By Let me take you back to the first time I opened my CIPD assignment brief. My heart was racing, my coffee was getting cold, and there it was—a big, bold reminder about referencing. “Use Harvard Referencing Style throughout your work.”
Yes, the Harvard referencing style is used to reference the CIPD assignments.
At that moment, I had absolutely no idea what that meant.
Just like most of us think of by the term “referencing” is used to do something with giving credit to the authors. But why did it feel more confusing than the actual content of the assignment?
If you’re on your CIPD journey and struggling with referencing, trust me—you’re not alone.
In this blog, I will share why referencing is important, how I learned to do it, and how it helped improve my grades and understanding of HR concepts.
So grab your tea, sit back, and let’s chat about this often-overlooked but super-important part of CIPD assignments.
What is Harvard Referencing?
A method of academic referencing and citing sources, Harvard is the most commonly used style in CIPD assignments. Additionally, it features an author-date format along with the publication year and sometimes page numbers for in-text citations. Also, the complete details about the source are provided in the reference list section.
Why Is Referencing Such a Big Deal in CIPD Assignments?
Before I dive into my experience, let’s quickly understand the why behind referencing.
CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) isn’t just about learning HR practices—it’s about developing professional and evidence-based thinking.
What does that mean?
Well, it means we’re expected to support our ideas with real research, theories, and expert opinions.
Referencing helps you:
- Show your research: To tell the assessor that you have done your homework and these aren’t just random thoughts.
- Avoid plagiarism: The most important reason to add references is to avoid plagiarism from your content, as it cites the sources and gives credit to the original authors.
- Build credibility: Information extracted from official CIPD sources, facts, industry data, etc, helps to build credibility.
- Keep track of your sources: You never know when you’ll need to revisit a brilliant quote or statistic.
To be honest, I didn’t understand any of this in the beginning.
I remember how confused I was after having a look at a scary-looking citation format with brackets, dates, and strange rules. This is when I reached out to CIPD Assignment Help UK and got experts’ assistance. In addition, everything changed when I carefully understood their tips and practiced them.
My tip: Oh, not a tip but a fact that will help you at every step in your life, “practice is the key to success.”
My First Referencing Disaster
Let’s rewind to my first CIPD Level 5 assignment.
I spent hours writing what I thought was a well-researched assignment on talent management. In addition, I even poured some quotes I found on Google.
Proud and hopeful, I submitted it. But a few days later, I received feedback that stung:
“Good content but poor referencing. Lacks Harvard structure. Needs academic sources.”
And OH MY GOD, I won’t lie—I felt crushed. I worked day and night on it!
But I realized something important: no matter how great your content is, if you don’t reference properly, it loses value.
So, this strong woman just rolled up her sleeves. And decided to learn the Harvard referencing style once and for all.
My Referencing Breakthrough: Simple Steps That Helped Me
So, is referencing important in a CIPD assignment? 100% Is it easy to do it? Not really!
But once you feel motivated and fueled up, there won’t be any rocks in your way!
So, here’s what helped me move from confused to confident:
1. I Watched YouTube Tutorials
I’ll be honest. I started this journey by reading a guide with technical and official language.
But, it felt like I’m trying to decode a secret code that can upside the entire world.
So, I took a smart and easy step—I turned to YouTube.
There are lots of short and simple videos that explain Harvard referencing with examples. Thus, I paused, rewound, and took notes. And trust me, it made a huge difference.
2. I Used Referencing Tools
“Oh boy, come on, we’re living in this fast-paced world with access to millions of tools and software. So, just tell me about that, no.”
Obviously!
I discovered tools like Paper Pal, EndNote, Zotero, and Google Scholar. In addition, you just type in the book/article title and they give you a proper citation.
Wait, that’s all?
Yes! It felt like magic!
But but, here’s what I also did: double-checked them because sometimes the formats weren’t perfect.
3. I Saved My Sources Early
It’s right that referencing is done at the end of an assignment. But instead of waiting till the end, I started saving links and titles while doing research. And trust me, you will thank me by doing this. In addition, most students think of working on it in the end, but end up losing track of the sources they have used.
Therefore, I’d paste them into a Word document as I went. That way, I didn’t waste hours trying to remember where I found that perfect quote!
4. I Practiced In-text Citations
This was tricky at first. Do I write (John, 2020) or John (2020)? Turns out both are correct depending on how you use the sentence.
Example:
“Employee engagement improves productivity (John, 2020, p. 5).”
“John (2020, p. 5) argues that employee engagement boosts productivity.”
The difference here is that if you have already mentioned the name of the author in the sentence, then you only need to write the year in brackets. And if you haven’t added the name, then write the name, year, and page number in the end in brackets.
Thus, I started practicing by rewriting my paragraphs using citations. And gradually, it became second nature.
Some Referencing Tips That I Swear By
If you’re working on your own CIPD assignment, here are a few golden rules that worked for me:
Use reliable sources
CIPD reports, academic journals, HR books, government publications—these are gold. In addition, avoid getting information from unreliable or unverified sources such as Wikipedia.
Reference consistently
A CIPD assignment must be referenced using the Harvard style. So, make sure to stick to it throughout your content.
Include a reference list
And when you are wrapping up your assignment, include full details of every source you used.
Don’t overdo it
You don’t need a citation after every sentence. Instead, it’s only vital when you use someone else’s idea, theory, or data.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, referencing felt like a mountain. But once I started climbing it step by step, I realized it was more of a gentle hill with helpful signposts.
My CIPD journey became more meaningful once I understood the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of referencing. In addition, it’s not just about ticking a box—it’s about becoming a more professional, ethical, and informed HR practitioner.
So if you’re feeling stuck or scared of referencing, take it from me: you’ve got this!
Start small, use the tools, and practice. Also, one reference at a time and you’ll build something powerful—and earn the marks to prove it.
