When you’re writing an essay, make sure you italicize the book title instead of underlining, bolding, parentheses, or using quotation marks. Book titles are italicized. If you are using a typewriter and can’t write in italics, then it is customary to underline the title.

In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. “Here’s a direct quote” (Smith 8). If the author’s name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks.

Revised on January 26, 2021. In MLA style, source titles appear either in italics or in quotation marks: Italicize the title of a self-contained whole (e.g. a book, film, journal, or website).

No author: Cite the first few words of the reference entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report. Examples: From the book Study Guide (2000) or (“Reading,” 1999).

The basic form for a book citation is: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

APA in-text citation style uses the author’s last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14).

References to books should include the following:

1. The author(s), or editor(s) – by surname and initial(s)
2. The title (in italics or bold)
3. The edition other than the first (if applicable)
4. The publisher’s name.
5. Year of publication.
6. Edited publications.

When you use a quotation mid-sentence, end the quote with quotation marks and cite the source in parentheses immediately after, and continue the sentence. If the author’s name and the date of publication are included before the quotation, then provide only the page numbers immediately after the quotation.

Cite sources in text by using the name of the first author listed in the source, followed by the publication date in parenthesis. You may begin your citation by referencing your source in the sentence, with the publication date in parenthesis, followed by the page number in parenthesis at the end of the sentence.

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author’s last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Using et al. In APA Style in-text citations, when a source has two authors, list both. When there are three or more authors, cite the first author followed by “et al.” APA does not recommend using “et al.” in the reference list. Instead, list up to 20 authors in full.

The basics of a Reference List entry for a book:

1. Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
2. Year.
3. Title (in italics).
4. Edition.
5. Publisher.
6. Place of Publication.

Harvard (Author-Date) style The Harvard referencing style is another popular style using the author-date system for in-text citations. In-text citation: It consists mainly of the authors’ last name and the year of publication (and page numbers if it is directly quoted) in round brackets placed within the text.

In Harvard style, when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33). You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased.

If citing a book, website, journal, or video: enter the URL or title into the search bar at the top of the page and press the search button. Choose the most relevant results from the list of search results. Our generator will automatically locate the source details and format them in the correct Harvard format.

Enter the URL, DOI, ISBN, title, or other unique source information into the citation generator to find your source. Click the ‘Cite’ button on the citation machine. Copy your new reference from the citation generator into your bibliography or works cited list. Repeat for each source that has contributed to your work.

APA referencing is a variant on Harvard style. Most of the conventions are the same, with brief author-date citations in brackets in the body of the text and full citations in the reference list. Citations for websites are also slightly different, with no need to include a date accessed.

Harvard Format Citation Guide

1. Be on a separate sheet at the end of the document.
2. Be organised alphabetically by author, unless there is no author then it is ordered by the source title, excluding articles such as a, an or the.
3. Be double spaced: there should be a full, blank line of space between each line of text.

MS Word has a limited amount of citation styles to choose from, and sources need to be added manually. Ensure you select the correct citation style for your course, go to References in your Word Document, next to Style in the drop-down menu, select your preferred style, you can choose from Harvard, APA or IEEE.

Book: print

1. Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.)
2. Title (this should be in italics)
3. Series title and number (if part of a series)
4. Edition (if not the first edition)
5. Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
6. Publisher.
7. Year of publication.

These include: paraphrases, facts, statistics, quotes, and examples. An in-text citation using MLA will simply have the author last name (or title if no author) followed by the page number. No comma between author and page number. For example: (Richards 456) Richards is the author last name, and 456 is the page number.

When do I need a reference? It is important to provide correct references for any information which you give in your essay. Information could include ideas, facts, phrases, or anything else.

1 : the act of referring or consulting. 2 : a bearing on a matter : relation in reference to your recent letter. 3 : something that refers: such as. a : allusion, mention. b : something (such as a sign or indication) that refers a reader or consulter to another source of information (such as a book or passage)