Harvard Citation Format: Rules and Examples
Harvard is an author-date referencing style widely used in UK, Australian and many other universities. Important: there is no single official Harvard manual, so universities publish their own versions. Always check your university guide; the patterns below are the common form.
Updated 21 October 2026 · EssayWriting.com editorial team
- Harvard is an author-date system, and each university publishes its own version.
- Check your university’s guide, since punctuation details vary.
- Include page numbers for direct quotations: (Smith, 2020, p. 15).
Harvard at a glance
| Feature | Harvard rule |
|---|---|
| Used in | Many subjects at UK, Australian, Irish and South African universities |
| In-text | Author and year: (Smith, 2020) or Smith (2020) |
| Quotations | Add a page: (Smith, 2020, p. 15) |
| List title | Usually "Reference list" |
| Order | Alphabetical by author surname |
| Official version | None; follow your university’s guide (many follow Cite Them Right) |
Harvard in-text citations
Give the author's surname and year: (Smith, 2020), or Smith (2020) argues.... Two authors: (Smith and Jones, 2019). Three or more: many versions use (Smith et al., 2018), but some ask you to list more names on first citation, so check your guide.
Harvard reference examples
Book
Author, A. (Year) Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
Journal article
Author, A. and Author, B. (Year) 'Title of article', Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. xx-xx. doi: xxxx.
Website
Author or Organisation (Year) Title of page. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).
Words in capitals or x's show where your details go.
Harvard vs APA
Both are author-date styles, so they look similar. Differences include punctuation and the reference list layout, for example APA puts the year in parentheses followed by a full stop and uses sentence case with no quotation marks for article titles. See our APA guide.
Other citation styles
Harvard worked examples by source type
All sources in these worked examples are fictional and were created to illustrate the format. Replace them with your real sources.
Book
Lopez, M. (2021) The quiet coast. 2nd edn. New York: Harbor Press.
In-text: (Lopez, 2021, p. 34)
Chapter in an edited book
Okoro, J. (2019) 'Tides and trade', in Berg, A. (ed.) Coastal histories. Northfield: Northfield University Press, pp. 45-62.
In-text: (Okoro, 2019)
Journal article
Shah, P. and Kim, D. (2023) 'Sleep and memory in first-year students', Journal of Student Health, 18(2), pp. 101-118. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1234/jsh.2023.018.
In-text: (Shah and Kim, 2023)
Newspaper article online
Reyes, T. (2024) 'City expands night bus routes', The Daily Ledger, 4 March. Available at: www.dailyledger.example/night-buses (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
In-text: (Reyes, 2024)
Web page
Sleep Facts Network (2023) Healthy sleep habits. Available at: www.sleepfacts.example/habits (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
In-text: (Sleep Facts Network, 2023)
Online video
Study Lab (2022) How to read a scientific paper. 12 January. Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxx (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
In-text: (Study Lab, 2022)
Report
National Education Agency (2023) Annual literacy report 2023. London: National Education Agency.
In-text: (National Education Agency, 2023)
Thesis
Ahmed, S. (2020) Harbour towns and migration, 1850-1900. PhD thesis. Northfield University.
In-text: (Ahmed, 2020)
How to build any Harvard reference, step by step
- Check your university's Harvard guide first; versions differ.
- Write the author surname and initials, then the year in parentheses.
- Add the title in italics (or in single quotation marks for articles and chapters).
- Add edition, place and publisher for books, or journal, volume, issue and pages for articles.
- For online sources add "Available at:" with the URL and the access date.
- Order the reference list alphabetically by author.
Sample Harvard reference list
Here are the worked examples above assembled into a list the way they would appear at the end of an essay (alphabetical order).
Ahmed, S. (2020) Harbour towns and migration, 1850-1900. PhD thesis. Northfield University.
Lopez, M. (2021) The quiet coast. 2nd edn. New York: Harbor Press.
National Education Agency (2023) Annual literacy report 2023. London: National Education Agency.
Okoro, J. (2019) 'Tides and trade', in Berg, A. (ed.) Coastal histories. Northfield: Northfield University Press, pp. 45-62.
Reyes, T. (2024) 'City expands night bus routes', The Daily Ledger, 4 March. Available at: www.dailyledger.example/night-buses (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
Shah, P. and Kim, D. (2023) 'Sleep and memory in first-year students', Journal of Student Health, 18(2), pp. 101-118. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1234/jsh.2023.018.
Sleep Facts Network (2023) Healthy sleep habits. Available at: www.sleepfacts.example/habits (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
Study Lab (2022) How to read a scientific paper. 12 January. Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxx (Accessed: 20 October 2026).
Harvard pre-submission checklist
- Every in-text citation matches an entry in the list, and every entry is cited at least once.
- The list order follows Harvard rules.
- Italics, quotation marks and capitalisation match the examples above.
- DOIs are included wherever a source has one.
- Names, years and page numbers have been checked against the original source, not copied from a tool without checking.
- Your instructor's specific instructions have been followed where they differ from the general rules.
Secondary referencing in Harvard
If you read about a source in another author's work and could not access the original, many Harvard versions ask you to cite both in the text, for example (Smith, 2015, cited in Jones, 2020), and list only the source you actually read (Jones) in the reference list. Use secondary referencing sparingly and try to find the original where possible.
Harvard formatting checklist
- Reference list titled as your guide requires (often "Reference list").
- Alphabetical by author surname, then by year for the same author.
- Same author, same year: add a, b (2020a, 2020b).
- Titles of books, journals and websites in italics.
- Access dates for online sources where your guide requires them.
Quick answers to common questions
Do I include access dates in Harvard?
Many versions require an access date for online sources. Follow your university guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official Harvard style?
No. Harvard is a general author-date system, and each university publishes its own version. Follow your institution’s guide.
Is Harvard the same as APA?
No, though both are author-date. Punctuation and reference list formats differ.
Does Harvard need page numbers?
For direct quotations, yes: (Smith, 2020, p. 15).
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