April 14, 2023 / / Bibliography FAQ

Zotero: Inserting Citations & Bibliographies

Composition

Getting Started

Write your paper when you're ready. Use Zotero's citation manager to the fullest when you write your paper.

  1. Zotero must be opened while working on your document.
  2. Open the Word Processor of your choice
  3. Zotero can be found in most word processors.
  4. Document Preferences

Document Settings

Before you begin writing, click the Zotero Toolbar to set document preferences. You will be able to select the style for your paper and tell Zotero the correct format of citations, bibliography and citations.

Inserting references to other sources

Add Citations

Citations will appear as you type, depending on the style you select. These can be footnotes, endnotes or parenthetical references depending on your paper's requirements. Zotero takes care of formatting and inserting these for you. You only need to click on "Add Citation", located in the Zotero Toolbar, and select the source that you want to cite. Zotero adds the correct formatted citation automatically to the document.

Generating Bibliographies

How to add a bibliography

You will want to create a bibliography once you have finished your writing. It is important to include all citations in the bibliography. Again, you should format the listing according to your style. Zotero simplifies the process of creating a bibliography. You can add a bibliography by placing the cursor at the end of the paper. Then click "Add Bibliography" on the Zotero bar. Zotero automatically creates a bibliography for you based upon the style that you have chosen.

Help!

Require Assistance?

Please ask us any questions you may have about this project or future ones. You can ask a librarian for help if you need it.

Alterations have been made to the original.

It is possible to make mistakes

DOUBLE CHECK your citations AND bibliography BEFORE you submit your essay. Zotero automatically generates citations and Bibliographies from the data Zotero holds. As a result, the quality of your Citations will be limited to the information Zotero contains. If you accidentally typed in the wrong publication date, or if you imported incorrect bibliographic information from a database, you may be able to fix it. These issues should be caught before they are noticed by your teacher.

Correcting a typographical error is simple! It is better to go to Zotero instead of your word processing program to correct the error. If you want to refresh the Zotero data, simply select "Refresh". This will apply the correction to all places in your document that need it. The correction will be applied to all places in the document.

Revision steps:

  1. Open Zotero
  2. Find bibliographic errors
  3. Correct error
  4. Launch Word Processor
  5. Click Zotero toolbar
  6. Hit Refresh

Author

  • ellenoble

    Elle Noble is a 33-year-old educational blogger, volunteer, and mother. She has been blogging for over a decade and has amassed a large following among educators and parents. She has written articles on a variety of topics, including education, parenting, and child development. She is also a regular contributor to the blog blog.com/ellenoble.

    View all posts

CategoriesBibliography FAQ

ellenoble Written by:

Elle Noble is a 33-year-old educational blogger, volunteer, and mother. She has been blogging for over a decade and has amassed a large following among educators and parents. She has written articles on a variety of topics, including education, parenting, and child development. She is also a regular contributor to the blog blog.com/ellenoble.

Comments are closed.