What is a referencing style?
Answer
- References are an essential part of academic writing and show what you have read and cited to write an assignment or article. A reference gives full details of any book/article/webpage etc. that you have used.
- A referencing or citation style tells you how to lay out the details of a reference, such as the author, title date of publication, publisher and place of publication. Some of the most popular styles are Harvard, MLA, Chicago etc.
- There are online citation generators that will generate a reference in a particular style for you (see link).
- There are books/websites that can help you reference many different information sources.
- Some styles are especially suited to a particular subject area.
- Make sure you know what style your lecturer/department wants you to use and use that style. If you are sure that you are free to choose a style, make sure you use one style consistently for all your references.
TIP: Get into good habits from the start when you are working on an assignment and note all the books, articles and websites you have used.