Why is citing important?
- Correct citations allow your readers to follow up your sources, so citing is in the interests of scholarly investigation and the sharing of ideas
- Accurate citation is good academic practice and a legal requirement
- If you draw on other people's work in your writing and do not acknowledge those sources, you can be accused of plagiarism
Which citation style should I use?
Your lecturers may require a specific style for your assignments. It is important to follow their recommendations. When using a specified referencing style you must use its rules consistently.
No specified style? We recommend APA: a widely used author-date style that incorporates in-text citations and a reference list.
Online citation style guides
Online Citation Style Guides
re:cite is our easy-to-use tool showing commonly used styles and examples of how different reference types are cited:
APA Style Simplified - online book
The APA Style Blog is the official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition.
Referencing software
Referencing software is designed to help you manage and automatically format your citations and references in your chosen citation style.
- EndNote – downloadable software supported by the Library
- Zotero(official site), Zotero Unimelb Research Guide - free Firefox plugin
- Mendeley – free reference manager and academic social network
Referencing guides
Citation style manuals
Pocket Guide to APA Style by ISBN: 9781285425917
If a particular reference type isn't covered in an online citation style guide, you may need to look at a style manual.