Effective Note-Taking and Referencing

Table of Contents

1. Taking Notes
2. Referencing
3. When and how to reference
4. Plagiarism
5. Further Information

Referencing

Acknowledging your sources in an appropriate manner is an essential part of academic writing, and the penalties for getting this wrong can be serious - not only reduced marks, but the risk of being suspected of plagiarism. You may not have had to do references before at all; even if you have, it's possible that the expectations at university level are different or more stringent. Test your knowledge of how and when to reference with the following exercises.

1

Referencing 1 If you list a book in your bibliography, you don't have to footnote it. a) True b) False That's right; the bibliography is there to provide full information about the works you've cited in your text, it doesn't replace proper references.False: the bibliography is there to provide full information about the works you've cited in your text, it doesn't replace proper references.Your answer has been saved.

2

Referencing 2 You only have to reference direct quotations. a) True b) False Correct: of course you have to reference direct quotations, but you also have to provide references every time that you draw on a source for an idea, an argument, a neat turn of phrase or a key bit of information.False: of course you have to reference direct quotations, but you also have to provide references every time that you draw on a source for an idea, an argument, a neat turn of phrase or a key bit of information.Your answer has been saved.

3

Referencing 3 You don't have to give references for basic information. a) True b) False Correct - but the difficult question is whether a piece of information is sufficiently basic that you don't need to reference it. That depends on context and on your own judgement as to whether a supporting reference is necessary.It is not necessary to give a reference for every single piece of information - but there is always a question as to whether a piece of information is sufficiently basic that you don't need to reference it. That depends on context and on your own judgement as to whether a supporting reference is necessary.Your answer has been saved.

4

Referencing 4 You should not give references to lecture notes. a) True b) False This is true at least 95% of the time. The basic aim of lectures is to introduce you to the subject and to guide your further reading, not to let you off the reading; for background information and for scholars' arguments you should cite relevant books, not lecture notes. The exception is when a unit is closely related to the lecturer's research interests and you're discussing material that hasn't been published yet, in which case - since obviously you need to acknowledge that there aren't your ideas - there's not a lot else you can do.You should almost never cite lecture notes in an essay. The basic aim of lectures is to introduce you to the subject and to guide your further reading, not to let you off the reading; for background information and for scholars' arguments you should cite relevant books, not lecture notes. The exception is when a unit is closely related to the lecturer's research interests and you're discussing material that hasn't been published yet, in which case - since obviously you need to acknowledge that there aren't your ideas - there's not a lot else you can do.Your answer has been saved.