Why do we reference?

Referencing is about meeting the university’s academic integrity requirements. This is done by:

• Acknowledging the authors/sources (e.g. books, journal articles) you used in your academic work.
• Providing evidence to back up your ideas or arguments.
• Allowing the reader to find the original sources you have used.
• Avoiding plagiarism which may result in penalties.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing skills. Taking the time to learn to reference correctly is very worthwhile, and you can be marked on it.

What do we reference?

Reference everything except:

• your own thoughts and ideas.
• and common knowledge.

How do we reference?

We included these in our writing by:

• Paraphrasing
• Summarising
• Quoting

What are referencing styles?

Referencing follows a set of rules and conventions known as a referencing style. There are many different referencing styles used at The University of Auckland. If you are not sure which style you should use, consult your course guide, or check with your lecturer or tutor.

There are two different referencing style types:

• Author/Date/Page number (APA, MLA, Harvard)
• Numbering/Footnote (Vancouver, IEEE, NZLSG, Chicago, ACS)

To find out more about specific styles visit QuickCite.

What does referencing consist of?

Referencing consists of two equally important parts:

1. The citation
   A citation (in-text referencing) acknowledges your source in the text of a document (e.g. an author/date or numbering). 
2. The reference list
   A list of the sources you have used at the end of your document (e.g. a footnote, reference list, works cited, or a bibliography).