Referencing is the standardised method of acknowledging the sources you have used in your assignments or written work. You need to include detailed information on sources consulted both within your text (in-text citation) and at the end of your work (reference list).

A reference list is a list of the 'publication information' of the sources you've cited in your essay/project and is intended to give your readers all the information they need to find those sources. The references should be alphabetised by the first author's surname, or (if no author is available) the organisation/institution, e.g. United Nations, or the title.

Consult the UCT Author-date Reference Guide: based on the Harvard Referencing style to assist you with your referencing queries.

Quick guide to referencing

A basic book reference consists of the following: Author, Initial. Year. Title in italics. Place of publication: Publisher.

     Example: Jones. P.J. 2020. Drought: the story of Cape Town. Cape Town. Juta.

A basic journal reference includes the following elements: Author, Initial. Year. Title of the article. Title of the journal in capitals and italics. Vol(issue): start page - end page.

     Example: Buchanan, T. & Sigwela, Z. 2019. Rainfall in Cape Town predictions for 2020. SA Water Journal. 4(3): 3-9.

Other sources include: chapter or section in a book, websites, newspapers, acts, bills, maps,  videos, reports, social media, videos, theses and dissertations, musical scores, etc.

In-text citations are used to acknowledge the work or ideas of others. They are placed in the text when you summarise, paraphrase or quote, enabling the reader to differentiate between your writing and other authors' work.

ln-text examples are as follows:

Jones (2020) argues for level 4 water restrictions to be reinstated to curb the drought.

Quoting Mapula and Dlelapantsi (2020:4) "Nine out of ten respondents wash their hands regularly in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus."

Less rainfall is expected in 2020 for the Kirstenbosch area than in Rondebosch (Buchanan & Sigwela, 2019).

The full details of your in-text references must be included in a reference list.

Libguide on referencing

Videos about referencing

These videos will demonstrate what referencing is and why it is important. It gives a brief introduction to citations and referencing at UCT.