Top 10 Referencing Mistakes by UK Students When Writing University Assignments

Referencing is one of the most important requirements especially when writing academic tasks. Referencing is defined as the proper citation of sources that you have utilised in writing your assignments, essays or research paper. In other words, it indicates proper acknowledgement of sources in your academic paper. But at the same time, it is also a highly overlooked aspect of academic writing which leads to deduction of marks. There are different styles of referencing but the most important ones as required by most UK universities include APA and Harvard style. Many students make small mistakes and struggle to follow the exact rules as defined under each of these referencing styles.

Mistakes in Referencing and Ways to Avoid Them

To make sure that students don’t repeat the same mistake, here is the list of 10 referencing mistakes among students and how to avoid them.

Referencing Mistakes to Avoid?

Mixing up different referencing styles

Mismatch between references and citations

Mistakes with punctuation

Get Help with Referencing

Mistake 1: Mixing up different referencing styles:

A close look at the Harvard and APA referencing styles clearly indicates the major reason for confusion among students. Both these referencing styles are mostly similar with small variations. Both APA and Harvard make use of the author-date system which is the key factor leading to mistakes among students. APA has specific rules for punctuation and italicisation whereas Harvard referencing slightly differs in formatting. The difference is mainly in the form of placement of dates and the application of quotation marks in the reference.

The best way to avoid this confusion is to refer to your institution’s guideline before starting to reference any sources in your academic paper.

Mistake 2: Doing In-text citations wrongly:

In-text citations are generally done in the body of the paper, and it mainly includes the author’s last name and the publication year along with a page number. There are specific format requirements in doing intext citations in both Harvard and APA referencing. The major mistake found among students is generally with respect to misplacing commas or forgetting page numbers and many students also use “et al.” incorrectly. These mistakes along with their correct form are indicated below:

Mistake 3: Mismatch between references and citations:

The common mistake identified among students is the differences in the author’s name in in-text citation compared to the name included in the references. Many students do the in-text citations while writing the body paragraph but forgets to include it in the bibliography. This mismatch often leads to reduction in marks in their assignments.

Mistake 4: Mistakes with punctuation:

The role of punctuation is crucial when referencing using different referencing styles. There are minor differences in punctuation in the case of Apa and Harvard. As for example, in case of APA referencing, the full stop comes after the reference entry. However, in the case of Harvard, the common mistakes among students are the misplacement of commas and full stops around authors’ names and publication years.

Mistake 5: Wrong use of et al.

Et al. is generally used in APA referencing when there are three or more than three authors in a source. While in the case of Harvard, it depends on your university’s specific guidelines. Instead of using et at. students often write the last name of three or more than three authors. Some students make mistakes in the form of forgetting the period after “al.”

Mistake 6: Mistakes in referencing online sources:

When using an online source, it is important to adequately include DOIs, URLs or access dates especially when citing websites and online journal articles. However, the student makes mistakes in the form of not using retrieved from, when doing APA referencing and available at when writing in Harvard style. These small mistakes cost them too many marks which they later regret.

Mistake 7: Mixing capitalisation rules:

The capitalisation rules in referencing are different in APA as compared to Harvard. APA requires the capitalisation of only the first word of the title, subtitle and proper nouns whereas in case of Harvard, capitalisation is needed with respect to the first letter of all significant words in books and article titles. Mixing these rules leads to incorrect referencing and deduction in marks.

Mistake 8: Plagiarism while referencing:

In order to quickly complete the referencing part, students often copy the references from other sources, and paste them as it is in their work. They actually did not read the source and as they found it in another author’s work, this simply copy paste without acknowledging it, which is wrong. The connect way of referencing it is:

• APA example: (Lee, 2025, as cited in Marsh, 2020)
• Harvard example: (Lee, 2025, cited in Marsh, 2020)

Mistake 9: Ignoring alphabetical arrangement:

All the sources as included in the reference section need to be against in an alphabetical order. However, it is commonly ignored by many students which also costs them marks. It is always best to arrange the references in alphabetical order from A to Z.

Mistake 10: Excessive reliance on citation tools:

There are many citation tools and reference generators available online which claim to provide referencing of sources according to the style the user wants. But they often produce incorrect formats and it ultimately costs students in terms of lower marks. It is therefore important to not to blindly rely on those referencing generators and always cross check it with university guidelines for referencing.

These small mistakes in the referencing and citations often cost so many marks to students that they end up with lower grades in their assignment. It is important to take minute details into consideration with respect to formatting and structuring as they adds up to the overall credibility of the paper.

Pro Tips in Achieving Success in Referencing

The below mentioned tips would be of great significance to students in doing referencing of sources in a correct way.

Final Thoughts:

Referencing is an important part of your entire assignment and you should not take it lightly. It often leads to deduction of marks and you can avoid it simply by following the above suggestions on avoiding mistakes while referencing. It not only helps in boosting your academic grades, but also demonstrates academic integrity and improves your confidence in academic writing and enhances the overall structure of the paper.

Jonathan Wong

I am Jonathan Wong, an education blogger and academic content specialist. With over five years of experience in academic content creation, I write about assignment strategies, study skills, and university life to help students globally in overcoming common academic challenges. I also share practical advice to support learners in their academic journey.