Do some brief background reading around the topic, starting with your textbook, jotting down the main concepts and ideas that seem relevant. Is there any relevant history related to your topic? Or is...

Do some brief background reading around the topic, starting with your textbook, jotting down the main concepts and ideas that seem relevant. Is there any relevant history related to your topic? Or is there any important detail that will be of high significance to the future? Are there any important people involved? Knowing such details will give you a better idea as to how to start and finish your assignment.
Why referencing?
Why referencing in ‘the practical business school’?
Being able to identify good sources of information and effectively use evidence used when building an argument are important generic skills that are useful for all managers.
In many workplaces sources of evidence or sources of information are not often recognised or not acknowledged. And yet, whenever you use facts or data, you obtain those from a source (an annual report, a newspaper article, the Bureau of Statistics, or elsewhere). Whenever you apply a theory or write about other people’s opinions, you are using someone else’s intellectual property (which you read in a book or heard in a TED talk or elsewhere).
It is good to learn about referencing and to become aware of different sources of information. It enables you to ask yourself (or others) important questions when you are reading reports or memos in the workplace, such as:
 Where did the information come from?
 Whose original idea is this?
 What sources of data were used?
 Are the data sources that are used appropriate?
 Is there better information out there?
While you currently may not use much (if any) referencing in the workplace, use of referencing for AIB assignments increases your awareness of sources of information and enhances your managerial skill set.