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When using evidence to support our claims we must reference these sources correctly with both in-text citations and a reference list.
When using evidence to support our claims we must reference these sources correctly with both in-text citations and a reference list.
Source - a text, person or organisation which provides information that can be used as evidence.
To reference (to cite) - to provide details about a source of information.
In-text reference (in-text citation) - details about a source that are included within a piece of writing.
Reference list- a separate list containing details of all the sources referenced within a piece of work.
Bibliography - a separate list containing all the sources that were consulted during research (not used in English).
Referencing style - a particular way of referencing sources of information.
APA referencing - a referencing style commonly used in English.
Introduction
Introduction
When trying to persuade others we need to use evidence to support our claims. However, unless we can tell our readers the source of our evidence they will not be convinced of its credibility. Therefore, we need to reference our sources correctly.
This can be annoying because it takes time to follow established referencing conventions. And, this process can be left to the last minute, meaning our referencing is messy and incomplete.
Fortunately, referencing is easy once we get the hang of it, and this guide is designed to help us cite sources within our writing and in a separate reference list using the APA style.
While this guide is designed for English classes, much of the information is applicable to other subjects.
Let's get started.
Understanding Referencing
Understanding Referencing
There are three reasons we need to reference our sources:
To demonstrate that we have conducted wide research. By presenting an informed argument, we build our credibility in the eyes of the readers.
To avoid plagiarism. It is no problem to use other people's ideas, or even their exact words, in our writing. However, we must reference these sources correctly to avoid taking undue credit for their work.
To ensure readers can check our evidence independently. If we make a claim based on the evidence of a particular source, our reader needs to be able to consult this source by themselves to make sure it is credible.
Providing Information
Providing Information
There are four kinds of information about a source that we need to include in our referencing.
Who we are referencing. This could be the creator of a text, a team of researchers, etc.
When the source was created. This is usually a year of publication, although more detail may be needed depending on the source type.
What publication the information comes from. This could be the title of a book, academic journal, government report, etc.
Where the publication can be found. This allows readers to check a source independently. We need to provide publication details for physical sources and a web address for digital sources.
APA Referencing
APA Referencing
Different subject areas use different referencing styles. Each of these referencing styles requires particular information and specific formatting for both in-text references and reference lists.
Why? Nevermind that. All that matters is that you use the style your teacher is expecting.
In English this is often APA referencing: a widely used referencing style developed by the American Psychology Association.
The APA Style Guide includes full details about exactly how to use APA referencing, and you should refer to this if you cannot find what you need here.
In-text References
In-text References
In-text referencing is necessary whenever we use evidence to support a claim. This evidence can be incorporated into our writing using paraphrasing or direct quotations.
There are a number of conventions we should follow when creating in-text references.
Conventions
Include the author's family name. No first initial is required.
When a source has two authors include the family names of both in the order they appear in the original source. Separate the names with an ampersand (&).
When a source has three or more authors, reference the family name of the first author followed by et al.
Include the year of publication.
When referencing a new edition of a classic text, include two dates: the original publication date and the date of the publication you consulted. Separate these dates with a slash (/) with no space on either side.
Include page numbers when quoting a source directly.
Use the abbreviation p. for one page
Use the abbreviation pp. for more than one page. Use an en dash to indicate the range of pages.
If no page numbers are available for online sources, use the abbreviation para. to refer to paragraph numbers.
Referencing details can be included inside or outside of brackets () as needed to allow for clarity of meaning.
Bracketed information should be placed as close to the part of the sentence to which they refer as possible.
More than one set of brackets can be included in a reference if needed.
Use commas to separate information in brackets.
Consider the following examples of in-text referencing.
Online article
Ballard, K. (2016). Daughters in Shakespeare: dreams, duty and defiance. British Library. https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/daughters-in-shakespeare-dreams-duty-and-defiance
Romeo and Juliet may be a love story, but a daughter/father relationship lies at the heart of the play’s events.
In-text reference (paraphrasing)
According to Ballard (2016), at the heart of Romeo and Juliet is a daughter/father relationship.
Play
Shakespeare, W. (1606/2022). Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 5: 47-50). Folger Shakespeare Library.
LADY MACBETH
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.
In-text reference (quotation)
Lady Macbeth calls upon supernatural powers for support: "Come, you spirits … And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty." (Shakespeare, 1606/2022, 1:5 47–48).
Novel
Hemingway, E. (1952/2002). The Old Man and the Sea. Simon and Schuster. p. 1.
He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
In-text reference (quotation)
Hemingway (1952/2002) begins his narrative by establishing that his protagonist has "Gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish." (p. 1).
Reference List
Reference List
A reference list contains information about each source of evidence we have used in our work. Each entry in this list contains more details about a source than its respective in-text reference.
Importantly, a reference list is not a bibliography. The former gives information about each of the sources we refer to in our work, while the latter includes details of every source we consulted as part of our research (regardless of whether we refer to them in our work or not).
While we might prefer to include a bibliography because it looks bigger, in English we use a reference list. Sorry.
Top tip! Include a reference list—not a bibliography—in your English assignments.
There are a number of conventions we should follow when creating a reference list.
Conventions
Use double spacing (2.0).
Use a "hanging indent" for each entry so that the second and subsequent lines in each entry are indented by five spaces (one "tab").
Order references alphabetically by author surname.
Include the first letter of an author's first name, separated by a comma.
If no author's name is listed use the name of the organisation responsible for the publication (ignoring words such as A or The).
Include the names of all authors who contributed to a source, separated by commas. Order these names in the same way as the original source.
Do not abbreviate text titles.
Use abbreviations for the following words:
ed. edition
Rev.ed. revised edition
2nd ed. second edition
Ed. ( Eds.) Editor (Editors)
Trans. Translator(s)
n.d no date
p. (pp.) page (pages)
Vol. Volume (as in Vol. 4)
Vols. Volume (as in Vols. 1-4)
No. Number
Pt. Part
There are also a number of conventions we should follow when entering different source types into a reference list.
Note the conventions for some commonly used source types below.
Book
Author. (Year of publication). Title of book (Edition). Publisher.
Hassan, R. (2004). Media, politics and the network society. Open University Press.
Image
Artist (Year). Title of work [Description]. Institution name, City, Country.
Attia, K. (2013). The Culture of Fear: An Invention of Evil [Installation]. Australian Centre for
Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia.
Journal article
Author. (Year). Title of article. Title of publication, volume number(issue
number), pp-pp. Web address of journal.
Thierstein, J. (2009). Education in the digital age. Educause Review, 44(1), pp. 33-34.
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/1/education-in-the-digital-age.
Newspaper article
Author (Year, Month day). Title of article. Name of publication, p..
Archibald-Binge, E. (2020, May 26). 'Unifying moment': Campaign aims to amplify
indigenous voice. The Age, p. 5.
Report
Author. (Year). Title of work. Publisher (not needed if identical to author).
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development & Victorian Curriculum
Assessment Authority. (2011). Victorian early years learning and development
framework: For all children from birth to eight years.
Social media post
Username OR Author [username] (Year, Month day). Content of the post up to the first
twenty words. [Tweet] OR [Facebook status update] OR [Photograph]. Site name. Exact URL
Guardian Books [@GuardianBooks]. (2011, July 12). Strong showing for Irish writers on Frank
O'Connor short list: http://gu.com/p/3vfpa/tf [Tweet]. Twitter.
http://twitter.com/#!/GuardianBooks/status/90782203549724672.
Website
Author. (Date). Title of page. Website name. URL.
Greenblatt, S. (2002). A special letter from Stephen Greenblatt. Modern Language
Association. https://tinyurl.com/2a9sw7pz.
Resources and Software
Resources and Software
In the good old days we had to either hand write our references or use a typewriter. Fortunately, these days we have computers and the internet to help us and there are a myriad of referencing tools available online.
While it is tempting to provide links to a range of referencing software programs, instead I will recommend just one: the resource that helped me complete my Masters of Teaching at The University of Melbourne.
Re:cite is a website created by the university which helps us to create precise in-text references and a reference list.
It also has recommendations for other software packages and includes a number of helpful guides and tutorials.
I used it, and you should too.
Google Sites
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