Assignment Guidelines

Chapter 4 – Referencing

On this page

How to reference
Citation
Bibliography

Why reference?

Referencing is the acknowledgment of other people’s work in your own original work. This can be any sort of media including books, journals, video, websites and beyond. If you include other people’s work without acknowledging the original author or creator, this is very poor scholarly practice and you may be accused of plagiarism.

The conservatoire takes plagiarism – and other forms of academic misconduct – very seriously and allegations of such conduct are investigated and (if proven) penalised using the University of Hull’s Regulations –  Academic Misconduct, which can be found in their Quality Handbook: Assessment. Further information can be found in Section 9 of this guide.

Why reference?

An important part of your degree involves being able to critically engage with other sources of information. When you write an assignment as part of your degree, you need to build on other people’s ideas. Referencing is the formal acknowledgement of external sources of information that you have used and evidences your meaningful engagement with a given area of study. Doing this correctly means that it is clear to an examiner which are your ideas and words and which are the ideas and words of others.

When to reference

You need to reference when:

  • discussing ideas developed by another person
  • using the exact words of someone else (quotation)
  • referring to specific information

When you don’t need to reference

You do not need to reference common knowledge. This refers to facts, dates and information that can be found in a number of places and are undisputed. If in doubt about whether something is common knowledge, reference it.

4.1 How to reference

There are two parts to referencing:

  • Citation: Highlighting in your work that the ideas and information came from someone else.
  • Bibliography: Listing the materials (books, journals, websites, music etc.) you use, in a clear consistent way at the end of your work, so that others can find them.

Leeds Conservatoire uses the University of Hull Harvard Referencing system. If you Google ‘Harvard Referencing’ you will find that every university has its own guide and that they all differ slightly in terms of punctuation, formatting, and the order of information. ‘Harvard Referencing’ refers to any referencing style that uses the author name and year of publication within the text to indicate that information or ideas have been sourced from elsewhere. These references then link the reader to the full reference within the bibliography at the end of your work, a full alphabetised list (by author’s surname) of all the sources you have used.

The University of Hull Harvard referencing system is summarised below and the full guide is provided here: libguides.hull.ac.uk/referencing/Harvard.

Citation

Highlighting in your work that the ideas and information came from someone else.

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4.2 Citing in-text

When you are referring to a source in the body of your assignment, you add an ‘in-text citation’. You need to put these in brackets and include information on the author and the date of publication (Author, Date: page number/location if citing specific information).

When an author name is included within your text the name is followed by date of publication in brackets:

Example 1

Robinson (2001) suggests that Western culture has an obsession with academic achievement and fails to recognise the worth of creative ability.

When the author name is not included in the text their surname and date of publication are added in brackets at the end of the associated point.

Example 2

Post-structuralism specifies that meaning is dependent “on the historical and/or cultural discursive content” (Lafrance, 2002:97).

Some examples of how and when you cite in text are shown next.

Quotation

Quotation is the verbatim transcription of someone else’s words (i.e. an exact copy of someone else’s words). This is one way of incorporating sources into your writing. Good reasons to use quotations include:

  • to back up the point you are making;
  • it is a significant piece of information/detail;
  • it is a well-phrased extract that would lose meaning if rewritten.
Short quotation

Quotations of fewer than 30 words should be integrated into the main body of written text and presented in double quotation marks. Short quotations are most effective when integrated into the discussion in a natural and fluid way.

Example 3

The study of consumption in music is central to understanding how and why people listen to and buy music and “has paid particular attention to the patterns of such consumption and the processes whereby it occurs” (Shuker, 2005:51).

Long quotation

Quotations of over 30 words should be presented in a new stand-alone paragraph, indented, and without quotation marks. Long quotations can be useful to provide context and detail, though make sure you are certain that all the information is required to support your argument.

Example 4

In short, a musicology of record production concerns both what the recorded object is an how that recorded object came about. Frith and Zagorski-Thomas (2013:3) acknowledge the need for these developing musiciological resources when studying music:

To study recording is to draw attention to two aspects of musical practice that conventional music studies tend to ignore: technology and commerce. it is also to raise questions about the two of the shibboleths of everyday musical understanding: the importance of the individual creator and the sacred nature of ‘the musical work’.

Paraphrasing

To paraphrase is to rewrite the ideas of someone else into your own words, but retain the meaning. You may choose to use paraphrasing to include someone else’s ideas within your own, to summarise key information, or to put someone else’s words in your own more effective and appropriate language. Although you are not directly quoting someone else when paraphrasing, it is essential that you still reference the ideas using an in-text citation.

Example 5

Original quotation:

“Arnold’s significance is that he inaugurates a tradition, a particular way of seeing popular culture, a particular way of placing popular culture within the general field of culture. The tradition has come to be known as the ‘culture and civilization’ tradition” (Storey, 2015:19).

Example of paraphrasing:

Matthew Arnold is important for positioning popular culture within the broader study of culture and for initiating the “culture and civilization” tradition of culture studies (Storey, 2015:19).

Acknowledgment of supporting sources

It is common in academic writing to credit particular authors and texts for having made a significant contribution to an area of study. This is different to quotation and paraphrasing as it does not involve reference to a specific piece of information. However, the author and text should still be referenced using an in-text citation with the referenced source included within your bibliography.

Example 6

The scholarship of music production has been advanced by a number of important contributors who have sought to widen its frame and the practices of the discipline by approaching the subject from a sociological perspective rather than purely relying on technical and aesthetic aspects (Hennion, 1989; Kealy, 2007; Howlett, 2009).

Secondary referencing

This is when you refer to a reference that another author has used. Do not do this unless it is essential. It is always best to go to the original source if you can find it. However, it may be useful or necessary to use this type of referencing to demonstrate how a source is interpreted by others (though be aware: if you use another author’s interpretation of a source, then you may be copying that author’s interpretation, rather than what the original source said).

Example 7

David Beard and Kenneth Gloag (2005) view the musicological study of heavy metal by Robert Walser (1993) as particularly important to the area of study. They claim that he has recognised how the “heavy metal genre imparts a particular ideology, noting that ‘the generic cohesion of heavy metal until the mid-1980s depended upon the desire of young white male performers and fans to hear and believe in certain stories about the nature of masculinity’” (Walser, 1993 in Beard & Gloag, 2005:73).

Verbal referencing

When referencing in audio or video recordings, or as part of a presentation, you should verbally cite the source by including the author and date at the point the source is used within your discussion. You should aim to incorporate this information naturally within the flow of your discussion.

  • If part of a face-to-face presentation, you should provide your assessors with a bibliography at the end of your slides and as a handout.
  • If part of an uploaded video or audio presentation or viva, you should also submit a bibliography.

Other citation rules

Corporate authors

When no named author is given, use the name of the organisation or company.

Example 8

Their album sales are impressive, with the first two albums reaching UK sales of nearly 6 million in 2003 (BBC, 2003).

Two/multiple co-authors

For two co-authors:

When two co-authors are mentioned within the text, separate them with the word ‘and’.

Example 9

Bates and Clark (2014) identified that music students who achieved higher degree classifications were transient across competitive, cooperative and collaborative learning behaviours.

When two co-authors are not mentioned in the text, the co-authors names are separated by an ampersand ‘&’.

Example 10

“Not only is music a ‘mirror’ that enables us to recognize aspects of the self, but the specific properties of music also come to represent or transform the image reflected in and through its structures” (O’ Neil & Green, 2004:253).

For more than two authors:

For more than two authors, in text citations only show the first author followed by et al.

Example 11

Augmented Reality supports constructivist and situated learning pedagogies (Bower et al., 2014), a blend of pedagogies suited to the recording studio learning environment.

Different works by the same author

For more than one citation by the same author on the same information with different dates, list all the dates after the name separated by commas:

Example 12

The Leeds music scene of the 1970s offered a counterculture to the male dominated mainstream (Simpson, 2005, 2019).

For more than one citation by the same author in the same year put a, b, c etc. after the date:

Example 13

Two traditional routes used to be ubiquitous in music education: the practical and performance based conservatoire route and the more theoretical and academic university route (Ledsham, 2000a, 2000b).

Several authors in one sentence

When referring to several sources, list citations in chronological order, separated by semicolons.

Example 14

Two traditional routes used to be ubiquitous in music education: the practical and performance based conservatoire route and the more theoretical and academic university route (Ledsham, 2000a, 2000b).

No date available

If there is no publication date available, use the abbreviation n.d.

Example 15

The piano/vocal theme is used throughout the film and by changing its key, rhythm or by adding a new instrument, it can supplement a completely different image (Clark, n. d.).

Plays

When quoting directly from plays, you should give a concise reference number indicating Act, Scene and line number. If the play is not divided in such a way, just give page numbers as normal.

Example 16

 “I prithee do not mock me fellow student” (Shakespeare, 1998, 1.2:177).

“The gardener left at six, the only other member of staff is Perkins” (Lewis et al., 2015: 42).

Footnotes

Footnotes are a system for presenting supporting information that is not essential for a particular line of argument or discussion, but that may help to further support or contextualise your discussion. It should NOT be used as a form of referencing.

A footnote may be used to provide definitions of key terms, accounts of events, clarification of an idea, explanation of a process, etc. Footnotes are inserted into your writing at the specific point of discussion immediately following the full stop at the end of the sentence. The footnote will then appear at the bottom of the page.

Example 17

During the academic year 2013/14, all first year undergraduate students at Leeds College of Music (now Leeds Conservatoire) undertook an online course to develop their learning literacies1.

  1. In 2013/14, Leeds College of Music offered the BA Music programme with four pathways (Classical, Jazz, Popular and Music Production) and the FD Music Production programmes. ↩︎

Using square brackets and ellipses

Square brackets are used in academic writing to make necessary changes to quoted text, including inserting absent information, changing tense, and changing case. The square brackets are inserted around the letter or word that has been altered.

An ellipsis (three successive full stops) is used to indicate that some content has been removed (or omitted) from a quotation. This may be used to remove a clause or sentence that is unnecessary in supporting a point or line of discussion.

Square brackets and ellipses should not be used to alter the meaning or apparent intention of quoted text. Square brackets and ellipses should only be used within a quotation so it makes sense out of context.

Example 18

Original Quotation:

“Arnold’s significance is that he inaugurates a tradition, a particular way of seeing popular culture, a particular way of placing popular culture within the general field of culture. The tradition has come to be known as the ‘culture and civilization’ tradition” (Storey, 2015:19).

Example of Square Brackets and Ellipsis:

“[Matthew] Arnold’s significance is that he inaugurates a tradition, a particular way of seeing popular culture … The tradition has come to be known as the ‘culture and civilization’ tradition” (Storey, 2015:19).

Presenting text titles in your written work

All text titles are proper nouns and, therefore, are by-and-large presented in title case (the capitalisation of the first letter of each word except articles, conjunctions and prepositions unless they start the title). There are some exceptions in which the author chooses to use lowercase lettering. In such cases you should present the title as it appears.

Large texts with sections/chapters

Titles of large texts that often include sections and chapters such as books, magazines, musicals, plays, operas, journals, films, and albums should be presented in italics.

Example 19

War and Peace (book), Rolling Stone (magazine), Don Giovanni (opera), Popular Music (academic journal), Apocalypse Now (film), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (music album), Blood Brothers (musical).

Smaller parts of a larger text

Titles of smaller sections within a larger text such as chapters from a book, magazine or journal articles, and songs should be presented in single quotation marks.

Example 20

‘Legally live: law, performance, memory’ (chapter within a book), ‘Authenticity as Authentication’ (article from an academic journal), ‘Back in Black’ (song from an album).

Compositions

Compositions identified by the name of the musical form in which they are written plus a number or key (or both) should be given initial capitals, but not italicised or presented in quotation marks (example 21.1). Nicknames should be presented in single quotation marks (example 21.2).

Example 21

Example 21.1

Symphony No. 5 in C minor

Example 21.2

‘Italian’ Symphony

Some further general rules

  • When referring to an author for the first time in your writing, use their full name (forename and surname). In subsequent uses of their name, use surname only.
  • Italics can be used to give emphasis to a specific word or phrase in a sentence. This may be used to draw the reader’s attention to the importance of a word or phrase.
    • For example: a musicology of record production concerns both what the recorded object is and how that recorded object came about.

Bibliographies

Listing the materials (books, journals, websites, music etc.) you use, in a clear consistent way at the end of your work, so that others can find them.

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4.3 Bibliography

A complete list of the sources you have used within your assignment must be added at the end of the work, immediately following the main body of writing. This information will contain an alphabetical list containing details of sources, so anyone reading your bibliography would be able to easily identify that source.

The main principles of this information, whatever the source, are:

Who

  • Author or creator

When

  • Date of publication
  • Use “n.d.” if not available

What

  • The title
  • Medium

Where

  • Place of publication
  • Publisher

For more detailed advice and examples please use the University of Hull Referencing guide. The conservatoire also has tools that can help you with referencing: leedsconservatoire.info/reftools

In each case below both the method and an example are shown to demonstrate how common sources should be presented in a bibliography. An illustrative example of a full bibliography of all source types shown here will follow the examples to demonstrate presentation. 

Book with single author

Surname, Initials. (Year) Title of book in sentence case and italics: subtitle if present. City published: Publisher.

Cope, D. (2009) Righting wrongs in writing songs. Milwaukee: Course Technology.

Note that ‘sentence case’ means you only capitalise the first word and any proper nouns.

Book with multiple authors

Surnames and initials of all authors (Year) Title of book in sentence case and italics: subtitle if present. City published: Publisher.

Hepworth-Sawyer, R. & Golding, C. (2011) What is music Production?: a producer’s guide. Burlington: Focal Press.

Not the first edition

Use the full word “edition” not an abbreviation, to distinguish it from the abbreviation for editor:

Moore, A. F. & Martin, R. (2019) Rock: the primary text, 3rd edition. Oxon: Routledge.

Author(s) (Year) Title of the book in sentence case: subtitle if present, Nº edition. City published: Publisher.

Edited volume

Surnames and initials of the editor (ed) (Year) Title of book in sentence case and italics: subtitle if present. City published: Publisher.

Gelder, K. (ed) (1997) The subcultures reader. Oxon: Routledge.

Chapter from an edited volume

Author(s) (Year) Title of chapter. In Editor(s) (ed(s)) Title of book in sentence case and italics: subtitle if present. City published: Publisher, page range of chapter.

Cohen, A. K. (2005) A general theory of subcultures. In Gelder, K. (ed) The subcultures reader. Oxon: Routledge, 50-59.

Journal article

DOI available (Digital Object Identifier)

Author(s) (Year) Title of article in sentence case. Journal title in italics, Issue information*, page range**. https://doi.org/[unique identifier]

Bates, C. (2012) A family music project in the north of England: a study of the pedagogical methodologies employed and the outcomes achieved. International Journal of Community Music, 5(2), 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.5.2.131_1

No DOI available

Author(s) (Year) Title of article in sentence case. Journal title in italics, Issue information*, page range.**

Hodges, A. (1997) Music Conservatory Libraries in the United Kingdom: Recent Developments. Fontes Artis Musicae, 24(3), 138-141.

* Issue information is usually volume and issue but can sometimes be volume only or include supplement information. Occasionally it is a season (Spring, Summer etc), month or date (do not repeat the year if this is the case).

** If a journal is an online only journal then all articles usually start with page 1. There is no need to give a page range if this is the case. Alternatively, provide the article number (starting with an ‘e’) if one is present.

YouTube video

Account Name (Year uploaded) Title of video, Series title if relevant in italics [Video]. Available online: URL [Accessed Date].

Leeds Conservatoire (2014) Live in an elevator – BBC Children In Need [Video]. Available online: https://youtu.be/QSa7wOVN_eo [Accessed 03/09/2020]

Web page

A website URL is never a suitable rederence on its own.

Author(s) (Year) Title of web page in sentence case italics. Available online: URL [Accessed date].

Individual Author(s):

Morgan, F. (2023) A Sense of Direction – Dermot Daly. Available online: https://stagedirectorsuk.com/a-sense-of-directiondermot-daly/ [Accessed 03/09/2025]

Company author:

Leeds Conservatoire (2020) About Leeds Conservatoire. Available online: https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/about-us/aboutleeds-conservatoire/ [Accessed 03/09/25].

Podcast episode

Author/Presenter (Year uploaded) Title of episode. Podcast name in italics [Podcast]. Day and month of post if show. Available online: URL [Accessed Date].

Sloan, N. & Harding, C. (2025) Music’s new success model. Switched on Pop [Podcast]. 22 April. Available online: switchedonpop.com/episodes/music-newsuccess-model [Accessed 12/08/2025]

Artificial intelligence tools

Your module coordinator will be able to provide more specific guidance on what tools, if any, are allowed in the context of your own assignments. If artificial intelligence (AI) tools are permitted, they should be referenced as follows:

Communicator (Year) Description of communication in italics [Communication type]. Prompted by name/handle (if not self). Date and time of communication.

ChatGPT (2023) History of britpop [AI generated text]. Prompted by Mark Sturdy. 18 April 2023, 15:10.

More guidance on use of AI tools information available in chapter 8.

Musical score

The year should be the copyright year on the score itself, not the date the composition was written.

Composer (Year of publication) Title of score including work number if known in italics [Musical score]. Editor or arranger information. City published: Publisher.

Stavinsky, I. (1967) Rite of spring: pictures from pagan Russia in two parts [Musical score]. London: Boosey & Hawkes.

Classical music recordings

If dates are not available on older vinyl recordings, use (n.d.) to indicate that there is no date available.

Composer (Year of release) Title of work in italics. Title of Album if different to work. Performer/orchestra conducted by Conductor name (if relevant) [Medium]. City of distribution: (if known) Distributor/Label.

Elgar, E. (1995) Cello Concerto, Op 85, Enigma variations. Philadelphia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Jacqueline Du Pré conducted by Daniel Barenboim [CD]. London: Sony Music Classical.

Other recorded music

Single artists have names that are reversed (Surname, Initials). Band names are unchanged. Single artists with non-standard names (Lady Gaga, Jessie J, The Weeknd, etc.) should be treated as band names:

Album:

Artist (Year) Title of album in italics [Media]. (Version if needed) Label.

Gaye, M. (1971) What’s going on [Vinyl]. Tamla Records.

Album track:

Artist (Year) Title of track. Title of album [Media]. Version if needed. Label.

Blondie (1978) Hanging on the telephone. Parallel lines [Vinyl]. Chrysalis Records.

Smith, S. (2014) Like I can. In the lonely hour [Audio CD]. Deluxe Edition. Capitol Records.

Streamed or downloaded:

It is necessary to give specific information about where you streamed music from if it is ONLY available through that method.

For further information on this please see the full University of Hull Referencing guide.

Lyrics

Songwriter(s) (Year) Title of song in italics [Lyrics]. Place of distribution: Distribution company or label or Available online: URL [Accessed date].

Distributor/label:

Taupin, B. (1973) Candle in the wind [Lyrics]. MCA Records.

Available online:

Geldof, B. & Ure, M. (1984) Do they know it’s Christmas? [Lyrics]. Available online: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bandaid20/dotheyknowitschristmas.html [Accessed 28/08/2024].

Libretto

Author name(s) (Year) Title of publication in italics [Libretto]. Edition or version if necessary. City of publication: Publisher.

Sondheim, S. & Wheeler, H. (1991) Sweeney Todd [Libretto]. NHB Libretti, new edition. London: Nick Hern Books.

Lines from a published play

Author name(s) (Year of Publication) Title of play in italics, edition (if needed). Edited by full name. Place of publication: Publisher.

Lewis, H., Sayer, J. & Shields, H. (2015) The play that goes wrong, 3rd edition. Edited by H. Lewis, J. Sayer & H. Shields. London: Bloomsbury.

Live performance: dance

Composer or choreographer (Year of performance) Title in italics. Dance company. Location, Date seen.

Bourne, M. (2014) Lord of the flies. New Adventures Dance Company. Sadler’s Wells, London, 8th October 2014.

Live performance: play

In contrast to other live performances, the title of the play is given first, not the playwright.

Title in italics by Author (Year of performance) Directed by Director (or Theatre Company). Location, Date seen.

That’s all you need to know by Idle Motion (2014) Hull Truck Theatre, 19 September 2014.

Play/concert programme

Title in italics by Author (Year of performance) Directed by Director (or Theatre Company). [Programme] Location.

Calendar girls by Gary Barlow & Tim Frith (2015) Directed by Roger Haines and Tim Frith. [Programme] Leeds Grand Theatre.

Lecture/Workshop/Masterclass on Panopto

Always check with your tutor that they accept lectures or other course material in a reference list (many do not). It is always better to read the original sources of the material if available and reference these. Otherwise reference as follows:

Speaker(s) (Year) Title of session, Panopto folder title in italics [Panopto]. Institution. Available online: URL [Accessed date].

Nwanoku, C. (2021) Chi-chi Nwanoku – Chineke! Orchestra – Q&A masterclass, Workshops and Masterclasses [Panopto]. Leeds Conservatoire. Available online: https://leedsconservatoire.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=81686408-bfd1-4212-b3fb-acf7009683d5 [Accessed 04/09/2021].

Example bibliography

Bates, C. (2012) A family music project in the north of England: a study of the pedagogical methodologies employed and the outcomes achieved. International Journal of Community Music, 5(2), 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.5.2.131_1

Blondie (1978) Hanging on the telephone. Parallel lines [Vinyl]. Chrysalis Records.

Cohen, A. K. (2005) A general theory of subcultures. In Gelder, K. (ed) The subcultures reader. Oxon: Routledge, 50-59.

Cope, D. (2009) Righting wrongs in writing songs. Milwaukee: Course Technology.

Elgar, E. (1995) Cello concerto, Op 85, Enigma variations. Philadelphia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Jacqueline Du Pré conducted by Daniel Barenboim [CD]. Sony Music Classical.

Gaye, M. (1971) What’s going On [Vinyl]. Tamla Records.

Gelder, K. (ed) (1997) The subcultures reader. Oxon: Routledge.

Hepworth-Sawyer, R. & Golding, C. (2011) What is music production?: a producer’s guide. Burlington: Focal Press.

Iron Maiden (1998) Powerslave [Audio CD]. Enhanced, original recording remastered. EMI.

Leeds Conservatoire (2014) Live in an elevator – BBC Children In Need [Video]. Available online: https://youtu.be/QSa7wOVN_eo [Accessed 03/09/2020].

Leeds Conservatoire (2025) About Leeds Conservatoire?. Available online: https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/about-us/about-leeds-conservatoire/ [Accessed 03/09/2025].

Morgan, F. (2023) A Sense of Direction – Dermot Daly. Available online: https://stagedirectorsuk.com/a-sense-of-direction-dermot-daly/ [Accessed 03/09/2024].

Sloan, N. & Harding, C. (2025) Music’s new success model. Switched on Pop [Podcast]. 22 April. Available online: https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/music-new-success-model [Accessed 12/08/2025].

Smith, S. (2014) Like I can. In the lonely hour [Audio CD]. Deluxe Edition. Capitol Records.

Stravinsky, I. (1967) Rite of spring: pictures from pagan Russia in two parts [Musical score]. London: Boosey & Hawkes.

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