What UK Students Should Know About Referencing

Assignment writing is all about conducting research and trying to prove your objectives accurately. Two different approaches are used for logical reasoning or research conduction purposes; one is by collecting data from already existing research papers and the second is by executing research from scratch in the form of a survey, interview, etc. Students often get a university assignment service as they have a notion that they would not be able to do justice with their project and sometimes they get intimidated by the extensive resources present from which data has to be collected. 

The fear of losing track or going astray in an effort to find relevant data for your assignment project is accurate and can overcome students’ mental peace. In addition to that; having to cite all those forms of data accurately in the content is another struggle because of which many students get UK assignment services. Using the preferred style of referencing style, incorporating it accurately, and staying consistent with it throughout the project are the essential requirements of any assignment project. The following post is intended to help UK students incorporate references accurately into their assignment project.  

Referencing And Its Types:

Reference addition is an integral part of any form of academic project most importantly the research project. It is because of these references that the students manage to prove that the argument they are making is accurate or supports their objective of the project. In addition to that; the reference addition ensures the originality of the content otherwise it can result in plagiarism. It is because when you add content from any other post for reference purposes, if not cited accurately; it can directly result in plagiarism which is a serious offence in the world of academics. There are different types of referencing styles; including:

  • APA (American Psychological Association) referencing style. 
  • MLA (Modern Language Association) referencing style.
  • Harvard referencing style.
  • Chicago referencing style.
  • Vancouver referencing style.
  • Oxford referencing style.
  • IEEE (Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineering) referencing style, and so on.

Prefered Referencing Styles In the UK:

Each of these referencing styles is used according to the suitable discipline and the given academic guidelines. For instance; the APA referencing style is most commonly used for the disciplines of human resource management, psychology, and organisational programs. However; there are certain referencing styles that are particularly used in the UK and are preferred over other referencing styles. These citation styles include:

Harvard Referencing Style:

In Harvard referencing style, the writer is meant to include brief details about the sources from where he took the data and insert it within the text. These details include the author’s name and the year of publication. Then at the end of the assignment paper, the researcher has to list all of the sources in a detailed bibliography that must be arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name. 

MLA Referencing Style:

A student has to refer to a source and include the author’s name within the context in parentheses while adding the information in the MLA referencing style. It will help the reader to allocate the exact source instantly if he wants to continue reading the particular piece of information. Towards the end of the academic project, the student is meant to mention the list of references in detail. 

Oxford Referencing Style:

This form of referencing style is a bit different from the aforementioned citation styles. It is the form in which, a student does not have to include the source in brackets rather he can add a superscript number which is a little raised number at the end of the added content. This superscript number represents a footnote and endnote towards the end of the particular paper. A student is meant to mention the author’s name, title, and other such forms of relevant information in this endnote or footnote.

MRHA Referencing Style:

MRHA is an abbreviation for Modern Humanities Research Association. In this specific style; a student is meant to refer to a source by inserting a number that is then corresponded in the footnote or endnote section. Here detailed information about the source is mentioned which keeps the main content clear and easy to understand. 

Guide To Citation Addition According To UK Standard Of Writing:

Each of the citation styles has its specific way of inserting the content and source of information. Once you have selected a specific referencing style according to the discipline and the academic guidelines then you need to stay consistent with the same style throughout the content. The basic ways of adding citations according to the UK standard of writing include:

  • There is an In-text citation style where you can provide brief information within the text and mention the sources towards the end of the project.  This style of citation is used in MLA and Harvard referencing style in the UK standard of writing.
  • Then there is the footnote and endnote citation style in which you are meant to insert the number after the statement addition in the text. Towards the end of the specific paper in which you have added the number, you need to give the details about the source in the endnote or footnote. This citation style is followed in Oxford referencing style for the UK standard of writing. 

The above-mentioned citation styles are particularly followed in the UK standard of writing. Other than that, there are parentheses citation style, numeric citation style, and author-date citation style that are used for reference addition in the content. 

Conclusion:

Reference addition is an integral part of any and every academic paper. It is this reference addition that adds credibility and authenticity to the content while maintaining its originality at the same time. Even though; there are various types of referencing styles that are used for citation addition in the content; the four most followed referencing styles in the UK educational system are MLA referencing style, Harvard referencing style, MRHA referencing style, and Oxford referencing style. Hopefully; the above-mentioned post will help the students in accurately using the citation in the content while following the UK standard of writing.