Skip to Main Content

Citing and referencing

Everything you need to know about referencing with links to guides and support.

What is Referencing?

Referencing is a standardized method of formatting the sources you have used in your written works. Any given referencing style serves many purposes: 

  1. Establishing credibility by citing reliable sources.
  2. Preventing plagiarism by giving credit to original creators. 
  3. Building on and connecting with existing knowledge. 
  4. Enabling verification and reproducibility of research. 
  5. Abiding and demonstrating intellectual property rights and standards.
  6. Provide evidence to support your arguments. 
  7. Acknowledging diverse perspectives and sources in your work. 
Referencing Elements

1. In-text citations

In-text citations are important, they consist of mentioning a specific source used in the body of the work. The format of the citation may change depending on the style you are using (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.), yet there are some basic elements you need to include, which are: 

  • Name of the author(s)
  • Year of publication

You must add the exact page number in your citation if you used a direct quote from a source. 

 

2. List of references

This is a list of the sources you have cited in the text at the end of your paper. It is not a list of “works consulted”. Every source listed in your references list must also be cited in the body of your work and vice versa.