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A language guide for judges is a window into modern Britain

And into the mind of the judiciary.

A WELSHMAN, A Sikh and a transgender woman walk up to the bar. It sounds like a joke, but in this instance the “bar” separating the judge from a courtroom has served as a synonym for the legal world since the 14th century. In July the Judicial College, which is responsible for the training of judges in England and Wales, issued its triennial update of the “Equal Treatment Bench Book” ( ETBB ). Its advice on how judges should address different litigants and witnesses offers a portrait of modern Britain.

The main chapters deal with characteristics such as disability, race, sex and so on. An appendix of shorter sections includes pen portraits of Jains, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religious groups, as well as the various nationalities and health conditions that may confront a judge. It explains, for example, that Indian Hindus should not be addressed by family names; that a Rastafarian should not be asked to remove his head covering; and, helpfully, that “belief or non-belief in religion should not be confused with having, or not having, a moral compass.”

Many of the ETBB ’s 350-odd pages concern language. The book explains that the Welsh may unintentionally come across as rude in English if they are used to thinking and speaking in Welsh. That is because Welsh uses politeness forms, like a formal pronoun for “you” ( chi ), that do much of the job of “please” in English—which Welsh-speakers may therefore omit. (The guide also explains that Welsh does not typically use “yes”, so that when a Welsh-speaker is asked if he saw something he may reply “I did” without meaning to sound stilted.)

It’s not just the Welsh who may inadvertently appear to lack proper reverence for the court. Deaf people may appear “blunter or more demonstrative” than hearing ones; their gestures should not be taken as a sign of rudeness. When a witness “is sweating and goes red, or appears over-anxious, emotional or vague in her evidence”, judges are warned that “may be attributable in certain cases to menopausal symptoms”. Defendants representing themselves may (rather forgivably) “be unskilled in advocacy” and “lack objectivity” about their cases.

The ETBB is inevitably a battlefield in the culture wars. One section details studies showing that black people face systematic discrimination in law enforcement. For some, the two pages on this subject are not enough; for conservative critics, they are sufficient to smuggle a contentious ideology into what is supposed to be neutral guidance for judges. The chapter in the previous edition that was called “Gender” has been renamed “Sex” for this one, in a change advocated by “gender-critical” feminists (foes of some transgender activists’ views).

This revised chapter still advises judges to respect litigants’ and witnesses’ gender identities, including names and pronouns, for “most” purposes. But judges are now warned that a victim of a crime committed by a transgender woman may have known the accused as a male. Requiring a witness to refer to that person as “she” may not only be upsetting but could affect the quality of their testimony. And a witness may similarly become confused and unreliable if everyone else in the courtroom uses “she” to refer to the accused as well.

It is impossible to please everyone. But the ETBB has done an admirable job of the attempt. Its editors brought its bulk down by more than 200 pages since the edition of 2021, culling citations of old studies and cases while including up-to-date supporting material. It serves as a window not just into Britain but also into the minds of judges, whose ways of speaking and thinking are too often impenetrable. The ETBB instructs them that some groups—children, people who are representing themselves and so on—may need legal language like “ inter alia ” replaced with phrases like “amongst other things”. On why the courts should not speak plain English for everybody, the book is silent. ■

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Utah mother and children’s book author Kouri Richins to stand trial in husband’s death, judge rules

A Utah mother of three who published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him will stand trial. Judge Richard Mrazik ruled after Kouri Richins’ preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence against her to proceed with a jury trial.

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik looks on during a hearing for Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, center, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a court hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth looks on during a hearing for Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins attorney Wendy Lewis looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a hearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, looks on during a courthearing Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

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PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah mother of three who published a children’s book about grief after her husband’s death and was later accused of fatally poisoning him will stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Utah state Judge Richard Mrazik ruled on the second day of Kouri Richins’ preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence against her to proceed with a jury trial.

She faces a slew of felony charges for allegedly killing her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl in March 2022 at their home in a small mountain town near Park City. Prosecutors say Kouri Richins, 34, slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail that Eric Richins, 39, drank.

Kouri Richins appeared stoic as the judge delivered the news that a jury would soon decide her fate. She has been adamant in maintaining she is innocent and entered pleas of “not guilty” to all 11 counts on Tuesday. Her trial is set to begin on April 28.

The second day of her preliminary hearing centered around an additional attempted murder charge filed earlier this year that accused her of slipping fentanyl into her husband’s sandwich on Valentine’s Day 2022, causing a severe but nonfatal reaction.

Summit County Prosecutor Brad Bloodworth defended the charge by describing how he thinks Kouri Richins learned lessons during the first unsuccessful attempt on her husband’s life that helped her carry out the killing 17 days later.

One bite of his favorite sandwich — left with a note in the front seat of his truck on Valentine’s Day — made Eric Richins break out in hives and black out, prosecutors allege. His wife had bought the sandwich from a local diner in the city of Kamas two days after she purchased fentanyl pills from the family’s housekeeper, according to witness statements and deleted text messages that were recovered by police.

Text messages and location data indicate Kouri Richins may have brought the sandwich home, then left to spend Valentine’s Day with another man with whom she was having an affair, Bloodworth said. A day after Valentine’s Day, she texted her lover, “If he could just go away ... life would be so perfect.”

In written testimony, two friends of Eric Richins recounted phone conversations from the day prosecutors say he was first poisoned by his wife of nine years. After injecting himself with his son’s EpiPen and chugging a bottle of Benadryl, he awoke from a deep sleep and told a friend, “I think my wife tried to poison me,” charging documents allege.

Housekeeper Carmen Lauber told police that Kouri Richins subsequently asked her to procure stronger fentanyl, Detective Jeff O’Driscoll said on the first day of the hearing Monday.

“She learned that putting it in a sandwich, where Eric Richins could take a bite, feel the effects, set the sandwich down, was not the proper way to administer a fatal dose of fentanyl,” Bloodworth told the judge. “She learned that it takes a truckload to kill him.”

Days later, Kouri Richins called 911 in the middle of the night to report that she had found her husband “cold to the touch” at the foot of their bed, according to a police report. He was pronounced dead, and a medical examiner later found five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system.

Defense attorneys Kathy Nester and Wendy Lewis argued that because police never found fentanyl in the Richins home, detectives could not be certain that the drugs Kouri Richins bought from the housekeeper matched those found in Eric Richins’ system.

“These are great trial arguments,” Mrazik responded, but he wondered aloud whether any of their arguments were strong enough to make the case that there wasn’t probable cause for the charges.

“We are aware that the preliminary hearing stage favors the prosecution to an extraordinary degree and respect the court’s decision,” Nester and Lewis said in a joint statement after the hearing. “We firmly believe the charges against Kouri do not withstand thorough scrutiny and are confident that a jury will find the same.”

Mrazik recently appointed the pair of attorneys to represent Kouri Richins after he determined she was unable to continue paying for private lawyers . Prosecutors say she mistakenly believed she would inherit her husband’s estate under the terms of their prenuptial agreement and had taken out life insurance policies on him without his knowledge that totaled nearly $2 million.

Court records indicate Eric Richins met with an attorney in October 2020 to discuss the possibility of filing for divorce, which he never did, and to quietly cut his wife out of his will.

In the months before her arrest in May 2023, the Utah mother self-published the children’s book “Are You with Me?” about a father with angel wings watching over his young son after passing away. The book could eventually play a key role for prosecutors in framing Eric Richins’ death as a calculated killing with an elaborate cover-up attempt.

The judge scheduled a pretrial conference on Sept. 23 for the prosecution and defense to discuss jury selection.

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How to Refer to a Judge in Writing: The Etiquette and Expectations

By Happy Sharer

Introduction

When writing to a judge, it is important to understand the proper etiquette associated with such an endeavor. Knowing the right way to address a judge, as well as the appropriate language to use, will help ensure that your letter is taken seriously. In this article, we will explore what a judge is, how to refer to a judge in writing, and the etiquette associated with writing to a judge.

What is a Judge?

A judge is a person who presides over a court of law, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. Judges are responsible for ensuring that the law is applied correctly and fairly in a case. They also have the power to make decisions on legal matters, such as ruling on motions and determining sentences.

How to Address a Judge in Writing

When writing to a judge, it is important to use the correct titles and salutations. When addressing a judge in writing, you should use the title “The Honorable” followed by their full name. For example, if you are writing to Judge John Smith, you should address them as “The Honorable John Smith.” If you are unsure of the judge’s gender, you may use the gender-neutral title “Judge.”

The Etiquette of Addressing a Judge in Writing

When writing to a judge, it is important to use appropriate language and show respect. You should avoid using slang or informal language, as this can be seen as disrespectful. Additionally, it is important to be aware of the judge’s position of authority and to show deference in your writing.

Writing to a Judge: Proper Formalities

When writing to a judge, it is important to follow proper formatting and content guidelines. Your letter should include your contact information, the date, the recipient’s contact information, and a brief introduction. The body of your letter should be concise and provide all relevant information. Additionally, you should include a clear conclusion and sign off with your name.

What to Know When Writing to a Judge

When writing to a judge, it is important to maintain a professional tone. You should avoid making personal attacks or statements that could be perceived as disrespectful. Additionally, you should always proofread your letter for any errors before sending it.

Writing to a Judge: How to Show Respect

When writing to a judge, it is important to show respect. You should begin your letter with an appropriate greeting, such as “Dear Judge Smith” or “Your Honor.” Additionally, you should end your letter with a polite closing, such as “Sincerely” or “Respectfully.”

Writing to a judge can be intimidating, but understanding the proper etiquette and expectations can help ensure that your letter is taken seriously. When writing to a judge, it is important to use the correct titles and salutations, show respect, and maintain a professional tone. Following these guidelines will help ensure that your letter is taken seriously.

(Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? Do you have knowledge or insights to share? Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.)

Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way.

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In a written work, is it better to reference people by their first or last name?

In a work, when you introduce someone by their full name and later refer to them in a context which is not appropriate for a pronoun, do you use their first or last name?

Example: "Eli Whitney is credited with inventing the concept of interchangeable parts. [...] Out of this contract, (Eli or Whitney) developed a sample of guns which he then presented to the United States Congress"

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• In a work - as referring to a formal document like a book / report? –  Jagmag Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 7:09
• I originally wrote "In an essay", since that is what I'm writing, but I figured it generalized to any written work. If not then perhaps I should change it back to essay? –  Ricket Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 7:27
• I would think that it would be different depending on the kind of document being written. If the document is formal like an official report, i think using the last name is more common. however, if it is more informal, like an essay, i would say that using the first name would be fine. Though i would think that there is a cultural aspect to how formal what kind of document should be as well... –  Jagmag Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 7:39
• the best are legal documents which usually have a clause like This agreement entered between Eli Whitney hereinafter referred to as the Guarantor and .... and then for the rest of the document, they will just refer to Eli Whitney as The Guarantor . Thats getting rid of the problem at the root itself :-) –  Jagmag Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 7:42

4 Answers 4

Generally, with names in the Western world that consist of a given name ("first name") and a surname, the surname is used for formal occasions, and the given name is used only in cases of familiarity. Thus in your sentence you'd say "Out of this contract, Whitney developed…".

You would use "Eli" only if you wanted it to appear informal and suggest that you were on a "first-name basis" with Mr. Whitney — knew him intimately — and possibly so was your audience. (E.g. you'd use it if you were toasting your friend "Eli" among an audience of his friends.)

Incidentally, when talking to people, there's a greater assumption of familiarity—you can use the given name in more occasions—in America than in Europe (and in younger people than in older), where using the given name indiscriminately can cause offence or irritate. In general, it's always safe to use the surname, until you're asked to use the given name.

[Caveat: These naming conventions, however, are far from universal. In China, for instance, it's customary to put the surname/family name first, and the given name later. It's the same way in some European countries, I think. Also, many Indian (especially South Indian) names do not have a surname, and consist of just a (given) name followed or preceded by an initial letter (or two) that stands for the given name of one's father (and possibly a town). Some people, forced by the demands of Western convention to have a surname, expand that letter and put their father's name as their last name, in which case if you used "Mr. [last name]", you'd be addressing their father.]

• Note, though, that when addressing someone directly by family name, you should always use an honourific (Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.) unless you're their boss or close friends with them. For example, I could be called "Mr. Purdy" (in general) or "Master Purdy" (because I'm young), but only my closest friends call me just "Purdy", and anyone can refer to me casually as "Jon" or "Jonathan". –  Jon Purdy Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 9:52
• @Jon: Good point. I guess that in decreasing order of formality, we have "Mr. [Jonathan] Purdy" > "Mr. Purdy" > "Purdy" > "Jonathan" > "Jon". I think "Purdy" is fine for essays, but "Mr. Purdy" is what one would say when addressing a person. –  ShreevatsaR Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 11:02
• @Rhodri: I think it would be helpful to make a distinction between oral and written situations. You are absolutely right in saying that calling "Jon 'Purdy without being very familiar or having some other odd special case, that would imply to me that he was my subordinate in some way. It can be quite insulting if used improperly." This is true not only in the US but also in several other English-speaking cultures. However, in written work, "Purdy" is preferred, as @ShreevatsaR already pointed out. –  Jimi Oke Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 15:27

@ShreevatsaR's comment about the level of formality/familiarity is pretty much right for Western names:

In an essay or book which recounts historical facts, as in the question, I'd suggest going with the last name. It's not too formal that it sounds stiff, not too personal that it sounds disrespectful. However, there are some cases where you should use the first name; such as a biography of the Wright brothers, since they share a last name it would be confusing to read "Wright handed the letter to Wright...".

In a novel or other similar work it's often the case that characters are referred to by their first names. However sometimes the author mixes and matches; this is one of the things that annoys me about the Malazan series. Most characters with first and last names are referred to by their last name, except a few who are referred to by their first names. Since all these names are unusual made-up names it's hard to remember sometimes if this is a first name or last name. So try to be consistent.

• 1 Note that the progression you list is correct for written works only. In spoken usage, an unadorned last name like Purdy falls dead last in the formality spectrum: even your own mother can't really use that unless she wants to insult you. –  Marthaª Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 16:44
• 1 @Martha: You're right that the rules are different for spoken. However I wouldn't say it's dead last. It depends on the circumstances. –  Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 20:26
• 3 I have become an example! –  Jon Purdy Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 23:28
• @Jon Purdy, now you just need to take the trash out, and you'll have become somebody as well. :) –  Marthaª Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 18:48
• @Martha: Actually, that reminds me, I do need to do my trash and recycling. Thanks. –  Jon Purdy Commented Dec 15, 2010 at 19:44

If you're unsure of what's appropriate, using the full name when you need to refer to the name and he/she when you can should probably be polite. (Unless there are cultures where using the whole name is considered impolite).

If it's someone famous, you'd probably be safe using the name, title, or nickname/professional name/pseudonym they're usually known by. The musician Sting would be referred to as "Sting" since that's what he use, a monarch often is referred to by their title name and number and just the title when introduced in the text. If a person is known by a quite short name, such as Bill Gates it's probably best to refer to them as using the full name, if they're know'n by a longer name, especially if the "last name" (family name/place name/patronym etc.) is rather recognizable in it self, I'd use just the "last name".

If the work in question were a news article or an essay, I would use both the first name and last name of a person for every other reference after the first reference to the person. If I were to use a direct quotation in which a person referenced earlier is called by only his or her first name or last name, I would add the first name or last name to the direct quotation between brackets.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged writing-style personal-names surnames or ask your own question .

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AGLC Referencing Style

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Articles - Footnotes

AGLC Rule 5 (AGLC4)

There are two citation styles for journal articles – footnotes and bibliography.

Include the following information:

Author(s)  (Rule 4.1) -  first name(s) followed by family name(s) if known, then comma. If first name(s) not known, use initials. If there are more than three authors, identify only the first one and then use “et al”.

Honorific titles or titles indicating qualifications should not be included in citations except for Sir, Dame or peerage titles (Lord, Earl, Viscount etc). Postnominals (eg AM, AO, LLB etc) should not be used in a citation. 

Judges   (Rule 4.1.5)  - when citing a judge's extra-curial writing (that is, not in a judgment) the judge's title (Justice, Judge, Chief Justice etc) should be included before the judge's name, unless the judge has a title (such as 'Sir' or 'Dame') that makes a judicial title unnecessary. Do not include a judicial title when citing work written by a judge after he or she has ceased to be a judicial officer, but any titles such as 'Sir' or 'Dame' should be included.

Title of the article -  single quotation marks around the title (Rule 5.2). All words in a title should be capitalised except for articles, conjunctions and prepositions (Rule 1.7). A colon should separate the title from any subtitles, regardless of the form on the title page of the source (Rule 4.2).

Year of publication - in round brackets where there is a volume number, and in square brackets where there is only a year.

Volume and issue number of journal -  Both the volume and issue number should be included. Where the issue identifier is a season or month this should appear, preceded by a space and enclosed in parentheses.

Title of the journal   - in full and italicised. Unlike the abbreviations used in case citations journal titles are cited in full.

Starting page number of article - no punctuation separates the starting page from the title.

Pinpoint references   (Rule 5.7) - A pinpoint reference is preceded by a comma and a space. The full journal citation is used, followed by specific page references. When the first page of an article is cited repeat the page number.

DJ Cusine, ‘Expenses Under a Standard Security’ [1994] (1)  Juridical Review  18.

Sir Anthony Mason, 'A Bill of Rights for Australia?' (1989) 5(1)  Australian Bar Review 79, 81.

Justice Michael Kirby, ‘Judicial Activism?: A Riposte to the Counter-Reformation’ (2004) 24(3)   Australian Bar Review 219.

Adam Webster and John Williams, ‘Section 100 and State Water Rights’ (2010) 21(4)  Public Law Review 267.

Michaela Ryan, ‘According to Merit?: Lives that Should Never Have Been?’ (2002) 76(7) Law Institute Journal 44.

Many journals now appear in print and online versions. If an article is obtained from an online journal or an online source such as Lexis Advance, do not include the web address in the citation, simply cite the journal using the print conventions.

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How to Write an Academic Essay with References and Citations

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

If you're wondering how to write an academic essay with references, look no further. In this article, we'll discuss how to use in-text citations and references, including how to cite a website, how to cite a book, and how to cite a Tweet, according to various style guides.

You might need to cite sources when writing a paper that references other sources. For example, when writing an essay, you may use information from other works, such as books, articles, or websites. You must then inform readers where this information came from. Failure to do so, even accidentally, is plagiarism—passing off another person's work as your own.

You can avoid plagiarism and show readers where to find information by using citations and references. 

Citations tell readers where a piece of information came from. They take the form of footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical elements, depending on your style guide. In-text citations are usually placed at the end of a sentence containing the relevant information. 

A reference list , bibliography, or works cited list at the end of a text provides additional details about these cited sources. This list includes enough publication information allowing readers to look up these sources themselves.

Referencing is important for more than simply avoiding plagiarism. Referring to a trustworthy source shows that the information is reliable. Referring to reliable information can also support your major points and back up your argument. 

Learning how to write an academic essay with references and how to use in-text citations will allow you to cite authors who have made similar arguments. This helps show that your argument is objective and not entirely based on personal biases.

How Do You Determine Which Style Guide to Use?

Often, a professor will assign a style guide. The purpose of a style guide is to provide writers with formatting instructions. If your professor has not assigned a style guide, they should still be able to recommend one. 

If you are entirely free to choose, pick one that aligns with your field (for example, APA is frequently used for scientific writing). 

Some of the most common style guides are as follows:

AP style for journalism

Chicago style for publishing

APA style for scholarly writing (commonly used in scientific fields)

MLA style for scholarly citations (commonly used in English literature fields)

Some journals have their own style guides, so if you plan to publish, check which guide your target journal uses. You can do this by locating your target journal's website and searching for author guidelines.

How Do You Pick Your Sources?

When learning how to write an academic essay with references, you must identify reliable sources that support your argument. 

As you read, think critically and evaluate sources for:

Objectivity

Keep detailed notes on the sources so that you can easily find them again, if needed.

Tip: Record these notes in the format of your style guide—your reference list will then be ready to go.

How to Use In-Text Citations in MLA

An in-text citation in MLA includes the author's last name and the relevant page number: 

(Author 123)

How to Cite a Website in MLA

Here's how to cite a website in MLA:

Author's last name, First name. "Title of page."

Website. Website Publisher, date. Web. Date

retrieved. <URL>

With information from a real website, this looks like:

Morris, Nancy. "How to Cite a Tweet in APA,

Chicago, and MLA." Scribendi. Scribendi

Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2021.

<https://www.scribendi.com/academy/articles/how_to_cite_a_website.en.html>

How Do You Cite a Tweet in MLA ?

MLA uses the full text of a short Tweet (under 140 characters) as its title. Longer Tweets can be shortened using ellipses. 

MLA Tweet references should be formatted as follows:

@twitterhandle (Author Name). "Text of Tweet." Twitter, Date Month, Year, time of

publication, URL.

With information from an actual Tweet, this looks like:

@neiltyson (Neil deGrasse Tyson). "You can't use reason to convince anyone out of an

argument that they didn't use reason to get into." Twitter, 29 Sept. 2020, 10:15 p.m.,

https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1311127369785192449 .

How to Cite a Book in MLA

Here's how to cite a book in MLA:

Author's last name, First name. Book Title. Publisher, Year.

With publication information from a real book, this looks like:

Montgomery, L.M. Rainbow Valley. Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1919.

How to Cite a Chapter in a Book in MLA

Author's last name, First name. "Title of Chapter." Book Title , edited by Editor Name,

Publisher, Year, pp. page range.

With publication information from an actual book, this looks like:

Ezell, Margaret J.M. "The Social Author: Manuscript Culture, Writers, and Readers." The

Broadview Reader in Book History , edited by Michelle Levy and Tom Mole, Broadview

Press, 2015,pp. 375–394.

How to  Cite a Paraphrase in MLA

You can cite a paraphrase in MLA exactly the same way as you would cite a direct quotation. 

Make sure to include the author's name (either in the text or in the parenthetical citation) and the relevant page number.

How to Use In-Text Citations in APA

In APA, in-text citations include the author's last name and the year of publication; a page number is included only if a direct quotation is used: 

(Author, 2021, p. 123)

How to Cite a Website in APA

Here's how to cite a website in APA:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month. date of publication). Title of page. https://URL

Morris, N. (n.d.). How to cite a Tweet in APA, Chicago, and MLA. 

https://www.scribendi.com/academy/articles/how_to_cite_a_website.en.html       

Tip: Learn more about how to write an academic essay with  references to websites .

How Do You  Cite a Tweet in APA ?

APA refers to Tweets using their first 20 words. 

Tweet references should be formatted as follows:

Author, A. A. [@twitterhandle). (Year, Month. date of publication). First 20 words of the

Tweet. [Tweet] Twitter. URL

When we input information from a real Tweet, this looks like:

deGrasse Tyson, N. [@neiltyson]. (2020, Sept. 29). You can't use reason to convince anyone

out of an argument that they didn't use reason to get into. [Tweet] Twitter.

https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1311127369785192449

How to Cite a Book in APA

Here's how to cite a book in APA:   

Author, A. A. (Year). Book title. Publisher.

For a real book, this looks like:

Montgomery, L. M. (1919). Rainbow valley.

Frederick A. Stokes Company.

How to Cite a Chapter in a Book in APA

Author, A. A. (Year). Chapter title. In Editor Name (Ed.), Book Title (pp. page range).

With information from a real book, this looks like:

Ezell, M. J. M. (2014). The social author: Manuscript culture, writers, and readers. In

Michelle Levy and Tom Mole (Eds.), The Broadview Reader in Book History (pp. 375–

394). Broadview Press.

Knowing how to cite a book and how to cite a chapter in a book correctly will take you a long way in creating an effective reference list.

How to Cite a Paraphrase in APA

You can cite a paraphrase in APA the same way as you would cite a direct quotation, including the author's name and year of publication. 

In APA, you may also choose to pinpoint the page from which the information is taken.

Referencing is an essential part of academic integrity. Learning how to write an academic essay with references and how to use in-text citations shows readers that you did your research and helps them locate your sources.

Learning how to cite a website, how to cite a book, and how to cite a paraphrase can also help you avoid plagiarism —an academic offense with serious consequences for your education or professional reputation.

Scribendi can help format your citations or review your whole paper with our Academic Editing services .

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Cite A Court case in Harvard style

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• DVD, video, or film
• E-book or PDF
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Use the following template or our Harvard Referencing Generator to cite a court case. For help with other source types, like books, PDFs, or websites, check out our other guides. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator .

Reference list

Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.

In-text citation

Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.

Popular Harvard Citation Guides

• How to cite a Book in Harvard style
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• Knowledge Base
• Referencing
• A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples

A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples

Published on 28 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

The Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is a referencing style used by students and academics in law.

OSCOLA referencing places citations in footnotes, which are marked in the text with footnote numbers:

The judge referred to the precedent established by Caulfield v Baldwin . 1

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Table of contents

Citing sources with oscola footnotes, oscola referencing examples, oscola tables and bibliography.

A citation footnote appears whenever you quote from, paraphrase or otherwise refer to the content of a source in your text.

A footnote is marked in the text with a footnote number, which appears at the end of the relevant sentence or clause. The number is displayed in superscript (i.e. 1) and appears after any punctuation like a comma or full stop:

These footnotes contain full information on the source cited. The format in which you present this information varies according to the type of source; examples are presented in the following section. A footnote always ends with a full stop:

Standard abbreviations

To save space in OSCOLA citations, abbreviations are used for the names of various publications and legal bodies.

For example, ‘UKSC’ is the United Kingdom Supreme Court, and ‘Cr App R’ refers to the Criminal Appeal Reports.

A full, searchable index of these abbreviations can be found here .

Pinpointing

In OSCOLA referencing, referring to a specific page number within a source is called pinpointing. To pinpoint, simply include a page number at the end of your reference, in addition to any page numbers already included.

For example, in the following citation, the first number refers to the page on which the report begins , while the second number pinpoints the passage you’re referring to :

Where available, paragraph numbers should be used instead of page numbers. Only do this if paragraph numbers are explicitly used in the text. Paragraph numbers appear in square brackets and can be used for pinpointing in the same way as page numbers:

Note that if you’re pinpointing a judge’s comments within a case report, you include the name of the judge, and some special terms and abbreviations are used in the citation and in the text.

If the judge is a peer, refer to them as ‘Lord’, e.g. Lord Williams. If they are a Lord/Lady Justice, use ‘LJ’, e.g. Williams LJ. If neither of these is the case, use ‘J’ for judge, e.g. Williams J:

Cross-referencing repeated citations of the same source

OSCOLA uses a system of cross-referencing to save space when you repeatedly cite the same source. This means that for subsequent references of a source, you don’t have to repeat the full citation.

When you refer to the same source you have just referred to (i.e. when the previous footnote was also about that source), you can simply use ‘ibid’ (Latin for ‘in the same place’):

In this example, the second footnote also refers to Davis v Dignam, but to page 522 instead of page 519.

When the previous reference to the source was in an earlier footnote (i.e. when other citations appear in between), use the author’s last name or the title (shortened if it’s a longer title), followed by the number of the previous citation (in brackets and preceded by ‘n’), then the page number you’re pinpointing (if different than the first citation):

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

OSCOLA provides formats for a variety of source types. The most common ones are covered below.

Case reports

When citing a case, you’ll usually begin with a neutral citation – a way of referring to the case that does not relate to a particular report – and then give the details of the report afterwards. If no neutral citation exists, as with cases before 2002, you can just begin with the report.

Additionally, note that the year (for the report) is displayed differently depending on whether it is essential to the citation. For reports where each year is also identified with a volume number, the year appears in normal brackets. For those where multiple volumes appear in one year, the year appears in square brackets.

• Case report with neutral citation
• Case report with no neutral citation

Acts of Parliament

Use a short version of the title if the full title is longer than three words. If necessary, refer to specific parts of an Act of Parliament using section, subsection and paragraph numbers.

Statutory instruments

Statutory instruments (SIs) are numbered consecutively throughout the year; it’s this number that appears at the end of the citation – the example below is the 149th SI of 2020.

House of Commons bills are cited slightly differently from House of Lords bills. You write ‘HC Bill’ or ‘HL Bill’ depending upon which house it is, and bill numbers for Commons bills appear in square brackets.

• House of Commons bill
• House of Lords bill

Hansard is the official transcript of parliamentary debates in the UK. As with bills, write ‘HC’ for the House of Commons and ‘HL’ for the House of Lords. ‘Deb’ is short for ‘debate’, ‘vol’ for volume, and ‘col’ for column.

Use the full name of the author(s) as written in the source. List the edition (abbreviated to ‘edn’) when it is stated on the title page. Note that OSCOLA recommends abbreviating ‘Oxford University Press’ to ‘OUP’; this is not the case with other publishers.

Certain older books are listed by OSCOLA as ‘works of authority’ and given special abbreviated citations. For example, the following is a citation of volume 3, page 75 of Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England :

OSCOLA provides a list of these abbreviations in their full guide , section 4.2.3.

Journal articles

As with case reports, square brackets are used for years in a journal citation if the year also identifies the volume; normal brackets are used when there are multiple volumes in a year.

Note that standard abbreviations are also used for journal names; here ‘MLR’ refers to Modern Law Review.

In a longer work, such as a thesis or dissertation , OSCOLA requires you to include tables listing any cases and legislation you cited, as well as a bibliography listing any secondary sources . For shorter essays, this is usually not necessary, but do check your institution’s guidelines.

The tables and bibliography appear at the end of your text. The table of cases comes first, followed by the table of legislation, and then the bibliography.

Sources are listed in alphabetical order within each table and in the bibliography.

Table of cases

Cases are written in a similar format here and in the main text; the only difference is the names of the parties involved are not italicised in the table of cases:

Table of legislation

The table of legislation includes all legal sources used other than cases – for example, bills, Acts of Parliament and SIs. Items in the table of legislation are listed in identical form to how they are cited in the text.

Bibliography

A bibliography lists all your secondary sources – that is, everything other than cases and legislation. For example, here you would list Hansard , any books and journal articles cited, and other sources such as blogs, social media and newspapers.

Bibliography entries differ from citations in terms of their presentation of the author’s name. Author names in the bibliography are inverted, and initials are used in place of the first name:

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 26 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/oscola/

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• Writing Letters to Officials

How to Write a Letter to a Judge

Last Updated: June 12, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD . Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 24 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 1,638,775 times.

There are occasions when you may find it pertinent to write a letter to a judge. You may believe that what you have to say can impact how a judge approaches the task of sentencing someone you know. Knowing what to include in your letter and how to say it can determine how effective the letter ends up being. That is why it is important to format the letter properly and make sure that the content of the letter is effective and not detrimental to the defendant's case. Do not communicate with a judge if you are a party yourself to a criminal trial because it is generally illegal to do so.

Best Way to Write a Letter to a Judge

Address a piece of professional letterhead to the judge at the top of the letter. At the start of the letter, introduce yourself and explain how you know the defendant. Write statements that show support for the defendant and give examples of their good character.

Setting out the Letter

• Honorable [Judge’s Full Name], United States District Judge, 11 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75242. This name and address should be left-justified and written out as you would an address at the top of any letter, below the date.
• Below the name and address of the judge, provide the appropriate salutation. The appropriate salutation for addressing a judge is “Your Honor” or “Dear Judge [Judge’s last name].

Writing the Content of the Letter

Sample Letters

Expert Q&A

• The best time to write a letter to a judge is before a formal sentencing but after a verdict has been made. Doing so will prevent you from accidentally revealing information that could negatively affect your case, but more significantly, the most effective letters are those meant to sway sentencing rather than those meant to sway a verdict. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 2

• Do not send your letter directly to the judge. Defense attorneys prefer that their clients’ friends and relatives send the letter to the attorney first so that the attorney can read over the letter and confirm that there is no information in the letter that may be detrimental to the defendant’s case. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
• Do not communicate with the judge if you are a party to ongoing judicial proceedings, as such communication is generally prohibited as “ex parte communication.” [10] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/find-legal-answers/going-to-court-for-criminal-charge/writing-character-reference
• ↑ https://thelawdictionary.org/article/best-way-to-write-a-professional-letter-to-a-judge/
• ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/263.9

About This Article

To write a letter to a judge, start by introducing yourself and stating your profession. Then, explain how you know the defendant you're writing about. In the second paragraph, offer a general statement of support by letting the judge know you're aware of the defendant's wrongdoing and you're still willing to support him. In the third paragraph, highlight the defendant's positive character traits to show the judge they're a good person. Finally, conclude your letter by stating why you believe the defendant doesn't deserve a harsh sentence. To learn more from our Civil Litigator co-author, such as how to address the top of the letter, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Reference in an Essay (9 Strategies of Top Students)

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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Are you feeling overwhelmed by referencing?

When you’re first asked to do referencing in an essay it can be hard to get your head around it. If it’s been a while since you were first taught how to reference, it can be intimidating to ask again how to do it!

I have so many students who consistently lose marks just because they didn’t get referencing right! They’re either embarrassed to ask for extra help or too lazy to learn how to solve the issues.

So, here’s a post that will help you solve the issues on your own.

Already think you’re good at referencing? No worries. This post goes through some surprising and advanced strategies for anyone to improve no matter what level you are at!

In this post I’m going to show you exactly how to reference in an essay. I’ll explain why we do it and I’ll show you 9 actionable tips on getting referencing right that I’m sure you will not have heard anywhere else!

The post is split into three parts:

• What is a Reference and What is a Citation?
• Why Reference? (4 Things you Should Know)
• How to Reference (9 Strategies of Top Students)

If you think you’ve already got a good understanding of the basics, you can jump to our 9 Advanced Strategies section.

Part 1: What is a Reference and What is a Citation?

What is a citation.

An in-text mention of your source. A citation is a short mention of the source you got the information from, usually in the middle or end of a sentence in the body of your paragraph. It is usually abbreviated so as not to distract the reader too much from your own writing. Here’s two examples of citations. The first is in APA format. The second is in MLA format:

• APA: Archaeological records trace the original human being to equatorial Africa about 250,000–350,000 years ago (Schlebusch & Jakobsson, 2018) .
• MLA: Archaeological records trace the original human being to equatorial Africa about 250,000–350,000 years ago (Schlebusch and Jakobsson 1) .

In APA format, you’ve got the authors and year of publication listed. In MLA format, you’ve got the authors and page number listed. If you keep reading, I’ll give some more tips on formatting further down in this article.

And a Reference is:

What is a Reference?

A reference is the full details of a source that you list at the end of the article. For every citation (see above) there needs to be a corresponding reference at the end of the essay showing more details about that source. The idea is that the reader can see the source in-text (i.e. they can look at the citation) and if they want more information they can jump to the end of the page and find out exactly how to go about finding the source.

Here’s how you would go about referencing the Schlebusch and Jakobsson source in a list at the end of the essay. Again, I will show you how to do it in APA and MLA formats:

• APA: Schlebusch, C. & Jakobsson, M. (2018). Tales of Human Migration, Admixture, and Selection in Africa. Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics , 11 (33), 1–24.
• MLA: Schlebusch, Carina and Mattias Jakobsson. “Tales of Human Migration, Admixture, and Selection in Africa.” Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics , vol. 11, no. 33, 2018, pp. 1–24.

In strategy 1 below I’ll show you the easiest and fool proof way to write these references perfectly every time.

One last quick note: sometimes we say ‘reference’ when we mean ‘citation’. That’s pretty normal. Just roll with the punches. It’s usually pretty easy to pick up on what our teacher means regardless of whether they use the word ‘reference’ or ‘citation’.

Part 2: Why Reference in an Essay? (4 Things you Should Know)

Referencing in an essay is important. By the time you start doing 200-level courses, you probably won’t pass the course unless you reference appropriately. So, the biggest answer to ‘why reference?’ is simple: Because you Have To!

Okay let’s be serious though … here’s the four top ‘real’ reasons to reference:

1. Referencing shows you Got an Expert’s Opinion

You can’t just write an essay on what you think you know. This is a huge mistake of beginning students. Instead this is what you need to do:

Top Tip: Essays at university are supposed to show off that you’ve learned new information by reading the opinions of experts.

Every time you place a citation in your paragraph, you’re showing that the information you’re presenting in that paragraph was provided to you by an expert. In other words, it means you consulted an expert’s opinion to build your knowledge.

If you have citations throughout the essay with links to a variety of different expert opinions, you’ll show your marker that you did actually genuinely look at what the experts said with an open mind and considered their ideas.

This will help you to grow your grades.

2. Referencing shows you read your Assigned Readings

Your teacher will most likely give you scholarly journal articles or book chapters to read for homework between classes. You might have even talked about those assigned readings in your seminars and tutorials.

Great! The assigned readings are very important to you.

You should definitely cite the assigned readings relevant to your essay topic in your evaluative essay (unless your teacher tells you not to). Why? I’ll explain below.

• Firstly, the assigned readings were selected by your teacher because your teacher (you know, the person who’s going to mark your essay) believes they’re the best quality articles on the topic. Translation: your teacher gave you the best source you’re going to find. Make sure you use it!
• Secondly, by citing the assigned readings you are showing your teacher that you have been paying attention throughout the course. You are showing your teacher that you have done your homework, read those assigned readings and paid attention to them. When my students submit an essay that has references to websites, blogs, wikis and magazines I get very frustrated. Why would you cite low quality non-expert sources like websites when I gave you the expert’s article!? Really, it frustrates me so, so much.

So, cite the assigned readings to show your teacher you read the scholarly articles your teacher gave to you. It’ll help you grow your marks.

3. Referencing deepens your Knowledge

Okay, so you understand that you need to use referencing to show you got experts’ opinions on the topic.

But there’s more to it than that. There’s actually a real benefit for your learning.

If you force yourself to cite two expert sources per paragraph, you’re actually forcing yourself to get two separate pieces of expert knowledge. This will deepen your knowledge!

So, don’t treat referencing like a vanity exercise to help you gain more marks. Actually view it as an opportunity to develop deeper understandings of the topic!

When you read expert sources, aim to pick up on some new gems of knowledge that you can discuss in your essays. Some things you should look out for when finding sources to reference:

• Examples that link ideas to real life. Do the experts provide real-life examples that you can mention in your essay?
• Facts and figures. Usually experts have conducted research on a topic and provide you with facts and figures from their research. Use those facts and figures to deepen your essay!
• Short Quotes. Did your source say something in a really interesting, concise or surprising way? Great! You can quote that source in your essay .
• New Perspectives. Your source might give you another perspective, angle or piece of information that you can add to your paragraph so that it’s a deep, detailed and interesting paragraph.

So, the reason we ask you to reference is at the end of the day because it’s good for you: it helps you learn!

4. Referencing backs up your Claims

You might think you already know a ton of information about the topic and be ready to share your mountains of knowledge with your teacher. Great!

So, should you still reference?

Yes. Definitely.

You need to show that you’re not the only person with your opinion. You need to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants.’ Show what other sources have said about your points to prove that experts agree with you.

You should be saying: this is my opinion and it’s based on facts, expert opinions and deep, close scrutiny of all the arguments that exist out there .

If you make a claim that no one else has made, your teacher is going to be like “Have you even been reading the evidence on this topic?” The answer, if there are no citations is likely: No. You haven’t.

Even if you totally disagree with the experts, you still need to say what their opinions are! You’ll need to say: “This is the experts’ opinions. And this is why I disagree.”

So, yes, you need to reference to back up every claim. Try to reference twice in every paragraph to achieve this.

Part 3: Strategies for How to Reference in an Essay (9 Strategies of Top Students)

Let’s get going with our top strategies for how to reference in an essay! These are strategies that you probably haven’t heard elsewhere. They work for everyone – from beginner to advanced! Let’s get started:

1. Print out your Reference Style Cheat Sheet

Referencing is hard and very specific. You need to know where to place your italics, where the commas go and whether to use an initial for full name for an author.

There are so many details to get right.

And here’s the bad news: The automated referencing apps and websites nearly always get it wrong! They tell you they can generate the citation for you. The fact of the matter is: they can’t!

Here’s the best way to get referencing right: Download a referencing cheat sheet and have it by your side while writing your essay.

Your assignment outline should tell you what type of referencing you should use. Different styles include: APA Style, MLA Style, Chicago Style, Harvard Style, Vancouver Style … and many more!

You need to find out which style you need to use and download your cheat sheet. You can jump onto google to find a cheat sheet by typing in the google bar:

Download a pdf version of the referencing style cheat sheet, print it out, and place it on your pinboard or by your side when writing your essay.

2. Only cite Experts

There are good and bad sources to cite in an essay.

You should only cite sources written, critiqued and edited by experts. This shows that you have got the skill of finding information that is authoritative. You haven’t just used information that any old person popped up on their blog. You haven’t just gotten information from your local newspaper. Instead, you got information from the person who is an absolute expert on the topic.

Here’s an infographic listing sources that you should and shouldn’t cite. Feel free to share this infographic on social media, with your teachers and your friends:

3. Always use Google Scholar

Always. Use. Google. Scholar.

Ten years ago students only had their online university search database to find articles. Those university databases suck. They rarely find the best quality sources and there’s always a big mix of completely irrelevant sources mixed in there.

Google Scholar is better at finding the sources you want. That’s because it looks through the whole article abstract and analyses it to see if it’s relevant to your search keywords. By contrast, most university search databases rely only on the titles of articles.

Use the power of the best quality search engine in the world to find scholarly sources .

Note: Google and Google Scholar are different search engines.

To use Google Scholar, go to: https://scholar.google.com

Then, search on google scholar using keywords. I’m going to search keywords for an essay on the topic: “What are the traits of a good nurse?”

If you really like the idea of that first source, I recommend copying the title and trying your University online search database. Your university may give you free access.

4. Cite at least 50% sources you found on your Own Research

Okay, so I’ve told you that you should cite both assigned readings and readings you find from Google Scholar.

Here’s the ideal mix of assigned sources and sources that you found yourself: 50/50.

Your teacher will want to see that you can use both assigned readings and do your own additional research to write a top essay . This shows you’ve got great research skills but also pay attention to what is provided in class.

I recommend that you start with the assigned readings and try to get as much information out of them, then find your own additional sources beyond that using Google Scholar.

So, if your essay has 10 citations, a good mix is 5 assigned readings and 5 readings you found by yourself.

5. Cite Newer Sources

As a general rule, the newer the source the better .

The best rule of thumb that most teachers follow is that you should aim to mostly cite sources from the past 10 years . I usually accept sources from the past 15 years when marking essays.

However, sometimes you have a really great source that’s 20, 30 or 40 years old. You should only cite these sources if they’re what we call ‘seminal texts’. A seminal text is one that was written by an absolute giant in your field and revolutionized the subject.

Here’s some examples of seminal authors whose old articles you would be able to cite despite the fact that they’re old:

• Education: Vygotsky, Friere, Piaget
• Sociology: Weber, Marx, C. Wright Mills
• Psychology: Freud, Rogers, Jung

Even if I cite seminal authors, I always aim for at least 80% of my sources to have been written in the past 10 years.

6. Reference twice per Paragraph

How much should you reference?

Here’s a good strategy: Provide two citations in every paragraph in the body of the essay.

It’s not compulsory to reference in the introduction and conclusion . However, in all the other paragraphs, aim for two citations.

Let’s go over the key strategies for achieving this:

• These two citations should be to different sources, not the same sources twice;
• Two citations per paragraph shows your points are backed up by not one, but two expert sources;
• Place one citation in the first half of the paragraph and one in the second half. This will indicate to your marker that all the points in the whole paragraph are backed up by your citations.

This is a good rule of thumb for you when you’re not sure when and how often to reference. When you get more confident with your referencing, you can mix this up a little.

7. The sum total of your sources should be minimum 1 per 150 words

You can, of course, cite one source more than once throughout the essay. You might cite the same source in the second, fourth and fifth paragraphs. That’s okay.

But, you don’t want your whole essay to be based on a narrow range of sources. You want your marker to see that you have consulted multiple sources to get a wide range of information on the topic. Your marker wants to know that you’ve seen a range of different opinions when coming to your conclusions.

When you get to the end of your essay, check to see how many sources are listed in the end-text reference list. A good rule of thumb is 1 source listed in the reference list per 150 words. Here’s how that breaks down by essay size:

• 1500 word essay: 10 sources (or more) listed in the reference list
• 2000 word essay: 13 sources (or more) listed in the reference list
• 3000 word essay: 20 sources (or more) listed in the reference list
• 5000 word essay: 33 sources (or more) listed in the reference list

8. Instantly improve your Reference List with these Three Tips

Here’s two things you can do to instantly improve your reference list. It takes less than 20 seconds and gives your reference list a strong professional finish:

a) Ensure the font size and style are the same

You will usually find that your whole reference list ends up being in different font sizes and styles. This is because you tend to copy and paste the titles and names in the citations from other sources. If you submit the reference list with font sizes and styles that are not the same as the rest of the essay, the piece looks really unprofessional.

So, quickly highlight the whole reference list and change its font to the same font size and style as the rest of your essay. The screencast at the end of Step 8 walks you through this if you need a hand!

b) List your sources in alphabetical order.

Nearly every referencing style insists that references be listed in alphabetical order. It’s a simple thing to do before submitting and makes the piece look far more professional.

If you’re using Microsoft Word, simply highlight your whole reference list and click the A>Z button in the toolbar. If you can’t see it, you need to be under the ‘home’ tab (circled below):

You’ve probably never heard of a hanging indent. It’s a style where the second line of the reference list is indented further from the left-hand side of the page than the first line. It’s a strategy that’s usually used in reference lists provided in professional publications.

If you use the hanging indent, your reference list will look far more professional.

Here’s a quick video of me doing it for you:

9. Do one special edit especially for Referencing Style

The top students edit their essays three to five times spaced out over a week or more before submitting. One of those edits should be specifically for ensuring your reference list adheres to the referencing style that your teacher requires.

To do this, I recommend you get that cheat sheet printout that I mentioned in Step 1 and have it by your side while you read through the piece. Pay special attention to the use of commas, capital letters, brackets and page numbers for all citations. Also pay attention to the reference list: correct formatting of the reference list can be the difference between getting the top mark in the class and the fifth mark in the class. At the higher end of the marking range, things get competitive and formatting of the reference list counts.

A Quick Summary of the 9 Top Strategies…

Follow the rules of your referencing style guide (and that cheat sheet I recommended!) and use the top 9 tips above to improve your referencing and get top marks. Not only will your referencing look more professional, you’ll probably increase the quality of the content of your piece as well when you follow these tips!

Here’s a final summary of the 9 top tips:

Strategies for How to Reference in an Essay (9 Strategies of Top Students)

• Print out your Reference Style Cheat Sheet
• Only cite Experts
• Always use Google Scholar
• Cite at least 50% sources you found on your Own Research
• Cite Newer Sources
• Reference twice per Paragraph
• The sum total of your sources should be minimum 1 per 150 words
• Instantly improve your Reference List with these Three Tips
• Do one special edit especially for Referencing Style

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 101 Hidden Talents Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Green Flags in a Relationship
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Signs you're Burnt Out, Not Lazy
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Toxic Things Parents Say to their Children

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Writing Better University Essays/Referencing

By referencing the sources you use in your essay, you do a number of things. First of all, you comply with an academic convention. Secondly, you make your essay look more professional. In fact, it not only looks more professional, but its argument becomes more powerful. Thirdly, you allow others to check your sources. This is often only a hypothetical issue, but a look through the list of your references will allow others to judge your argument quickly. Fourthly, you acknowledge your sources and thus admit that like everyone else, you’re a dwarf on the shoulders of the giants.

The essential bits of referencing require you to provide enough information to others so that they can identify the source. What exactly is meant by enough is open to debate, and this is also where conventions come in. Essential is that you do provide references. Ideally, you would do so properly. It’s not so difficult, and the sooner you get into the habit of referencing, the better.

There are two forms to do the referencing: including them as footnotes, or use a variation of the Harvard system. Your institution may have a preference, or even a house style. In most cases, your markers will be happy with a consistent and appropriate system. The Harvard system is also known as author/date, and will be described here in more detail.

• 1 Inside the Text
• 2 At the End
• 3 Problem Cases
• 4 Plagiarism
• 5 Citations and Quotations
• 6 When to Put the References

Inside the Text

Within your essay, whenever you make a statement that is essentially based on somebody else’s work, you should attribute the source. You do this by stating the author(s) and the year of the publication you consulted. Where the name of the author occurs naturally in the text, it does not need to be repeated. The references are usually included at the end of a sentence, or where inappropriate in a place where the text flow is not interrupted too much, such as in front of a comma. This may be necessary, for example, if only the first half of your sentence is based on someone else’s work.

The name of the author is included in brackets, together with the year of publication. Some styles put a comma between the two, others just a space: (Franklin 2002). Where there are two authors, both names are included: (McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994). Some styles prefer the word and , others prefer the ampersand (& symbol). Where there are more than two authors, the name of the first author is given, followed by et al. (which literally means and others ): (Almeder et al. , 2001). Some styles put et al. into italics, others don’t.

If you have two or more references for the same argument, you should separate the references with a semicolon (; symbol): (McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994; Steinberg, 1999). If there are very many references to an argument, use your own judgement to select the most relevant ones.

What should you reference? Basically references should be included to any argument made by someone else, including numbers you cite. However, statements of general nature need not be attributed to anyone. A statement that the sky is blue alone does not require a reference. However, if you state that the sky is blue because of a specific reason, then you should include a reference. If you use the exact words of an author (quotation), you’ll need to give the number of the page where you copy from. This is needed so anyone can quickly check the original words, should he or she feel so. See the separate section on quotes.

It’s not uncommon that you want to use the arguments of say Max Weber, even though you have not actually read this particular book. Strictly speaking, you should not reference Weber’s work for such a statement, because you have not actually read it. Can you really be sure this is what Weber said or meant? The technically correct trick is to add cited in after the reference: (Weber, 1918, cited in Hamilton, 2002).

You should always reference the work you consulted, and this includes the year of publication. Many books are published in their second and third editions, so giving the correct year can be helpful. Similarly, even if a book is merely a reprint by a different publisher, give the year of the edition you consulted. The page numbers may differ. If it’s just a second print of the exact same book, use the original date. Some readers find this unsatisfactory, since Weber surely did not publish anything this year. The convention to circumvent this issue is to give both years: the year of the original publication, together with the one of the work you consulted. Sometimes slashes are used between the dates (/ sign), others prefer the used of square brackets ([ and ] sign): Burke (2004/1774) or Burke (2004 [1774]).

Another small issue occurs where an author published more than one book or article in a single year, and you want to cite more than one of them. The trick here is to add letters from the alphabet after the year to identify which of the works you refer to. Use the letter a for the first of your references, the letter b for the second and so on: (McManus, 1994a) and (McManus, 1994b) are two different works.

To sum it up, inside the text, you give the family name of the author, followed by the year of the publication. Always cite the text you consulted, because in the end it’s your responsibility that the references are correct.

At the end of your essay you should include a list of references. Such a list of references provides more details than just the name of the author and the year of publication. It’s this list that allows identifying the work cited. Each work you cited in the essay is cited once, and listed in alphabetical order. Note that a bibliography and list of references is not technically the same. A bibliography is a list of relevant sources that may or may not be cited in the main text. References are the sources you cited, even if they are rather trivial. Use the heading references for your references.

For books, you put the family name of the author(s) and their initials, followed by the year of publication in brackets, the title in italics, the place of publication, and finally the name of the publisher. If there are editors, give their names instead of the authors’. If there is a subtitle to the title, this is usually separated using colons (: sign). Where there are more than four authors, it’s common to use et al. after the first three, but some styles insist on citing all authors. Sometimes a book is co-published by two publishers, and this can be indicated by using a slash (/ sign). Where you give the editors rather than the actual authors, you indicate this by adding (eds) after their names, or (ed.) if there is only one. The title is capitalized. For example:

Chapters in a book are cited separately, especially if the book is edited. You give the family name of the author and his or her initial, the year, the name of the chapter in single speech marks (‘ and ’ sign; not capitalized), followed by the word in , and the name and year of the editor(s). If you cite only one chapter, you can give the whole reference at the end; otherwise it’s enough to give the name and year of the editor. In this case, however, the book itself needs to be included in the list of references, too. For example:

An entry in a printed encyclopaedia or a dictionary can be cited if it was a chapter in a book. The editors are often given on the front of the reference book. For example:

Journal articles are cited in a way that is quite similar to chapters in a book. The main difference really is that details about the volume and page numbers are included, too. The reference starts with the name and initial of the author, the year in brackets, the title of the article in single speech marks (not capitalized), followed by the name of the journal in italics (capitalized), and further details. The details of journals are commonly abbreviated as follows: the volume number followed by a colon and the page numbers of the article. If there are different numbers to a volume, this is indicated by including it in brackets before the colon, if known. Online journals may not have page numbers. For example:

Pages on the internet should be cited where used. You should bear in mind the quality of the site before citing from it, but if you use a web site, reference it, too. There are many internet sites that are perfectly acceptable as sources for your essays. The reference includes the name of the author and initial, the year in brackets, the title of the document in italics, the word online in square brackets, the place of publication, the publisher, the words available from : followed by the URL, and the date when the document was accessed in brackets. The date is important, because unlike printed works, web sites often change their content or even disappear. Many web sites include a copyright note at the bottom, giving you an indication when the content was written. For example:

Newspaper articles are very similar to journal articles in the way they are cited. The key difference is that rather than the volume, the date is given. The reference therefore includes the name and initial of the author, the year of publication in brackets, the title in single speech marks, the name of the newspaper in italics (capitalized), the date, and finally the page where the article was found. For one page it’s customary to use the abbreviation p. , for articles running over two or more pages, the abbreviation pp. is common. For example:

Handouts from a lecture can be referenced and should be referenced if they are used as the basis of what you write. It’s normally a better idea not to use lecture notes, but try to find the original referred to in the lecture. Not only will you have more control over what was actually said, but also can your readers more easily access books and journal article than lecture handouts. The reference to a lecture handout includes the name and initial of the lecturer, the year in bracket, the title of the handout in single speech marks, the words lecture notes distributed in followed by the name of the course in italics, the word at and the name of your institution, the place, and date of the lecture. For example:

Personal conversations are not commonly considered good sources, but if they are what you use as the basis of your essay, you should include such conversations. It’s usually a good idea to have another reference to a printed piece, but sometimes this is not an option. In terms of giving the reference, personal conversations are very easy: the name of the person you spoke to, the year in brackets, the words conversation with the author and the date of the conversation. For example:

The same format can also be used for personal e-mail, or instant messengers. Once again, bear in mind the credibility of your sources. With e-mail messages it’s customary to include the e-mail address of the sender in brackets after the name, but it’s essential that you obtain consent from the author. The subject line of the e-mail is often included as the title. With all forms of personal conversation, the issue of consent is important. It’s always a very good idea to check with the author first.

Problem Cases

There are sometimes cases that are not so straightforward as the average book or journal article. For everything there is a solution in the academic conventions. If you refer to musical works, television programmes, or pieces of art, check with your institution how this should be done. If everything else fails, remember the function of referencing, and provide a reasonable amount of information for others to chase the work. Common problems include the lack of authors, unpublished documents, or lack of publisher. Where there is no author, often there is an organization. Put the name of the organization. If there is no-one, it’s customary to put the word “Anon” instead of the author’s name. For example:

Sometimes the year of a document is not known. Where you have a rough idea, you can put a c before the date, such as in (c.1999). Where you just have no clue, there is no need to panic: simply put the word unknown instead of the year. Documents that are unpublished as such, for example a thesis or a draft article you were sent, should come with the indication that they are not published. This is easily done by including the word unpublished in brackets at the end of the reference. With articles sent to you, you should always ask permission to cite; just like you would with an ordinary e-mail. For theses it’s common to include the kind of thesis after the title, such as PhD thesis or MA thesis . Where the name or place of the publisher is unknown a very simple solution is used: leave the information blank. This is particularly an issue with internet sites. Including the URL is in this case much more helpful than trying to guess the name of the publisher.

Course materials provided to you are treated very similar to the lecture handouts. Give the name of the author, the year in brackets, the course code if there is one, the course title in italics (capitalized), the kind of material and its title in single speech marks, place of publication, and publisher. For example:

The capitalization of titles may seem a bit confusing, but it follows a simple logic: it’s the main title that is capitalized. In the case of a book, the main title is that of the book. In the case of journal articles, on the other hand, the main title is thought to be that of the journal itself. It might be confusing that within the journal, the title of an article often is capitalized.

Capitalization is not very hard to achieve. Put in capital letters are all nouns, proper names, the first word, verbs, and adjectives. This is in fact almost everything. Not put in capital letters are words like and , in , or , or with . Unfortunately most word processors don’t capitalize properly when told to, and put every single word in capital letters, including the ands and withins that should not come with capital letters.

Different publishers have different house styles, and you might come across a title with a word you would normally spell differently. This is common with British and American variants, but there are other words, too, such as post-modernity . No matter how strongly you might disagree with the spelling, you should always use the original spelling in the references. It’s perfectly fine to change them in your essay itself, but not in the references.

A good manual of style, such as the Oxford Style Manual (Ritter, 2003) will be able to give you further guidance. Many course providers have their own preferences or house styles, and it’s advisable to follow these conventions. Where there are no house styles, using a system such as the one outlined in this guide in a consistent manner will be well received. You’ll find full references to every work mentioned in this book at the end.

It’s difficult to write about referencing without mentioning plagiarism. Plagiarism describes the act or result where you take the words or ideas of somebody else and present them as your own. Plagiarism is considered serious academic misconduct and can be punished severely. Most importantly, however, your reputation is on the line.

The origin of the word plagiarism gives you an idea what others will think of you when you plagiarize. The word goes back to the Latin plagiārius , a thief and kidnapper—in particular a child snatcher and somebody abducting slaves. The modern use in academia brands you a literary thief (OED, 2005).

There are a number of reasons why plagiarism occurs. The worst case is deliberate plagiarism (for whatever reason). Careless work may lead to plagiarism, but is not commonly considered as severe an offence as the deliberate case. Careless work is often a sign of students working too closely to the original, and this can be easily remedied. Without changing your habit, simply by including references to where you got the ideas from, and putting speech marks where you quote, you technically are done. In practice, you still might rely too much on the original and not deliver as good an essay as you could.

Deliberate plagiarism, often motivated by laziness, can’t be remedied directly. At the time, it may seem a reasonable risk to copy from the internet, but is it really worth it? Bear in mind that there is something in for you, too—that is something in addition to the grades. The more you write, the easier it gets.

If you work too closely to the original, there is a simple solution: don’t write the essay with the books in front of you. By so doing, there is very little danger that you copy word by word. In a way, you force yourself to make the material your own: and that is a good thing—it makes a better argument, your essay will be more original, and not least, you’ll also get better grades. Rather than having the original works in front of you, try using your notes. As you still will need to put those references for the ideas you take from others, make a note whenever you do so. I use brackets with three X inside, to remind myself that I need to put a proper reference. Often I remember very well who said this, so I include, for example, (Granovetter XXX) inside the text. When checking the essay, it’s hard not to notice the triple X; and there is always the search facility in the word processor. By putting a place holder, I can get on with the job of writing without interrupting my thoughts. Equally important, I leave some traces indicating to myself that there is some more work to be done: finding the proper reference, for example.

If you think plagiarism is hard to detect by your marker, think again. There are a great number of signs that give plagiarized work away. Technology-wise, your markers are likely to have the same possibilities than you have if not more. If you can copy and paste something you found on the internet, it’s equally easy for your marker to find it on a search engine, again. It would, of course, be possible, to change plagiarized work to the extent that the deed is no longer easy to spot. Usually, however, this is just as much work as writing the essay yourself.

Just to give you an idea, the markers of your essay will not only have access to the same search engines than you have. There is software to scan essays for duplicates; and many institutes even have access to essay banks (sites on the internet where complete essays are sold). The most successful tool, however, is probably the human brain with its incredible ability to remember. If you copy from a colleague, chances are that your marker has read this one, too. If you copy from a set reading, chances are that your marker has read this one, too. Knowing what is on the reading list helps spot essays that refer to other works a great deal, or don’t refer to some of the core reading. Your marker can estimate how many readings you had time to read, or whether you’re likely to have read a great number of papers on the Belgian perspective of whatever issues is set in the question. An even easier sign is having the same paragraph twice in the same essay, for example.

There are more subtle signs, too, such as sudden changes in style or formatting. Many people are unaware of how idiosyncratic one’s writing style is. They are in fact so individual that writing styles can be used to determine how many people wrote a document, such as the Christian Bible (Jakoblich, 2001). Writing style includes the tenses we use, the level of formality, our own choice of words, the kinds of metaphors we put, whether we use American or British English, choices over punctuation, the length of sentences, or the use of specialist terms. Typographic signs include font size, choices of where to break paragraphs, spaces in between lines, and things like proper m- and n-dashes (when copying from electronic articles).

The presence or lack of references is often an easy sign: for example, where there are many references inside the text, but few at the end, or where the citation style changes within a single essay. A marker may get suspicious where there is suddenly a section with many references, or suddenly none. Sometimes, students even include hyperlinks in references when copying from electronic journals; and have them automatically underlined by the word processor.

Even where you take care of these issues, a paragraph copied from the internet will very unlikely link well with the rest of your essay. The style may be inappropriate, or just different. Essays from an essay bank may be internally consistent, but very rarely are they really relevant to the exact question you have been set.

In summary, you can avoid plagiarism easily. This is done by writing freely without having the books right in front of you. Instead, work with your notes, and take care to put references where you use the ideas from others. Don’t use the internet to copy from, no matter how tempting it is. It will hardly ever be worth it.

Citations and Quotations

There is an important difference between citations and quotations. Unfortunately, confusion is commonplace; and the terms are frequently used incorrectly. Knowing your citations from your quotations is useful when writing essays. It’s essential, in fact, if you want to reference properly.

Citations are about ideas you take from others. Quotations are about the exact words used by others. This is really the whole distinction. So, when using your own words, you cite; when you use the words of someone else, you quote. “Why can’t a man be more like a woman?” (Blankenhorn, 1995, p.117) is a quotation, because I use the exact same words Blankenhorn did. However, when stating that families in the US are increasingly defined by the absence of a father (Blankenhorn, 1995), I only use the idea, not the exact words.

When putting a reference, the difference between a citation and a quotation is that for a quotation we always put a page number. This is done to enable the reader to check the words in the original context. In the list of references at the end of the text, there is no difference.

Short quotations are included in the text, and enclosed by speech marks. Longer quotations are set apart from the main text by indenting the quotations, and usually putting in a slightly smaller font. Longer means about 3 to 4 lines or more. For example:

When quoting someone else, you should take great care to copy the words exactly. Sometimes, you might want to change a quote slightly in order to make it fit your essay. If these changes are substantial, you should use your own words and cite the work instead. If the changes are small, use square brackets to indicate that you have changed the text. For example, you might quote Rawls (1999, p.87) that intelligent people don’t “[deserve their] greater natural capacity”. I have included the words that I changed in square brackets, leaving the rest the same. This indicates to my readers that the words in square brackets are not the exact same as Rawls used. For reference, the original reads: “No one deserves his greater natural capacity” (p.87). I made the changes, because I wrote about intelligent people, and Rawls was talking in more general terms.

Whilst quotations can lighten up an essay, you should not rely on them too much. Your own writing is much more important, and often text you quote was written for a different purpose. The consequence is that the quotations may be relevant in content (what is being said), but in terms of style don’t fit well with what you wrote. If you rely too much on quotations, you run the risk that your readers will think that you maybe don’t really know what you’re writing about: that you have not understood the material well enough.

When to Put the References

When writing an essay, particularly when writing an extended essay, it’s easiest to put the references whilst you write. This is the case, because you still know where you got the idea from. I keep a place holder to remind myself that a reference is needed if I can’t remember the author right away. Often, I will know at least some of it, and write this down. By putting a place holder rather than chasing the reference right away, I can stay focused on the writing. However, I also indicate that the essay is not completed. Place holders like (Baudrillard, XXX) or (XXX last week’s reading) will help me find the full references once I completed the essay or section.

References are needed whenever you write an academic piece of writing. Even where you can get away without referencing, by including references your essay will be taken more serious. It’s a good habit to put references all the time, so when you really need to—such as in your thesis—you’ll not struggle, or spend days trying to find out how to reference a chapter in a book.

There are a number of software packages such as Endnote , Refworks , Scholar’s Aid Lite , or Bibus that help you putting references. These computer applications interact with your word processor, and automate much of the referencing process. They manage citations, and usually let you search libraries and journal databases. Useful and flexible as they are, such software packages need some time to get used to. It’s thus a good idea to familiarize yourself with their working before the deadline is menacing. For example, make sure you know how to put page numbers for quotations.

Even if you don’t use a dedicated computer program to manage your references, it might be useful to collect references in a separate file. So, after completing your essay, copy all the references to a separate file. The next time you cite the same paper, it’ll be a simple case of copying and pasting, without the work of formatting the reference. Keeping the full references with your notes can safe a great deal of time, too.

Next: Exam essays

• Book:Writing Better University Essays

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Referencing and citations - OSCOLA: Case law

• Legislation
• Other sources
• Cross referencing
• Referencing software
• Help and support

Case Law Contents

In a nutshell.

The components of a typical case citation are the case name, the neutral citation (where appropriate) and the law report citation.

Use italics for the name of the case, with an unpunctuated italic v to separate the names of adverse parties.

A comma separates the neutral citation and the law report citation.

There are no full stops in the abbreviations: hence ‘UKHL’ rather than ‘U.K.H.L.’.

From page 20 in the OSCOLA guide, you can find further information on citation of older cases, and cases from other constituent parts of the UK.

Citations WITH neutral citation

The components of a typical case citation including a neutral citation are:

case name | [year] | court | number, | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page.

Neutral citations can be found by checking the case on one of the big commercial databases, or on BAILII .

Only cases from 2001 onwards will have neutral citations.

The example below indicates that the case involving Corr and IBC Vehicles Ltd was the thirteenth judgment issued by the House of Lords in 2008, and that a report of the judgment can be found in volume one of the 2008 volume of the series of the Law Reports called the Appeal Cases, beginning at page 884.

• Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884.

Citations WITHOUT neutral citation

The components of a typical case citation without a neutral citation (ie prior to 2001) are:

case name | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page | (court).

• Page v Smith [1996] AC 155 (HL).

NB: put the court abbreviation in brackets at the end of the citation.

Which report to cite?

In England and Wales, there are no official law reports of any kind, but the Law Reports series published by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (www.lawreports.co.uk) are regarded as the most authoritative reports - they include the arguments of counsel and are checked by both counsel and the judge. If a case is reported in this series, it should be cited in preference to any other report.

If a judgment is not reported in the Law Reports, cite the Weekly Law Reports or the All England Law Reports. Only if a judgment is not reported in one of these general series should you refer to a specialist series, such as the Lloyd’s Law Reports or the Family Law Reports.

Unreported cases

If a case is unreported but has a neutral citation, give that. If an unreported case does not have a neutral citation (which will always be the case before 2001), give the court and the date of the judgment in brackets after the name of the case. There is no need to add the word ‘unreported’.

• Stubbs v Sayer (CA, 8 November 1990).
• Calvert v Gardiner  [2002] EWHC 1394 (QB).

Judgments of the European Court of Justice and Court of First Instance:

Give the case registration number in roman and then the name of the case in italics, with no punctuation between them. Give the report citation in the same form as for UK cases. The case number can be checked on any of the commercial databases or on EUR-lex , and will consist of the court prefix, a rolling number and the year. Citations should follow the format:

case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first page.

• Case T–344/99 Arne Mathisen AS v Council [2002] ECR II–2905.

Where possible, refer to the official European Court Reports, which are cited as ECR. If an ECR reference is not available, the second best report is usually the Common Market Law Reports (CMLR).

When citing an opinion of an Advocate General, add the words ‘Opinion of AG [name]’ after the case citation and a comma, and before any pinpoint.

• Case C–411/05 Palacios de la Villa v Cortefiel Servicios SA [2007] ECR I–8531, Opinion of AG Mazák, paras 79–100.

Decisions of the European Commission in relation to competition law and mergers are to be treated as cases. Give the names of the parties (or the commonly used short name) in italics, the case number in brackets, the Commission Decision number (where available), and the OJ report.

• Alcatel/Telettra (Case IV/M.042) Commission Decision 91/251/EEC [1991] OJ L122/48

Further information about citing EU cases can be found from page 30 of the OSCOLA guide.

Pinpointing

You may wish to refer to a specific paragraph of a judgement or page of a report in your work.

If the judgment has numbered paragraphs, pinpoint to a particular paragraph by putting the relevant paragraph number in square brackets. If pinpointing to more than one paragraph, separate the paragraph numbers in square brackets with a comma. If citing spans of paragraphs, insert a dash between the first and last paragraph being cited.

•   Callery v Gray [2001] EWCA Civ 1117, [2001] 1 WLR 2112 [42], [45].
•   Bunt v Tilley [2006] EWHC 407 (QB), [2006] 3 All ER 336 [1]–[37].

If a law report citation ends with the identification of the court in brackets, the pinpoint follows the closing bracket, without any comma. Where the court is not identified in this way, and you are pinpointing to a page number, insert a comma to prevent the numbers running together. Where the pinpoint reference is to the first page of the report, repeat the page number. Multiple page number pinpoints should be separated by commas.

•   Beattie v E & F Beattie Ltd [1938] Ch 708 (CA) 720, 723.
•   R v Leeds County Court, ex p Morris [1990] QB 523 (QB) 530–31.

[(Brackets)]

Use [square brackets] around the year in your citation when the year is necessary to identify the volume - ie if you removed the year from the citation, you would not be able to locate it.

• Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] 2 AC 550 (HL).

Use (round brackets) when the volumes of the law report series are independently numbered, so that the year of publication is not needed to find the volume. In this instance, the year being given is the year of the judgement, NOT the year of publication.

•   Barrett v Enfield LBC (1999) 49 BMLR 1 (HL).
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• Last Updated: Jun 6, 2024 4:11 PM
• URL: https://libguides.ials.sas.ac.uk/referencing

Understanding How, When and Why to Reference

Learn how to acknowledge your sources of information

It is important that you acknowledge your sources of information in your academic writing. This allows you to clearly show how the ideas of others have influenced your own work. You should provide a citation (and matching reference) in your essay every time you use words, ideas or information from other sources.  If you would like to learn how, when and why to reference by watching a video, you can do so on Capstone Editing's YouTube channel .

Why reference?

Not referencing correctly can be perceived as plagiarism. It is expected and required at the university level that all your assignments will contain references. Otherwise, you are saying that the essay is made up entirely of your own original ideas, and that you have not engaged critically in any way with the literature. A passing grade requires that you use a minimum number of references (check your assignment marking criteria or ask your lecturer), and a good grade requires many more references than this. The purpose of referencing is to demonstrate the depth and breadth of your research, to show that you have read and engaged with the ideas of experts in your field. It also allows you to give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words or ideas. For your reader, referencing allows them to trace the sources of information you have used and to verify the validity of your work. For this reason, your referencing must be accurate and provide all necessary details to allow your reader to locate the source. It is therefore a good idea to keep careful records of all the sources you accessed when researching your assignment. This way, you do not have to hunt for these details after you have finished writing.  

How to incorporate the ideas of others into your essay

It can be difficult for new academic writers to know how to incorporate others’ work into their own writing. By learning how to use quotations effectively, and how to summarise and paraphrase the words and ideas of others, you can better avoid unintentional plagiarism. 

A quotation is a word-for-word reproduction of someone else’s words, either spoken or written. When quoting from another source, you must: 

• Exception: For long quotations (e.g. over 40 words in APA or over 30 words in Harvard), indent the quotation instead of using quotation marks. The quotation should be introduced by a colon and followed by a citation. 
• Use quotation marks even if only borrowing a single phrase or word from another source. 
• Exception: If the source does not have numbered pages (e.g. a website, an interview), no page number is needed. However, if there is some other way of pointing to the specific location from which the quotation was taken (e.g. paragraph number, clause number, line in transcript), include that in the citation. 

Quotations should be logically integrated into your text. One way to do this is to lead into the quotation or paraphrase by using the author’s name (e.g. ‘According to Lines,’) followed by the quotation from Lines or a summary of Lines’s ideas. 

Quotations must fit grammatically into your text. It is allowable to modify quotations slightly to ensure a good fit. However, it is essential that these changes are clearly marked using square brackets ([ ]). It is also possible to omit words from a quotation, shown using an ellipsis (…). Note that if you omit words, you must be sure that the original meaning of the quotation is retained. You should never omit words to change the meaning of a quotation. 

The below examples show ways to integrate the original quotation ‘Most of the time, they don’t, and I mean really don’t, behave well’, showing changes to 1) the verb and 2) a pronoun. Notice the use of the square brackets to show your modifications to the quotation, and the ellipsis to show omitted words. 

• The teacher reported that the children were not ‘behav[ing] well’.
• According to the teacher, ‘Most of the time, [the children] don’t … behave well’. 

Finally, you should avoid using quotations that have not been adequately introduced. If a quotation is inserted without appropriate integration into your text, this can negatively affect the logical and grammatical flow of your work, and lower the quality of your writing. Not introducing quotations or incorporating them into your own sentences usually also means you are relying too heavily on the words of others, and your grades can suffer as a result.

Summarising and paraphrasing

Another option for integrating others’ ideas into your own assignments is by summarising and paraphrasing. Summarising means giving an overview of the main ideas in condensed form. Paraphrasing means putting an idea (usually in detail) into your own words.  

To summarise or paraphrase well, you need to read carefully and understand the ideas in the source. Then, you can think about what those ideas mean in the context of your assignment and write them in your own words, integrating them well into your own writing. If you take sentences completely from the original source and just change a few words, this is not paraphrasing, and may be considered plagiarism. 

For some students, the temptation to use a source’s original wording is high. To avoid this, after reading and understanding the author’s ideas, write just the keywords on a separate piece of paper. See if you can change some of the keywords to other words, while keeping the original meaning. Then, think about whether you can reorganise the order of the keywords, to write sentences that keep the original meaning, but that are quite different to the original. Using your keywords, and without referring to the original source, write your new sentences. It takes a while at first, but the process becomes automatic with practice. 

The importance of writing in your own words

Putting others’ work into your own words will not only ensure the material is effectively integrated into your writing, it also demonstrates to your reader (e.g. your lecturer) that you have understood, absorbed and interpreted the information. This is a key purpose of essay writing at university and will help you to get a better grade. In addition, the better you get at putting complex ideas into your own words, the more developed your writing style will become. 

Acknowledge every source

Remember that the need to reference is not limited to academic sources like books and journal articles. You need to reference ALL words, ideas or information taken from ANY source. 

These sources might include: 

• books and journal articles
• newspapers and magazines
• pamphlets or brochures
• films, documentaries, television programs or advertisements
• computer programs
• diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures
• letters or emails
• personal interviews
• lecturers or tutors. (This is not always necessary, but check with your lecturer or tutor about his or her preferences before you draw on his or her ideas.)

Note that if the source you are citing is retrievable (i.e. can be located by another person using the information you provide in the reference list), you must provide a reference for the source. However, if the source is only available to you (e.g. a personal interview or email, or a private Facebook post), you should cite all necessary details in the text, but should not provide a reference in the reference list. ONLY irretrievable sources are not included in the reference list, and even these are still cited in the text. 

The only times you would not reference are:

• when referring to your own observations (e.g. a report on a field trip) or experiment results
• when writing about your own experiences (e.g. a reflective journal)
• when writing your own thoughts, comments or conclusions in an assignment
• when evaluating or offering your own analysis (e.g. parts of a critical review)
• when using ‘common knowledge’ (facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people) or folklore
• when using generally accepted facts or information (this will vary in different disciplines of study. If in doubt, ask your tutor).

If you are concerned that you may not have referenced correctly, you should ask your tutor, lecturer or Academic Learning Advisor for their advice before submitting your assignment. Capstone Editing can also edit your work to correct your referencing and provide advice about how to reference correctly in the future.   

Other guides you may be interested in

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• Writing Tips

The Appendix (How to Use One in an Essay)

• 2-minute read
• 30th March 2017

The appendices in an essay are not typically essential, but they can play an important supporting role. Not everyone knows how to use an appendix in academic writing , though, so we’ve prepared this handy guide.

What Is an Appendix?

An appendix (plural: appendices ) is a section at the end of a book or essay containing details that aren’t essential to your work, but which could provide useful context or background material.

In the main body of your essay, you should indicate when you’re referring to an appendix by citing it in parentheses. For example:

The interviews show that most people like ice cream (see Appendix C).

What Should Go in the Appendices?

Appendices can include many things depending on your topic. Common examples of information added to an appendix include:

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• Raw data from tests
• Technical figures, graphs or tables
• Maps, charts or images
• Letters or emails used in research
• Sample questionnaires or surveys
• Full interview transcripts

What these have in common is that you might need to refer to them in an essay without going into too much detail. For example, you might summarise the results of a test in the ‘Results’ section of a dissertation, then include the full data in appendices to ensure clarity.

How to Format Appendices

Exactly how to format appendices can vary between universities, so you should always check your style guide. Generally, though, appendices should:

• Appear at the end of your document, often after the reference list
• Be divided into sections depending on topic (e.g. separate sections for questionnaire results and interview transcripts)
• Have each appendix section start on a new page
• Be labelled with a letter or number, along with a title clarifying content (Appendix A: Instrument Diagrams, Appendix B: Test Results, etc.)
• Appear in the table of contents at the beginning of your document

Are Appendices Included in the Word Count?

Appendices are not usually included in the word count for an essay. Consequently, you can focus on key information in your work and place extra data in an appendix without worrying about the word count.

However, you should always check your style guide on this. And remember that if you rely on something in your main essay, it needs to be included there: you can’t just shuffle it into the appendices to reduce the word count !

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• Knowledge Base
• How to conclude an essay | Interactive example

How to Conclude an Essay | Interactive Example

Published on January 24, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay . A strong conclusion aims to:

• Tie together the essay’s main points
• Show why your argument matters
• Leave the reader with a strong impression

Your conclusion should give a sense of closure and completion to your argument, but also show what new questions or possibilities it has opened up.

This conclusion is taken from our annotated essay example , which discusses the history of the Braille system. Hover over each part to see why it’s effective.

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

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Table of contents

Step 1: return to your thesis, step 2: review your main points, step 3: show why it matters, what shouldn’t go in the conclusion, more examples of essay conclusions, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay conclusion.

To begin your conclusion, signal that the essay is coming to an end by returning to your overall argument.

Don’t just repeat your thesis statement —instead, try to rephrase your argument in a way that shows how it has been developed since the introduction.

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Next, remind the reader of the main points that you used to support your argument.

Avoid simply summarizing each paragraph or repeating each point in order; try to bring your points together in a way that makes the connections between them clear. The conclusion is your final chance to show how all the paragraphs of your essay add up to a coherent whole.

To wrap up your conclusion, zoom out to a broader view of the topic and consider the implications of your argument. For example:

• Does it contribute a new understanding of your topic?
• Does it raise new questions for future study?
• Does it lead to practical suggestions or predictions?
• Can it be applied to different contexts?
• Can it be connected to a broader debate or theme?

Whatever your essay is about, the conclusion should aim to emphasize the significance of your argument, whether that’s within your academic subject or in the wider world.

Try to end with a strong, decisive sentence, leaving the reader with a lingering sense of interest in your topic.

The easiest way to improve your conclusion is to eliminate these common mistakes.

Don’t include new evidence

Any evidence or analysis that is essential to supporting your thesis statement should appear in the main body of the essay.

The conclusion might include minor pieces of new information—for example, a sentence or two discussing broader implications, or a quotation that nicely summarizes your central point. But it shouldn’t introduce any major new sources or ideas that need further explanation to understand.

Don’t use “concluding phrases”

Avoid using obvious stock phrases to tell the reader what you’re doing:

• “In conclusion…”
• “To sum up…”

These phrases aren’t forbidden, but they can make your writing sound weak. By returning to your main argument, it will quickly become clear that you are concluding the essay—you shouldn’t have to spell it out.

Don’t undermine your argument

Avoid using apologetic phrases that sound uncertain or confused:

• “This is just one approach among many.”
• “There are good arguments on both sides of this issue.”
• “There is no clear answer to this problem.”

Even if your essay has explored different points of view, your own position should be clear. There may be many possible approaches to the topic, but you want to leave the reader convinced that yours is the best one!

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• Argumentative
• Literary analysis

This conclusion is taken from an argumentative essay about the internet’s impact on education. It acknowledges the opposing arguments while taking a clear, decisive position.

The internet has had a major positive impact on the world of education; occasional pitfalls aside, its value is evident in numerous applications. The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. As the popularity of distance learning shows, students value the flexibility and accessibility offered by digital education, and educators should fully embrace these advantages. The internet’s dangers, real and imaginary, have been documented exhaustively by skeptics, but the internet is here to stay; it is time to focus seriously on its potential for good.

This conclusion is taken from a short expository essay that explains the invention of the printing press and its effects on European society. It focuses on giving a clear, concise overview of what was covered in the essay.

The invention of the printing press was important not only in terms of its immediate cultural and economic effects, but also in terms of its major impact on politics and religion across Europe. In the century following the invention of the printing press, the relatively stationary intellectual atmosphere of the Middle Ages gave way to the social upheavals of the Reformation and the Renaissance. A single technological innovation had contributed to the total reshaping of the continent.

This conclusion is taken from a literary analysis essay about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . It summarizes what the essay’s analysis achieved and emphasizes its originality.

By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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Your essay’s conclusion should contain:

• A rephrased version of your overall thesis
• A brief review of the key points you made in the main body
• An indication of why your argument matters

The conclusion may also reflect on the broader implications of your argument, showing how your ideas could applied to other contexts or debates.

For a stronger conclusion paragraph, avoid including:

• Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the main body
• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion…”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g. “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

The conclusion paragraph of an essay is usually shorter than the introduction . As a rule, it shouldn’t take up more than 10–15% of the text.

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