last Name], [Editor's First Name], ed. [Title of Textbook]. [Place of Publication]: [Publisher Name], [Copyright Year].
APA Style:
[Editor's Last Name], [Editor's First Name] (Ed.). ([Copyright Year]). [Title of Textbook]. [Place of Publication]: [Publisher Name].
Replace the bracketed items with the specifics of the textbook you're citing. Italicize the textbook title.
Step 3
Cite another kind of book using this format:
MLA Style:
[Author's Last Name], [Author's First Name]. [Title of Book]. [Place of Publication]: [Publisher Name], [Copyright Year]. Print.
APA Style:
[Author's Last Name], [Author's First Name] ([Copyright Year]). [Title of Book]. [Place of Publication]: [Publisher Name].
Replace the bracketed items with the specifics of the book you're citing. Italicize the name of the book.
Step 4
Cite a textbook author's interview using this format:
MLA Style:
[Interviewee's Last Name], [Interviewee's First Name]. Personal interview. [Date of Interview] [Abbreviated Month of Interview] [Year of Interview].
Replace the bracketed items with the specifics of the interview you're citing.
APA Style:
Interviews and other personal correspondence (i.e. emails) are not listed in a bibliography following APA style. Instead, cite the source in parentheses in the section of the textbook where you refer to it.
Step 5
Cite an article in an academic journal using this format:
MLA Style:
[Author's Last Name], [Author's First Name]. "[Title of Article]." [Title of Journal] [Volume #].[Issue #] ([Publication Year]): [Page #s]. Print.
APA Style:
[Author's Last Name], [Author's First Name] ([Publication Year]). [Title of Article]. [Title of Journal], Volume#, [Page #s].
Replace the bracketed items with the specifics of the article you're citing. Italicize the name of the journal and the volume number.
Step 6
Alphabetize your bibliography entries by the first word of each entry. This will usually mean alphabetizing by the authors' last names.
Step 7
Consult the official MLA and APA style guides for details on how to cite other types of sources.
