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Referencing is essential for acknowledging the work of others and distinguishing it from your own contributions.

Writing at the university level involves constructing arguments grounded in credible and trustworthy academic literature, research and additional evidence. These sources should be critically analysed, synthesised and integrated through paraphrasing, summarising or quoting.

Although the process of referencing may initially seem daunting, it can be mastered with practice. At its core, it involves including placeholders (called citations) within the body of the text, wherever you use someone else's work. The citations must have correspondent reference list entries at the end of the document. This is where the reader will find full details of the original source.

You will learn more about citations and formatting reference list in the next units.

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Benefits of Referencing

By referencing throughout your assignments, you ensure that:

• your work is academically credible, supported by appropriate sources
• you give credit to the authors you have paraphrased/quoted
• you avoid plagiarism
• your reader can find the resources you have used
• you show an understanding of academic writing conventions
• your assignment receives the best mark possible

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When to reference

You must insert a citation and reference, every time you:

• paraphrase or summarise information from a source
• quote from a source

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