How to insert references into your Microsoft Word document

Sylvia Matovu

Resource Center Assistant

TASO Headquarters

Introduction

Many times essay or report writers are required to insert citations or abibliography into documents. To some this is a tedious process thatrequires a lot of concentration and in fact is put off until the veryend. Sometimes, by the end of the report, the write has forgotten allthe resources consulted.

Microsoft Word has an inbuilt system to enable you insert citationswhile you write and automatically insert the bibliography at the endof your report or essay.

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Insert uniform citations2. Insert a bibliography or list of works cited within the document.3. Keep track of all reference material used during the research or

report.

Citation styles

The most common styles of citation in are;

• Harvard APA or APA

• MLA

• Chicago

• IEEE

• Turabian

*For purposes of uniformity, examples will be drawn using the APA style.

Step 1

Open an MS Word page where the citations are required.

If the document is already typed out then find the spots where citations are required.

If the document is not yet typed out then insert the citations as you work.

Step 2Select References on the top menu

Step 3 Go to Citations and Bibliography

Step 4

Select the Styleusing the drop down arrow

Select Manage Sources and the Source Manager will come on.

This is a permanent record of sources and can therefore be used for any MS Word Document.

Step 5

The Create Source screen will come on providing you with fieldsdepending on the Type of Source selected.

Step 6

Select OK after all the available fields have been filled.

Select New for every new source entry.

Click Close after all entries have been made.

Step 7 To place a citation click Insert Citation and select

the required citation. It will automatically be inserted according to the citation style required.

To place a bibliography (or list of references) at the end of your report, click Bibliography. This gives you two options1. To insert works cited

2. To insert a bibliography – this includes both cited and non-cited works.

Note

Sources are saved permanently and can therefore be used for multiple documents.

To use a source already saved on the Master List, copy it into the Current list.

Useful links

• Purdue Online Writing Lab -http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/

• Office.com - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/create-a-bibliography-HA010067492.aspx

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