Y10W05RC Cite It Right

When you research, you often borrow facts, ideas or wording from sources without thinking much about the systems behind it. This week, you will look closely at how writers show where ideas come from and why that matters in formal school writing. As you read, notice how small citation choices help a reader trust and follow the work.

Practical / transactional — Policy/rules extract

A policy or rules extract is a formal piece of writing that sets out what people are expected to do in a clear and orderly way. Writers use it to give practical guidance so readers can follow a shared standard accurately and consistently. You will usually find direct statements, brief explanations, examples, and a structure built around headings, sections and listed points rather than a flowing argument or story. As a reader, you need to track exactly what the rule is, how it is applied and which details show the difference between doing it clearly and doing it poorly.

Before You Read

  • Think about how often you use information that came from somewhere else, such as a website, article, video or class text. In school writing, those borrowed ideas need clear signposts too.
  • Scan the title and headings first so you can predict that this reading will move through rules, examples and formal reminders in a set order.
  • Expect precise wording. In a rules-based text, small phrases often carry important meaning about what is required, allowed or expected.

While You Read

  • Read section by section and pause after each heading to check what that part adds to the overall guidance.
  • Pay close attention to verbs such as 'use', 'include', 'keep' and 'check', because they often show the exact action the writer expects.
  • When you reach examples, compare them with the rule above them so you can see how the guidance works in practice.
  • Use the structural features as reading aids: headings show the purpose of each section, bullet points separate key rules, and the short reference list models the format in a concrete way.
  • If two terms seem similar, slow down and work out the distinction from context, especially when the text shifts from general rules to paraphrase, quotation or reference details.

Read With Purpose

  • Notice how attribution is made visible, not left vague or assumed.
  • Pay attention to the difference between naming a source, quoting exactly and restating an idea in new wording.
  • Focus on how formal conventions help a reader trace where information comes from and why it is being used.

Now read

The policy extract

~3 min read · ~519 words

Referencing Guide: School Research Standard

Purpose

This guide explains the school standard for acknowledging other people’s ideas in research tasks. Referencing is an academic convention, which means it is a shared rule used in formal school writing so readers can see where information came from. You must reference whenever you use a fact, idea, statistic, argument, image or quotation from a source. The goal is simple: make your thinking clear while showing which parts came from your reading.

Rules

  • Name the source when you use someone else’s idea, even if you put that idea into your own words.
  • Use a direct quote only when the exact wording matters. Keep quotes short and copy them exactly.
  • Use a paraphrase when you want to restate the meaning in a way that fits your own sentence.
  • Add an in-text citation straight after the borrowed idea or quote.
  • Include a reference list at the end so a reader can locate the source.
  • Keep the format consistent across the whole task. A clear system matters more than decorative formatting.
  • If you combine information from two sources in one sentence, both sources must be acknowledged.
  • Common knowledge does not usually need a citation. For example, ‘Canberra is the capital of Australia’ can stand without a source. A specific claim, however, such as a research finding or exact number, should be referenced.

Examples of paraphrase and quote

Source idea:

An article explains that shaded school grounds can reduce surface temperatures and improve student comfort during hot weather.

Paraphrase example:

  • Shaded outdoor areas may lower ground temperatures and make school spaces more comfortable in hot conditions (Green 2024).

Why this works:

  • The wording is new, but the meaning is clearly attributed to the source.

Direct quote example:

  • Green (2024) states that ‘shade can reduce heat build-up on exposed surfaces’, which supports the need for cooler shared spaces.

Why this works:

  • The quoted words are copied exactly, placed inside quotation marks and linked to the writer’s sentence.

What to avoid:

  • Copying a sentence and changing only one or two words.
  • Adding a source at the end of a paragraph when several borrowed ideas appear earlier and are not clearly matched.
  • Listing a website in the reference list but giving no in-text citation where the idea is actually used.

Mini reference list

  • Green, L. 2024, ‘Urban trees and temperature’, Southern Science Review, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 14-19.
  • Ahmed, R. 2023, ‘Study routines and concentration’, Learning Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 33-40.
  • Coastal History Museum 2025, ‘Harbour expansion timeline’, viewed 12 February 2026.

Reminders

  • Referencing is not a separate extra step at the end. It should be integrated into your drafting from the start.
  • Your reader should always be able to tell which ideas are yours and which are drawn from a source.
  • Use the same pattern each time: introduce the borrowed idea, add the citation, then record the full source in the reference list.
  • Before submitting, check every citation against the reference list. If one appears in the body, it should appear in the list, and if one appears in the list, it should be used in the body.

Check your vocabulary knowledge

attributed v.
identified as coming from a particular source
convention n.
an accepted rule or usual way of doing something
paraphrase n.
a restatement of an idea in new wording
integrated v.
combined smoothly into the writing
citation n.
a note showing where information or words came from