Reference Works

A reference work is a source that gives specific information on one or more topics in concise form. It is written in third person and gives a summary of basic facts. A reference work may be a printed source such as a book, or it may be an electronic source such as a CD or a web site. Wikipedia is a good example of the latter.

The most common reference works in printed form are dictionaries and encyclopedias. Reference works are organized alphabetically by subject. Longer and multivolume reference works such as encyclopedias may also have separate indexes.

A question for students in English courses is how to document reference works. While many reference works have common characteristics, they can often differ in authorship and in other ways. This means that there are different requirements in designating attribution, providing parenthetical documentation, and in writing works cited entries. Examples of how to document some of the most common types of reference works are given below.

A Reference Work by a Named Author
Example One

  • In Novum Organum, the English philosopher Francis Bacon argues that man is hindered from attaining true knowledge because he is subject to "four 'idols' or false images of the mind" (Benet 723).

    • The author's name in the parenthesis provides the link to the complete bibliographic information given in the works cited. Although Benet's book is organized alphabetically, the page number is also given. So, in this case, the reference book is in fact treated as a book by one author. This is how the works cited would look.

      Benet, William Rose. The Reader's Encyclopedia. 2ed ed. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. 1965.

    A Reference Work by a Named Author
    Example Two

  • "The character of the speaker or writer as reflected in speech or writing" is called ethos (Harmon 196).

    • This example is the same as the preceeding one. This is how the works cited would look.

      Harmon, William. A Handbook to Literature. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.

    A Reference Work by a Named Author
    Example Three

  • Barton and Hudson say that "The term mood is often used interchangeably with tone and atmosphere" (111).

    • In this example, only the page number is given in the parenthesis because the names of the authors are given in the sentence. This is how the works cited entry would look.

      Barton, Edwin J. and Glenda A Hudson. A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms with Strategies for Writing Essays About Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

A Definition from a Dictionary
Example One

  • Many people who are unhappy with the acts of elected government officials would support using a referendum to decide public policy issues. A referendum is "The submission of a proposed public measure or actual statute to a direct popular vote" ("referendum").

    • The example above illustrates how a word in the dictionary would be documented in your paper. Note that the word "referendum" is treated like the title of an article for which no author is given. This is appropriate because this dictionary is the product of a large number of contributors and editors, not a small number of individual authors. The works cited is given below.

      "Referendum." The American Heritage Dictionary. 1979 ed.

    A Definition from a Dictionary
    Example Two

    When applied to the study of literature, the term "mood" may be defined as "a conscious state of mind or predominant emotion" that is engendered in the reader by a story, play, poem, or essay ("Mood").
    • The definition of the word "mood" is quoted from the dictionary. Note that when you verbally point to a word as is done in the example sentence, you put the word in quotation marks. Note also that the words taken from the dictionary combine with the other words in the example to create a grammatical sentence. Dictionary definitions are usually given in words or phrases; however, when these are quoted, they must be combined with the writer's own words to create grammatical sentences. The word "mood" is the title of the article in the dictionary and so is placed in quotation marks in the parenthesis. The works cited is given below.

      "Mood." Webster's Ninth new Collegiate Dictionary. 1983 ed.

    A Signed Article in a Reference Book
    Example One

  • It is ironic that although seven-eights of Spain borders the sea, there are "comparatively few good harbours" (Chapman).

    • This is an example of how to document a signed article in a reference book. In this case, no page numbers are given. The works cited is given below.

      Chapman, Charles E. "Spain." The Encyclopaedia Britannica. 14th ed. 1936.

    A Signed Article in a Reference Book
    Example Two

  • The rulers of Russia from 1613 to 1917 bore the Russian name Romanov, although after 1762 the Czars "either were foreigners or had little Russian ancestry" (Fuhrmann).

    • This information is quoted from The World Book Encyclopedia and the article article titled "Romanov" is authored by Joseph T. Fuhrmann. This is how the works cited would look.

      Fuhrmann, Joseph T. "Romanov." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.

    An Unsigned Article in a Reference Book
    Example One

  • Emily Dickinson "is noted for her eloquent, concise, and deceptively simple verses" ("Dickinson").

    • When you cite an unsigned article in a reference book, you use the word you looked up in the parenthesis. Dickinson's name is put in quotation marks because it is the title of the article in the reference book and the titles of articles in reference books, newspapers, magazines, or elsewhere are always enclosed in quotation marks.

      • "Dickinson, Emily." The Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. 1995 ed.

        The title of the article, "Dickinson," is used instead of the author in the works cited because this reference book, like most dictionaries, is not the product of one or more authors, but of a large number of contributors and editors.

      An Unsigned Article in a Reference Book
      Example Two

    • George Rogers Clark was by profession both a land surveyor and an Indian fighter ("Clark").

      • This is a second example of an unsigned article from a reference book. In the works cited, the title of the article is again used to identify the works cited entry since there is no author given.

        "Clark, George Rogers." Virginia Biographical Dictionary. 1999 ed.

      An Unsigned Article in a Reference Book
      Example Three

    • The Cambridge Platonists were a group of philosophers and theologians who attempted "to establish a reasonable philosophical basis for Christian theology" during the middle and latter years of the seventeenth century when religion was under attack ("Cambridge Platonists").

      • The source does not name an author for the article and so the title of the article is given in the parenthesis. Titles of articles taken from longer works are enclosed in quotation marks. This is how the works cited would look.

        "Cambridge Platonists." A Dictionary of Philosophy. 1984 ed.

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