Guide outline
Getting started with legal referencing
This legal referencing guide will help you to contextualise and use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th edition (AGLC4) in your university law assessments. Read through the outlines below to learn what is covered in each section of this guide. You can navigate to these sections via the menu on the left.
- Legal referencing: This section is the first place you should start. It will ground you in correct referencing for Deakin University School of Law assessments.
- Citing Cases: Examples of how to reference cases using AGLC4 rule 2.
- Citing Legislation: Examples of how to reference legislation using AGLC4 rule 3.
- Citing Secondary Sources: Examples of how to reference, books, journal articles, legal encylopaedias and other secondary sources under Part III of the AGLC4.
- Citing Treaties: Examples of how to reference international treaties and conventions, as well as United Nations materials and other international resources under Part IV of the AGLC4.
- Citing Internet Materials: Examples of how to reference Internet websites using AGLC4 rule 7.15.
- Referencing Software: Provides an overview of various reference software resources, such as EndNote and Zotero.
Why is referencing important?
Click on the cards below to understand the three principles of good referencing.
Attribution
You should always reference a source you have paraphrased or quoted. By properly referencing your quotations, you will avoid being accused of plagiarism.
Clarity
You should always be clear in how you reference a source, so that a reader or assessor can easily locate the source.
Consistency
It is best practice to be consistent with any subsequent footnote references. Utilise AGLC rule 1.4.3 Ibid, or rule 1.4.4 Short titles. AGLC compliant referencing is a graduate skill required by the legal profession.