While reading any book, you must have come across these two terms – Bibliography and Conclusion.
Bibliography vs Conclusion
The main difference between Bibliography and Conclusion is that Bibliography is the list of all the books, references, sources which the author mentions at the end of writing, and the Conclusion is the summary of all the key points which the author or publisher wrote in the book.
Both are different terms, and they hold a different meaning. But both are written at the end of the book or article. That’s the only common point between both of them.
Comparison Table Between Bibliography and Conclusion (in Tabular Form)
| Parameters of Comparison | Bibliography | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Basic meaning | A bibliography is the list of sources that are used in an article or a book. | The Conclusion is the final summary of the overall writing. It is normally written at the end. |
| Purpose | It helps the reader to verify the points mentioned in the article. Indirectly it tells the reader about the authenticity | The Conclusion is the final ‘Say’ of the author. It concludes the discussion and tells the reader about the final argument |
| Types | The Bibliography can be of various types like Bibliography of online resources, interviews, newspapers, books written by different authors, etc. | The Conclusion is just a piece of writing at the end of the piece of information which is written. |
| Requirement | Not required for fictional work | The Conclusion can be in fictional work also |
| Length | For a lengthy research article or a book, the Bibliography can run into several pages | The conclusion is ordinarily short and is generally written in just a few paragraphs |
| Format | There is a specific format in which Bibliography is written | There is no format for writing Conclusion |
| Efforts are taken | One has to list down the resources which are used for writing the book, article, research paper, etc. | The writer has to take efforts to think and write about the Conclusion |
What is Bibliography?
A bibliography is the collection of all the references used for writing the content. It can be anything like some news published in the newspaper, an article in a magazine, some research paper published by a research scholar, a book published by an author, data from Government sources, etc.
The bibliography gives confidence to the reader about the authenticity of the content which is written by the author.
It usually appears at the end of the published work. Writers writing Bibliography needs to follow a specific format. There are different formats in which Bibliography of book, website, newspaper, etc. is written.
The bibliography is the symbol of the scholarly work of the author. It gives confidence to the reader that the piece of information which he is reading is written after doing thorough research.
What is Conclusion?
The conclusion is the final summary of the article. By writing the Conclusion, the author finally tells the reader about what he/she wanted to convey. It is the final judgment of the author. So he/she has to think a lot while writing the Conclusion. It should be well-thought-out so that the reader understands the viewpoint of the author.
The conclusion gives the final takeaways to the reader, so it is very important. The reader cannot understand the idea or the viewpoints of the writer if he/she does not read the Conclusion.
The final few paragraphs of the Conclusion can make a profound impact on the mind of the reader. So it should be written after considering all points which are described in writing.
Main Differences Between Bibliography and Conclusion
- Ownership – Bibliography is the source of information that is written by somebody else. The conclusion is the work of the author himself. The bibliography is to support the writing of the author. So specifying authentic sources gives more mileage to the writing.
- Purpose – Bibliography is just a way of presenting factual sources in a specified pre-defined format. If the writer has referred good authentic sources while writing the information, then it will hold more value in the eyes of the reader. The conclusion forms the final words of the author. Without Conclusion, the reader will not understand what the writer wanted to convey in the end. He/she will have to draw and infer their conclusions from what the writer wrote. This won’t be a good way of presenting any information.
- Importance – The reader can refer to Bibliography if he/she wants to check the source of any particular point which has been raised by the author in the writings. It is not necessary that everyone has to refer to Bibliography, but that is not the case with Conclusion. The reader must read the Conclusion to understanding the writing more thoroughly. He/she cannot skip it. But reading the Bibliography is at the discretion of the reader.
- Order of writing – Conclusion always comes first before Bibliography. But both are usually written in the end.
- Part of writing – Conclusion is your part of writing just like your introduction. The bibliography is not a part of your writing. It just supports your writing.
- Work of writer – Conclusion is something which is the imagination or thinking of the writer, just like another piece of writing. The bibliography is not the imagination of the writer. Those are only sources that helped the author in building his piece of writing.
- Arrangement – Bibliography is normally written in Alphabetical order. Whereas, there is no structured format in which the Conclusion has to be written.
- Completeness – A writing without Conclusion can look like a half-written piece of writing. Any piece of writing cannot be considered complete without a conclusion. But that is not the case with Bibliography.
- Skill – There is no primary skill required to write a Bibliography. It is just a piece of information that is written in a specific format. But writing a conclusion requires skills. The writer must be able to analyze the writing properly before writing the Conclusion.
Conclusion
Finally, we can conclude that both Bibliography and Conclusion are essential aspects of writing. A professional piece of writing cannot be complete without Bibliography and Conclusion.
Especially when you are writing a non-fictional piece of information. Any research paper, article, or a non-fictional book on the sensitive topic will require the author to write Bibliography. The readers can then cross verify the information specified in the report.
In a way, Bibliography and Conclusion are interrelated as based on the research findings, the author writes on the subject. And based on what he has written, then he/she concludes.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography
- https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/conclusion
- https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/