Assignment Assistance
The purpose of referencing in a report or essay is to explicitly show how the ideas of the authors you have consulted in your research have influenced your writing. It shows that you have consulted the works of experts in the particular field and allows you to credit their ideas at the point in your assignment where you analyse and discuss them.
You must reference the source of your ideas when you:
Quote another person's exact words
Paraphrase or summarise another person's words in a sentence
Use another person's idea in a sentence
Copy tables, diagrams etc. from an information resource into your essay
Thorough and accurate referencing in an academic essay will assist you to avoid plagiarism.
Referencing has 2 aspects:
1. Identifying the source of ideas, quotes, figures and graphics at the appropriate point within the text of the assignment.
2. Writing a list of all the resources you have used in an assignment and including it at the end of the assignment:
A reference list is a list of only those resources you have made reference to in the body of your text.
A bibliography is a list of all resources you consulted in the preparation of your assignment.
Unless a reference list is particularly specified, a bibliography will normally suffice.
There are two main methods of referencing. Choose one method only in a particular essay and apply it consistently. Do not mix the methods in one essay. Check which method is preferred by your teacher.
Method 1 – In-text references – Harvard / Name-date system.
The Harvard method is also called the 'name-date' method. The sources of specific information, ideas, quotes, figures and diagrams are identified at the point where you use them in the text of your essay. The reference is in parentheses at the end of your sentence and usually includes:
the name of the author (use the title if no author is given)
year of publication of the work referred to
In each case an in-text reference that has the author's name (or title if no author) and the date of the publication points clearly to an entry in the bibliography with the same name and date.
The title of a book, encyclopedia, journal, DVD, web page etc. appears in italics. The name of an article in a journal or encyclopedia appears inside single quotation marks.
Book example:
(Reference in the text of the essay) 'Recent studies have concluded that sea levels have risen over the last 5 years (Smith 2012, p. 81).'
(Entry in bibliography) Smith, P 2012, Global warming, Penguin, Sydney.
Different ways of using an author's ideas in the text of your essay
You may choose to use a direct quote, figure or diagram in your assignment because you decide there is no better way of expressing the information. In this case you should include the details immediately after the quote, figure or diagram in the form (author's surname date, page number).
(In text) 'There are several key causes of salinity... (Bloggs 2009, p. 45).'
(Bibliography) Bloggs, H 2009, Management of NSW pastures, Macmillan, Sydney.
You may choose to refer to the author directly but paraphrase the information that is unique to his or her book or article. In this case you should include the reference details (date, page number) after the author's name.
(In text) 'According to Bloggs (2009, p. 45) the causes of salinity are...........'
You may use an author's idea in a sentence of your own. You still need to reference the source of the idea by including the details (author's surname date, page number) at the end of the sentence.
(In text) 'Salinity has a number of causes...........(Bloggs 2009, p. 45).'
Variations for different types of authors
Where two or three authors are involved cite all surnames:
(In text) 'Smith and Brown (2010, p. 122) recommend that pastures be ......'
(In text) 'Johnson, Cameron and Smith (2013, p. 34) argue that.........'
(Bibliography) Smith, P & Brown, G 2010, Improving pastures in NSW, Longman, Sydney.
(Bibliography) Johnson, R, Cameron, P & Smith, G 2013 Sustainable agriculture, Wylie, New York.
Where there are more than 3 authors use 'et al.'
(In text) 'Fitzgerald et al. (2012, p. 56) disagree with that analysis........'
(Bibliography) Fitzgerald, H, Hardy, L, Chen, P & Hardman, T 2012, Living soils, Pearson, Sydney.
If two or more different sources have influenced a point then separate the details inside the parentheses by using a semicolon:
(In text) '....will allow an increase in stock numbers (Bloggs 2009, p. 63; White 2013, p. 157).'
(Bibliography)
White, P (ed.) 2013, Perspectives on agriculture, Federation Press, Sydney.
Bloggs, H 2009, Management of NSW pastures, Macmillan, Sydney.
For works with an editor, use the editor's name in the reference as you would an author's:
(In text) ' .....as a consequence of prolonged drought (White 2013, p. 216).'
(Bibliography) White, P (ed.) 2013, Perspectives on agriculture, Federation Press, Sydney.
For material with no author use the title of the work date published, page number:
(In text) 'Recent government policy has been .......(Policy directions in education 2015, p. 53).'
(Bibliography) Policy directions in education 2015, Department of Education, Sydney.
Practices for direct quotes
Single quotation marks should be used for short direct quotes. When quoting within a short quote use single marks to indicate the main quote and double quote marks within the original quote:
Smith argues that 'government policy in this area has been, as Jones says, "too little too late".....' (Smith 2015, p.56)
Quotations that are more than 30 words long are usually indented from the left and right margins and presented in a smaller font as a block quote. In this case quotation marks are not used.
Variations for different types of resources
Journal articles of all types - whether from a print or online journal, or from a journal database - treat the same as you would a book, state (author's surname year, page number):
(In text) 'Irrigation has had a severe impact on......(Harris 2010, p. 43)
The type of the journal article will be shown in the bibliography entry:
(Print article)
Harris, G 2010, 'Effects of irrigation on the Murray River', Australian Rural Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 37-43.
(Online article)
Harris, G 2010, 'Effects of irrigation on the Murray River', Australian Rural Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 37-43, accessed 11 August 2011,
< http://www.novaphysics.net.au >.
(From online journal database)
Harris, G 2010, 'Effects of irrigation on the Murray River', Australian Rural Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 37-43, accessed 11 August 2011. eLibrary, Proquest, item: CF23202.
Newspaper articles - use the same method as for journal articles:
(In text) 'The existence of the Wollemi pine has gone undetected for.......(Johnson 2011, p. 36)
(Bibliography) Johnson, P 2011, 'Forgotten wilderness', Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February, p. 36.
Encyclopedias - state: 'the name of the section' the date of publication, volume and page number:
(In text) '....is a characteristic of eucalypts ('Eucalypts' 2010, vol. 5, p. 276).'
(Bibliography) 'Eucalypts' 2010, World Book Encyclopedia, World Book, Chicago, vol. 5, pp. 273-295.
Film, DVD, television and radio - state the title of the work or program year published:
(In text) '....the personal journey of the central character (Spirited away 2001).'
(Bibliography) Spirited away 2001, motion picture, Studio Ghibli, Tokyo.
Website - state as much as is available of:
(the author's surname, title of web page date of publication on the internet/last update)
(In text) '.....which is a likey consequence of these cycles (Introduced pests in Australia 2016).'
Introduced pests in Australia 2016, Landcare Australia, accessed 25 September 2016,
< http://www.landcareaustralia.org.au/introduced-pests >.
Graphs, diagrams, images or tables that you reproduce in your text - reference as you would for a book as above, but include the figure/diagram/table number if given:
(In text, at the foot of the graph, diagram, image or table) (Wiseman 2011, p. 227, fig.iv)
(In text, at the foot of the graph, diagram, image or table) (Roberts 2013, p. 412, table 5)
(Bibliography) Wiseman, R 2011, Thermodynamic systems, Oxford, London.
(Bibliography) Roberts, S 2013, Earth processes, Upton, Edinburgh.
Note: A footnote can be used in an essay that uses the in-text referencing system, but only to briefly expand on a point, when that explanation would otherwise disrupt the flow of the text.
Remember, all in-text references should be mirrored by an entry in your bibliography or reference list
Method 2 – Footnotes / Endnotes.
Footnotes allow the reader to glance to the bottom of the page and quickly see the full details of a work cited in the text of the essay. Endnotes are constructed in the same way as footnotes, but are placed after the text of the essay. As with the Harvard system outlined above, works cited in-text must have a corresponding entry in a bibliography or reference list at the end of the essay. With footnotes and endnotes this is in addition to the actual notes list.
(In the text of the essay) Recent studies have concluded that librarians are geniuses [1].
(Bottom of page or end of essay)
1. Smith, P 2009, Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney, p. 81.
(Model: Surname, initial year, Title in italics, Publisher, Place, year, p. page number.)
(Bibliography) Smith, P 2009, Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney.
Footnotes/endnotes for other types of resources are as shown for the bibliography entries that are made when using the Harvard referencing system above, including page numbers where appropriate.
Abbreviations – The following may be used only with this method and you must strictly adhere to the rules for their use:
ibid. Indicates 'in the same source as just mentioned above' and must come immediately after the full reference it refers to when two references in a row are from the same source. Include the relevant page number.
op cit. Indicates 'in the source previously cited for the author named' and must be used with an author's name where you have previously cited the full details of the source in an earlier footnote.
3. Jones, G 2014, Information science towards 2020, Macmillan, London, p. 56.
4. Smith, op cit., p. 95.
loc cit. Indicates 'in the exact place previously cited for the author named' and refers to the exact details of a previously cited source, including page number. It also is used with an author's name.
3. Smith, loc cit.
Remember, all footnote references should be mirrored by an entry in your bibliography or reference list.
Term Planners & Resources
Steps to Success
Common Terms
Trusting Websites
Working with Task Scaffolds
Text Types
Reports and Essays
Avoiding Plagiarism
Quick checklist
Creating a Bibliography
Working with images
Visual Presentation Tips
Internet Search Tools
Bibliography links
Easy bibliography generator
CiteMaker free app for Chrome
How to reference a ....
Film, DVD or radio program
Graph, table or diagram