Research Tools

Citations For Beginners

Learn about plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Crediting Your Sources Link to this section

What's the difference between References, Bibliography and Works Cited?

Information sourced from the MLA manual

Works Cited is sometimes referred to as References. The terms mean the same thing. Each is an alphabetical list of works cited, or works to which you have made reference.

Works Cited is generally used when citing sources using MLA (Modern Language Association) style, while the title References is used when citing sources using APA (American Psychological Association) style.

Works Cited and Bibliography are not the same. In Works Cited you only list items you have actually referred to and cited in your paper. A Bibliography lists all of the material you have consulted in preparing your essay whether or not you have actually referred to and cited the work.