Both student essays, journal articles, and dissertations rely on previous research to strengthen their arguments. When you write your own texts it is important that you show which thoughts are your own, and what you have gotten from someone else.

A reference should be included both in text, as well as in a reference list at the end of a text. Therefore, it is important when you write an essay, report, or other academic text that you reference the sources you use both in-text and in a reference list. You have to reference all the sources you use, regardless if its a book, article, information from the web, or any other type. Using someone else's text, ideas, or thoughts without referencing the source is not allowed. There are many reasons for why you have to reference your sources both in-text and in a reference list at the end. One reason is because the author has a right to be credited for their work.

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By referencing you will also:

show which are your own thoughts, and which are someone else's
show that you are knowledgeable about the research conducted in your field

It will also give the reader a chance to:

make sure that you have understood the information correctly
understand what types of material you have used
read more on the subject if they are interested

Citing/quoting

Citing a text or a statement means to recount what someone has written or said word by word. If you cite something in your text it is important to reference the source directly in relation to the quote (including page number), and in your reference list at the end.

Reference style

How these references are supposed to look is decided by the reference style you use. Examples of common styles are APA, Harvard, and Vancouver. Which style you are supposed to use is decided by your supervisor. Once you know which style you are to use, it is a good idea to find a manual to follow.

Reference manuals at the library's website.

Plagiarism

Plagiarising indicates that someone has used other people's work in their text (such as text, images, diagrams, tables, or computer programs) and tried to make it look like their own work.

When you write an essay (or any other type of assignment) you have to make it very clear what you have written yourself and what you have gotten from someone else's work. When you use other people's work you always have to reference the source by citing and referencing correctly.

Similarly, you can not use your own texts, like previous assignments or essays, without citing and referencing correctly. If you do that it is considered self-plagiarism. You can read more about cheating and plagiarism at Kau here:

Karlstad University - Cheating and Plagiarism
A brochure from Karlstad University with information on cheating, plagiarising, and self-plagiarising. Here you can also read about what happens if you are caught cheating. Information in English on page 2.

If you want to know more, here is an in-depth video from Karlstad University discussing plagiarism and how to avoid it (16:09 min):

It is always considered cheating to claim text you have not written as your own, including when you have used an AI tool to produce text for you. Your teacher is in charge of deciding whether or not you are allowed to use AI. Regardless, you must always disclose if and how you have used it.