Referencing and citing sources in essays can be a daunting task for someone who does not know the basic principles of academic writing. The academic community puts enormous emphasis on the principle of citation and giving credit to the original source. No matter what you are working on: an article, a research paper, a newspaper article, or an essay, you must always cite sources of the information you are getting from. You might be quoting a magazine article, newspaper source, journal article, online sources, or even the work of multiple authors. A references page or bibliography page will make sure that you are not stealing someone else’s work. Taking credit for the author’s ideas and not adding reference lists, quotation marks, or parenthetical in-text citations means you are plagiarising their work.
There are different ways of referencing an article. Microsoft Word has in-built referencing options like APA style, Chicago style, Harvard style, in-text citation, etc. You can also create a separate page (bibliography page or references page) where you can quote multiple sources, the book title, chapter title, and the publication date.
Referencing styles depend upon your institutions, departments, and supervisors. So, do check with them to understand their requirements beforehand.
Improper referencing can make you lose grades at school. It is crucial to learn how to embed references in an essay for your academic success.
Our writing service can write an essay for you with the right reference list. With this professional example, you will understand the basic rules and guidelines on how to write references in your future essays.
What Is A Reference?
A reference is complete details of the source you mention at the end of your essay. Every citation (in-text mention of the source) requires a corresponding reference at the end of the paper that gives more details. This is to make it easier for the reader to get in-text citations (while reading the essay), and if required, they can get detailed information about the source at the end.
Let’s take a look at examples of references in an essay. Here is the example referencing Jakobsson and Schelbusch’s source at the end of the piece. The referencing is provided in both MLA and APA formats. All the referencing styles, including MLA & APA, will be explained later in this article.
MLA:
Mattias Jakobsson and Schlebusch, Carina. “Stories of Human Immigration, Selection & Admixture in America.” Annual Analysis of Human Genetics, vol. 12, no. 44, 2020, pp. 3-34.
APA:
Jakobsson, M. & Schlebusch, C. (2020). Stories of Human Immigration, Selection & Admixture in America. Annual Analysis of Human Genetics, 12(44), 3-34.
Most of you might not know what a citation is? So, the citation is an in-text mention of the source. A shorter version of your source tells where you got the information. It is usually added in the mid or ending of the paragraph. The paragraph explains the information that you have used from a specific source. Citations are mostly abbreviated so that the reader does not get distracted from your writing.
Let’s take a look at an example of a citation. It is in both APA and MLA formats.
It would be best if you mentioned the authors and the paper’s publication year in APA format. For example:
“According to Archeological records, the origin of humans in America traces back 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. (Jakobsson & Schlebusch, 2020).”
You must mention the authors and page number of the paper you’re sourcing information from in MLA format. For example:
“According to Archeological records, the origin of humans in America traces back 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. (Jakobsson and Schlebusch 1)“.
What Do You Have To Reference in an Essay?
There are various sources from which you can get credible references. Here we have listed the most common sources to include references in an essay:
- Books and book chapters: One of the most reliable sources for referencing are books and book chapters.
- Journals/ Periodicals: There are thousands of journals available. You need to look for the most credible ones.
- Newspapers/ Magazines: You can get relevant information from newspapers and magazines. Important events and happenings covered in newspapers might get helpful in backing up your writing for an essay.
- Government and other reports: If you get your hands on these reports, they could be considered one of the most credible sources for an essay.
- Legal sources: You might have to work hard to get legal sources, but your essay will own much credibility if you get them.
- Websites and social media: Sources obtained from social mediums might not be considered trustworthy by some institutions and scholars. So, you have to be very careful while picking up any sources from digital media.
- Audio, music, and visual media: You might need to provide transcriptions for these sources.
- Conferences: You can use references in essays acquired from conferences. They should be adequately transcripted.
- Dictionaries/ Encyclopedias/ Guides: Standard version of dictionaries, usually a list of words and their meanings in alphabetical order. You might get valuable references for defining specific terms.
- Theses/ Dissertations: Academic researches help reference your essay. You can back up your writing with previous academic work on your topic.
Other sources include: University course materials, Company and industry reports, Data sets, Patents and standards, Tables and figures & Medicine and Health sources.
How Often Should You Reference In an Essay?
It is essential to know how to cite references in an essay, but you also need to know how many references are required in an essay. Generally, 2-3 references for each key point are enough. If you don’t add enough references, your essay will lose credibility. However, adding too many references to show off how many books you have read will make you regret it afterward. While writing an essay, your standpoint is fundamental. Adding too many references would leave no room for your arguments and opinions. So, you better understand how and where to put references in an essay.
How Many References For A 1000 Word Essay
If we follow the general rule of adding 1-2 references for each key point, a 1000 words essay should contain 6-8 references.
How Many References For A 1500 Word Essay
A 1500 words essay makes about 4-5 pages of writing. According to the word count, around ten references are enough for a 1500 words essay.
How Many References For A 2000 Word Essay
In a 2000-words essay, you will be able to use 1500 words. You can write 1-3 paragraphs on each point you make, containing around 200-400 words. This gives you room for about five key points. You can support each point with 2-3 references in essay format which means you can add about 15 references in a 2000-words essay.
How Many References For A 2500 Word Essay
The main body of your essay, which contains main arguments and key points, constitutes about 75% of your essay. It means you get less than 2000 words to cover your key arguments. According to this percentage, you need to provide about 20 references for a 2500-word essay.
How Many References For A 3000 Word Essay
According to the general guidelines, 2-3 references for each key argument are enough. For a 3000-words essay, you need to provide 12-14 key ideas that make about 25 references.
How Many References For A 4000 Word Essay
Considering the rules discussed above, a 4000-words essay must contain 30-35 references to gain credibility.
There is no fixed number of references that should be added to an essay. It mainly depends upon the subject area, among other factors.
Here is the median number of references according to the word count:
| Article Size (Word Count) | Median Number of References |
| (1000, 2000] | 15 |
| (2000, 3000] | 28 |
| (3000, 4000] | 36 |
| (4000, 5000] | 44 |
Follow this general guide to add the required number of references to an essay.
Referencing Styles
Following are the main referencing styles used in academic writings:
MHRA
MHRA style of referencing is commonly used in subjects related to humanities. In MHRA style, sources are mentioned in footnotes and are marked in superscript digits within the text. Shortened citations are used for the same source referred to subsequently. Only the author’s last name and page numbers are mentioned.
How to reference in MHRA: Books, Journals / Periodicals, Websites, News Sources, Legal Sources, Theses / dissertations
Harvard
Harvard style referencing is done in a two-part method:
- Textual Citations: These citations indicate the source within your writing briefly, usually right after using the source in a summarized or quoted version.
- Reference List: A list of complete citations mentioned in your writing with full bibliographic details. This list helps the reader find the original content, following your provided references.
How to reference in Harvard: Books, Journal articles, Websites, newspaper articles, magazine articles, social media, Legal Sources, Conference papers, theses, and university material
APA
This referencing is done in an author-date style. The citations contain the author’s names and year of publication in part or wholly round brackets. The author’s surname is usually used along with the year of publication mentioned with a comma. If you need to give specific details of the original text, you can cite page, section, or chapter numbers.
How to reference in APA: Books and book chapters, Scholarly Journals/ Periodicals, Newspapers/Magazines, Legal sources, Websites, and social media
MLA
Modern Language Association has developed this referencing style. It comprises two parts; in-text citations within the body of your essay and a list containing details of the sources cited at the end of the essay.
Chicago-Style Citation:
This style comprises two citation methods, i.e., notes-bibliography and author-date.
- The most commonly used type of Chicago style citation is Notes and bibliography. It is primarily utilized in humanities-related subjects. Citations are mentioned in endnotes or footnotes, along with a detailed bibliography listing of complete sources at the end.
- Author-date style of the Chicago citation method is usually used in the sciences department. Parenthetical citations within text are commonly used, along with a complete reference list at the end of the essay.
In conclusion, referencing is a tough job. It can be the most annoying part of the essay if you’re not a pro. However, getting the job done right can pay you well for getting excellent grades in your essay. By the end of the article, you might have understood how to list references in an essay.
Follow the guidelines and referencing styles strictly. Improve your reference to make your essay look professional. You can increase the credibility of your essay using the guidelines we have provided. Score well by following this set of instructions.