When is a reference needed?

What is referencing?
Referencing is a standardized
method of acknowledging sources of information and ideas that you have used in your assignments, in
a way that uniquely identifies their source. Direct quotations, facts and figures, as well as ideas and
theories, from both published and unpublished works, must be referenced.
Why reference?
Referencing is necessary to avoid plagiarism, to verify quotations, and to enable readers to follow-up
and read more fully the cited author's arguments.
What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism occurs when you present the work of another person or people as your own, without proper
reference to the source. This is a serious accusation in academia.

Exercise 1
Source: Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York and London: W.
W. Norton & Co., 1999. 159.

"The ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild ancestors include the following.
Many species changed in size: cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea
pigs became larger."

1.1 Student Writing Sample # 1

There are many differences between domesticated and wild animals.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The student used the source properly as he/ she used their own words when using information from the
extract.
1.2 Student Writing Sample #2

Domesticated animals diverged from their wild ancestors in numerous ways. Animals such as cows
became smaller, while animals such as guinea pigs became larger.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The student has paraphrased the writing sample from the source; he/she should therefore acknowledge
the source in the form of referencing the author name or the name of the book it the extract was taken
from.

1.3 Student Writing Sample #3

A careful examination of the ways in which domesticated animals have diverged from their wild
ancestors shows that cows, pigs, and sheep became smaller under domestication, while guinea pigs
became larger.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The student has just included a few extra words, this does not make the writing sample their own work,
as most of the writing is copied directly from the source, therefore, proper referencing should be done
to acknowledge the source.
Exercise 2

Source: Moers, Ellen. "Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother." Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New
York and London: W. W. Norton, 1996. 214.

"In Gothic writings fantasy predominates over reality, the strange over the commonplace, and the
supernatural over the natural, with one definite authorial intent: to scare. Not, that is, to reach down
into the depths of the soul and purge it with pity and terror (as we say tragedy does), but to get to the
body itself, its glands, epidermis, muscles, and circulatory system, quickly arousing and quickly allaying
the physical reactions to fear."

2.1 Student Writing Sample # 1

According to Ellen Moers, Gothic writings "get to the body itself, its glands, epidermis, muscles, and
circulatory system, quickly arousing and quickly allaying the physical reactions to fear" (214).

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The source was properly used as the author was acknowledged and the page number was included as
reference

2.2 Student Writing Sample # 2

Gothic novels such as Frankenstein were written with one definite authorial intent: to scare (Moers
214).

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The student use exact words from the extract and did not put it in quotation marks.
2.3 Student Writing Sample # 3
While tragedy affects the soul, Gothic writings affect the body.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The student used the information and summarized it into a statement that explain the whole source

Exercise 3
Source: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co.,
1996. 70.

"I greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd's breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese, milk,
and wine; the latter, however, I did not like."

Student Writing Sample # 1

In his tale, Frankenstein's monster recounts how he greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd's
breakfast, thus showing his extreme hunger.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No

The student used their own words, and did not directly copy from the source, he/she interpreted the
source and made it their own.
Exercise 4
Source: "Michelangelo." The National Gallery. 30 May
2005.https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/michelangelo

Marcello Venusti, 'Portrait of
Michelangelo', 1535.
Florence, Casa Buonarroti.
MICHELANGELO
1475 - 1564
Italian, Florentine
A painter, on panel and
in fresco, a sculptor,
architect and poet,
Michelangelo
Buonarroti was the first
artist recognized by
contemporaries as a
genius.

Student Writing Sample # 1

Michelangelo was a famous painter born in 1475.

Does this writing sample use sources correctly?

o Yes
o No