Harvard Referencing Style: An Overview
Harvard referencing is a widely used author-date citation style that provides clear and consistent referencing for academic and professional writing. It consists of two key components:
- In-text citations: brief references within the body of the text, including the author’s last name and year of publication.
- Reference list: A full list of all cited sources at the end of the document, arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.
1. In-Text Citations (Author-Date Format)
Harvard in-text citations include the author’s surname and year of publication within parentheses. If quoting directly, include the page number(s).
Examples:
- Paraphrasing: Academic writing requires careful structuring (Smith, 2020).
- Direct Quote: “Academic writing is a structured process” (Smith, 2020, p. 45).
- If the author’s name is mentioned in the text, Smith (2020) explains that academic writing requires careful structuring.
2. Reference List Format
Each source cited in-text must have a full reference in the Reference List, formatted as follows:
Book:
Format:
Author(s) Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the book. Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher.
Example:
Smith, J. (2020). The Art of Academic Writing, 2nd ed., New York: Oxford University Press.
Journal Article:
Format:
Author(s) Last name, Initial(s). (Year). ‘Title of article’, Title of Journal, Volume (issue), Page range. DOI/URL (if available).
Example:
Brown, L., and Taylor, M. (2019). ‘The impact of digital learning on education’, Journal of Educational Research, 45(3), pp. 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jer.2019.02.003.
Website:
Format:
Author(s) Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of webpage/document. Available at: URL (Accessed: Date).
Example:
University of Oxford. (2021). Academic Writing Guide. Available at: https://www.ox.ac.uk/writing-guide (accessed: 10 March 2025).
Key Features of Harvard Referencing:
✔ Author-date format for in-text citations.
✔ Alphabetical order in the reference list (by author’s last name).
✔ Italicized titles for books and journals.
✔ consistent punctuation and formatting for clarity.