Referencing
& Citations
Referencing is acknowledging the source/s of the information, ideas, words, and images you have used in your work.
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To distinguish between your ideas and words and those that belong to other people.
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To support what you are writing by referring to evidence.
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To enable readers to investigate ideas they find interesting/useful.
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To show what sources you have used.
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To avoid plagiarism.
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When you are using your own experiences, artworks, photographs, and so forth.
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When you are using generally accepted facts.
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When you are using “common knowledge” such as folklore, myths or historical events.
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APA referencing style is an author-date referencing system published by the American Psychological Association.
Assignments, courseworks and paperworks at IPU New Zealand should be written according to APA (7th edition), a referencing system that is used by many other tertiary institutions.
In Western academic tradition, when someone has an idea, they own it as their intellectual property. To show this, they usually publish it somewhere. If you use these ideas as if they are your own, it is regarded as a particular kind of theft called “plagiarism.”
Plagiarized assignments are not acceptable. You must not copy or paraphrase another person’s work without giving the source, otherwise you may fail your assignment.
Students need to be aware of plagiarism and how to avoid it (see the IPU’s Academic Honesty Policy). You will also be required to submit your work electronically so that it can be put through Turnitin, a software for checking plagiarism.
An academic assignment should be written and presented in a formal style, unless your lecturer has given you other instructions. This formal academic style follows rules called “academic conventions.” This is so that the lecturer can focus on your ideas, and not be distracted by the format or style of your work.
When you cite a source, you give credit to wherever these borrowed ideas come from. You must cite each source as an in-text citation and include it in the reference list (a complete list of sources) at the end of your assignment.
This is the list of all of the sources cited in your assignment. One purpose of a reference list is so that a reader can identify and locate the materials cited in your work. Another purpose is to find out if you have read widely enough for the assignment (ask your lecturer how many/what type of references are expected in the assignment).
An assignment should be written and presented in a formal style unless your instructor has provided different guidance. This formal style adheres to established conventions, enabling the instructor to concentrate on your ideas without being distracted by the format or presentation of your work. There are two (2) broad rules: Your assignment should be clearly articulated with a well-organized progression of ideas. You should maintain consistency by applying the same system throughout the assignment.
Referencing Tools
Mendeley and Zotero are both popular free software tools used for referencing and citation. These tools can make the writing process more efficient by automatically generating properly formatted in-text citations and reference lists. However, we strongly recommend checking your final work carefully to ensure accuracy and credibility, as software errors or bugs may ocasionally occur.
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