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Study Skills
How do I reference in academic writing?
Study Skills
How do I reference in academic writing?
Study Skills
How do I reference in academic writing?
Summary
Referencing is highly important for academic writing. It’s a key skill and a sign that you are participating in a wider conversation with your writing. Referencing is more than just finding the source of a quote. Thorough referencing properly attributes ideas to those who came up with them.
Why reference at all?
How do you reference?
How do you reference well?
Summary
Referencing is highly important for academic writing. It’s a key skill and a sign that you are participating in a wider conversation with your writing. Referencing is more than just finding the source of a quote. Thorough referencing properly attributes ideas to those who came up with them.
Why reference at all?
How do you reference?
How do you reference well?
Read this article
Why reference at all?
Referencing well takes time but benefits writers and readers alike. For you as a writer, mark schemes often have “professional presentation” as one of the criteria needed for high marks. Ensuring your work is well presented and your referencing is consistent will help you tick this box. Referencing correctly is a key academic skill and sets your work apart from others in a marker’s mind if you show you are demonstrating this.
In addition, good referencing enables your reader to follow the flow of your argument better because they can see at a glance which arguments and ideas are yours and which are someone else’s. They can also find a key source for themselves if they wish. This builds trust with your readers and will make them more likely to accept your arguments than if they are presented in an unclear or messy way.
Good referencing also enables you to showcase a wide range of sources and celebrate a diverse spectrum of authors in your work, helping draw attention to other ideas and opinions.
How do you reference?
When you use someone else’s ideas, findings, data, or words in your academic writing, you need to provide a citation or reference. This is a brief direction to your reader of where they can find your source for themselves. A reference usually contains information about the author’s name, the title of their work, details about the publication of the work, digital signifiers like DOI numbers or website addresses, and page numbers.
In terms of how you present this reference information, your course should provide a style guide that tells you what information to include and which reference style they want you to use. If you cannot locate one ask your tutor or the person leading your course. The most common styles are:
Harvard (in-text). A reference “in-text,” which is usually in parentheses after the information you cite, generally taking the form: (surname, date, page number)
Chicago (footnotes). A superscript number goes in the main text where the reference is needed, and the reference material is placed at the bottom of the page next to a matching superscript number
Endnotes. A superscript number or an in-text short citation in parentheses is placed in the main text where the reference is needed, and the full reference details are placed at the end of the chapter, article or book
Note that, for academic work, you will often be asked to provide one of the referencing forms listed above in addition to a bibliography (a list of all things that you referenced) at the end of the essay. There will almost always be subtle differences between footnote or in-text references and how you need to present the bibliography. These usually centre around subtle details like full-stops being used in bibliographies instead of commas and parentheses going in slightly different locations.
How do you reference well?
Find the style guide you need. This may be prescribed and available from your course tutor or from an academic journal or publishing press. Alternatively, some courses may allow you to choose which style to use. If this is the case, choose one before you start writing and follow it through to the end; consistency is key.
When you have located your style guide, take time to read through the instructions, noting the differences between in-text and footnote versus bibliography styles. You may find it helpful to write out key examples on a big piece of paper or digital note, so that you can quickly see where to put commas, parentheses and italics as you write. If you need your course to provide referencing details in an alternative format to make them easier to read, talk to your tutor or disability support officer.
Once you are aware of the information you will need to put in your references, make sure that you record this information carefully when you are note-taking and researching. Recording, for example, the page number of a quote as you are reading will save you having to go back at the end and check everything.
Referencing software can help organise your references and make citation much easier for some people - see Tools for referencing. Each of the tools works slightly differently, but often you are able to select or save a certain referencing style, and the tool will help format your references for you. If you choose not to use software, it can be helpful to keep a bibliography in another format, such as in a word processor or in a digital spreadsheet as you go.
Read this article
Why reference at all?
Referencing well takes time but benefits writers and readers alike. For you as a writer, mark schemes often have “professional presentation” as one of the criteria needed for high marks. Ensuring your work is well presented and your referencing is consistent will help you tick this box. Referencing correctly is a key academic skill and sets your work apart from others in a marker’s mind if you show you are demonstrating this.
In addition, good referencing enables your reader to follow the flow of your argument better because they can see at a glance which arguments and ideas are yours and which are someone else’s. They can also find a key source for themselves if they wish. This builds trust with your readers and will make them more likely to accept your arguments than if they are presented in an unclear or messy way.
Good referencing also enables you to showcase a wide range of sources and celebrate a diverse spectrum of authors in your work, helping draw attention to other ideas and opinions.
How do you reference?
When you use someone else’s ideas, findings, data, or words in your academic writing, you need to provide a citation or reference. This is a brief direction to your reader of where they can find your source for themselves. A reference usually contains information about the author’s name, the title of their work, details about the publication of the work, digital signifiers like DOI numbers or website addresses, and page numbers.
In terms of how you present this reference information, your course should provide a style guide that tells you what information to include and which reference style they want you to use. If you cannot locate one ask your tutor or the person leading your course. The most common styles are:
Harvard (in-text). A reference “in-text,” which is usually in parentheses after the information you cite, generally taking the form: (surname, date, page number)
Chicago (footnotes). A superscript number goes in the main text where the reference is needed, and the reference material is placed at the bottom of the page next to a matching superscript number
Endnotes. A superscript number or an in-text short citation in parentheses is placed in the main text where the reference is needed, and the full reference details are placed at the end of the chapter, article or book
Note that, for academic work, you will often be asked to provide one of the referencing forms listed above in addition to a bibliography (a list of all things that you referenced) at the end of the essay. There will almost always be subtle differences between footnote or in-text references and how you need to present the bibliography. These usually centre around subtle details like full-stops being used in bibliographies instead of commas and parentheses going in slightly different locations.
How do you reference well?
Find the style guide you need. This may be prescribed and available from your course tutor or from an academic journal or publishing press. Alternatively, some courses may allow you to choose which style to use. If this is the case, choose one before you start writing and follow it through to the end; consistency is key.
When you have located your style guide, take time to read through the instructions, noting the differences between in-text and footnote versus bibliography styles. You may find it helpful to write out key examples on a big piece of paper or digital note, so that you can quickly see where to put commas, parentheses and italics as you write. If you need your course to provide referencing details in an alternative format to make them easier to read, talk to your tutor or disability support officer.
Once you are aware of the information you will need to put in your references, make sure that you record this information carefully when you are note-taking and researching. Recording, for example, the page number of a quote as you are reading will save you having to go back at the end and check everything.
Referencing software can help organise your references and make citation much easier for some people - see Tools for referencing. Each of the tools works slightly differently, but often you are able to select or save a certain referencing style, and the tool will help format your references for you. If you choose not to use software, it can be helpful to keep a bibliography in another format, such as in a word processor or in a digital spreadsheet as you go.
Written by Dr Joe Scales
Written by Dr Joe Scales
0:00/1:34
Summary
Referencing is highly important for academic writing. It’s a key skill and a sign that you are participating in a wider conversation with your writing. Referencing is more than just finding the source of a quote. Thorough referencing properly attributes ideas to those who came up with them.
Why reference at all?
How do you reference?
How do you reference well?
Read this article
Referencing is highly important for academic writing. It’s a key skill and a sign that you are participating in a wider conversation with your writing. Referencing is more than just finding the source of a quote. Thorough referencing properly attributes ideas to those who came up with them.
Why reference at all?
How do you reference?
How do you reference well?
Why reference at all?
Referencing well takes time but benefits writers and readers alike. For you as a writer, mark schemes often have “professional presentation” as one of the criteria needed for high marks. Ensuring your work is well presented and your referencing is consistent will help you tick this box. Referencing correctly is a key academic skill and sets your work apart from others in a marker’s mind if you show you are demonstrating this.
In addition, good referencing enables your reader to follow the flow of your argument better because they can see at a glance which arguments and ideas are yours and which are someone else’s. They can also find a key source for themselves if they wish. This builds trust with your readers and will make them more likely to accept your arguments than if they are presented in an unclear or messy way.
Good referencing also enables you to showcase a wide range of sources and celebrate a diverse spectrum of authors in your work, helping draw attention to other ideas and opinions.
How do you reference?
When you use someone else’s ideas, findings, data, or words in your academic writing, you need to provide a citation or reference. This is a brief direction to your reader of where they can find your source for themselves. A reference usually contains information about the author’s name, the title of their work, details about the publication of the work, digital signifiers like DOI numbers or website addresses, and page numbers.
In terms of how you present this reference information, your course should provide a style guide that tells you what information to include and which reference style they want you to use. If you cannot locate one ask your tutor or the person leading your course. The most common styles are:
Harvard (in-text). A reference “in-text,” which is usually in parentheses after the information you cite, generally taking the form: (surname, date, page number)
Chicago (footnotes). A superscript number goes in the main text where the reference is needed, and the reference material is placed at the bottom of the page next to a matching superscript number
Endnotes. A superscript number or an in-text short citation in parentheses is placed in the main text where the reference is needed, and the full reference details are placed at the end of the chapter, article or book
Note that, for academic work, you will often be asked to provide one of the referencing forms listed above in addition to a bibliography (a list of all things that you referenced) at the end of the essay. There will almost always be subtle differences between footnote or in-text references and how you need to present the bibliography. These usually centre around subtle details like full-stops being used in bibliographies instead of commas and parentheses going in slightly different locations.
How do you reference well?
Find the style guide you need. This may be prescribed and available from your course tutor or from an academic journal or publishing press. Alternatively, some courses may allow you to choose which style to use. If this is the case, choose one before you start writing and follow it through to the end; consistency is key.
When you have located your style guide, take time to read through the instructions, noting the differences between in-text and footnote versus bibliography styles. You may find it helpful to write out key examples on a big piece of paper or digital note, so that you can quickly see where to put commas, parentheses and italics as you write. If you need your course to provide referencing details in an alternative format to make them easier to read, talk to your tutor or disability support officer.
Once you are aware of the information you will need to put in your references, make sure that you record this information carefully when you are note-taking and researching. Recording, for example, the page number of a quote as you are reading will save you having to go back at the end and check everything.
Referencing software can help organise your references and make citation much easier for some people - see Tools for referencing. Each of the tools works slightly differently, but often you are able to select or save a certain referencing style, and the tool will help format your references for you. If you choose not to use software, it can be helpful to keep a bibliography in another format, such as in a word processor or in a digital spreadsheet as you go.
Written by Dr Joe Scales
Dr Joe Scales is an Early Career Research Associate at the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London
Written by Dr Joe Scales
Dr Joe Scales is an Early Career Research Associate at the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London