Marking criteria
Good references are often used by staff as guidance on the quality of your assignment. It makes sense, because only a student who has read the key texts on the topic can produce a comprehensive and balanced piece of work. Therefore it is not only academically honest, but also in your own interest to include all the references you have used to show the amount of research you have done when preparing for an assignment.
Many staff members use good referencing as a direct marking criterion and it is in the students’ interest to be fully aware of these requirements. Usually markers look for a reasonable number of both recent and foundation references. What you need to reference is discussed further in the what to reference section of this website.
It is important that you have read all the material you reference. Fabricating reference lists is considered academically dishonest and can lead you to make erroneous claims in your assignment.