HARVARD CITATION STYLE:

A DETAILED GUIDE FROM

EXPERTS
May 28, 2015
Formatting Styles

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with formatting your custom essay in the AGPS Harvard
referencing style. You can find out how to:

 Format your paper in general,

 Provide in-text citations,
 Create a reference list.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What is Harvard Format?

• General Paper Formatting Guidelines

o General Rules
o Title, Headers, and Page Numbers

o Subheadings

o Title Page

o Outline

o Reference List

• Formatting Harvard In-Text Citations

o General Rules

o Different Types of In-Text Citations + Examples

• Formatting the Reference List

o General Rules

o Books

o Periodicals

o Other Sources

What is Harvard Format?

Harvard citation style is one of the most popular formatting styles
used in academic papers, along with APA, MLA, and Chicago.
Harvard style dictates the general format of the paper, including the
size of the margins, preferred font, etc. It also contains rules for citing
sources—both in the text and in the list of references at the end of
the paper.
Harvard referencing style is commonly used in the following fields:

1. Humanities
2. Behavioral sciences
3. Philosophy

However, you may be requested to use the Harvard referencing

system in other fields as well.
General Paper Formatting Guidelines
General Rules
 1-inch margins from all sides.
 Times New Roman 12 pt. or Arial 12 pt. are the
recommended fonts.
 Double spacing between the lines.
 The text is aligned to the left.
 The first line of each paragraph is indented by 0.5″.
 A title in the center of your first page right before the text.
 Headers and page numbers (see below).
 The paper may include subheadings (dividing it into
sections), a title page, an outline (a plan of your paper),
and/or a list of references (see below).

Title, Headers, and Page Numbers

 Place a title before the text of your paper and make it center-
aligned. Capitalize all the main words, for example: How to
Write an Essay. Articles, short conjunctions, and prepositions
are not capitalized. Do not make your title indented, italicized,
underscored, or bold.
 Include a page number in the header of your paper, in the top
right corner of a page.
 Place your last name in the header right before the page
number.

Subheadings
Subheadings divide your paper into parts. For example, level 1
headings divide the whole paper into sections. Level 2 headings
divide those sections into subsections.

 Level 1 headings look just like the title of the paper. In other
words, they are centered, capitalized, not bold, not
underscored, not italicized, and not indented. After the heading,
start typing your text on a new line as usual (indent the first line
of your text by 0.5″).
 Level 2 headings are also capitalized. However, they are flush
left (aligned to the left margin of the paper). They are also
italicized. After this subheading, also start typing your
subsection on a new line as usual.
Title Page
The title page, also known as the cover page, is the very first page
of your paper. It contains the basic info about it, namely:

 The title of your paper, written in all caps. It should be centered

and placed at approximately one-third of the way down the
page.
 Your name should be centered and placed at approximately
halfway down the page.
 At two-thirds of the way down the page, place the centered
name and number of your course. Then (on the next line) your
professor’s name, then (again on the following line) the name
of your university, and, finally, the date on the line after that.

You can also find a template (with a title page, headers and
subheadings) here.

Outline
An outline is a plan of your paper. It comes after the title page and
lists all the subsections of the paper. So simply write the word
“Outline” and place it at the center of the page, in the first line. Then
list all your level 1 subheadings that you have in the paper (use a
numbered list). Align them to the left, and capitalize them.
If you have level 2 subheadings, list them under the corresponding level
1 subheadings as bullet points. Be careful not to disrupt the numbering
of your level 1 subheadings. Align the level 2 subheadings to the left,
but probably indent them a bit (say, half an inch) for better appearance.
Do not italicize them here, but leave them capitalized.
If you have done everything correctly, your outline should look like
the one in the template above.

Reference List
Your list of Harvard references should be entitled “Reference List”.
These two words should be capitalized and centered, just like level 1
subheadings. The list must contain a bibliographical entry for every
source you cited in the paper. Conversely, each source cited in the
paper must have a corresponding reference list entry.
Find out more about how to format your bibliographical entries below
or just ask one of our professional writersfor help.
Formatting Harvard In-Text Citations
General Rules
 Cite all your sources. When you use information from any
sources in your paper, you must provide in-text citations to
show where that info came from. Otherwise, your text will be
considered plagiarized.
 General appearance of in-text citations. In Harvard citation
style, in-text citations are parenthetical, consisting of the
author’s surname and the year of publication. They look like
this: (Smith & Johnson 2018). You may also include the page
number, like so: (Smith & Johnson 2018, p. 35).
 Direct quotes. In Harvard referencing system, if you provide
exact words from some source, you must place that quote in
quotation marks, and give the page number in your in-text
citation. If you quote a website, you need to include the number
of the paragraph the words are taken from, like this: (Smith &
Johnson 2018, para. 4). Just count the paragraphs on the web
page you are citing.
 Mentioning authors in the text. If you mention the name of
the authors in the text, do not include it in parentheses. Also,
use the word “and” instead of the ampersand (&). For example,
you may write: In their book, Smith and Johnson (2018, p. 15)
claim that jumping from a skyscraper might be bad for your
health.
 Citing an author discussed in a different source. If you are
referring to an author who is discussed in a secondary source,
you should mention the name of the original author, but state
that this author is “cited in” the source you are using. For
example, if Kraut discusses Plato, you can say:
Plato believed that the existence of the soul is independent of
the body it inhabits (cited in Kraut 2017).
Note: in this case, you will have to provide a bibliographic entry
for Kraut and not for Plato in the Reference List.
 Several sources in one citation. If you wish to cite several
sources in one set of parentheses, you should list them in the
same order as they appear in your Reference List, and use a
semicolon to separate them, like this: (Johnson 2015; Smith
2014).

Different Types of In-Text Citations + Examples

In Harvard referencing, in-text citations look different depending on
the number of the authors in your source. We provide two Harvard
referencing examples for each case: in one, the source is not
mentioned in the text, and in the other, it is.
One Author

 It is recommended to clean your teeth after dinner (Anderson

2015).
 Anderson (2015) recommends cleaning your teeth after dinner.

Two Authors

 Some students may actually enjoy writing papers (Ironicous &

Sarcastish 2016).
 According to Ironicous and Sarcastish (2016), some students
may actually enjoy writing papers.

Three Authors

 Gas giants do not have a hard surface (Peachy, Fluffy & Cozy
2014).
 According to Peachy, Fluffy and Cozy (2014), gas giants do not
have a hard surface.

Four or More Authors

 Punishing children physically is considered an extremely

harmful practice (Kickbutt et al. 2016).
 Kickbutt et al. (2016) states that punishing children physically is
an extremely harmful practice.

Edited Source

 Disaster management is pivotal for lowering risks (eds López-

Carresi et al. 2014).
 According to the book edited by López-Carresi et al. (2014),
disaster management is pivotal for lowering risks.

Note: in a parenthetical citation, if there is only one editor, use “ed.”

before the name. If there are multiple editors, use “eds” (without a
period) before their names. If you mention their names in the text,
just say that the source was “edited by” before listing the name(s).
No Authors
If the authors of a source are not mentioned, use the title of that
source in your in-text citation. Note that in Harvard system of
referencing, the title is italicized for books, brochures, periodicals,
and reports. However, the title is put in single quotation marks when
you need to cite a website, article, newspaper, or chapter name. Only
capitalize the first word of the title.
For books, periodicals, brochures, and reports:

 Some people might work well under pressure (The psychology

of pressure: an introduction 2010).
 According to The psychology of pressure: an
introduction(2010), some people might work well under
pressure.

For newspapers, articles, chapter titles, and Web pages:

 It is helpfully advised to act wisely in any situation (‘Ten brilliant

tips to become successful’ 2011).
 The article ‘Ten brilliant tips to become successful’ (2011)
helpfully recommends to act wisely in any situation.

Also, you may shorten the title if it is too long. For instance, in the
example above, you may write just The psychology of
pressure (2010) instead of The psychology of pressure: an
introduction (2010).
No Date
If there is no date in the source, use the abbreviation “n.d.” (no date)
instead. All the other rules apply as usual.

 It is stated that the Earth is large ('The captain’s gazette' n.d.)

 One might not be surprised to learn that having a lot of money
is better than having none, according to Allen (n.d.).

Formatting the Reference List

General Rules
  Alphabetical order. Your Harvard reference list should be
alphabetized according to the first letter of the first word of
each reference entry (usually it’s the first author’s surname).
However, if a reference entry starts with the words “a,” “an”, or
“the,” ignore them and alphabetize according to the first letter
of the next word.
For instance, if you cite a source whose authors are not listed,
and the entry starts with its title, e.g., “The importance of doing
things well,” then you should alphabetize it according to the
word “importance.”
 Placement of entries. In Harvard reference system, each
bibliographical entry must start from a new line. They are
aligned to the left and not indented at all (which makes your
reference list look like a total mess).
Maintain double-spacing throughout your Harvard reference
list.
 Capitalization. In titles of books, book chapters, and articles
from the Web, capitalize only the first letter. However, when
citing scientific journals or newspapers, capitalize all the main
words of their titles (i.e., not prepositions, articles, conjunctions,
etc.).
See specific Harvard reference examples below.
 Referencing multiple authors. Even though in-text citations
require you to use “et al.” when there are four or more authors
in a source, you need to list all the authors in a bibliographical
entry. Yes, all of them, even if there are 25.
 Several works by the same author. In Harvard style
reference list, sources by the same author should be arranged
by the year of publication. If there are several works by the
same author published in the same year, arrange them in the
alphabetical order of their titles, and add letters “a,” “b,” “c,” etc.
after the year, like so:
Smith, JH 2014a, A big book, Big Book Publisher, London, UK.
Smith, JH 2014b, A small book, Small Book Publisher, London,
UK.
Note: This will let you differentiate between in-text citations: (Smith
2014a; Smith 2014b).
Check out an example of a Harvard reference list.

Books
General Book Format
Last Name, Initials Year of Publication, Title of the book: subtitle of
the book, if any, Publishing House, City, State Abbreviation or
Country.
Book With One Author
Doel, M 2012, Social work: the basics, Routledge, New York, NY.
Book With Two Authors
Tschudin, V & Davis, AJ 2008, The globalisation of nursing,Radcliffe
Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Book With Three Authors
Cretu, O, Stewart, RB & Berends, T 2011, Risk management for
design and construction, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Book With Four or More Authors
Evans, J, Grimshaw, P, Philips, D & Swain, S 2003, Equal subjects,
unequal rights: indigenous peoples in British settler colonies 1830s-
1910, Manchester University Press, Manchester, UK.
Edited Book
López-Carresi, A, Fordham, M, Wisner, B, Kelman, I & Gaillard, JC
(eds) 2014 Disaster management: international lessons in risk
reduction, response and recovery, Routledge, New York, NY.
Note: if there is only one editor, use (ed.) after the name. If there are
multiple editors, use (eds) after their names.
Book—Edition Other Than First
Field, A 2013, Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics: and
sex and drugs and rock'n'roll, 4th edn, SAGE Publications, Thousand
Oaks, CA.
Translated Book
Weber, M 2003, The Protestant ethic and the spirit of
capitalism, trans. T Parsons, Dover Publications, New York, NY,
original work published 1905.
Chapter in an Edited Book
Luna, EM 2014, 'Community-based disaster risk reduction and
disaster management', in A López-Carresi, M Fordham, B Wisner, I
Kelman & JC Gaillard (eds), Disaster management: international
lessons in risk reduction, response and recovery,Routledge, New
York, NY, pp. 43-63.
No Author
The Oxford dictionary of abbreviations 1998, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, UK.
E-Book
Doel, M 2012, Social work: the basics, Routledge, viewed 19 April
2018, via Google Books.

Periodicals
Journal Articles
Viñuales, JE 2013, ‘The rise and fall of sustainable
development’, Review of European, Comparative & International
Environmental Law, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 3-13.
Conference Proceedings
Bingulac, SP 1994 'On the compatibility of adaptive
controllers', Proceedings of 4th Annual Allerton Conference on
Circuit and System Theory, New York, NY, pp. 8-16.
Newspaper Articles
Waterford, J 2007, ‘Bill of Rights gets it wrong’, Canberra Times, 30
May, p. 11.
Online Newspapers
Matthews, J & Smithson, LW 2015, 'The latest reform causes large-
scale protests', The Contemporary News Gazette, 11 August, viewed
26 April 2018, <www.website.com/articleone>.

Other Sources
Web Pages
Jameson, S 2017, Protests in Portugal reached unseen
scope,viewed 27 April 2018, <www.website.com/articletwo>.
Blog Articles
Brown, A 2016, 'How to Harvard reference a website and other
sources', Referencing: Harvard Style Blog, web log post, 20 June,
viewed 26 April 2018, <www.website.com/blog/articlethree>.
Dissertation or Thesis

 Print version:
Reed, C 2013, 'The experiences of leaders who took their lives
in their hands', PhD Thesis, The University of Modern
Education.
 Retrieved from the Web:
Johnston, AC 2017, 'A study of nursing leadership styles in the
today’s clinical setting', MSc Thesis, The University of
Contemporary Nursing, viewed 25 April 2018,
<www.website.edu/dissertationone>.
 Note: Do not forget to specify what type of thesis it is (BA
Thesis, MSc Thesis, PhD Thesis, etc.).

Motion Picture (Movie)

The lord of the rings: the return of the king 2003, motion picture,
Imagine Films, Auckland, NZ. Produced by Steve Pyke; directed by
Peter Jackson.
Television Program
Stateline 2009, television broadcast, ABC TV, Canberra, 4
September. Presented by Chris Kimball.
Radio Broadcast
The book show 2009, radio broadcast, ABC Radio National,
Melbourne, 19 November.
Essay Writing Help From Our Writers

When it comes to citing things using Harvard style or author-date style, it is

crucial to check the specifics of this style with your instructor. Unfortunately,
there is no official way. There are a couple of different schools that cite it such
as the University of Western Australia and Cardiff University. In case your
instructor is unavailable and cannot provide you with the needed
information, my advice would be to check out their websites and make
sure you’re doing it right. No matter how you decide to do your citations,
make sure to stay consistent in your formatting. In the Harvard citation style,
you have more freedom to format your work the way you like. Choose the way
you want to do it but stick to the point! Make safe choices when it comes to
formatting your paper. For example, as the article states, using Times New
Roman is recommended, but students can also choose Arial or Calibri. Best
of luck with your essay!
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