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Writing & Research · pattern C, Text in

A Harvard reference, assembled from its parts.

Enter the source details for a Harvard-style reference and in-text citation. Harvard is a family of styles rather than one standard, so check the output against your own institution's guide.

Inputs

The formula used

Author (Year) Title. Place: Publisher.

There is no single authority for Harvard referencing. Punctuation, italics and the treatment of multiple authors differ between universities, and each publishes its own guide.

In-text citation

(Smith 2019)

In-text citation. The full reference-list entry is below — check it against your own style guide edition before submitting.

Reference list entry
Smith, J. (2019) Research methods in practice. London: Routledge.

Worked steps

  1. 1Smith, J. (2019) Research methods in practice. London: Routledge.

    Order of elements: author, date, title, source, locator. Italics are not applied here — apply them to the source title in your document.

Your university's guide is the only authority.

Harvard is a naming convention for author–date referencing, not a published standard, so two universities can both call their style Harvard and disagree about whether a journal title is italicised or where the page abbreviation goes. Because markers assess consistency against the local guide, the safest approach is to find that guide, follow it exactly, and use any generator only for element order.

Questions about harvard citation

Is Harvard the same as APA?
Similar in shape — both are author–date — but different in detail. APA has one published manual; Harvard has as many variants as there are institutions using the name.
How do I cite a source with no author?
Most Harvard guides use the title in place of the author, or the organisation where one is responsible. Avoid Anon. unless your guide specifically allows it.
Do I need page numbers for a paraphrase?
Many Harvard guides recommend them and most require them for a direct quotation. Including them for paraphrase is rarely penalised and often helps the marker verify your reading.

A calculator handles the arithmetic. It cannot teach you the method.

If the number is not the part you are stuck on, that is what the service is for — a specialist who explains the working, not just the answer.

Counts, readability scores and citation formats are guides. Your institution's word-count rule and its preferred style-guide edition override anything shown here.