When using the words, thoughts, facts or images of others, summarising or paraphrasing you must acknowledge everything that you use.

Why It Is Important

  • to support your ideas and arguments
  • to show the variety and breadth of your research
  • to help the reader trace your source material
  • to acknowledge your sources and avoid plagiarism
  • to meet the assessment criteria

Standard Referencing Examples

Book

Sanghera, S. (2021) Empireland: how imperialism has shaped modern Britain. London: Viking.

Journal Article

Goes, S. (2021) ‘Plate tectonics and the deep Earth’, Geography Review, 35(2), pp. 22-27.

Webpage

Schraer, R. (2022) Should bad science be censored on social media? Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60036861 (Accessed: 21 January 2022).

Further examples (including non standard forms, interviews and social networking sites) are shown in How to write a bibliography.


Further Information

To reference correctly you need a Bibliography OR Reference List AND use in-text citations.

Key Terms

  • References/Reference List: A list at the end of your work giving full details of the sources you have referred to within your text.

  • Bibliography: A list at the end of your work giving full details of the sources you have consulted but not necessarily referred to within your text (e.g. background reading)

  • In-text Citation: Information in the body of your work showing the source you are referring to at the point of use.

Ensure You Are…

  • organised – record the details of your sources as you find them

  • consistent – use the same referencing style throughout your work

  • thorough – check you have the full citation and references for everything you have referred to