bibliographies: arrangement

Bibliographies may be arranged in different ways.

  • If a book covers a broad subject, or if each chapter in it is devoted to a different topic, it may be more practical to break the source material down into a general bibliography of works covering the subject as a whole, along with a number of separate listings of works referring to specific chapter topics or fields.

    The Canada Year Book, for example, contains a listing of general reference works as well as separate listings, at the end of each chapter, on such topics as geography, health, the legal system, art and culture, banking and finance, and transportation.

  • Other arrangements are possible—separate listings for books and articles, for example.
  • In most cases, however, a straightforward, alphabetical, letter-by-letter arrangement will suffice.

Choose an arrangement that presents the source works in as clear, orderly and logical a manner as possible.

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