Referencing for international students is the same craft everywhere, but universities that teach in English hold a few rules more tightly than many new students expect. Every borrowed idea is cited, not only borrowed words. A paraphrase must be yours in structure as well as vocabulary. Earlier work cannot be handed in again. Translation and AI tools are allowed only as each course says. The citation style is the smaller change, and our guide to which citation style you will need abroad covers it country by country.
EdCitation publishes this guide. Its Cite a source looks a reference up in the publisher's record in whatever style your course names, and Verify references checks the list before you hand it in, both free. The guide sets out what nine universities in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US say on their own pages, read on 27 September 2026, and ends with a checklist of our own. Your university's own policy decides what counts as a breach.
What referencing rules may be new to international students?
Seven expectations recur across the pages we read, and the table names a university that states each one. Research on plagiarism in second-language writing goes back to the mid-1980s; Pecorari and Petrić (2014) review it, including studies of whether culture explains plagiarism and of students and teachers understanding it differently. What follows is about the rules of a system, not about anyone's background. UBC's calendar puts the starting point plainly: its standards may differ from those of secondary schools or other institutions, and a student in doubt must ask the instructor as soon as possible (University of British Columbia, n.d.-a).
| Expectation | What it means | Where a named university states it |
|---|---|---|
| Cite ideas, not only words | A reworded idea still needs a citation | UNC Chapel Hill and UC Santa Barbara (US); University of Toronto (Canada) |
| Paraphrase in your own structure | Swapping or reordering words while keeping the source's structure is plagiarism | UNSW Sydney and the University of Sydney (Australia) |
| Common knowledge is narrow | Facts an educated reader knows need no citation; ideas and interpretations do | University of Cambridge (UK) |
| No resubmitting earlier work | Work assessed anywhere before, school included, is not handed in again | University of Leeds (UK); University of Toronto Scarborough (Canada) |
| Individual work stays individual | Discussing a topic is fine; writing together or sharing answers is collusion | University of Sydney (Australia); University of Leeds (UK); UBC (Canada) |
| Tools only as the course allows | Translation and AI tools follow the brief, and their use is recorded | University of Leeds (UK); University of Sydney (Australia) |
| Every reference real | A citation that is wrong or leads nowhere counts as fabrication | University of Sydney (Australia); EdCitation's Verify references checks a list free |
Do I need to cite ideas as well as words?
Yes. At every university in this guide whose pages address it, an idea taken from a source needs a citation even when every word is your own. UNC's Writing Center, in its English language support pages, says each idea taken from another author needs a formal citation "even if the words are changed" (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, n.d.). UC Santa Barbara's international student office repeats the rule and names Wikipedia among the websites that must be cited (University of California, Santa Barbara, n.d.). The University of Toronto's code, quoted in the Scarborough calendar, defines plagiarism as using "the words or ideas of another person" without citing the sources (University of Toronto Scarborough, n.d.).
Accidental plagiarism still counts
UNC's definition includes "reckless" plagiarism: not knowing a passage needed credit is treated as seriously as copying on purpose. The University of Sydney (2026b) says plagiarism can be a breach whether deliberate or accidental, though an early first mistake from misunderstanding may be treated as minor.
What UCSB says about your visa
UC Santa Barbara's international office warns that suspension or dismissal can end a student's enrolment and, with it, their visa status. Ask your own international office what applies where you study.
How close can a paraphrase be to the source?
Not close in structure. UNSW Sydney (n.d.) lists as inappropriate paraphrasing a version that changes a few words and phrases while keeping the original's structure or progression of ideas. The University of Sydney (2026b) counts changing the order of a source's words while keeping its idea, without a reference, as plagiarism.
The University of Leeds (n.d.-e) suggests the habit that prevents it: notes in your own words, quotation marks on any exact wording you copy, and a record of every source. A worked example is in paraphrase, quote or summarise, and language strategies for writers whose first language is not English in academic writing in a second language.
What counts as common knowledge in referencing?
Less than most students assume. The University of Cambridge (2023) defines common knowledge as information an educated reader could generally be expected to know, such as Paris being the capital of France, and says ideas or interpretations would not normally count. The University of Liverpool (2021) gives examples such as the year of the Battle of Waterloo, 1815. Both say that when you are unsure, you reference. The University of Sydney (2026b) adds one narrow case: words or ideas in common use that cannot be expressed any other way are not plagiarism.
Why it depends on the reader
Common knowledge is local. Liverpool's own examples include a year having four seasons, which depends on the climate you grew up in. A statistic, a date from your home country's history or a claim about its policies needs a source for a marker who did not grow up with it.
Can I reuse work from my previous university?
No, not without permission. The University of Leeds (n.d.-f) says work already submitted for assessment must not be resubmitted, whether at Leeds or at any other educational institution, schools and colleges included. The Scarborough calendar lists submitting work already submitted in another course as self-plagiarism. The University of Sydney (2026b) says building on concepts you developed before is fine, but copying and pasting from an earlier assignment is not. Our guide to self-plagiarism shows how to cite your own earlier work when you have permission.
Where does group work end and collusion begin?
Collusion begins where your submission stops being only yours. The University of Sydney (2026b) calls it legitimate to discuss a unit's themes and concepts, the assignment instructions and the marking criteria, and illegitimate to write an individual essay with friends or share answers and written work. Its test is one question: would you be willing to tell your teacher how you worked together? Sydney also asks students to acknowledge help from other people, feedback, proofreading and editing included (University of Sydney, 2026a).
What classmates, friends and family may do
Leeds is the most specific (University of Leeds, n.d.-b). Classmates may comment on the content, logic and clarity of your work, and friends or family may comment as general readers, but none of them may write, edit or amend it, other students may not suggest wording, and you must not do those things for another student. Proofreading by classmates, friends, family or technology is allowed; paid services are not. UBC warns that collaboration allowed in one course or assignment may be misconduct in another, so ask the instructor (University of British Columbia, n.d.-b).
Can I use translation tools and AI?
Only as your course allows, and the rules differ between universities and between courses. The University of Leeds's Academic Integrity and Assistance Policy, published in July 2026, lets taught students use technologies, including generative AI and translation aids, to prepare coursework unless the assessment brief says otherwise. It replaced an earlier red, amber and green system, and Leeds may ask to see drafts, version history, or AI prompts and outputs as evidence that work is your own (University of Leeds, n.d.-b).
The University of Sydney (2026c) allows AI as a general learning aid, leaves assessments to each unit's outline, and says an AI detector's score would not be the only evidence in a case. Its breaches page lists using chatbots, paraphrasing tools or translation tools in an assessment where they are prohibited. UBC tells students to expect different AI rules in each course (University of British Columbia, n.d.-b).
Keep a record either way: which tool, for what, and what it produced. Our guides to machine translation in academic writing and declaring AI use cover more universities and the wording of a declaration.
How do I cite a source I read in my first language?
Cite the version you actually read, in its own language. In most of the styles EdCitation builds, the title stays as the source prints it with an English translation in square brackets after it; IEEE gives the English title and names the language. If you quote a passage you translated yourself, MLA and Chicago ask you to say so. The rules for all six styles, with examples, are in citing a non-English source, and surname order in names in references across cultures. EdCitation's Cite a source builds the entry from the article's DOI or the book's ISBN; check the title and any bracketed translation before you paste it.
What support is there for international students?
Every university we read offers language and writing help alongside the degree, much of it free to enrolled students.
UK: pre-sessional and in-sessional English
Pre-sessional courses come before the degree. The University of Leeds Language Centre runs them for undergraduates, Master's students and postgraduate researchers, and says it has taught academic English to international students for almost 50 years (University of Leeds, n.d.-d). During the degree, the support UK universities often call in-sessional, Leeds offers free workshops for students using English as a second or foreign language, Learning Advisor appointments, a drop-in Writing Space with student mentors, and English for Academic Study modules for some undergraduates (University of Leeds, n.d.-a). All new undergraduate and taught postgraduate students at Leeds must complete its Academic Integrity Tutorial and Test (University of Leeds, n.d.-c).
Australia: academic language and learning
The University of Sydney's Learning Hub (Academic Language and Learning) runs workshops, online resources and individual consultations, including modules on using evidence and avoiding plagiarism. Its hour-long Academic Honesty Education Module is compulsory for new coursework students by the census date of the first semester, or the academic record can be suppressed (University of Sydney, 2026a).
Canada: writing centres and language support
The Scarborough calendar points students to the library, the Writing Centre, English Language Development Support and the Academic Advising & Career Centre, and international students to the International Student Centre as well. UBC lists the Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication and the Chapman Learning Commons in Vancouver.
US: writing centers and your professors
UNC's Writing Center offers coaches who teach paraphrasing, summarising, quoting and attribution, and suggests a step many students never take: asking a professor to read a draft before it is graded and point to passages that need better citation.
A checklist for your first assignment
This checklist is ours, written by EdCitation's editorial team from the pages above. It is not any university's, and your university's own policy decides.
- Read the brief for the citation style, its edition, and any rules on AI, translation tools and group work. Check your paper reads the style and the source rules into a checklist, free.
- Find your university's academic integrity page, and finish any compulsory module by its deadline.
- Take notes in your own words, with quotation marks and page numbers on any copied wording.
- Cite every idea, figure and fact from a source, and anything a reader abroad might not know.
- Write each paraphrase with the source closed, then compare it and cite it.
- Keep individual work individual: discuss ideas, never share drafts or wording.
- Record any tool you used, what for, and what it produced.
- Build each reference in Cite a source from its DOI, ISBN or web address, in the style the course names.
- Run the list through Verify references, and fix anything marked "check this" or not found.
- Book the writing centre or a language adviser before the deadline week, not in it.
How does EdCitation help with referencing in a new system?
EdCitation is the best tool for building references in a style you have just met, because it looks each one up in the publisher's record instead of writing it, so the author, year and title are the record's, not a guess; Sydney counts a citation that is wrong or leads nowhere as fabrication. Cite a source, free with no account, takes a DOI, a title, a PubMed ID, an ISBN or a web address and builds the entry in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard (Cite Them Right), IEEE or Vancouver, and screens the source for retraction.
One DOI, two styles
We ran the DOI of Pecorari and Petrić's review, 10.1017/S0261444814000056, through Cite a source on 27 September 2026. The APA 7 entry came back as:
Pecorari, D., & Petrić, B. (2014). Plagiarism in second-language writing. Language Teaching, 47(3), 269–302. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444814000056
The Harvard entry came back as:
Pecorari, D. and Petrić, B. (2014) ‘Plagiarism in second-language writing’, Language Teaching, 47(3), pp. 269–302. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444814000056.
Both are correct as they stand, down to the ć in Petrić. The in-text forms differ too: (Pecorari & Petrić, 2014) in APA, with "and" in place of the ampersand in Harvard.
Checking the list, and what stays yours
Verify references, also free, checks the finished list: each entry comes back verified, doubtful ("check this") or not found, retracted papers are flagged, and a reference that could not be checked is never shown as not found. With Pro at $8 a month, Check plagiarism marks passages that match published or web text, with the source of each, so you can quote and cite them; it proves nothing on its own, and your university's policy decides.
EdCitation never writes any part of your work. It finds, cites and checks; the sentences, the argument and the paraphrases stay yours, which is what every policy above asks.
Quick questions
Is it plagiarism if I change the words but keep the idea?
Yes, unless you cite the source. UNC, UC Santa Barbara and the University of Toronto all require a citation for a borrowed idea, however it is worded.
What is common knowledge in referencing?
Facts an educated reader generally knows, such as a capital city, which need no citation. Cambridge says ideas and interpretations are not common knowledge, and Cambridge and Liverpool both say to reference when unsure.
Can I work with friends on an individual assignment?
You can discuss the topic, the instructions and the marking criteria. Writing together, sharing answers or suggesting each other's wording is collusion at Sydney and Leeds.
Can I use Google Translate or AI for my essay?
Only as your course allows. Leeds permits translation aids and generative AI unless the brief says otherwise, while Sydney lists their use in an assessment that prohibits them as a breach.
Which EdCitation tool builds references in the style my course uses?
EdCitation's free Cite a source builds APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver entries from a DOI, an ISBN or a web address, with no account.
References
- Pecorari, D., & Petrić, B. (2014). Plagiarism in second-language writing. Language Teaching, 47(3), 269–302. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444814000056
- University of British Columbia. (n.d.-a). 1. Expectations of academic integrity. UBC Academic Calendar. https://vancouver.calendar.ubc.ca/campus-wide-policies-and-regulations/student-conduct-and-discipline/discipline-academic-misconduct/1-expectations-academic-integrity
- University of British Columbia. (n.d.-b). 10 things UBC students should know about academic integrity. Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic. https://academic.ubc.ca/teaching-learning/10-things-ubc-students-should-know/academic-integrity
- University of California, Santa Barbara. (n.d.). Academic integrity. Office of International Students & Scholars. https://oiss.ucsb.edu/resources/academic-integrity
- University of Cambridge. (2023, September 12). Common knowledge. Good academic practice and avoiding plagiarism, Cambridge LibGuides. https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/plagiarism/commonknowledge
- University of Leeds. (n.d.-a). Academic English support and workshops. https://students.leeds.ac.uk/advice-support-international-students/doc/academic-english-support
- University of Leeds. (n.d.-b). Assistance with coursework for taught students. https://students.leeds.ac.uk/academic-integrity/doc/assistance-coursework-taught-students
- University of Leeds. (n.d.-c). Further information and support. Academic integrity and plagiarism, Leeds University Library. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic-skills/46/academic-integrity-and-plagiarism/4
- University of Leeds. (n.d.-d). Language Centre. https://www.leeds.ac.uk/language-centre
- University of Leeds. (n.d.-e). Plagiarism. https://students.leeds.ac.uk/academic-integrity/doc/plagiarism
- University of Leeds. (n.d.-f). Re-using your own work. https://students.leeds.ac.uk/academic-integrity/doc/re-using-work
- University of Liverpool. (2021, November 9). What is common knowledge? Library Help. https://libanswers.liverpool.ac.uk/faq/49305
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Academic integrity. The Writing Center. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/esl/resources/academic-integrity/
- University of Sydney. (2026a, June 2). Academic integrity. https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/academic-integrity.html
- University of Sydney. (2026b, June 2). Academic integrity breaches. https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/academic-integrity/breaches.html
- University of Sydney. (2026c, June 2). Artificial intelligence. https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/academic-integrity/artificial-intelligence.html
- University of Toronto Scarborough. (n.d.). Academic integrity. UTSC Academic Calendar. https://utsc.calendar.utoronto.ca/academic-integrity
- UNSW Sydney. (n.d.). Academic integrity & plagiarism. https://www.unsw.edu.au/student/managing-your-studies/academic-skills-support/toolkit/plagiarism