Referencing is a method of acknowledging the sources of information you use in writing your assignments, essays, reports, or any other work of scholarship. When you present a statement in your assignment that is not your own original idea, opinion or theory, whether presented in your own words (paraphrased) or in the author’s exact words (quoted), you must include a reference to acknowledge your source.
If you do not acknowledge the author of ideas, opinions and theories, it seems that you are attempting to present the work of another person as your own, which is known as plagiarism.