It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill ( , 2015).
Information from (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill.
You use secondary referencing when you want to refer to a source that is mentioned or quoted in the work you are reading. To do this, you add the phrase ‘quoted in’ or ‘cited in’ (depending on whether the author of the secondary source is directly quoting or summarising from the primary source) to your intext citation, along with the details of the source that you are reading.
West (2007, quoted in Birch, 2017, p. 17) state that… You would then include full references to Birch and The Open University in your reference list as these are the sources that you have read. There is no change to the structure of the full reference for these sources. |
You should include page numbers in your citation if you are quoting directly from or using ideas from a specific page or set of pages. Add the abbreviation p. (or pp. if more than one page) before the page number(s).
Harris (2015, p. 5) argues that… In the drying process "polyphenol oxidizing reactions" form new flavour compounds (Toker 2020, pp. 585–586)... |
Add a lower case letter to the date in the in-text citation and in the matching full reference to distinguish between the sources. : Snow is formed in part because the temperature drops enough that rain freezes (The Open University, 2022a), however the freezing temperature of water is often below 0°C under certain conditions (The Open University, 2022b).
The Open University (2022a) '1.2 What are clouds?'. . Available at: (Accessed: 22 November 2022). The Open University (2022b) '1.3.1 Snow and ice'. . Available at: (Accessed: 22 November 2022). Note: this only applies when you are using multiple different sources with the same author and year – if you are referring to the same source more than once then you do not need to add a letter to the date. The citation will be the same each time and you only need to include the source once in your reference list. |
(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).
When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
OR, if there is no named author:
The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).
The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633§ion=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).
You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:
The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014§ion=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941§ion=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).
Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.
For ebooks that do not contain print publication details
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).
Example with one author:
Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).
Example with two or three authors:
Goddard, J. and Barrett, S. (2015) The health needs of young people leaving care . Norwich: University of East Anglia, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies.
Example with four or more authors:
Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.
Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.
Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.
Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.
Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.
If accessed online:
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).
Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.
Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).
Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.
Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).
Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).
The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).
Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.
Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).
stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).
Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.
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Sample assignment
The text to the right shows how citations and the reference list are typically written in the Harvard referencing style.
Note: the text itself is not designed to be a proper example of academic writing and does not use information from the sources cited; it is for illustrative purposes only.
The purpose of this assignment is to show common elements of the Harvard style of referencing in Dundalk Institute of Technology. It is not intended to be an example of good quality academic writing, and indeed may not make sense in general, but it should show you how citations and a reference list are formed in the Harvard style of referencing (Cameron 2021). If you include a “direct quotation from a book you have read” (Giddens and Sutton 2021, p.117) you should include the relevant page number.
You don’t always have to write the author and year in brackets. Cameron (2021) explains that if the author’s name occurs naturally in the text then the year follows it in brackets. If there are two authors you should include both of them in the citation (Levine and Munsch 2021). If there are three or more authors you don’t have to list all of the names in the citation but you should include them all in the reference list (Robbins et al. 2020). The reference list should appear at the end of your assignment and be in alphabetical order based on the first author’s surname (Bruen 2022) rather than the order in which they appear in your assignment ( Papagiannis 2022). If you are using a citation for a second time you do not need to include it twice in the reference list (Cameron 2021).
Referencing an academic journal that you find online requires more information in the reference list but uses the same format for citing as other sources (Tesseur 2022). If referencing a source from a library database you say from which database you found it (Mayombe 2021).
Don’t forget that websites need to be cited too (Dundalk Institute of Technology 2022). We recommend you look at the full version of DkIT’s Harvard referencing guidelines, and contact the Library if you have any questions. Good luck.
Reference list
Bruen, M. (2020). River flows. In: Kelly-Quinn, M. and Reynolds, J., eds. Ireland’s rivers . Dublin: University College Dublin Press, pp.39-59.
Cameron, S. (2021). The business student's handbook: skills for study and employment . 7th ed. Harlow: Pearson.
Dundalk Institute of Technology. (2022). Research support [online]. Available from: https://www.dkit.ie/research/research-support.html [accessed 25 March 2022].
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W. (2021). Sociology . 9th ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Levine, L.E. and Munsch, J. (2021). Child development: an active learning approach [online]. 4th ed. London: SAGE Publications. Available from: https://books.google.ie/books?id=zlrZzQEACAAJ&dq [accessed 25 March 2022].
Mayombe, C. (2021). Partnership with stakeholders as innovative model of work-integrated learning for unemployed youths. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning [online], 12(2), pp.309-327. Available from: Emerald Insight [accessed 25 March 2022].
Papagiannis, N. (2020). Effective SEO and content marketing: the ultimate guide for maximizing free web traffic [online]. Indianapolis: Wiley. Available from: EBSCOhost eBook Collection [accessed 25 March 2022].
Robbins, S.P., Coulter, M.A. and De Cenzo, D.A. (2020). Fundamentals of management . 11th ed. Harlow: Pearson.
Tesseur, W. (2022). Translation as inclusion? An analysis of international NGOs’ translation policy documents. Language Problems and Language Planning [online], 45(3), pp. 261-283. Available from: https://doras.dcu.ie/26151 [accessed 25 March 2022].
Example essay extract with citations and references list.
Below is an example essay, complete with citations and references.
Please remember this is a fictional essay purely designed to demonstrate how and when to reference.
Embedding experiences and voices in research can “challenge [the] studied ignorance” around race (Arday and Mirza, 2018, p.v) and the academy’s role as gatekeeper of what is considered “relevant knowledge” (Lillis, 2003). Academic conventions around skills such as writing can be excluding, forming “constructions of difference […] that deepen misrecognitions and inequalities” (Burke, 2018, p.366). Lillis (2003) and Arday et al. (2021) both use narrative to listen to the ways in which black students’ experiences are ignored and the marginalising effect of a refusal to validate multiple ways of knowing.
References:
Arday, J., Belluigi, D. Z. and Thomas, D. (2021) Attempting to break the chain: reimaging inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the academy. Educational Philosophy and Theory . 53 (3), pp.298-313.
Arday, J. and Mirza, H. S. (eds.) (2018) Dismantling race in higher education: racism, whiteness and decolonising the academy . London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Burke, P. J. (2018) Trans/forming pedagogical spaces: race, belonging and recognition in higher education. In: Arday, J. and Mirza, H. S. (eds.) Dismantling race in higher education: racism, whiteness and decolonising the academy . London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.365-382.
Lillis, T. (2003) Student writing as ‘academic literacies’: drawing on Bakhtin to move from critique to design. Language and Education. 17 (5), pp.192-207.
Generate accurate Harvard reference lists quickly and for FREE, with MyBib!
A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style.
It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.
The generated references can be copied into a reference list or bibliography, and then collectively appended to the end of an academic assignment. This is the standard way to give credit to sources used in the main body of an assignment.
Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).
A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:
A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can contribute significantly towards earning them.
Here's how to use our reference generator:
MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:
⚙️ Styles | Harvard, Harvard Cite Them Right |
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📚 Sources | Websites, books, journals, newspapers |
🔎 Autocite | Yes |
📥 Download to | Microsoft Word, Google Docs |
There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:
Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.
From the first time we put our pen on paper, we're taught how important it is to give credit where it's needed. Whether a research paper outline or a doctoral dissertation, proper references, and citations are the foundation of academic work in any field. And when it's time to cite sources, there's one style that stands out: Harvard style. In this article, we will explore the nuances of Harvard style citations and help you navigate the complexity of this important academic tool.
Developed by the Harvard Graduate School for Education, the Harvard style citation is a Ferrari of citations designed for the ultimate advantage of your research. Harvard Style, like a sports car, is streamlined, precise, and designed for speed. From its inception at Harvard at the beginning 20th century, this style has become a standard of academic reference and has been praised for its clarity and sophistication.
Intended to be simple and accessible to all, the Harvard style quickly became popular in the mid-20s and is based upon using the date-author citation in the document text, together with the detailed list of references at the document's end. Nowadays that it has gained universal acknowledgment, Harvard referencing is a critical instrument for scientists in multiple disciplines, owing to its simple yet tasteful design that has endured for many years.
Using Harvard style citations and references correctly is like putting a hidden weapon in the arsenal of your academics. It'll be more than just following rules; it'll be about proving your credibility and that your work is grounded in solid evidence and reliable sources. Therefore, proper citations and references are crucial for a wide range of purposes:
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Below are a few of the principal characteristics of Harvard Style that make it such a popular choice among scholars:
Feature | Description | Example |
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In-text citations | For in-text citations, the Harvard citation style adopts a straightforward author-date structure, implying that, after a direct quotation or paraphrase, you should provide the author's last name and the date of publication in parenthesis. This way, your readers can quickly identify your sources of information without looking for a specific reference list. | There is considerable debate within the literature on sustainable development about the relationship between sustainable development and economic growth (Mitlin, 1992) |
Reference List | A full reference list with complete bibliographic details for each work you referenced in your text is included at the conclusion of your paper. Reference lists in Harvard Style must follow a certain structure containing the author's name, the work's title, the year of publication, and other details. | Example: Mitlin, D., 1992. Sustainable development: A guide to literature. , (1), pp.111-124. |
Consistency | Consistency is one of the hallmarks of Harvard Style, which means you should adhere to the same structure for all citations and references and include any relevant information. | |
Flexibility | Books, journal articles, web pages, and other sources can all be formatted in Harvard Style. Depending on the kind of source, it also allows differences in the citation style. |
As was already established, references and citations in the Harvard style are commonly accepted. Therefore, you should take the required actions to ensure accurate citation. Let's adhere to these basic guidelines to give credit where credit is due:
Step 1: Understand the Basics | The Harvard style requires a list of references at the end of the document that contains all the information about the sources and a text citation that includes the author's name and the year of publication. Before you begin, be sure you understand these fundamental principles. |
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Step 2: Collect Your Sources | Before you begin, gather all the resources you'll need for the paper, such as books and websites. Make sure to write down all the pertinent details for each source, such as the author's name and title, the publication date, and the publisher. |
Step 3: Create In-Text Citations | In-text references must be used when using someone else's words or ideas in your writing. Usually, the cited passage or paraphrase is followed by a Harvard style in text citation. As long as it is obvious to whom it refers, it comes at the conclusion of the pertinent phrase. For example, (Neal, 2022). |
Step 4: Create a Reference List | Make a list of references towards the conclusion where you can discover all the information about each source. The author's last name and first initial appear at the top of the reference entry. Only the first word of the title and any proper nouns are capitalized. Similar to in-text citations, only the first author should be listed when there are four or more; beyond that, add 'et al.' to the end of the list. |
Step 5: Check Your Formatting | Make sure your references are properly formatted in accordance with Harvard Style Guidelines. |
Harvard Style Guidelines include:
By selecting the button below, you may get a template from our research paper writing services that includes a sample of an essay cover page, headers, subheadings, and a reference list.
In Harvard referencing, if you're citing a source without an explicit date, you can still provide as much information as possible to identify the source and omit the date. Here's how you could format it:
Author(s) Last name, Initials. (Year, if available). Title of the work. Publisher. (if applicable) URL or DOI (if available).
For example, let's say you're citing a web page authored by John Smith, but there's no publication date available:
Smith, J. (n.d.). Title of the Web Page. Retrieved from http://www.example-website.com
In this example, "n.d." stands for "no date." This indicates to your reader that the publication date is unknown. It's important to include as much information as possible to help your readers locate the source themselves. If you're citing a printed source with no date, you can simply omit the date and provide the rest of the information as usual.
While the Harvard Style citation may seem straightforward, there are several common errors and pitfalls that students and researchers should be aware of to ensure they are using the style correctly.
One common error is forgetting to include page numbers when referencing a source. Harvard style requires that page numbers be included when citing a direct quote or paraphrasing from a source. Failing to include page numbers can make it difficult for readers to locate the information being cited and can result in lost points on an assignment or paper.
Another pitfall is the improper formatting of references. Harvard style requires specific formatting for different types of sources, such as italicizing book titles and using quotation marks for article titles. Failure to follow these guidelines can result in a loss of points and confusion for readers.
Another common mistake is inconsistency in formatting and citation styles. It is important to use the same style throughout a document, including in-text citations and the reference list. Mixing different styles can make the document difficult to read and may result in a lower grade. And, if this problem sounds familiar and you wish 'if only somebody could rewrite my essay ,' get our essay writing help in a flash!
Finally, another pitfall to avoid is relying too heavily on online Harvard referencing generator tools. They can be useful for creating references, although they are not always reliable and might not adhere to the exact rules of Harvard style. To guarantee that the references produced by these tools are accurate and in the right format, it is crucial to carefully review and adjust them.
Meanwhile, if you're not really feeling like dealing with the nitty-gritty of referencing your character analysis essay using Harvard style, no sweat! We've got your back on that one too.
In conclusion, knowing what is Harvard citation style and how to properly cite sources using this style is an essential ability for any student or researcher writing academically. The main lesson to be learned is that accurate citation not only shows academic honesty but also strengthens the authority of your work and backs up your claims. You may make sure that your writing is correctly referenced, structured, and accepted in the academic world by including these important lessons in it.
And if you feel like you need extra help, our expert paper writing services will provide you with a high-quality Harvard style citation example paper that demonstrates correct citation and formatting, giving you the knowledge and confidence to cite sources effectively in your own work!
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What is harvard citation and example, is harvard citation mla or apa, how to cite a source with multiple authors in harvard style.
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What is citing, citing page numbers in text - some rules, using direct quotations, how to cite in the body of your text, secondary referencing, using charts, images, figures in the body of your text.
The Harvard referencing style (also known as ‘author-date’) is commonly used at TUS Midwest. There are two elements to the Harvard referencing style. This means when you reference using the Harvard system, you have to do two things:
In summary, when you are writing up your college projects, you must remember to acknowledge the other authors you are using in two places:
If you have used the author’s exact words (direct quotation) or the author’s ideas (paraphrasing) from a book, journal article, etc. you must acknowledge this in your text. This is referred to as in-text citing:
In-text citations give the brief (abbreviated) details of the work that you are quoting from, or to which you are referring in your text. These citations will then link to the full reference in the reference list at the end of your work, which is arranged in alphabetical order by author (Pears and Shields, 2019, p.7).
Author prominent citing This citation method gives prominence to the author’s surname (family name) as part of your sentence with the date and page number in parentheses (round brackets). Note : The page number is necessary if you are quoting directly.
According to Davidson (2019, p. 370) ‘interest in designing greener meetings and events has been growing among business events professionals’. |
Information prominent citing This citation method gives prominence to the information with the required referencing details in parentheses at the end of the citation.
Results revealed ‘interviewees placed a strong focus on the need for better education and promotion of electric vehicles in the Irish context’ (O’Neill et al., 2019, p. 123). |
Author(s) name
‘Ireland has contributed to, and being affected by, global warming’ (Robbins, 2020, p. 3). ‘It has implemented a carbon tax and encouraged renewable energy development’ (Robbins, 2020, pp. 3-4). |
According to Williams (2020, p. 12) ‘among the treasures to be collected from the woods are pine cones’. |
Williams (2020) inspires readers to experience the natural world for themselves. |
Quotations should be used sparingly, selected carefully, used in context, integrated into your text, and reproduced exactly (including the words, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and paraphrasing of the original writer). Short quotations Short quotations (fewer than 30 words) should:
According to Barr (2016, p. 22) ‘sustainability must be analysed on a number of different levels, from principles to concepts and then to application’. |
Long quotations Long quotations (more than 30 words) should:
Separate the quotation from the lead-in statement with one blank line. The lead-in statement ends with a colon(:). Separate the quotation from the text that follows it with one blank line.
The decline of nature and people is no coincidence, although as farming and fishing incomes have declined, tourism has taken up some of the slack. Achill is a popular spot in summer and it is particularly geared towards water-based activities. It lies along the Wild Atlantic Way, billed as the world’s longest scenic drive (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). Green tourism is a relatively new phenomenon that is thriving in Ireland, particularly along scenic stretches of the Western seaboard. This type of tourism makes for a more sustainable way of living. It takes an environmentally friendly approach. |
Quotation marks
The decline of nature and people is no coincidence, although as farming and fishing incomes have declined, tourism has taken up some of the slack. Achill is a popular spot in summer and it is particularly geared towards water-based activities. It lies along the Wild Atlantic Way, billed as the world’s longest scenic drive (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). |
Words omitted from quotations
‘Achill is a popular spot in summer … It lies along the Wild Atlantic Way’ (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). |
‘… tourism has taken up some of the slack’ (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). |
When you cite someone else’s work, you must state the author/editor and the date of publication. If the work has two authors/editors, you must cite both names. Don't forget to include page numbers for direct quotations. There is no need to include the title, place of publication etc. These details are listed in the reference list at the end of your essay .
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For a work that has three or more authors/editors, the abbreviation, et al . is used after the first author’s name.
According to Woodruff . (2016, p. 50) ‘the produced electricity from solar power plants is very low’. |
For a work that has the same author/editor, and was written in the same year as an earlier citation, you must use a lower case letter after the date to differentiate between the two.
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Citing from books with chapters written by different authors Some books may contain chapters written by several different authors. In this case the author who wrote the chapter should be cited not the editor of the book.
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If you are reading a source by one author, for example, Garvey (2019) and he cites or quotes the work of another author, for example, Taylor (1996) you may cite or quote the original work, Taylor (1996) as a secondary reference. Note: It is always best practice to try and locate the original reference and secondary references should only be used if it is difficult to access the original work
Example In-text citation: Taylor’s observations (1996, cited in Garvey, 2019) are based on a genuine respect for nature. OR ‘Every living thing has a good of its own’ (Taylor, 1996, quoted in Garvey, 2019, p. 53).
Reference List: Garvey, J. (2019) The ethics of climate change: right and wrong in a warming world . London: Continuum.
Charts, images, figures etc. should be treated as direct quotations in that the author/editor, year and page number should be acknowledged in-text, and the full reference to the item should be listed in the reference list.
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The Library, Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest
Accurate Harvard references, verified by experts, trusted by millions.
Stop wasting hours figuring out the correct citation format. With Scribbr's referencing generator , you can search for your source by title, URL, ISBN, or DOI and generate accurate Harvard style references in seconds.
⚙️ Styles | Cite Them Right (12th ed.) |
---|---|
📚 Sources | Websites, books, articles, reports, and more |
🔎 Autocite | Search by title, URL, DOI, ISBN |
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Scribbr's Harvard Referencing Generator supports the most commonly used versions: Cite Them Right (12th edition).
Easily export in BibTeX format and continue working in your favorite LaTeX editor.
Reference list finished? Export to Word with perfect indentation and spacing set up for you.
Organize the reference list the way you want: from A to Z, new to old, or grouped by source type.
Stay organized by creating a separate reference list for each of your assignments.
Choose between Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, and more options to match your style.
The Scribbr Referencing Generator is built using the same citation software (CSL) as Mendeley and Zotero, but with an added layer for improved accuracy.
Explanatory tips help you get the details right to ensure accurate citations.
Your work is saved automatically after every change and stored securely in your Scribbr account.
Missing information, citation examples, tools and resources, how to reference in harvard style.
Harvard referencing is a widely used referencing style (especially in UK universities) that includes author-date in-text citations and a complete reference list at the end of the text.
There are many versions of Harvard referencing style. Our guidance reflects the rules laid out in Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide (12th edition) by Richard Pears and Graham Shields.
Scribbr’s free reference generator can create flawless Harvard style references for a wide variety of sources.
The reference list appears at the end of your text, listing full information on all the sources you cited. A Harvard reference entry generally mentions the author , date , title , publisher or publication that contains the source, and URL or DOI if relevant.
You’ll include different details depending on the type of source you’re referencing, as some information is only relevant to certain kinds of publications.
The format of a reference entry varies based on source type. Apart from the information included, formatting details such as the use of italics also depend on what you’re referencing. The tabs below show formats and examples for the most commonly referenced source types.
Format | Author last name, Initial. (Year) . Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
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Example | Caulfield, J. (2022) . Available at: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/nouns/using-pronouns/ (Accessed: 27 October 2022). |
The suggested information won’t necessarily all be available for the source you’re referencing. To learn how to work around missing information in your references, check the table below.
List the organisation that published the source in the author position. If there’s no organisation to list, start the reference entry with the source title instead. | Scribbr (2022) . Available at: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/nouns/using-pronouns/ (Accessed: 27 October 2022). (2022) Available at: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/nouns/using-pronouns/ (Accessed: 27 October 2022). | |
Write ‘no date’ where the date would usually go. If the source is online, still include an access date. | Scribbr (no date) . Available at: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/category/nouns/ (Accessed: 27 October 2022). | |
Include the URL in place of the title. | Scribbr (2022) https://www.scribbr.co.uk/category/nouns/ (Accessed: 27 October 2022). |
Harvard Referencing Generator
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Harvard referencing style uses author-date in-text citations, which means including the author’s last name and the publication year of the source, like this: (Smith, 2019). This citation points the reader to the corresponding entry in the reference list.
Always include an in-text citation when you quote or paraphrase a source. Include a page number or range when available and relevant to indicate which part of the source you’re drawing on. Using material from other sources without acknowledging them is plagiarism.
In-text citations can be parenthetical (author and date both in parentheses) or narrative (author name mentioned in the sentence, date in parentheses). A source may also have more than one author. If there are four or more, name only the first, followed by “ et al. ”
(Smith, 2022, p. 15) | Smith (2022, p. 15) | |
(Smith and Zhang, 2022, p. 15) | Smith and Zhang (2022, p. 15) | |
(Smith, Zhang and Romein, 2022, p. 15) | Smith, Zhang and Romein (2022, p. 15) | |
(Smith , 2022, p. 15) | Smith (2022, p. 15) | |
(Cancer Research UK, 2022) | Cancer Research UK (2022) |
As with reference entries, it’s good to be aware of how to deal with missing information in your in-text citations.
List the organisation that published the source as the author. If there’s no organisation to list, use the source title instead. | (Scribbr, 2022) ( , 2022) | |
Replace the date with the words ‘no date’. | (Scribbr, no date) | |
Use an alternate locator such as a paragraph number. You can also leave out the locator if you don’t need to point to a specific part of the source. | (Scribbr, 2022, para. 4) (Scribbr, 2022) |
Scribbr offers a variety of other tools and resources to help with referencing and other aspects of academic writing:
Your reference list in Harvard style needs to include all the works you have cited in your assignment. It is placed at the end of your essay on a new page and has a specific format you need to follow.
This is an overview of the rules given in the Style Manual for creating a reference list.
|
|
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Page | Start your reference list on a new page, after the body of the work and any appendices |
Order of list | Alphabetical by first author surname or the organisation's name |
Author names | Preserve order of names in the publication |
URLs | Include the URL at the end of the reference rather than hyperlinking the title, as the suggests, so that your readers/markers can easily locate your references if necessary |
PDFs | If you’re citing a PDF, link to the page where the PDF is hosted instead of directly to the PDF |
Titles | Capitalise the first word of the title of an article, chapter or book, as well as any proper nouns (e.g. person, place or entity) Titles of parts of a publication (e.g. journal articles, newspaper articles, or chapters in an edited book) should be placed in single quotation marks Titles of complete publications (e.g. journals, newspapers, books, reports) should be presented in italics |
Punctuation | Use commas to separate elements after the title Use a full stop at the end of the reference, except when the reference ends with a DOI or URL Use an en dash and no spaces between page numbers (e.g. 72–74) Uses parentheses around the year of publication |
Author A (Year) 'Title of journal article', Title of Journal , Vol No.(Issue No.):page–page, doi:10.xxx
Alexander JC (2015) ‘Measuring, counting, interpreting: our debate on methods continues’, American Journal of Cultural Sociology , 3(3):309–310, doi:10.1057/ajcs.2015.13
Author A and Author B
Author A, Author B and Author C
Poulin J and Matis S (2019) Social work practice: a competency-based approach , Springer. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/reader.action?docID=5968733
Nankervis AR, Baird M, Coffey J and Shields J (2017) Human resource management: strategy and practice , 9th edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne.
Abbreviation of organisation (full name of organisation)
DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) (2021) Australia in brief , DFAT, accessed 21 July 2023. https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/australia-in-brief
Make sure that your in-text citation and reference list entry match. If you have used the name of a blog, website, newspaper, or magazine in your in-text citation in place of the author, use the same name in your reference list. If you have used the title of the work in place of the author in your in-text citation, use the title in place of the author in your reference list.
Author A (Yeara)
Author A (Yearb)
Smith A (2007a) 'Emerging in between: The multi-level governance of renewable energy in the English regions', Energy Policy, 35(12):6266–6280, doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.07.023
Smith A (2007b) 'Translating sustainabilities between green niches and socio-technical regimes', Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 19(4):427–450, doi:10.1080/09537320701403334
Miller A (2018) It’s a Matter of Fact : Teaching Students Research Skills in Today’s Information-Packed World, Taylor and Francis, doi:10.4324/9780203731680
Miller V (2021) Child sexual abuse inquiries and the Catholic Church: reassessing the evidence, Firenze University Press, http://digital.casalini.it/9788855182799
If the main creator of the source is an editor, reference the source under their name and include the abbreviation ed. (or eds. for more than one).
For translated works, complete the reference, and order the reference list based on the name of the original author of the work, not the translator.
Reference with a doi.
Tharoor S (1990) ‘The universality of human rights and their relevance to developing countries’, Nordic Journal of International Law 59(1):139—152, doi:10.1163/157181090X00288
Tharoor S (1990) ‘The universality of human rights and their relevance to developing countries’, Nordic Journal of International Law 59(1):139—152. (HeinOnline).
Tharoor S (1990) ‘The universality of human rights and their relevance to developing countries’, Nordic Journal of International Law 59(1):139—152, accessed 17 December 2020. https://brill.com/view/journals/nord/59/1/article-p139_15.xml
Gilman CP (2004) Social ethics: sociology and the future of society (Hill MR and Deegan MJ eds), Praeger, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/detail.action?docID=494814
Halloran JT (2018) Population dynamics in the child welfare system , University of Chicago, accessed 1 February 2021, Proquest Dissertations Publishing.
Tsetsura K and Valentini C (2016) 'The “holy” triad in media ethics: a conceptual model for understanding global media ethics', Public Relations Review , 42(4):573–581, doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.03.013
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Published March 8, 2021. Updated August 15, 2021.
Make sure that the same line spacing, margins, font type, and font size are applied to all pages in your paper. This helps keep your paper’s appearance consistent and professional.
Since Harvard referencing is a style that varies across institutions, make sure that you always check with your instructor about their formatting preferences. If no guidance is provided, here are some basic directions to follow:
For help writing your essay, research paper , or other project, check out these writing tips .
If you’re required to include a cover page, you will include the following information in this order:
As you begin writing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion of your Harvard referencing paper, these are formatting tips to keep in mind.
The reference list includes detailed information about every source you cited in your paper (via an in-text citation). A reference list appears at the end of your paper on its own page. If you’re citing sources, the Chegg Writing Harvard referencing generator is a helpful resource.
Your citations will appear in alphabetical order, based on the first letter included in each entry. Each of your sources will be cited differently, depending on many factors. Here are a few guides to help you learn more:
When formatting your reference list, first make sure to check with your particular institution’s style guide. Here are some general formatting guidelines:
Below are images of a Harvard referencing sample paper. Click here to see the full paper .
Harvard Referencing : Citing Sources | Direct Quotes | Et al. | In-text citations | Multiple authors | No authors | Page numbers
Harvard Referencing Generator : Article | Book | Image | Interview | Journal | Movie | PDF | Textbook | Website | YouTube
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The Harvard referencing style is a widely used system for citing and referencing sources in academic writing. It provides a consistent and standardized format for acknowledging the works of others that you have used in your research.
Struggling to remember tricky peculiarities of Harvard style referencing and formatting? Don’t worry, you have come across a helpful material. In this article, you will find the basics of Harvard style formatting which would be useful for your academic progress. This easy but detailed Harvard style guide contains all format requirements for a paper and some structural tips. Besides, it covers general rules on how to cite your sources properly in your text. Feel free to use these guidelines for your academic endeavors. Let us go through details of Harvard style referencing and formatting together!
Harvard style is an author-date system of referencing. It’s similar to an APA paper format in terms of general formatting of pages and text. But this style follows its own rules for bibliography and in-text citations formatting. Harvard style is typically used for essays in such academic disciplines:
But this doesn’t mean you can’t use this paper format in other areas of study. The general rule is to put references to your sources in round brackets. Specify author’s name and publication year. These references should come after your quotes (direct or indirect) in the end of a respective sentence or paragraph. Full details about all sources you have used should be provided at the end of your work. This section should be named ‘Reference List’. Buy coursework or any other type of research paper that will be referenced for you by our experts.
Let us explore some general rules for Harvard formatting:
A Harvard style citation must have a Title page, header (or running head), headings and Reference list. We will take a closer look at formatting each section down below.
What are the requirements for a Harvard style cover page? Title page is otherwise known as front page. This is the first page of your paper to be observed by your reader, i.e. your teacher first of all. Therefore, it is highly important to format it properly. Formatting rules for Harvard Title page:
See the sample of a Harvard title page down below.
An important detail: you are required to use a header in Harvard referencing format. This section is repeatedly shown on all pages of your paper except the title page. You have to configure it once. Then, headers will get automatically added on each new page. Headers in Harvard referencing format contains such information:
It is important to use shortened title because there is not too much space in any header. Also, another requirement is putting exactly 5 spaces between your title and a page number in headers.
Now let us explore some rules of using subheadings in Harvard style, in detail. Typically there are 2 levels of section headings recommended for use in such papers. They have different formatting. This helps to tell one from another, without using different font sizes for them.
The plain text of any paragraph should go on a new line after subheadings in Harvard style, be it Level-1 or Level-2 subheading.
Listing all sources you have used for your research in a proper order is a core element of Harvard style. Reference list should be the last part of your paper but absolutely not the least. Now let us explore some critical rules for a reference list formatting. The Harvard-style reference list section has its own subtitle, namely ‘Reference List’. Similarly to a Level-1 subheading, it should be capitalized and centered. The rest of your content in this section goes from a new line after your title. No extra empty lines are to be added. Your references in this list are numbered and sorted alphabetically. No lines are indented. Each item in this list starts from a new line. Below we will describe a format for referencing in detail.
Sometimes your professor or instructor might ask you to create a Bibliography section instead of a common Reference list. So what is the Harvard Bibliography format? Harvard style bibliography includes not only those sources you have cited in your text but also. It also includes materials which you have read to get ideas for your research and to better understand the context of a selected problem. So, such section would contain more items than a Reference list. Apart of that, the general Harvard Bibliography format is the same:
Another crucial element of Harvard style is referring to your sources inside your essay. That’s why you should know how to cite in Harvard style. Keep in mind that the main purpose of a proper format is to ensure your paper is plagiarizm-free. Sometimes, you should cite ideas from books, magazines or newspapers. But you can only refer to such ideas, otherwise it will be considered a form of plagiarism. Below we will show you how to cite in Harvard style, providing general information about published sources. So let us proceed and learn more about shortened quotes and full references.
Here are the rules of Harvard format in-text citation:
And this is how you should be referencing in Harvard style, providing full descriptions of the sources you have used. Let us start with the general book format:
Here are several Harvarvard referencing rules for other source types:
In this article we have explored the Harvard referencing guide, one of the most popular ones for students in the UK. Feel free to use these tips and proceed to writing a winning essay with flawless formatting! Just keep in mind the following key concepts of the Harvard style:
In conclusion, consider our custom term paper writing solution if you lack the time or got into writer's block.
If you have questions, please visit our FAQ section or contact our expert writers. They will gladly help you create references in line with all requirements. On top of that, our writers are highly experienced in academic writing and can assist you with any type of formatting.
1. is harvard reference style used in colleges.
The Harvard style can be used in colleges as well as in other educational institutions and even by professional researchers. While it is relatively popular in many countries for research paper referencing, Harvard style is most widespread in universities of the UK nowadays. Other styles (APA, MLA and Chicago) dominate the US educational institutions.
The Harvard style format is a typical example of an author-date system as it requires using author’s names and publication dates for in-text referencing. You should create a complete reference list as a separate section in the end of your research paper. The Oxford style on the contrary uses numbered footnotes for citing sources used on your page. In-text citations on this page consist just from numbers of respective notes.
Emma Flores knows all about formatting standards. She shares with StudyCrumb readers tips on creating academic papers that will meet high-quality standards.
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The Harvard citation style is a system that students, writers and researchers can use to incorporate other people’s quotes, findings and ideas into their work in order to support and validate their conclusions without breaching any intellectual property laws. The popular format is typically used in assignments and publications for humanities as well as natural, social and behavioural sciences.
It is a parenthetical referencing system that is made up of two main components:
While in-text citations are used to briefly indicate where you have directly quoted or paraphrased a source, your reference list is an alphabetized list of complete Harvard citations that enables your reader to locate each source with ease. Each entry should be keyed to a corresponding parenthetical citation in the main body of your work, so that a reader can take an in-text citation and quickly retrieve the source from your reference list.
Note that some universities, and certain disciplines, may also require you to provide a bibliography. This is a detailed list of all of the material you have consulted throughout your research and preparation, and it will demonstrate the lengths you have gone to in researching your chosen topic.
‘Harvard referencing’ is an umbrella term for any referencing style that uses the author name and year of publication within the text to indicate where you have inserted a source. This author-date system appeals to both authors and readers of academic work. Scholars find the format an economical way of writing, and it is generally more accessible to the reader as there are no footnotes crowding the page. Only the name of the author, the publication date of the source and, if necessary, the page numbers are included in the parenthetical citations, for example: (Joyce, 2008).
Use the Cite This For Me Harvard style referencing generator to create your fully-formatted in-text references and reference list in the blink of an eye. Stop giving yourself extra pain and work for no reason and sign up to Cite This For Me today – your only regret will be that you didn’t use our citation generator sooner!
The following guide provides you with everything you need to know to do justice to all your hard work and get a mark that reflects those sleepless nights. If you’re not sure how to format your Harvard style citations, what citations are, or are simply curious about the Cite This For Me citation generator, our guide will answer all of your questions while offering you a comprehensive introduction to the style. Keep reading to find out why you need to use a referencing system, how to add citations in the body of your assignment, and how to compile a reference list.
Sometimes, students do not encounter citing until they embark on to degree-level studies, yet it is a crucial academic skill that will propel you towards establishing yourself in the academic community. It’s a common mistake to leave citing and creating a complete and accurate bibliography until the very last minute, but with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator you can cite-as-you-go.
So, if you need a helping hand with your referencing then why not try Cite This For Me’s automated citation generator ? The generator accesses knowledge from across the web, assembling all of the relevant information into a fully-formatted reference list that clearly presents all of the sources that have contributed to your work. Using this Harvard reference generator to cite your sources enables you to cross the finishing line in style.
It is important to bear in mind that there is a plethora of different citation styles out there – the use of any particular one depends on the preference of your college, subject, professor or the publication you are submitting the work to. If you’re unsure which style you should be using, consult your tutor and follow their guidelines. If your lecturer or department does not ask you to use a particular style, we recommend using the Harvard referencing system because it is simple to use and easy to learn.
The powerful citation generator above can auto-generate citations in 7,000+ styles. So, whether your professor prefers that you use the MLA format , or your discipline requires you to adopt the APA citation or Chicago citation style , we have the style you need. Cite This For Me also provides citation generators and handy style guides for styles such as ASA , AMA or IEEE . To accurately create citations in a specific format, simply sign up to Cite This For Me for free and select your chosen style.
Are you struggling with citing an unfamiliar source type? Or feeling confused about whether to cite a piece of common knowledge? This guide will tell you everything you need to know to get both your parenthetical Harvard citations and reference list completed quickly and accurately.
Harvard referencing can be a confusing task, especially if you are new to the concept, but it’s absolutely essential. In fact, accurate and complete referencing can mean the difference between reaching your academic goals and damaging your reputation amongst scholars. Simply put – referencing is the citing of sources you have utilised to support your essay, research, conference or article, etc.
Even if you are using our Harvard style citation generator, understanding why you need to cite will go a long way in helping you to naturally integrate the process into your research and writing routine.
Firstly, whenever another source contributes to your work you must give the original author the appropriate credit in order to avoid plagiarism, even when you have completely reworded the information. The only exception to this rule is common knowledge – e.g., Brazil is a country in South America. While plagiarism is not always intentional, it is easy to accidentally plagiarize your work when you are under pressure from imminent deadlines, you have managed your time ineffectively, or if you lack confidence when putting ideas into your own words. The consequences can be severe; deduction of marks at best, expulsion from college or legal action from the original author at worst. Find out more here.
This may sound overwhelming, but using our Harvard citation generator can help you avoid plagiarism and carry out your research and written work thoughtfully and responsibly. We have compiled a handy checklist to follow while you are working on an assignment.
How to avoid plagiarism:
If you carefully check your college or publisher’s advice and guidelines on citing and stick to this checklist, you should be confident that you will not be accused of plagiarism.
Secondly, proving that your writing is informed by appropriate academic reading will enhance your work’s authenticity. Academic writing values original thought that analyzes and builds upon the ideas of other scholars. It is therefore important to use Harvard style referencing to accurately signpost where you have used someone else’s ideas in order to show that your writing is based on knowledge and informed by appropriate academic reading. Citing your sources will demonstrate to your reader that you have delved deeply into your chosen topic and supported your thesis with expert opinions.
Here at Cite This For Me we understand how precious your time is, which is why we created our Harvard citation generator and guide to help relieve the unnecessary stress of citing. Escape assignment-hell and give yourself more time to focus on the content of your work by using the Cite This For Me citation management tool.
In-text citations are the perfect way to seamlessly integrate sources into your work, allowing you to strengthen the connection between your own ideas, and the source material that you have found, with ease. It is worth noting that in-text citations must be included in your assignment’s final word count.
When adopting Harvard style referencing in your work, if you are inserting a quote, statement, statistic or any other kind of source information into the main body of your essay you should:
There are many assumptions when it comes to the information processing approach to cognition… (Lutz and Huitt, 2004).
In the overview of these developmental theories, Lutz and Huitt (2004) suggest that…
“…the development of meaning is more important than the acquisition of a large set of knowledge or skills …” (Lutz and Huitt, 2004, p.8), which means that …
The results showed that respondents needed to reach out to multiple health agencies in order to cover the costs of their services (Wolbeck Minke et al., 2007).
Fong’s 1987 study (cited in Bertram 1997) found that older students’ memory can be as good as that of young people…
(Fong, cited in Bertram 1997)
Why use a Harvard referencing tool? As well as saving you valuable time, the Cite This For Me generator can help you easily avoid common errors when formatting your in-text citations. So, if you’re looking for an easy way to credit your source material, simply login to your Cite This For Me account to copy, save and export each in-text Harvard citation.
Utilizing and building on a wide range of relevant sources is one way of impressing your reader, and a comprehensive list of the source material you have used is the perfect platform to exhibit your research efforts. A reference list is always required when you cite other people’s work within your assignment, and the brief in-text Harvard style citations in your work should directly link to your reference list.
As a general rule a reference list includes every source that you have cited in your work, while a bibliography also contains any relevant background reading which you have consulted to familiarise yourself with the topic (even those sources that are never mentioned in the narrative). Your Harvard referencing bibliography should start on its own page, with the same formatting as the rest of the paper and aligned to the left with the sources listed alphabetically. Certain fields ask you to provide an annotated bibliography that includes your full citations with the addition of notes. These notes are added to further analyze the source, and can be of any length.
Many people use the terms ‘reference list’ and ‘bibliography’ interchangeably, and if you are using the Harvard reference style you may be required to provide a bibliography as well as a reference list, so be sure to check this with your tutor.
Follow these guidelines when compiling your reference list:
Creating and managing your reference list with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator will help improve the way you reference and conduct research.
Reference list / bibliography examples:
Bell, J. (2010) Doing your research project . 5th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Hawking, S.W. (1998) A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes . 10th edn. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.
Jewsiewicki, B. (2010). ‘Historical Memory and Representation of New Nations in Africa’, in Diawara, M., Lategan, B., and Rusen, J. (eds.) Historical memory in Africa: Dealing with the past, reaching for the future in an intercultural context . New York: Berghahn Books, pp. 53-66.
If all information resembles a book, use the template for a book reference
If a page number is unavailable, use chapter number. URL links are not necessary, but can be useful. When including a URL, include the date the book was downloaded at the end of the Harvard citation:
Available at: URL (Downloaded: DD Month YYYY)
Shakoor, J., et al. (2011) ‘A prospective longitudinal study of children’s theory of mind and adolescent involvement in bullying’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 53(3), pp. 254–261. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02488.x.
Drogen, E. (2014) ‘Changing how we think about war: The role of psychology’, The British Psychological Society 2014 Annual Conference . The ICC, Birmingham British Psychological Society, 07-09 May 2014.
Moon, M. (2019) Ubisoft put an official video game design course inside a video game . Available at https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/25/ubisoft-video-game-design-course/ (Accessed 19 November 2019).
RotoBaller (2019) NFL player news . Available at https://www.rotoballer.com/player-news?sport=nfl (Accessed 17 September 2019).
For both types of web page references, the date the page was published or updated is placed in parentheses immediately following the author information. If a date is missing from the source, place (no date) next to the author’s name and make sure to include an accessed date at the end of the reference.
Are you struggling to find all of the publication information to complete a reference? Did you know that our Harvard citation generator can help you?
Time is of the essence when you’re finishing a paper, but there’s no need to panic because you can compile your reference list in a matter of seconds using the Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator. Sign in to your Cite This For Me account to save and export your reference list.
Accurate referencing doesn’t only protect your work from plagiarism – presenting your source material in a consistent and clear way also enhances the readability of your work. Closely follow the style’s formatting rules on font type, font size, text-alignment and line spacing to ensure that your work is easily legible. Before submitting your work check that you have formatted your whole paper – including your reference list – according to the style’s formatting guidelines.
How to format in Harvard referencing:
Even when using a Harvard citation generator, always check with your professor for specified guidelines – there is no unified style for the formatting of a paper. Make sure that you apply the recommended formatting rules consistently throughout your work.
The author-date system is attributed to eminent zoologist Edward Laurens Mark (1847-1946), Hersey professor of anatomy and director of Harvard’s zoological laboratory. It is widely agreed that the first evidence of Harvard referencing can be traced back to Mark’s landmark cytological paper (Chernin, 1988). The paper breaks away from previous uses of inconsistent and makeshift footnotes through its use of a parenthetical author-date citation accompanied by an explanatory footnote.
[…] The appearance may be due solely to reflection from the body itself. (Comp. Flemming, ‘78b, p. 310.*)
*The numbers immediately following an author’s name serve the double purpose of referring the reader to the list (p. 591) where the titles of papers are given, and of informing him at once of the approximate date of the paper in question.
A tribute dedicated to Mark in 1903 by 140 students credits Mark’s paper with having ‘introduced into zoology a proper fullness and accuracy of citation and a convenient and uniform method of referring from text to bibliography’ (Parker, 1903). Today Harvard referencing is widely considered one of the most accessible styles and, although it originated in biology, these days it is used across most subjects – particularly in the humanities, history and social science.
Due to its simplicity and ease of use, the format has become one of the most widely used citation styles in the world. Unlike many citing styles there is no official manual, but institutions such as colleges offer their own unique Harvard reference style guide, and each has its own nuances when it comes to punctuation, order of information and formatting rules. Simply go to the Cite This For Me website to login to your Cite This For Me account and search for the version you need. Make sure you apply consistency throughout your work.
It is increasingly easy for writers to access information and knowledge via the internet, and in turn both the style’s guidelines and our citation generator are continually updated to include developments in electronic publishing. The Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator currently uses the Cite Them Right 10th Edition, which has evolved in recent years to match the rapidly advancing digital age. In order to avoid plagiarism, you must be cautious about pulling information from the internet, and ensure that you accurately cite all source material used in your written work – including all online sources that have contributed to your research.
Key differences from previous Harvard referencing Cite Them Right editions:
These days students draw on a diverse range of digital sources to support their written work. Whether you are citing a hashtag on Instagram , a podcast or a mobile app, the Cite This For Me generator will take care of your Harvard citations, regardless of the type of source you want to cite. So don’t be held back by sources that are difficult to cite – locating unusual source material will help your work to stand out from the crowd.
Creating complete and correctly formatted citations can be a challenge for many writers, especially when documenting multiple source types. Our primary goal at Cite This For Me is to offer support to students and researchers across the globe by transforming the way in which they perceive citing. We hope that after using our citation generator and reading this Harvard referencing guide, what was once considered an arduous process, will be viewed as a highly-valued skill that enhances the quality of your work.
Disheartened by the stressful process of citing? Got a fast-approaching deadline? Using the Cite This For Me fast, accessible and free generator makes creating accurate citations easier than ever, leaving more time for you to focus on achieving your academic goals.
Create a free account to add and edit each Harvard citation on the spot, import and export full projects or individual entries. Things get even easier with Cite This For Me for Chrome – an intuitive, handy browser extension that allows you to create and edit a citation while you browse the web. Use the extension on any webpage that you want to cite, and add it to your chosen project without interrupting your workflow.
The Cite This For Me citation management tool is here to help you, so what are you waiting for? Accurate Harvard citations are just a click away!
Chernin, E. (1988) The ‘Harvard System’: A mystery dispelled. Available at: http://www.uefap.com/writing/referenc/harvard.pdf (Accessed: 4 July 2016).
Parker, G. (ed.) (1903) Mark anniversary volume. New York: Henry Holt.
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A publication of the harvard college writing program.
Harvard Guide to Using Sources
Citations provide information to help your audience locate the sources you consulted when writing a paper or preparing a presentation. Some of your instructors will specify which citation format you should use; others will tell you to choose your own citation format as long as you use it consistently. The most common citation formats are MLA (Modern Language Association) style, which is primarily used for papers in the humanities; APA (American Psychological Association) style, which is primarily used for papers in the social sciences; and Chicago style (The Chicago Manual of Style), which is used for both humanities and social science papers.
Some of your courses at Harvard will require you to use other citation formats. Some science courses may require you to use the citation style of the American Medical Association (AMA). AMA style is considered a standard citation format for academic writing in the sciences and is used in many textbooks and medical journals. The AMA Manual of Style is available online . The American Chemical Society publishes its own style guide , which you may be asked to use in chemistry courses. The Harvard Department of Economics provides students with a departmental style guide, which you can find here . If you are not sure which format to use for a specific course, consult your instructor.
Both APA and MLA styles require you to credit your sources in two ways. First, you must include a parenthetical citation in the text of your paper that indicates the source of a particular quotation, paraphrased statement or idea, or fact; second, you must include a list of references at the end of your paper that enables readers to locate the sources you have used. You can read more about MLA style here and APA style here .
Chicago style also requires you to credit your sources both in the text and at the end of your paper. Chicago offers guidance on two types of in-text citations–notes or parenthetical citations. You can read more about Chicago style here .
If you have questions about which citation style to use, you should always check with your instructor.
Appendix guidelines.
Southern Cross University acknowledges and pays respect to the ancestors, Elders and descendants of the Lands upon which we meet and study. We are mindful that within and without the buildings, these Lands always were and always will be Aboriginal Land.
Cite websites, books, articles, ...
How do i reference in harvard, harvard referencing examples, helpful resources on harvard style, the ultimate guide to citing in harvard.
When you reference a work, you are acknowledging other people's contributions to your research. References can provide key background information, support or dispute your thesis, or offer important definitions and data. Referencing also shows that you have personally read the work.
When using the Harvard referencing style, you identify the sources you have used by citing them in text, enclosing partial citations within parentheses embedded in the text, either within or after a sentence. This referencing system is called the author-date system.
The in-text citations are followed by a full, alphabetised list of references in an end section. We will explain this in further detail below with plenty of examples.
Citing can be very complex, which is why we have created the BibGuru Harvard reference generator to help you focus on the content of your work instead of worrying about how to get your reference list done correctly.
Learn everything you need to know about Harvard citations on this page and in our Harvard citation guide . This guide is based on the 11th edition of Cite Them Right .
The Harvard style is one of the most widely used referencing styles in the world. This is most likely due to its simplicity and ease of use. There is no official manual, but many institutions offer their own Harvard reference style guides, which of course leads to slight nuances when it comes to punctuation and formatting rules.
The Harvard referencing style uses the author-date system for in-text citations, which means the author's surname and the year of publication in round brackets are placed within the text. If there is no discernible author, the title and date are used.
The reference list outlines all the sources directly cited in your work. It should be ordered alphabetically by the surname of the first author of each work. References with no author are ordered alphabetically by the first significant word of the title. Only the initials of the authors' given name are used, with no full stop and space between the initials.
Here is an example:
EXAMPLE In-text citation
There are five strategies to implement Diversity Management in companies (Cox, 2001).
EXAMPLE Reference list
Cox, T. (2001). Creating the multicultural organization. 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p.50.
When you cite you are referring to someone else's work or ideas in your text. In-text references give brief details of the work that you are quoting from, or which you are referring to, in your text. These references will then link to the full reference in the reference list at the end of your work. Footnotes or Endnotes are not used in the Harvard or other author-date citation styles.
When citing in-text, provide the author's surname and date of publication in brackets right after the borrowed information or at the end of the sentence. If you have already mentioned the author's name in the text, you only need to place the date of publication in brackets directly after where the author's surname is mentioned.
If you are only quoting a particular section of the source, instead of the whole book, you should also include a page number or range after the publication date. If the book has more than four authors, you do not need to write out all of their surnames. Use the first author’s surname followed by the abbreviation ‘et al.’, which means 'and others'.
The reference list at the end of your work should start on a new page and be arranged in alphabetical order. Italicise the titles of books, reports, etc. Beware that for journal articles, the name of the journal should be italicised instead of the title of the article you are citing. Make sure to capitalise the first letter of the publication title, the first letters of all main words in the title of a journal, and all first letters of a publication place and publisher.
The general referencing order for a book in Harvard for your reference list is:
EXAMPLE Book with one author
All of those factors contribute to climate change (See, 2012).
Reference list
See, M. (2012) Greenhouse gas emissions: Global business aspects . Berlin, Germany: Springer.
EXAMPLE Book with two authors
Auerbach and Kotlikoff (1998) explain that a higher level of labor productivity means more output per person.
Auerbach, A. J. and Kotlikoff, L. J. (1998) Macroeconomics: An integrated approach. 2nd ed. London, England: MIT Press.
EXAMPLE Book with an editor and multiple authors
.. as claimed by the authors (Raab et al., 2015).
Raab, M. et al. (eds.) (2015) Performance psychology: Perception, action, cognition, and emotion . San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
EXAMPLE Ebook
.. as claimed by the authors (Christian and Griffiths, 2016).
Christian, B. and Griffiths, T. (2016) Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions. London, England: William Collins. Available at: http://a.co/7qGBZAk.
Many journals have print and online equivalents, or they may just be available in print or in online editions. You should reference the version that you are using. As long as the journal reference provides enough bibliographic information for the article to be located by the reader, other elements - e.g. database title or URL - don't need to be included. However, if the article you are citing is only available online, you have to include the DOI or URL.
The general referencing order for a journal article in Harvard is:
EXAMPLE Journal article
In their review of the literature (Norrie et al. , 2012)..
Norrie, C. et al. (2012) 'Doing it differently?' A review of literature on teaching reflective practice across health and social care professions', Reflective Practice , 13(4), pp. 565-578.
EXAMPLE Journal article with DOI
(McCauley and Christiansen, 2019)
McCauley, S. M. and Christiansen, M. H. (2019) “Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development,” Psychological review , 126(1), pp. 1–51. doi: 10.1037/rev0000126.
To cite a magazine article in Harvard, follow this citation order:
EXAMPLE Electronic magazine article
The southern part of Kalahari has characteristics of a dry savanna ecosystem (Joubert, 2021).
Joubert, L. (2021) 'Rising heat puts the Kalahari’s ecosystem on the edge of survival', National Geographic, 27 July. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/rising-heat-puts-the-kalaharis-ecosystem-on-the-edge-of-survival-feature (Accessed: 28 July 2021).
The citation order for theses is the following:
EXAMPLE Doctoral thesis
Pradhan, S. (2021) Impacts of road construction on landsliding in Nepal. Doctoral thesis. Durham University. Available at: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/14069/ (Accessed: 28 July 2021).
When referencing information from the internet, make sure to distinguish what you are referring to. The internet is made up of a broad range of material - from journal articles to government publications, blogs, and images. This section shows you how to reference internet sites or web pages produced by individuals or organisations.
As always, the information you provide should be just enough for the reader to find the source. As material on the internet can be removed or changed, also note the date when you have accessed the information.
The defining element in referencing a website is the URL. It should be included in your reference list, but not in your in-text citation.
Citation order of a website with individual authors:
EXAMPLE Websites with individual authors
McCarthy (2021) also says that wasted food significantly impacts climate change.
McCarthy, S. (2021) Over 1 Billion Tonnes More Food Being Wasted Than Previously Estimated, Contributing 10% of All Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Available at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/over-1-billion-tonnes-more-food-being-wasted-than-previously-estimated-contributing-10-of-all-greenhouse-gas-emissions (Accessed: 27 July 2021).
EXAMPLE Websites with organisations as authors
After identifying symptoms (National Health Service, 2018)...
National Health Service (2018) Check your symptoms . Available at: http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/checkyoursymptoms (Accessed: 17 October 2018).
EXAMPLE Websites with no authors
.. and is considered a virtue (Altruism, 2021).
Altruism (2021) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia . Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism (Accessed: August 24, 2021).
Beware that blogs and vlogs are someone's opinion, and therefore might not provide objective, reasoned discussion of an issue. Use them together with reputable sources. This is the citation order for blogs:
EXAMPLE Blog
Social channels help us share common interests (Liegl, 2021)
Liegl, J. (2021) 'Communicating with humanity', Several People Are Typing , 2 July. Available at: https://slack.com/intl/en-at/blog (Accessed: 28 July 2021).
This would be the citation order for an Instagram post, but other social media websites follow the same order:
EXAMPLE Instagram post
.. by painting a sea horse (VeganArtShare, 2021).
VeganArtShare (2021) 'Tiny dancer of the sea.' [Instagram]. 25 June. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQjWYSWJDqT/ (Accessed: 24 August 2021).
To reference a photograph from the internet, follow this citation order:
EXAMPLE Photograph from the internet
His beautiful photograph (Kitto, 2013)...
Kitto, J. (2013) Golden Sunset. Available at: http://www.jameskitto.co.uk/photo_1827786.html (Accessed: 14 June 2018).
When viewing a television programme through a streaming service (e.g. Netflix), use the following citation order:
EXAMPLE Programme on Netflix
While this show is set in the Cold war era ( The Queen's Gambit , 2020),..
The Queen's Gambit (2020) Netflix Original, 12 January, 20:00. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 24 August 2021).
There is a multitude of different legal sources in the UK that we can use to explain referencing in Harvard. The safest way to get the correct reference is to use the BibGuru Harvard reference generator .
This is the citation order for papers from the House of Commons and House of Lords:
EXAMPLE Papers from the House of Commons and House of Lords
Parliamentary reports for the year included the criminal justice system (Parliament. House of Commons, 1999) and renewable energy (Parliament. House of Lords, 1999).
Parliament. House of Commons (1999) Criminal Justice: working together, Session 1999-2000 . (HC 1999-2000 29). London: The Stationery Office.
Parliament. House of Lords (1999) Electricity from renewables: first report from the Select Committee on the European Union . (HL 1999-2000 (18)). London: The Stationery Office.
While there is a multitude of details and specific rules on how to cite various publications or works in Harvard (magazines, online books, the internet, social media, legal sources, movies, etc.), you do not need to worry about getting your citations wrong with BibGuru. Use our BibGuru Harvard reference generator to create the fastest and most accurate Harvard citations possible.
From our blog.
The APA style is a variant of the Harvard style. Both styles use author-date references in brackets right after the borrowed information or at the end of the sentence, and full references in the reference list. There are a few differences between APA and Harvard, you can learn more about them here .
Your Harvard paper should be double-spaced with smooth left margins. The Harvard Reference list is double-spaced too.
The Reference list is alphabetised by the author's surname and is double-spaced with a hanging indent, meaning that all but the first line have an indent. The margin can vary depending on your institution, but in general is 0.5.
In general, numbers below 101 should be spelled out. The same goes for large round numbers like "one thousand" or "twenty thousand", although 250,000 would be too long to spell out. Very large numbers, like 4.3 billion, should be expressed in figures. What is most important though is consistency. However, you choose to express numbers, be consistent with them throughout your paper. You can read more about this here .
The Harvard citation style uses the author-date system for in-text references, which means the author's surname and the year of publication in round brackets are placed within the text, not in footnotes. Only use footnotes within a Harvard formatted paper for explanatory notes that would not detract from the text, if necessary.
Citation guides, alternative to.
Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples / Referencing direct quotes in Harvard style
If you include a direct quote in your paper, you’ll need to know how to create Harvard in-text citations . The Harvard style of referencing follows an author-date format for in-text citations; this means that the surname of the author and the date of publication are used to cite a quotation or idea borrowed from another author. If you include a direct quote in your paper and that source has page numbers, you’ll also need to know how to format page numbers in Harvard style .
Follow these rules when directly quoting from a source in Harvard style:
A short direct quote is one to two lines long. When you are using a short direct quotation from a source, it should be enclosed in quotation marks. The following format is used:
“Quotation” (Surname of the author, year of publication of the source, page number if applicable).
Example :
“He put up his book of notes in a very deliberate manner” (Gaskell, 1855, p. 290).
Note that if you mention the name of the author in the sentence containing the direct quotation, you do not have to put the author’s name in the parenthetical in-text citation.
Gaskell (1855, p. 292) writes, “She had sunk under her burden.”
While referencing this quotation in the reference list, you will follow the following format:
Surname of the author, initial(s). (Year of publication) Title of the source . Place of publication: Publisher.
Gaskell, E. (1855) North and south . London: Vintage Publishing.
Longer direct quotations
Quotations that run for more than two lines should be separated from the paragraph. A free line should be left above and below the quotation.
A colon is placed before the quotation. Unlike short quotations, longer quotations are not enclosed in quotation marks. The author’s name, date of publication, and page number are included.
The font size of the quotation should be at least 2 points smaller than the font size of the rest of the text.
The full citation in the reference list should be formatted the same way as for shorter direct quotations.
The narrator describes why Radley house was different from the otherwise amiable neighborhood of Maycomb county. As stated by Lee (1960, p. 9):
This clearly shows why the Radleys were different.
Published October 29, 2020.
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Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.
With just 10 weeks before its first application deadline on Sept. 4th, Harvard Business School today (June 25) revealed a newly revised application for MBA candidates, including a new set of three short essays along with a refresh on how it will evaluate applicants for future classes.
The new prompts?
Business-Minded Essay : Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)
Leadership-Focused Essay : What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)
Growth-Oriented Essay : Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)
Eagerly awaited by thousands of prospective students and admission consultants, you can bet that the admissions pages of the HBS website were continually refreshed all morning for a glimpse at the new essay. The Harvard Business School essay prompt for the Class of 2027 was posted at 10:30 a.m. with the opening of the 2024-2025 application online.
This year’s change was put through by Rupal Gadhia , who joined the school as managing director of admissions and financial aid last October. A 2004 Harvard MBA, Gadhia came to the school with no previous admissions experience, having been the global head of marketing for SharkNinja robots.
In explaining the change in a blog post , Gadhia noted that “we have refreshed the criteria on which we evaluate candidates. We are looking for applicants who are business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented…This is your opportunity to discuss meaningful or formative experiences that are important to you that you haven’t had a chance to fully explore elsewhere in your application…Be authentic, be yourself.”
The school added some context to its new criteria for admission, more clearly defining what it means by business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented.
We are looking for individuals who are passionate about using business as a force for good – who strive to improve and transform companies, industries, and the world. We are seeking those who are eager to solve today’s biggest problems and shape the future through creative and integrated thinking. Being business-minded is about the interest to help organizations succeed, whether in the private, public, or non-profit sector. This business inclination can be found in individuals with a variety of professional and educational experiences, not just those who come from traditional business backgrounds.
In Your Application: We will look for evidence of your interpersonal skills, quantitative abilities, and the ways in which you plan to create impact through business in the future.
We are looking for individuals who aspire to lead others toward making a difference in the world, and those who recognize that to build and sustain successful organizations, they must develop and nurture diverse teams. Leadership takes many forms in many contexts – you do not have to have a formal leadership role to make a difference. We deliberately create a class that includes different kinds of leaders, from the front-line manager to the startup founder to the behind-the-scenes thought leader.
In Your Application: Your leadership impact may be most evident in extracurriculars, community initiatives, or your professional work.
We are looking for individuals who desire to broaden their perspectives through creative problem solving, active listening, and lively discussion. At HBS you will be surrounded by future leaders from around the world who will make you think more expansively about what impact you might have. Our case and field-based learning methods depend on the active participation of curious students who are excited to listen and learn from faculty and classmates, as well as contribute their own ideas and perspectives.
In Your Application: We will look for the ways in which you have grown, developed, and how you engage with the world around you.
The new essay prompts come nearly two months after candidates to the school’s MBA program would more typically know what was expected of them. Some admission consultants say the delay over the prompt’s release, along with nearly a month’s slow down in releasing application deadlines, is “wildly insensitive” to applicants who will have less time than normal to prepare for the round one deadline of Sept. 4th.
That’s especially true because the most successful applicants to HBS have highly demanding jobs that consume the vast majority of their time. Many candidates go through multiple drafts of their essays to get them as close to perfection as humanly possible. MBA admission consultants are expecting a lot of up-to-the-deadline work this year to help prep candidates for Harvard and other top business schools.
The new application still preserves the post-interview reflection for applicants who are invited to a 30-minute admissions interview. Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through the school’s online application system.
Early reaction to the change suggests the likelihood of mixed reviews. “This is an uninspired and odd set of questions,” says Sandy Kreisberg, founder of HBSGuru.com and an MBA admissions consultant who closely reads the tea leaves of Harvard’s admissions process. “I don’t know how it’s different from what else do you want us to know about you, frankly,” he adds in a reference to last year’s single essay prompt.
“HBS has certainly moved from the abstract to the concrete,” believes Jeremy Shinewald, founder and CEO of mbaMission, a leading MBA admissions consulting firm. “Some applicants previously felt like they didn’t know where to start and some weren’t sure if they had answered the question, even when they were done. Now, the questions are quite straightforward and all have a cause and effect relationship — one where the applicant discusses the past to reveal the present or future. Smart applicants will understand how to share their experiences and, more importantly, how to relay their values. Some will mistakenly try to whack HBS over the head with stories of their epic feats, but the key isn’t to brag or embellish – the key is to simply create a clear relationship, via narrative, between past experience and true motivations.”
Shinewald found it astonishing that Harvard could not have made the change earlier. “It is, of course, surprising that HBS left applicants on edge until the last minute, all to create very traditional essays,” he adds. “As applicants learn in MBA classrooms, change can be hard and take time. The bottom line here is that these essays are somewhat of an applicant’s dream – they allow the savvy applicant to play to their strengths and draw on their best anecdotes and experiences to create a complete story. Some applicants will lament the absence of a ‘Why HBS?’ prompt, but my guess is that the admissions committee recognized that they would get an almost homogenous collection of essays touting the case method and other well known features. HBS gets some kudos for keeping the focus on the applicant.”
Adds Petia Whitmore of My MBA Path: “I think they reflect one of the traits of this new generation of candidates which is that they don’t handle ambiguity well. So it seems like Harvard had to spell out what they’re looking for way more prescriptively than in the past.”
Some, however, find the new essays a return to the past. “To me, the prompts feel quite regressive, and a return to the more formulaic approach that pervaded MBA applications two decades ago,” believes Justin Marshall, a New York-based MBA admissions consultant. “Because the previous prompt was so open ended, it forced applicants to be introspective and self-aware. You couldn’t just ramble for 900 words; you had to identify themes in your life to show how your personal experiences shaped your values, your leadership style, and your goals. Comparatively, these new prompts are much more paint-by-numbers. Applicants will likely cover the same ground in terms of topic, but there’s very little room for nuance and self-expression. I think it will be harder for applicants with less conventional backgrounds and experiences to differentiate themselves. I’m sure HBS grew tired of reading so many painfully earnest ‘life story’ essays, but I suspect they’ll soon find themselves yearning for essays that have a heartbeat and personality. 250 words just doesn’t allow for that unless you’re a very crafty writer.”
Whatever the case, getting into Harvard’s MBA program is still a daunting exercise. Last year, 1,076 of the 8,264 candidates who applied for admission to Harvard Business School gained admission, an acceptance rate of 13.2%, making HBS the second most selective prestige MBA program in the country after Stanford Graduate School of Business which had an admit rate of 8.4%. Harvard saw a 15.4% drop in MBA applications from the 9,773 it received a year-earlier.
Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay: How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (up to 400 words)
Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must provide an additional essay: The MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program is focused on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. Describe your past experiences in these areas and your reasons for pursuing a program with this focus. (recommended length: 500 words). Applicants will also be able to respond to an optional essay.
In any case, it’s the biggest change in Harvard Business School’s application in nearly a decade. The last time HBS made a major switch, moving to the essay prompt it just eliminated, was in 2016. That change to just one essay with no word limit and a post-interview reflection was made by then admissions chief Dee Leopold.
When Leopold applied to Harvard as an MBA candidate in 1978, she had to write eight essays. Over her years as managing director of admissions, she first cut the essays down to four and then one, making it optional, and finally the one last prompt with a post-interview reflection, saying that applying to HBS should not be a writing contest .
OUR BUSINESS CASUAL PODCAST: The New HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA Application: Fortuna Admissions’ Caroline Diarte-Edwards and ApplicantLab’s Maria Wich-Vila join P&Q’s John A. Byrne to offer applicant advice on how to answer the new HBS essay prompts
DON’T MISS: 2024-2024 MBA APPLICATION DEADLINES or HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL WILL NOW UPDATE ITS MBA ESSAY
Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.
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Harvard business school announces 3 new application essays.
Harvard Business School.
Harvard Business School announced a surprising departure from its single, open-ended application essay to three short essays with specific prompts. The HBS website sums up the kind of applicant the school is seeking: “We are looking for future leaders who are passionate about business, leadership, and growth.”
The prompts for the class that will begin in fall 2025 instruct applicants to address each topic in turn.
The prompts ask applicants to go beyond simply asserting their allegiance to the ideals of business, leadership and growth. Each of the three questions asks for evidence: “experiences,” “experiences” and “an example,” respectively.
The prompts do not expect a straightforward list of what happened in the past. Rather, they encourage reflection on how these experiences affected present realities and future goals.
Applicants are asked to reflect on past, present and future as an ongoing process of becoming who they are now and who they wish to become. Even the “Business-Minded Essay” is about past choices and future impact; it also assumes you “plan to serve.” The “Leadership-Focused Essay” does not ask applicants to recite a list of titles, but to discuss who they are and how they relate to others; not what title they aspire to, but “what kind of leader you wish to become.”
Perhaps the most surprising essay prompt is No. 3, which asks about curiosity. It opens the door for applicants to discuss a more personal aspect of their candidacies. The prompt asks not about end result, but about the process of change. Once again, the emphasis is on “growth.”
Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.
In short, the prompts ask about person and process.
This year’s prompts give applicants more direction than the previous open-ended instruction, which was: “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?”
Applicants may find it easier to follow these more detailed instructions and to stay on topic. They no longer need to face an open question and a blank page.
Another aid is the shorter word limit. The essay on being business-minded has a limit of 300 words, and the essays on leadership and growth through curiosity are limited to 250 words each.
A third difference is the specific inquiry about business. Last year’s prompt allowed candidates to choose anything they thought would be important for HBS to consider. Some applicants struggled to decide whether to focus on business or something beyond work. While the “Business-Minded Essay” is still personal, it does ask applicants to reflect on their careers.
One might also speculate that the new, more directive prompts makes it easier for the admissions committee to compare essays across applications, while still leaving room for considerable variation in how applicants choose to address the essay prompts.
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Learn how to use the Harvard referencing system in your essays and reports with this free example. Find out the origin, definition, importance, format and rules of Harvard referencing with in-text citations and reference lists.
Learn how to cite sources in Harvard style with this quick guide. Find out the rules for in-text citations, reference lists, and different source types, and see citation examples.
Harvard referencing is a system that allows you to include information about the source materials. It is based on the author-date system. It includes references: 1) as in-text citations and 2) in a reference list (which is different from a bibliography). In-text citations: (Author Surname, Year Published). Reference list entry: Author Surname ...
Harvard is a referencing style which is used widely across a range of disciplines; it could arguably be deemed the "most commonly used" style. It is primarily used in the humanities and social sciences subjects, though some sciences and business subjects use it, too. Learn how to reference in the Harvard style of academic citation with the ...
There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database. For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library's ...
Sample assignment. Sample assignment. The purpose of this assignment is to show common elements of the Harvard style of referencing in Dundalk Institute of Technology. It is not intended to be an example of good quality academic writing, and indeed may not make sense in general, but it should show you how citations and a reference list are ...
Below is an example essay, complete with citations and references. Please remember this is a fictional essay purely designed to demonstrate how and when to reference. Embedding experiences and voices in research can "challenge [the] studied ignorance" around race (Arday and Mirza, 2018, p.v) and the academy's role as gatekeeper of what is ...
A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style. It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.
The name of the author in a newspaper article is referred to as a byline. Below are examples for citing an article both with and without a byline. Reference list (print) structure: Last name, F. (Year published). 'Article title', Newspaper name, Day Month, Page (s). Example: Hamilton, J. (2018).
In Harvard style, citations appear in brackets in the text. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author, the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. Up to three authors are included in Harvard in-text citations. If there are four or more authors, the citation is shortened with et al. Harvard in-text citation examples.
Reference example for the above in-text citation: Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher. Bloom, H. (2005) Novelists and novels. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. Below are Harvard referencing examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for the different ...
Harvard citation is a referencing style commonly used in academic writing to acknowledge the sources of information used in research papers and essays. In Harvard citation, each in-text citation includes the author's last name and the year of publication, allowing readers to locate the full bibliographic details in the reference list easily.
The Harvard referencing style (also known as 'author-date') is commonly used at TUS Midwest. There are two elements to the Harvard referencing style. This means when you reference using the Harvard system, you have to do two things: Include an author-date citation each time you refer to a source in the body of your essay.
How to reference in Harvard style. Harvard referencing is a widely used referencing style (especially in UK universities) that includes author-date in-text citations and a complete reference list at the end of the text.. There are many versions of Harvard referencing style. Our guidance reflects the rules laid out in Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide (12th edition) by Richard ...
Reference list. Your reference list in Harvard style needs to include all the works you have cited in your assignment. It is placed at the end of your essay on a new page and has a specific format you need to follow. This is an overview of the rules given in the Style Manual for creating a reference list. Setting up your list
As you begin writing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion of your Harvard referencing paper, these are formatting tips to keep in mind. Page headings: Center a page title. Do not bold, italicize, or underline it. Body: Left-aligned. Paragraphs: Indent the first line using the tab key. In-text citations: Include these citations ...
Reference Harvard Style: Basics. Harvard style is an author-date system of referencing. It's similar to an APA paper format in terms of general formatting of pages and text. But this style follows its own rules for bibliography and in-text citations formatting. Harvard style is typically used for essays in such academic disciplines: Humanities
When adopting Harvard style referencing in your work, if you are inserting a quote, statement, statistic or any other kind of source information into the main body of your essay you should: Provide the author's surname and date of publication in parentheses right after the taken information or at the end of the sentence
First, you must include a parenthetical citation in the text of your paper that indicates the source of a particular quotation, paraphrased statement or idea, or fact; second, you must include a list of references at the end of your paper that enables readers to locate the sources you have used. You can read more about MLA style here and APA ...
Appendix guidelines. An appendix (plural appendices) contain material that belongs with your paper, rather than in it. They go at the very end of your paper, after your reference list. The appendix can include text, tables, figures, or a combination of these. Each appendix starts on a separate page. If you have one appendix in your assessment ...
This referencing system is called the author-date system. The in-text citations are followed by a full, alphabetised list of references in an end section. We will explain this in further detail below with plenty of examples. Citing can be very complex, which is why we have created the BibGuru Harvard reference generator to help you focus on the ...
The Harvard style of referencing follows an author-date format for in-text citations; this means that the surname of the author and the date of publication are used to cite a quotation or idea borrowed from another author. If you include a direct quote in your paper and that source has page numbers, you'll also need to know how to format page ...
Eagerly awaited by thousands of prospective students and admission consultants, you can bet that the admissions pages of the HBS website were continually refreshed all morning for a glimpse at the new essay. The Harvard Business School essay prompt for the Class of 2027 was posted at 10:30 a.m. with the opening of the 2024-2025 application online.
Harvard Business School announced a surprising departure from its single, open-ended application essay to three short essays with specific prompts. The HBS website sums up the kind of applicant ...