Why reference?

Your paper is meant to draw on the work of others and correct referencing is expected. Avoiding plagiarism is one among several reasons why it is important to reference your writing. Understanding the reasons for referencing and acquiring the skills to correctly reference your writing are vital for success in your written assignments at university.

There are several reasons for referencing:

To show that you have read

It’s useful to keep in mind the audience and the purpose for your writing as a student at university. Your audience is your marker, who most likely is already familiar with much of the information you will present. Thus your purpose is not to explain to someone who does not know. Rather it is to display your new knowledge—to show that you have read about the topic and thought about what you are supposed to in the light of this reading.

To show what you have read

At university you are expected to read widely and deeply in your subject. Referencing allows to you to demonstrate the breadth and depth of your reading and connects you to the academic discussion that is going on among thinkers and researchers in your field.

To enable the reader to locate the sources mentioned in your paper

Markers need to be able to locate where you obtained each quote, finding or idea. They may be interested in the idea and want to read more themselves. They may want to check that you have conveyed it accurately and not misunderstood the original author’s meaning. Importantly, giving the details of the source (including the page number) indicates that you are not plagiarising other people’s writing.

To acknowledge your sources and avoid plagiarism

Referencing is a distinguishing feature of writing in the Western academic tradition. This tradition is based on the notion of intellectual property—the concept that ideas and findings belong to the person who first formulates them. According to this way of thinking about knowledge, failure to acknowledge sources is intellectual theft.

Together with this notion of intellectual property is the recognition that new knowledge is built upon the work of those who have gone before, and they must be given credit for their contribution. In reading for your assignments you’ll notice that academic journal articles provide references to thinkers and researchers in the discipline, whose ideas or research the article draws upon.

Student writers at undergraduate level will not be discovering or formulating new knowledge. However, they are joining the ongoing academic discussion in their field when they write. Therefore they are expected to follow the convention of acknowledging their sources.