Referencing is a fundamentally important practice when writing essays and one that can be confusing given the specific way in which references are formatted. There are four widely used styles of referencing- to find out which one is recommended for your course, please consult the course guidebook or ask your tutor. The most important thing to remember is if you choose a style, stick with it throughput your essay- consistency is key! Below are the four styles you may encounter, with annotated examples to explain why they are stylised in a particular way:
The MLA System
This is the ‘bracket’ reference that you will find inserted into the text. The reference should include the following: author’s surname and the page number.
(Wilson, 30).
If you are referencing more than one work from the same author in your essay, add an italicised shortened title of the book in your bracket.
(Wilson, Finding a Voice, 30).
The reference should link to a reference in the bibliography, which should include (in the following order) the name of the author, title of the book, place of publication, publisher and date. You do not need to include any brackets in a bibliography reference. Also pay attention to the punctuation:
Wilson, Amrit. Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain. London: Virago, 1978.
The bibliography should be organised alphabetically based on the author’s surname.
To reference an article, you should include the following: author’s surname, article title in speech marks, journal name in italics, volume number, issue number, year, page numbers.
Maynes, Mary Jo. ‘Age as a Category of Historical Analysis’. The Journal of Childhood and Youth, vol. 1, no. 1. 2008. pp. 114-124.
The APA System
This is another bracket system that is inserted into the text. However, unlike MLA, APA references include the following: author’s surname, date of publication, page number.
(Wilson, 1978, p. 30).
Like MLA, the reference is linked to an entrance in your bibliography, which should be alphabetically organised based on the author’s surname. The bibliography entrance should include the following: Author name, date in brackets, title, place of publication and publisher.
Wilson, A. (1978) Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain. London: Virago.
Here is how to reference a journal article for a bibliography. It should include: authors surname, date in brackets, article title in speech marks, journal name in italics, volume and issue number, pages.
Maynes, Mary Jo. (2008). ‘Age as a Category of Historical Analysis’. The Journal of Childhood and Youth, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 114-124.
The Harvard System
Is a bracket system that is included in the text and should include the following: author’s surname and date of publication.
(Wilson, 1978).
This should link to an entrance in a list at the end of an essay titled ‘References’. The references should be alphabetically ordered and should follow the style of APA.
The MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) System
This is a footnote system, meaning a number links the text to a reference at the bottom of the page or at the end of your work. The footnote number should be inserted after the full stop at the end of a sentence. In the following examples, notice the punctuation- this is important to get right and to keep consistent throughout your essay. The footnote should include the following information: author’s name with forename first, book title italicised, publisher name, publisher and date in brackets and, at the end, the exact page number.
1 Amrit Wilson, Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain (London: Virago, 1978), p. 30.
To reference an article, you should include the following: author’s name with forename first, title of article in speech marks, journal name in italics, volume and issue number, date in brackets, broad page numbers, specific page number.
Mary Jo Maynes, ‘Age as a Category of Historical Analysis’, The Journal of Childhood and Youth, vol. 1, no. 1 (2008), pp. 114-124, at p. 119.
Additional Resources
Here are some resources that give an in-depth explanation about referencing. If you want to learn more about referencing materials such as websites or a newspaper article, please consult the following links:
Harvard Citation Guide by Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/harvard-citation-guide
APA Citation Guide by Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide
MLA Citation Guide by Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mla-citation-guide
University of Bristol, Footnotes and Endnotes: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/referencing/referencing%20skills/page_07.htm
