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  • 2-minute read
  • 16th May 2013

How to Reference a Book using the Harvard Referencing Style

Print books are perhaps the most used sources in academic essays. Moreover, most UK universities use a version of Harvard referencing. As a result, it’s pretty important you know how to reference print books using the Harvard referencing style.

In-Text Citations for a Book

Harvard citations place basic source details in brackets, with additional detail saved for the reference list (see below). The details you’ll need for a citation are the author’s surname and a year of publication:

A teacher’s attitude can inform her classroom strategy (Mendler, 2012).

If you’ve named the author in the text, though, you only need to give the year of publication in brackets:

Mendler (2012) claims that classroom strategy is vital.

The only other information you might need to include in a citation like this are the relevant page numbers if you’re quoting a source directly:

According to Mendler (2012, p. 45), classroom strategy must ‘take account of teacher attitude’.

This changes slightly when a text has multiple authors (usually more than three or four), as then you only include the first listed author’s surname followed by ‘et al.’ (a Latin phrase meaning ‘and others’).

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Reference List

All books cited in your essay should also be listed in your reference list, ordered alphabetically by author surname. The general format for this is:

Surname, Initial(s). (Year) Title, Place of publication, Publisher.

If you cite a book written by a single author, the reference would look something like this:

Mendler, A. N. (2012) When Teaching Gets Tough: Smart Ways to Reclaim your Game, Alexandria, ASCD.

If you cite a book written by more than one author, remember to include (and reverse) all names:

Moss, C. M. and Brookhart, S. M. (2012) Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today’s Lesson, Alexandria, ASCD.

Of course, if you want to make doubly sure all of your referencing is accurate, you could always submit your work to Proofed.

Comments (14)
Galokaelwe Masiza Gaolatlhe
11th March 2020 at 16:31
Thanks for the information.But i wanted to know how can i write references in my assignment if i used one book in different pages.
Reply
    Proofed
    11th March 2020 at 17:27
    Hi there. Can you clarify what you mean? In Harvard referencing, you simply use the same citation each time you cite a source. So if you cite a 2007 book by Smith on pages 1 and 30 of an essay, you would just use the citation (Smith, 2007) on both. As long as you're only citing one book by Smith from 2007, the reader will then be able to look up the full details in the reference list. Keep in mind, though, that different versions of Harvard referencing vary slightly, so your best option if you're unsure about something will always be to check your university's style guide.
    Reply
Stephanie
21st April 2020 at 15:19
Hello, I am writing a biology essay using two books. However, I do not have any quotations from the books. I am using the books throughout my whole essay to help me describe my biology topic and the process and effects. How would I in-text reference this? Thank you.
Reply
    Proofed
    22nd April 2020 at 09:35
    Hi, Stephanie. It's hard to say without seeing your essay, so you may want to submit it for proofreading, but the general convention is to cite a source whenever you're drawing on someone else's ideas or work (e.g. specific statistics or theories). Beyond that, you just need to follow the conventions set out in your style guide (or you can use the version of Harvard referencing you see in this post if you don't have a specific style guide).
    Reply
nancy
13th October 2020 at 10:48
what should i write as the publisher if the book was published by more than three countries
Reply
    Proofed
    13th October 2020 at 10:53
    Hi, Nancy. Harvard referencing varies somewhat between versions, so it's worth checking your university's style guide, but usually you would only include the first listed location of publication for the edition you've used. Alternatively, you could include more than one location with a semicolon between each one. The important thing is that you provide enough information for the reader to find the source you've cited.
    Reply
Daniela
10th November 2020 at 17:24
If I want to quote the title of a book in the main body of the essay, do I have to use italics or quotation marks?
Reply
    Proofed
    11th November 2020 at 10:18
    Hi, Daniela. Books titles are usually italicised in all contexts.
    Reply
Salvatore
7th January 2021 at 12:15
Hello, Could you help me, please? If my essay is referred to only a book how can I write that information in-text citations and reference list? Thank you in advance. Salvatore.
Reply
    Proofed
    7th January 2021 at 14:27
    Hi, Salvatore. If you've only cited one book in your essay, you may be able to just put the publication details in a footnote, then cite page numbers in the main text as required. However, this may depend on the referencing style you're using (we discuss referencing a book in Harvard style on this page, but other systems are available) and whom you're writing your essay for (e.g. if your university has a specific style guide). If you can provide more information, we might be able to offer more concrete advice (or you could submit your essay for proofreading when it is ready).
    Reply
Becca
19th January 2021 at 15:59
If I'm writing the book title do I need to cite that or is the title sufficient enough with the author name and year at the end of the sentence or after a quotation?
Reply
    Proofed
    19th January 2021 at 16:02
    Hi, Becca. It's hard to say without seeing your writing, and it may depend on the version of Harvard referencing you're using, but if you're just mentioning the title (rather than quoting or paraphrasing something from the book), and it's clear which book you're referring to in context (with full publication details in the bibliography) you should not need to add a separate citation.
    Reply
Cynthia Michaels
3rd August 2021 at 14:07
Hey is Harvard best in quoting or paraphrasing,my lecturer insists on direct quoting and I feel it's pretty much the same
Reply
    Proofed
    3rd August 2021 at 17:21
    Hi, Cynthia. Harvard referencing is a generic style with many variations, so there aren't any universal guidelines on whether and when you should paraphrase compared to quoting directly when using Harvard citations. Broadly, we'd suggest quoting sources directly if your argument relies on the exact wording of something or if it would lose impact in being reworded, but otherwise it is a matter of preference (and paraphrasing is often more concise if you can do it well). However, since your lecturer will presumably be the person marking your work, you are probably best off following their advice for now!
    Reply

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