Developed by Yi Dai, English Language Centre, School of Languages, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Target area
Academic Style
Target Skills
Academic writing, Citation and Referencing skills, Source integration skills
Target Language Level:
CEFR B1+
The XJTLU Harvard Cite&Ref Pro is an AI Agent designed to assist Year One students in mastering citation and referencing practices according to the XJTLU-specific Harvard referencing style. It is particularly designed for EAP learners who are developing academic writing skills for the first time. This AI Agent explains citation rules with examples, detects and corrects errors, and promotes both integrated and non-integrated citation styles. By offering targeted guidance consistent with institutional requirements, it enhances students’ understanding of citation conventions and promotes academic integrity in writing.
Key features:
- Purpose and Functionality: Delivers clear, immediate explanations of citation rules with practice examples to support students’ understanding and application.
- Context-Specific Support: Identifies and corrects citation and referencing errors specifically in the XJTLU Harvard style, ensuring adherence to institutional expectations.
- Integrated and Non-Integrated Styles: Educates students on using both integrated and non-integrated citation styles, enhancing source integration skills for academic writing.
- Ease of Use: Designed to be accessible for learners with varying English and AI literacy levels, particularly those at the B1+ level.
- Future Potential: Can be expanded to include other referencing styles for broader academic contexts.
Suggestion for users
While this AI Agent provides reliable guidance, it may not always identify authors’ surnames without sufficient context and cannot verify the validity of URLs or DOIs. The AI Agent prompt design includes a disclaimer stating that users must double-check these details independently.
Teachers are encouraged to promote the responsible use of this AI Agent. Students should use this AI Agent as a learning tool rather than a shortcut to bypass proper academic practices.
Additional information
To support students, especially those with limited AI literacy, this AI Agent includes four pre-set starter questions:
- How can I cite an article written by four authors?
- How can I write a reference for a journal article?
- How can I write a reference for a webpage article?
- How do I arrange references alphabetically?
These are designed to scaffold student use and help them ask effective follow-up questions, regardless of their prior experience with AI tools.