The US and UK both have robust expertise in academic or scholastic history. Even though the UK far surpasses the US in how long it has existed, the US has created standards in almost every niche that has become globally accepted. When it comes to academic referencing styles, both the US and the UK have their respective styles that differ oh so slightly. Even though the differences are quite minimal, as a student, not knowing them can cost you dearly.
If you don’t get the differences right, it can impact your overall assignment score, as wrong formatting on the references can get your marks deducted, even with a solid assignment. So, to avoid such problems, let’s look at the popular referencing styles of both the UK and the US and review their differences one by one.
The UK Referencing Styles
Very surprisingly, the referencing style that’s commonly used in the UK is the Harvard style referencing. If you think for a second, Harvard is located in the US. However, that’s the reality, the Harvard style of in-text citations is commonly used in the UK, and students are required to follow this style. The main focus of this style of referencing is that the Author’s name is not written in full. The initial of the first name and the full last name are used to notate the author of the reference. Here are some of the other characteristics of the UK referencing style, which closely follows the Harvard style of referencing.
- This referencing style requires you to create and mention a complete list of the references mentioned in the academic piece as a reference list.
- The mentioned references need to be alphabetic, and all the authors mentioned in the piece also need to be included in the reference list.
- In case any reference is picked up verbatim from a journal or publication, the page number also needs to be mentioned for that reference.
The US Referencing Styles
The US referencing style mainly follows a combination of two styles, namely the Chicago referencing style and the American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing. These two styles are quite similar to each other, which makes them closely associated with each other. Both these styles also allow in-text citations, much like the Harvard referencing style. However, there are certain very small formatting and style differences, which make them different styles. Here are the characteristics of the US referencing style.
- The year of publication and the Author’s last name is focused on, in this style of formatting references.
- A complete list of references must be prepared at the end of the piece, with an accurate representation of all the reference sources in consistent formatting.
- The formatting style differs based on the type of reference used. Proper formatting of the reference order must be maintained for all references.
Difference in Two Styles With Examples
The two styles are very similar to one another, and it will be clearer to you once you see the differences. Please note that the differences mentioned must be followed thoroughly to ensure that you don’t make any mistakes as per the requirements of your referencing style. An example of both US and UK referencing styles is mentioned below.
UK Style: Smith, C. (2017). UK Referencing 101. Harvard University Press.
US Style: Smith, C. (2017). US referencing 101. Boston, US: Harvard University Press.
As you can see, the differences are small, but they’re important. The US style, which refers to the APA style or Chicago style of referencing, mentions the city and country of the publisher along with the publisher’s name. This is not mandated for the Harvard referencing style. There’s another small but important difference in the US style of referencing.
It doesn’t capitalise every word of the referenced article title. Only the first word is capitalised, while the other words in the title are mentioned in small cases. This is a simple mistake that students often make, so make sure you’re careful.
There are also differences between the two styles that make up US references, which include the Chicago style and the APA style. Make sure you look up those differences, too, to ensure you are using the right formatting guidelines and styles for your academic content.
Conclusion
The US and the UK referencing styles are both important learning points for students and require proper attention to detail to ensure no mistakes are made. All the formatting differences mentioned here, need to be consistently maintained throughout the article for your academic content to fetch your desired grades. For more information about the US and UK referencing styles, be sure to check out Digi Assignment Help. Our assignment helpers can also help you develop expertly written assignments and research papers, with proper citations and references following all the rules and university guidelines. If you’re interested in our services, feel free to check out our website.
