Referencing made simple

Referencing is an essential part of academic writing, helping you avoid plagiarism and ensuring the credibility and integrity of your work. Here are some tips to enhance your referencing skills.

1. Start early. Familiarise yourself with referencing early on in your university journey. Work through the Academic Skills Unit's information on academic integrity, avoiding plagiarism, and referencing basics. Register for Academic Skills workshops.
2. Clarify your referencing style. Check Canvas, or consult with your lecturer, to determine the specific referencing style you are required to use in your assessment.
3. Take note. It can be easy to forget where you found a quote or a particular piece of information. Record basic details, such as author, year, title, and URL, so you can reference it fully and accurately later.
4. Start with a reference generator. Keep an eye out for the citation option on Library Search, Google Scholar, and in our library databases. These create a reference for a source, in a particular style, but are often not perfect. Always check against examples in the library’s referencing guide or the published style manual.
5. Use the library’s referencing guide. Our referencing guide provides quick access to citation rules and examples for various citation styles such as APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, and Vancouver. Bookmark this guide if you haven’t already.
6. Don’t leave it to the last minute. Make referencing a consistent habit, rather than a last-minute task that you do when you have finished writing. Start compiling your reference list as you write your assignment.
7. Double-check. Before submitting your assessment, always double-check your in-text citations and reference list, making sure they are formatted consistently and correctly.

Happy referencing, and remember, the Academic Skills Unit and the library’s referencing guide are your allies in honing your referencing skills.