What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?
Answer
A reference list is the list of all the references you cited in an assignment or essay. It includes full details so that the works referenced can be found. Everything you cited must be in the reference list and everything in the reference list must have been cited.
A bibliography without a reference list contains all references as well as any other material that you read or consulted in preparing your assignment, but did not cite. If there is a separate reference list in addition to the bibliography, then the bibliography would only contain the background reading references.