Lesson 11: Referencing

Lesson aims:
• Understand what referencing is
• Learn how to avoid plagiarism
• Learn the mechanics of in-text referencing
• Learn the mechanics of end-of-text referencing
• Create citations and references for a sample paragraph

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content discussed in class, and
enables you to contribute to the various discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

Watch the video found on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y and take
notes on important information. Make sure to include information about:
• The reasons for referencing sources.
• Avoiding plagiarism.
• The difference between in-text and bibliographic referencing/end-of-text referencing.
• Citing sources correctly.

Notes:
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In class

Reflect on the questions below:

• Based on your knowledge and experiences, what is your understanding of plagiarism?

• To avoid plagiarism, what should a student do?
• Why do you think students plagiarise?
• For students at a university, what do you think are the consequences of plagiarism?

Write down your thoughts in the space below.

 What is referencing?

Referencing is a standardised academic method of acknowledging the sources of information

that one used in their academic work. While there are many styles of acknowledging sources,
most faculties at the University of the Free State recommend the use of the Harvard
referencing style.

The Harvard referencing style uses in-text citations and a reference list. The in-text citation is
located within the body of the essay and consists of the author’s surname and the publication
date (year). The end-of-text reference is found at the end of the essay, where all details of the
in-text citations are written in full.

Purpose of referencing

• To give recognition to the source of the ideas that you have used
• Use of authority to bolster your argument or claim
• Evidence of research
• To direct the reader to the source for more information
• To maintain academic integrity
• To show that you understand the topic and can explain your thoughts, especially
when you paraphrase
• To avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is academic theft

• It is the intentional or unintentional stealing of another person’s work and parading it
as your own
 Consequences of plagiarism

• Not receiving a mark for your plagiarised assessment.

• Possibly facing disciplinary action, which might lead to the suspension of your studies.

Task 1

Which of the following acts constitute plagiarism? Tick the yes/no box that applies.

Act Yes No
Copying from a text, word for word, without using quotation marks and citing
the source
Citing a primary source without reading it yourself but giving the impression
that you read the text yourself
When you are simply repeating a review by your secondary source
Paraphrasing ideas but still failing to reference
Translating material without acknowledgement
Changing some words from copied text and presenting it as your own

Task 2

There are mainly two places where you need to provide references. The first is in the text
(called in-text referencing) and the other one is as a part of a reference list or bibliography at the
end of the text (also called end-of-text referencing). Let’s first look at in-text referencing.

How to reference

1) In-text referencing

In-text referencing or citation is when you acknowledge sources of information or ideas that
you have used in the body text. The in-text referencing is placed next to the ideas or
information that you have quoted directly, paraphrased or summarised. As stated at the
beginning of this lesson, the in-text citation would typically include the source’s name and
date of publication. The full details regarding the source will be included in the reference list
as evidenced in the visual below, which shows you both in-text citation and end-of-text
referencing.

See an extract visual below based on a student essay:

In-text referencing is done when making use of direct quotations or paraphrasing and
summarising.

There are two ways to reference in-text, namely when using direct quotations and when
paraphrasing.

Direct quotations: This is when you write the content word-for-word from the sources.
When you quote directly, make sure to include the author, year of publication and page
number.

Example:

Paraphrase: This is when you put the information from the source in your own words.
When you paraphrase, make sure to include the author and year of publication.

Example:
 Author-prominent citation

Task 3

Now, it is your turn to do in-text citation. Use the information below to write an in-text citation
using direct quotations as well as a paraphrase.

Text In-text citation using In-text citation using

direct quotations paraphrasing
“Culture is a very powerful
force in our lives. It
determines many of the
experiences we have and the
meanings we give to them.
But what exactly is culture?
To the sociologist, culture is
everything that we are
socialized to do, think, use,
and make.”
Authors: Williams, J.,
Brown, K. & Hood, S
Title of book: Academic
Encounters. Life in society
 Edition: Second
Year of publication:
2012
Page number: 29

“The value of a thing, be it an

object or a belief, is normally
defined as its worth. Just as
an object is seen to be of a
high value that is treasured,
our beliefs about what is right
or wrong that are worth being
held are equally treasured.”

Author: Idang, G.E

Title of journal:
Phronimon
Title of article:
African culture and
values
Year of publication:
2015
Page number: 27

“Both terms—norms and

values—are at many times
used interchangeably in our
day-to-day discourse. But
social scientists use them in a
specific sense. Social norms
are standards, rules, guides
and expectations for actual
behaviour, whereas values
 are abstract conceptions of
what is important and
worthwhile.”

Author: Mondal, P
Title of article:
Difference between
Norms and Values of
Society!
Year of publication:
No date
Page number: No
page number
URL Link:
http://www.yourarticl
elibrary.com/society/
difference-between-
norms-and-values-
of-society/35068

As mentioned before, referencing also has to be done at the end of a text as a part of a
reference list or bibliography. Although end-of-text referencing can sometimes seem scary, it is
like a recipe and you do not always have to know the rules by heart. You can look it up in your
faculty/department’s referencing guide each time you need to reference. Eventually, you will
start to remember the rules.

End-of-text referencing
The end-of-text referencing, also referred to as the reference list, contains complete
details of sources cited in the text only. The list is arranged alphabetically by the
author at the end of the essay or academic work. Below is a guide on how to do the
end-of-text referencing.
 1) A book by one author

Surname of the author, Full initials. Year. Title of the publication, exactly as it
appears on the title page of the publication in italics. Place of publication: Publisher.

2) Two authors

Surname and initials of first author, surname and initials of second author. Year. Title
of the publication, exactly as it appears on the title page of the publication in italics.
Place of publication: Publisher.

3) Three or more authors

Surnames of all the authors, Full initials of all the authors. Year. Title of the
publication, exactly as it appears on the title page of the publication in italics. Place of
publication: Publisher.
(Note: Do not use et al. in the list of references)

4) Editions

Surname of the author(s)/editor(s), Full initials. Year. Title of the publication, exactly
as it appears on the title page of the publication in italics. The edition. Place of
publication: Publisher.

5) With an editor

Surname of the editor, Full initials. Indicate the abbreviation for editor (Ed.). Year.
Title of the publication, exactly as it appears on the title page of the publication in
italics. Place of publication: Publisher.
(Note the full stops: (Ed.).

6) Chapter or contribution

Surname of the author(s) of the specific chapter, Full initials. Year. Title of the chapter
(not in italics). In. The author/editor of the name of the publication. The name of the
publication in italics. Place of publication: Publisher.

7) Journals

Surname of the author(s), Full initials. Year. Title of the article, exactly as it appears in
the journal. DO NOT USE IN here. The name of the journal in italics. Volume Number
(issue number): All the page numbers for this specific article: e.g. 20–34
 8) Newspapers

Title of the newspaper in italics. The year. The name of the article. The date of the
day and the name of the month: The page number of the article

9) Online source

Surname(s), Full initials. Date (if available) or use n.d. (if no date can be found). Title
of the article in italics (followed by a full stop). Available at: Web address. [Date on
which the information was accessed].
Reference list principles

• List in alphabetical order, and include all sources used in the text.

• The reference list should be on a new page.

• Do not number or bullet the reference list.

• Left-align your reference list.

• The reference list is not a bibliography. A reference list is a detailed list of

references that you have used/cited in your work. A bibliography is a
comprehensive list of references you have used/cited in the work and
background readings or any other material that you may have read, but not
actually cited.

• If the work has three or more authors/editors, use the abbreviation ‘et al.’ after
the first author’s surname in your in-text citation. The first time, all the authors
should be written out, but thereafter use ‘et al.’

• List publications in the language in which they were published. Do not

translate.
Task 4

Write in-text referencing and end-of-text references based on the following:

1) Journal

https://www.pdcnet.org/cultura/content/cultura_2010_0007_0001_0086_0096

In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “Moreover, Ubuntu, which literally means humanness or humanity to others, is

deemed to promote a sense of community and communality” (page 86 of the above
journal)
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End-of-text reference
Text: Use the journal provided above.
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2) Online source

https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/basics/identity

In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “Adolescents grapple with so many different aspects of identity, from choosing a
career path to cultivating moral and political beliefs to becoming a friend or partner. Role
confusion pertains to the inability to commit to one path. Adolescents then go through a
period of experimentation before committing, reconciling the pieces of their identity, and
emerging into adulthood” (no page given. Taken from the online source above)
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End-of-text reference

Text: Use the webpage provided

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3) Book
In-text citation using paraphrasing
Text: “Positive psychology has been criticized for a lack of research support and for
being simplistic. It has also been criticized for implying that mainstream psychology is
negative” (page 16. Taken from the psychology textbook given above)
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End-of-text reference
Text: Use the provided textbook above.
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4) Study guide
In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “The process approach to academic writing is used to teach students to engage
with the writing process in a meaningful way. As a writer one can never produce a
perfect piece of writing the very first time. Thus, engaging with the piece more than once
(in the drafting process) ensures that ideas are clearly expressed and aligned to the
given task” (page 10. Taken from your EALH1508 module guide above)
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End-of-text reference

Text: Use the study guide provided above.

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Task 5

Keeping in mind the reference list principles, create a reference list using the end-of-text
information you created in the previous task.
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End of Lesson 12.