essay formatting

NOTE: Footnote is indented. Bibliography is “hanging indent”—format using “paragraph” tab.

ALL footnotes and ALL bibliographic entries end with a period!

Book:

Footnote:

1 James L. Crenshaw, The Psalms: An Introduction (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001), 6-7.

Bibliography:

Crenshaw, James L. The Psalms: An Introduction. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001.

Journal Article:

Footnote:

18 Mark D. Given, "Restoring the Inheritance in Romans 11:1," Journal of Biblical Literature 118 (Spring 1999): 90.

(Only cite the page(s) to which you are referring.)

Bibliography:

Given, Mark D. "Restoring the Inheritance in Romans 11:1." Journal of Biblical Literature 118 (Spring 1999): 89-96.

(Cite the page numbers of the entire article or chapter.)

Chapter or Article in Book with Editor:

Footnote:

8 Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, “The Canonical Shape of the Psalms,” in An Introduction to Wisdom Literature and the Psalms: Festschrift Marvin E. Tate, ed. H. Wayne Ballard, Jr., and W. Dennis Tucker, Jr. (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), 98.

(Only cite the page(s) to which you are referring.)

Bibliography:

deClaissé-Walford, Nancy L. “The Canonical Shape of the Psalms.” In An Introduction to Wisdom Literature and the Psalms: Festschrift Marvin E. Tate. Edited by H. Wayne Ballard, Jr., and W. Dennis Tucker, Jr., 93-110. Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000.

(Cite the page numbers of the entire article or chapter.)

Article in a Bible Dictionary:

Footnote:

22 Michelle Tooley, “Just, Justice,” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000), 757.

(Only cite the page(s) to which you are referring.)

Bibliography:

Tooley, Michelle. “Just, Justice.” In Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 757-59. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000.

(Cite the page numbers of the entire article or chapter.)

Commentary in a Series:

Footnote:

6 James L. Mays, Psalms, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994), 202-3.

Bibliography:

Mays, James L. Psalms. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994.

Commentary in a Series with Volume Number:

Footnote:

7 Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51-100, Word Biblical Commentary 20 (Dallas: Word Books, 1990), 5.

Bibliography:

Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 51-100. Word Biblical Commentary 20. Dallas: Word Books, 1990.

The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary :

Footnote:

9 J. Clinton McCann, Jr., “The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter's Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, vol. IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 650-52.

(Only cite the page(s) to which you are referring.)

Bibliography:

McCann, J. Clinton, Jr. “The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections.” In The New Interpreter's Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, vol. IV, 639-1280. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.

(Cite the page numbers of the entire chapter.)

Websites:

Include entire URL and the date accessed.

REMEMBER: If you find an article on ATLA (on the Library Website), it is NOT considered a website—use the instructions for Journal Articles above.

USING IBID. AND SHORTENED CITATIONS

GENERAL RULE OF THUMB: Use full citation for all first-time citations. If you cite the same source immediately after, use Ibid. If you cite the same source later, use shortened citation.

NOTE: Ibid. is always followed with a period and comma before the page number and a period after the page number.

SAMPLE:

1 James L. Crenshaw, The Psalms: An Introduction (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001), 6-7.

2 Ibid., 8.

3 J. Clinton McCann, Jr., “The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter's Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, vol. IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 650-52.

4 Ibid., 654.

5 Crenshaw, The Psalms, 5.

6 Ibid., 13.

7 McCann, “The Book of Psalms,” 659.