Tips for accurate citing and referencing

• Check which referencing system you will need to use.

Doing • Write down full bibliographic details of each source you use, including URLs.
research • Tip: record all sources you read on a database, Word or bibliographic software.

• Ensure you know exactly which ideas / information come from which source
(e.g.use separate pages for each one).
Making • Distinguish clearly between your own ideas and notes taken from other sources.
notes • If you copy something directly, put it in quotation marks, with page number/s.
• Make notes as bullet points, mind maps etc. rather than complete sentences.

• Whenever you refer to someone else's work, cite it in your text as you write.
(Word /citation software can be helpful for this.)
Writing • Write from your notes, rather than directly from your sources.
drafts • Summarising is often better than quoting or paraphrasing.
• Never just change words in someone else's sentence.

• Check that you have cited everything you use from someone else's work.
• If you write about the same source more than once, cite it each time.
• Check that every quote is in quotation marks* and that you have the page
Revising number if your referencing system requires it. (*Check rules for longer quotes)
• Where you use sources, make sure that your text is different from the original. If
you keep a few words of the original, put them in quotation marks.

• Go through your assignment and list every source you have used. Word
Making referencing or other software may do this automatically.
the • Make sure you give all the necessary information in the correct form. (Use your
reference course handbook or 'Cite them right': http://www.citethemrightonline.com/)
list • Note any missing information: prioritise finding it and add it to your reference list.

• Double-check your reference list against the citations in your assignment.

Proof
• Check carefully through your reference list for mistakes or any parts of a
reading reference you have missed out.

Note: You need to reference almost everything you use from another source (not just printed
texts), e.g. web pages, blogs, images, tables, maps, diagrams, data, songs, presentations..

Official Edinburgh University advice on plagiarism: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic-

services/students/undergraduate/discipline/plagiarism

University of Edinburgh ● IAD www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduates