Guide to Harvard Style Citation and Referencing

Along with APA, MLA, and Chicago, Harvard is one of the most widely used forms of formatting for academic writing. The overall structure of the document, such as margin size and recommended fonts, should follow the Harvard format guidelines.

The text at the end of the article also includes references and guidelines for citing sources. This article includes a Harvard Reference guide that will help you customize your essay.

Harvard Style Format

• Add Citation to All Your Sources

  You should provide a Harvard-style text citation to identify the source of any material used in your work. If not, your content will be deemed plagiarized.

• Text Citation

  The author's last name and publication year are in parentheses in the form of a Harvard reference. They appear as: (David & Robbinson 2019). There is also an option of including page numbers (David & Robbinson 2019, p. 38).

• Use Quotation Marks

  If you use the correct quotation marks from a source and add page numbers to your text reference, use the Harvard citation method. If you copy text from a web page, you should include paragraph numbers, as in this example: (David & Robbinson 2019, para. 3).

• Author Name in the Text

  If you refer to the authors in the content, do not put their names in parentheses. Additionally, use the word "and" for the (&) ampersand. For example,
  According to David & Robbinson (2019, p. 10), skydiving can damage your health.

• Cite the Author Mentioned in Another Source

  The original author's name should be mentioned when referring to the author in question in the secondary source. For example,
  Plato believed that the soul is free from the body if it nurtures it (cited in Kraut 2017).

• Multiple Sources in a Single Citation

  You should list your source as a reference list, and if you want to specify more than one source in pairs of parentheses, it is best to separate them with a semicolon. For example: (David 2018; Robbinson 2015).

Formatting the Reference List

• Sorted Alphabetically

  In your reference list, include the initials of the first word (usually the author's First name) in alphabetical order. However, if a reference entry begins with the words "a," "an," or "the," ignore them and alphabetize the first letter of the next word.

• Positioning

  Each bibliographic entry in the Harvard reference format must begin with a new line.

• Spacing

  All your references should be double-digit.

• Capitalization

  Enlarge only the initials in the names of books, chapters, and online articles. However, use them when referring to all fundamental terms in scientific journals and newspaper headlines.
  Citing the work of others boosts the impact of your effort. It might include text references, critical point summaries, statistical facts, or other people's opinion statements.

Undoubtedly, the Harvard style is an excellent formatting style for academic writing. It is easy to learn and apply. The above guide will help you correctly use the Harvard reference style in your articles.

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