
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.