IMPORTANCE OF REFERENCING-TO ALL RESEACH WRITERS

Why reference?

In academic assignments you are required to read widely so that you can identify the current
thinking about a particular topic. You can then use the ideas expressed by other people to
reinforce the arguments you present in your assignment. The referencing in your assignment
shows two things:

 1.the range of ideas and approaches to a topic that you have found and thought about
 your acknowledgement of where these ideas came from

2By using references appropriately, you will show the breadth and quality of your research and
avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas and/or the way they express their ideas as if
they are your own. So, when you present a sentence in an assignment without a reference, or
words without inverted commas (‘……’) it means that you are, in effect, saying to your
reader that those ideas, information or words are your own original ideas or words. If they are
not, then you may have plagiarised. Most plagiarism is unintentional and appropriate
referencing helps writers to avoid unintentional plagiarism.