A reference style defines the rules you have to follow to refer to sources. There are many different reference styles, often linked to a certain field. Also certain scientific journals have their own reference style. Some examples of reference styles are: MLA, APA, Vancouver, IEEE, OSCOLA,...

Pointers

References have to be:

• Complete (the reader needs to be able to find the same text by themself)
• Consistent (use the same reference style throughout the text)
• Simple (no excess information)
• Legible (if you omit the reference, the text must still be readable)

Tools that help

There are several tools you can use to use a reference style correctly. One of them is citation software, such as EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, and many others. You can see citation software as databases with your sources, where you pick a reference and drop it into your reference list. When used correctly, the softwares allows you to update reference styles automatically, which saves a lot of time.

You can also use a citation generator like Scribbr, that will format your sources for you in either APA or MLA.

More information

Read more on the website of Taaladvies (Dutch).