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We all know referencing isn’t the most exciting thing on the planet but it’s easy to do once you know how and can also make a difference to the grades you’re getting on your essays.
Here are our tips on referencing to make sure you nail it every time!
Referencing styles
There are many different styles of referencing such as Harvard, Chicago, APA etc. so you want to make sure you’re using the right style as some courses or universities may differ.
Whilst there are useful websites such as Cite This For me and tools on Microsoft Word itself which can pretty much do all the work for you, it’s still good to know how to do it yourself and use resources like these to double check afterwards. These tools are useful, but often don't get it totally right. You can find guidance on how to cite in the correct style online, or you may be able to buy a handbook for your referencing style that explains all the nuances.
How to reference in an essay
Any time you mention the work of someone else – whether this is a direct quote or if you’re rewording a theory of theirs – you need to reference!
Most essays you write will usually end up being knowledge built up from other authors or theorists and so citations in your work are absolutely necessary. When mentioning the work of others throughout your essay, your citation will usually be the source and date it was published in brackets somewhere in the sentence. Depending on the style of referencing, you may also have to include page numbers too.
For example:
“…..transgressive performances of gender (Baym 2015)" – Harvard Style
“Where there is power there is resistance” (Foucault 95) – APA Style
Your actual list of references at the end of your essay needs to correspond to the citations you have in your essay. To make this easier and ensure you haven’t forgotten any, always do your references as you go along.
A Harvard Style reference may look something like this:
“Baym, N. (2015) Personal Connections in the Digital Age. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Polity Press”
Referencing is not only useful to your readers if they are left wanting more information about the topic you’ve written about, it also shows that you have done some wider reading and have actually understood what you have read.
As well as giving readers other related texts to explore and proving your own understanding of the discussions around your topic, referencing properly also prevents you from getting into trouble for plagiarism. While unis won't expel you for making a small referencing error, presenting someone else's ideas and words as your own is against the code of conduct for students and can lead to disciplinary action. And yes – that includes the use of AI-written text. Universities use plagiarism software to detect unattributed quotes or ideas, and there are now also softwares that can detect AI-produced work, so make sure you've correctly referenced and all your work is actually your ow n to avoid getting in trouble.
Finally, here's a quick checklist of everything your citations and reference lists should include (this list will vary depending on the referencing style you're using):
- Name of the author, usually formatted as Last name, First name or Last name, First initial
- Date of publication
- Title of the text, if you have used a journal then you need the title of the journal itself along with the page numbers as well as the title of the individual essay
- If you have cited a website then you need to include the URL in your reference list along with the date you accessed it
- If you have cited a book then the place of publication and publisher should be included
Happy referencing!
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