English

Accurate and consistent referencing is a key academic skill. It consists of acknowledging the sources that you have consulted in preparing an assignment, in the body of your work, and in a bibliography at the end of it.

Three key reasons why referencing is important.

• It allows you to demonstrate that you have consulted high quality scholarship in your research,
• It permits your readers to consult your sources easily
• It protects you from any claims of plagiarism.

Some useful reference works are listed below. However, you should familiarise yourself with "Reading English and Writing Essays: A Student's Guide", published by the Department of English, which contains detailed guidance on referencing and the setting out of quotations in your work. You will find this on BlackBoard, in the School of Humanities Student Pages.

The new fourth edition of the MHRA style guide, published in 2024. Chapter 7 covers how to reference sources, while chapter 6 provides useful guidance on how to format URLs and DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers - or permanent links).

NB! If you are familiar with the third edition, please be aware that some referencing conventions have changed with the publication of the fourth edition. The changes are not widespread but it is well worth getting to grips with them. They are outlined here: https://www.mhra.org.uk/style/changes.html.

Covers Harvard, APA, Chicago, IEEE, MHRA, MLA, OSCOLA, and Vancouver referencing styles. This guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism covers everything from understanding plagiarism and identifying sources to setting out quotations and creating a reference list. It gives detailed examples of how to reference print and electronic sources, business, government, technical and legal publications, works of art, images and much more.