First-Year English FAQs
Bibliography cards are often used in the research process to record bibliographic information in the correct format and to help organize the bibliographic information.
To create a bibliography card, put a single bibliographic citation on a three by five inch index card in correct MLA format.
A single source's bibliographic information is recorded on a single card because cards can be sorted, shuffled, and discarded. If you want to separate the types of sources you have--books, magazines, and so forth--so it will be easier to prepare the card in the correct MLA citation format, you can sort the cards into different piles according to the type of source. If you are ready to prepare your final work cited page, you can arranage the cards into alphabetical order. If you don't use a particular bibliography card in your final paper, you can discard it from the stack.
To find out how to list your sources in correct MLA format, find the "MLA Format Questions" section and then click on the heading entitled "How Do I Create MLA Work Cited Entries and the Work Cited Page at the End of the Text?" This section will explain how to identify the type of source you have and how to put the bibliographic information into correct MLA format. It is very important that each source's bibliographic information is recorded exactly as the MLA Handbook specifies.