to be used before embarking on the research task. The documentation style should be applied in both the nal
draft of the essay and in the initial research stages of taking notes. This is good practice, not only for producing a
high-quality nal product, but also for reducing the opportunities and temptation to plagiarize.
Major documentation styles
The following are examples of acceptable documentation styles.
• American Political Science Association (APSA)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
•Chicago/Turabian
• Council of Biology Editors (CBE)
• Harvard citation and referencing guide
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• Numbered references
Finding information about such systems is not dicult. Entering a string such as “academic referencing” into an
internet search engine will bring up lots of useful material. Reputable university sites often allow comparison of
several dierent systems (and do not usually disappear overnight). One such example (accessed 13 March 2006) is
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Documentation.html. There are numerous other online guides to creating
bibliographies, as well as printed writers’ handbooks.
What is a reference?
A reference is a way of indicating to the reader, in an orderly form, where information has been obtained. A
reference provides all the information needed to nd the source material. References must be cited because they
acknowledge the sources used, and enable the reader to consult the work and verify the data that has been
presented.
References must be given whenever someone else’s work is quoted or summarized. References can come from
many dierent sources, including books, magazines, journals, newspapers, emails, internet sites and interviews.
Internet references should include the title of the extract used as well as the website address, the date it was
accessed and, if possible, the author. Caution should be exercised with information on websites that do not give
references or that cannot be cross-checked against other sources. The more important a particular point is to the
essay, the more the quality of its source needs to be evaluated.
Any references to interviews should state the name of the interviewer, the name of the interviewee, the date and
the place of the interview.
What is a citation?
A citation is a shorthand method of making a reference in the body of an essay, which is then linked to the full
reference at the end of the essay. A citation provides the reader with accurate references so that he or she can
locate the source easily. How sources are cited varies with the particular documentation style that has been chosen.
Page numbers should normally be given when referencing printed material: in some styles this will be in the
citation, in others in the full reference. Once again, it is important to emphasize that there must be consistency of
method when citing sources.
Appendices, footnotes and endnotes
Appendices, footnotes and endnotes are not an essential section of the extended essay and examiners are not
required to read them, so care should be taken to include all information of direct relevance to the analysis and
Details—all essays