1) Quotes without page numbers
The slip: you’ve used the author and year, but no page for a direct quote.
Fast fix: add p. (single page) or pp. (range) right after the year.
Example (in-text): (Ahmed, 2024, p. 57).
For paraphrases you don’t need pages, but for word-for-word lines you do.
2) In-text names that don’t match the list
The slip: a source is cited in the text but missing in the reference list, or the spellings and years don’t match.
Fast fix: run a “match check”. Make sure every in-text citation appears once in the reference list with the same author spelling and year, and that every item on the list is cited at least once in the text. A five-minute cross-check can save a chunk of presentation marks.
3) Messy order and punctuation in the reference list
The slip: random order, stray capitals, missing italics, or punctuation in the wrong places.
Fast fix: keep one simple pattern and stick to it. For a book:
Surname, Initial. (Year) Title in italics. Edition (if not first). Place: Publisher.
Example: Khan, R. (2023) Marketing Basics for SMEs. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
For a journal article:
Surname, Initial. (Year) ‘Article title’, Journal Title, volume(issue), pages.
Example: Singh, P. (2022) ‘Retail loyalty drivers’, Journal of Consumer Studies, 18(3), 211–228.
Alphabetise by the first author’s surname. Keep spacing and punctuation identical across entries.
4) Vague web links and missing dates
The slip: citing a homepage or dropping a bare URL with no date.
Fast fix: cite the exact page you used. If there’s no clear year, write (no date) and include the date you accessed it.
Example (web page):
Brown, T. (no date) How to cost a project. Available at: https://… (Accessed: 4 November 2025).
If the page names an organisation as author, use the organisation as the author (e.g. NHS). Avoid shortening to “www.example.com” give the specific page.
5) “Borrowed” citations (secondary referencing)
The slip: citing a study you didn’t read because you saw it mentioned elsewhere. Markers spot this quickly.
Fast fix: find the original if you can and cite that. If you truly can’t, signal it honestly:
In-text: (Taylor, 2018, cited in Morgan, 2021).
Reference list: only list Morgan (2021), the source you actually read. Keep secondary references to a minimum.
6) Mixing versions of Harvard
The slip: switching styles midway, capitalising some titles like headlines, others in sentence case; sometimes italicising journal names, sometimes not.
Fast fix: follow your college’s Harvard guide and keep to the same “house rules” throughout. A safe set for most HND work is:
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Book and journal titles in italics; article titles in single quotes.
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Sentence case for book/article titles; Title Case for journal names.
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Use a hanging indent in the list (first line flush left, the rest indented).
Once you pick a pattern, don’t drift.
7) Under-citing, over-citing, and forgotten figures
The slip: no citation where an idea came from, or repeating the same citation after every sentence, or dropping a chart in with no source.
Fast fix:
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Give a clear citation the first time you use someone’s idea in a paragraph. If you carry on with the same idea, you usually don’t need to repeat it line-by-line.
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Every figure, table, photo or graph needs a caption and source.
Example (caption): Figure 2. UK grocery growth 2020–2024. Source: ONS (2024).
A steady rhythm, cite ideas, caption visuals, keeps markers happy.
