Harvard Referencing Guide for UK Students

Understand the author–date system

Harvard normally uses an author surname and publication year in the text, with full publication information in the reference list. Universities can use different Harvard variants, so your institutional guide takes priority.

Paraphrasing and quotations

Paraphrasing still requires a citation. Direct quotations need quotation marks and, where required by the institutional variant, a page number or other locator.

Build the reference list carefully

Record the author, year, title, publisher or journal details and stable URL/DOI while researching. Then apply the exact Harvard variant required by your university.

• Do not mix multiple Harvard variants in one assignment.
• Check every in-text citation against the reference list.
• Keep capitalisation and punctuation consistent.
• Check web sources for author, publication date and access requirements where applicable.

Use your university guide

UK universities often publish their own Harvard guidance. Use that guide alongside a general explanation, particularly for unusual source types.