A reference list is not included in your word count. It is a list of information so that your lecturers can identify sources that have informed your essay.
Each reference in your reference list must be related to a corresponding citation in your essay. For example:
In-text citation:
Barke, Mowl and Shield's detailed study (2010) ...
Reference list:
Barke, M., Mowl, G. and Shields, G. (2010) ‘Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?’, Journal of Tourism History, 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145
The University of Sunderland subscribes to Cite Them Right Online. This website informs you about how your references should be formatted. There are guides and tutorials to support you on the Cite Them Right website.
Ensure you know which referencing style you are expected to use on your course, For example, Harvard or Vancouver.
Different sources are referenced in different formats, for example:
A Book:
According to Cottrell (2019, p. 23) ...
This thought-provoking book (Olusoga, 2016) ...
Cottrell, S. (2019) The study skills handbook. 5th edn. Red Globe Press.
Olusoga, D. (2016) Black and British: a forgotten history. Macmillan.
At this point, it is worth mentioning a bibliography, which in some faculties and institutions, is the name used interchangeably with reference list. It is however, more recognised as an additional list of sources that, whilst have not been directly quoted in you text, have informed your reasoning, or directed your investigations. A bibliography would be such a list, presented after the reference list, and would include the sources that have informed your ideas, thinking and general knowledge of a topic. Some courses require both, so do check your subject/module guides.
Find out more about referencing at the University of Sunderland by checking out our Referencing Library Guide at the link below:
Below is a short guide to logging into Cite Them Right Online:
Referencing sources within your work, is a two stage process; the in text citation and the full list of sources at the end of the text, usually referred to as the reference list. It is important to ensure that both parts of your reference are accurate.
The reference should always include a full bibliographic reference in the reference list. This (when following the Harvard style), is presented in alphabetical order by the author's surname (or organisational name). You include an in text citation to indicate the point at which you have paraphrased, summarised or quoted another person's work. This indicates to your reader that you have read widely and they can find the work you have used with ease.
If you use a different referencing system, other than Harvard on your course, you may find that you are expected to include numbers or footnotes instead of the in text citation described above. See Cite Them Right Online for full details including referencing expectations and examples for the referencing system used on your course.