A bibliography (in Indonesian, daftar pustaka) is the alphabetical list of every source you cited, formatted consistently in one style. It lets readers find your sources and proves your work rests on real evidence. Getting it right is mechanical — but the mechanics trip up almost everyone, so here’s how to do it cleanly.
What goes in an entry
Every entry generally needs: author, year, title, and publication details (publisher, journal, or URL). The order and punctuation depend on the style.
- APA: Surname, Initial. (Year). Title. Publisher.
- MLA: Surname, First name. Title. Publisher, Year.
In Indonesian academic writing, an APA-style daftar pustaka is the most common — for example:
Susanto, A. (2023). Metodologi penelitian. Penerbit Andi.
The rules that matter
- Alphabetical order by the author’s surname.
- Hanging indent — the first line flush, later lines indented.
- Every in-text citation has a matching entry — and every entry is cited in the text.
- One consistent style throughout — never mix APA and MLA.
The common mistakes
- Mixing styles, or being inconsistent with punctuation and italics.
- Entries in the list that were never cited (or vice versa).
- Wrong order (sorting by first name, or by title).
- Forgetting to format the daftar pustaka with a hanging indent.
The easy way
Hand-formatting references is where hours and accuracy disappear. Drop each source into the citation generator and it builds the entry in your chosen style — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard — consistently. Do it as you write, the moment you use a source, and the bibliography assembles itself. For the bigger picture, see our guide to citing sources.
Don’t forget: paraphrasing needs citing too
A source you paraphrased still belongs in the bibliography — rewording doesn’t remove the need to credit it. See paraphrasing vs plagiarism.
Build entries as you go, keep one style, and check that the list and your in-text citations match exactly. A clean bibliography is the easiest credibility you’ll ever earn.
AI-powered — please review results before use.