Harvard Referencing Made Simple: A Student Guide

Harvard referencing made simple

Harvard referencing helps readers see where your information came from. It also shows academic integrity by giving credit to the original author.

In-text citations

Place the author surname and publication year beside the idea you are using. For a direct quotation, include the page number too.

Example: Research skills improve when students plan their sources carefully (Smith, 2024).

Reference list entries

Your reference list appears at the end of the assignment. Every source cited in the text should appear once in the list, and every source in the list should be cited in the text.

Check the source type

A book, journal article, website and report each use a slightly different reference format. Check your university guide because small formatting rules can vary between institutions.

Avoid common mistakes

Do not rely on copied citations without checking them. Confirm author names, publication dates, page numbers and working links before submitting.

If you need support structuring your research or checking a draft, start a brief.