Where do I have to reference?

In addition to citing sources in the body of your work, you also need to create a reference list.

A hand holding a pen has written the word 'rules' A reference list:

Is ordered alphabetically by author surname
Lists all sources in this alphabetical order: sources are not separated by type; therefore, the first item in your list may be a book, followed by a journal article, followed by another book
Contains full details of all the sources you have cited in your text - this includes all the authors surnames (even where you have used et al. in the body of your essay) unless your course leader has specified et al. is acceptable
Is not formatted with bullet points or numbers
Starts on a new page at the end of your essay
Has double spacing between references and single spacing within a reference

You will always be required to provide a reference list. It is not enough only to have cited in the body of your text. If you don't have a reference list you will be marked down.

On the next two pages are examples of reference lists in the two styles used on different QMU courses - Harvard and APA. Hopefully you can see some differences between the two styles. Following that, we will look in more depth about the parts of a reference and what information you are expected to provide.

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