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OSCOLA referencing: Why do I need to cite?

Being able to accurately cite the source you have used in your work is an important academic skill. Including citations in your work:

  • Provides the relevant legal authority to support your work.
  • Enables the reader to find the sources you have used.
  • Helps you to avoid plagiarism as you are acknowledging where you have used other people's work or ideas.
  • Demonstrates the range of research and variety of sources you used while preparing your work.
  • Strengthens and supports your arguments by providing evidence from reliable and trustworthy resources.

Whenever you paraphrase or quote a source or use the ideas of another person, you need to cite.

  • Insert a footnote marker after the full stop at the end of the sentence or after the word or phrase to which it relates.
  • At the bottom of the page, note the footnote number and give the full citation.
  • End the footnote with a full stop.

Number your footnotes continuously through your document, starting at 1. Here's how to use word to create footnotes. Have a look at the example of a correctly referenced piece of text on the next page, then use the links in the panel on the left to find details of how to cite specific types of sources.

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Creative Commons Licence
PILOT - OSCOLA referencing by Cathie Jackson, Ian Bradley, Matthew Davies and Lynn Goodhew, Information Services, Cardiff University adapted by Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/citingreferences/oscola/tutorial/