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AGLC4 SmartCite
Supporting accurate legal referencing with guidance, structure, and academic integrity
A teaching-first referencing assistant that helps law students apply the Australian Guide to Legal Citation correctly — guidance, not generation.
Purpose
Help law students confidently apply the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed.) with step-by-step referencing support that reduces errors while maintaining academic integrity.
Who it helps
Law students at every level — from first-year learners new to legal citation through to higher-degree research candidates refining scholarly work.
What it does
- ✦Guides students through referencing rules with clear explanations and compliant examples
- ✦Checks structure and formatting of citations rather than generating incorrect ones
- ✦Prompts students to verify information to maintain academic integrity
- ✦Covers key legal source types — cases, legislation, journals, books, websites and more
- ✦Teaches the “why” behind the rules, improving long-term referencing capability
- ✦Links to authoritative sources for further learning and confidence-building
Pedagogical foundations
Designed to support skill development, not automation. It strengthens attention to detail and promotes ethical academic practice by helping students understand and apply the rules correctly.
Impact
- ✦Rolled out university-wide for Law courses, embedded as a core student support resource
- ✦Demonstrated improvements in citation accuracy and reduced academic integrity risk
- ✦Positive feedback from academic staff on consistency, clarity, and ease of student use
- ✦Supports legal writing confidence through practice, not automation