According to Davidson (2019, p. 370) ‘interest in designing greener meetings and events has been growing among business events professionals’.
Information prominent citing This citation method gives prominence to the information with the required referencing details in parentheses at the end of the citation.
Results revealed ‘interviewees placed a strong focus on the need for better education and promotion of electric vehicles in the Irish context’ (O’Neill et al., 2019, p. 123). |
Author(s) name
‘Ireland has contributed to, and being affected by, global warming’ (Robbins, 2020, p. 3). ‘It has implemented a carbon tax and encouraged renewable energy development’ (Robbins, 2020, pp. 3-4). |
According to Williams (2020, p. 12) ‘among the treasures to be collected from the woods are pine cones’. |
Williams (2020) inspires readers to experience the natural world for themselves. |
Quotations should be used sparingly, selected carefully, used in context, integrated into your text, and reproduced exactly (including the words, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and paraphrasing of the original writer). Short quotations Short quotations (fewer than 30 words) should:
According to Barr (2016, p. 22) ‘sustainability must be analysed on a number of different levels, from principles to concepts and then to application’. |
Long quotations Long quotations (more than 30 words) should:
Separate the quotation from the lead-in statement with one blank line. The lead-in statement ends with a colon(:). Separate the quotation from the text that follows it with one blank line.
The decline of nature and people is no coincidence, although as farming and fishing incomes have declined, tourism has taken up some of the slack. Achill is a popular spot in summer and it is particularly geared towards water-based activities. It lies along the Wild Atlantic Way, billed as the world’s longest scenic drive (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). Green tourism is a relatively new phenomenon that is thriving in Ireland, particularly along scenic stretches of the Western seaboard. This type of tourism makes for a more sustainable way of living. It takes an environmentally friendly approach. |
Quotation marks
The decline of nature and people is no coincidence, although as farming and fishing incomes have declined, tourism has taken up some of the slack. Achill is a popular spot in summer and it is particularly geared towards water-based activities. It lies along the Wild Atlantic Way, billed as the world’s longest scenic drive (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). |
Words omitted from quotations
‘Achill is a popular spot in summer … It lies along the Wild Atlantic Way’ (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). |
‘… tourism has taken up some of the slack’ (Fogarty, 2017, p. 292). |
When you cite someone else’s work, you must state the author/editor and the date of publication. If the work has two authors/editors, you must cite both names. Don't forget to include page numbers for direct quotations. There is no need to include the title, place of publication etc. These details are listed in the reference list at the end of your essay .
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For a work that has three or more authors/editors, the abbreviation, et al . is used after the first author’s name.
According to Woodruff . (2016, p. 50) ‘the produced electricity from solar power plants is very low’. |
For a work that has the same author/editor, and was written in the same year as an earlier citation, you must use a lower case letter after the date to differentiate between the two.
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Citing from books with chapters written by different authors Some books may contain chapters written by several different authors. In this case the author who wrote the chapter should be cited not the editor of the book.
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If you are reading a source by one author, for example, Garvey (2019) and he cites or quotes the work of another author, for example, Taylor (1996) you may cite or quote the original work, Taylor (1996) as a secondary reference. Note: It is always best practice to try and locate the original reference and secondary references should only be used if it is difficult to access the original work
Example In-text citation: Taylor’s observations (1996, cited in Garvey, 2019) are based on a genuine respect for nature. OR ‘Every living thing has a good of its own’ (Taylor, 1996, quoted in Garvey, 2019, p. 53).
Reference List: Garvey, J. (2019) The ethics of climate change: right and wrong in a warming world . London: Continuum.
Charts, images, figures etc. should be treated as direct quotations in that the author/editor, year and page number should be acknowledged in-text, and the full reference to the item should be listed in the reference list.
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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples / Referencing direct quotes in Harvard style
If you include a direct quote in your paper, you’ll need to know how to create Harvard in-text citations . The Harvard style of referencing follows an author-date format for in-text citations; this means that the surname of the author and the date of publication are used to cite a quotation or idea borrowed from another author. If you include a direct quote in your paper and that source has page numbers, you’ll also need to know how to format page numbers in Harvard style .
Follow these rules when directly quoting from a source in Harvard style:
A short direct quote is one to two lines long. When you are using a short direct quotation from a source, it should be enclosed in quotation marks. The following format is used:
“Quotation” (Surname of the author, year of publication of the source, page number if applicable).
Example :
“He put up his book of notes in a very deliberate manner” (Gaskell, 1855, p. 290).
Note that if you mention the name of the author in the sentence containing the direct quotation, you do not have to put the author’s name in the parenthetical in-text citation.
Gaskell (1855, p. 292) writes, “She had sunk under her burden.”
While referencing this quotation in the reference list, you will follow the following format:
Surname of the author, initial(s). (Year of publication) Title of the source . Place of publication: Publisher.
Gaskell, E. (1855) North and south . London: Vintage Publishing.
Longer direct quotations
Quotations that run for more than two lines should be separated from the paragraph. A free line should be left above and below the quotation.
A colon is placed before the quotation. Unlike short quotations, longer quotations are not enclosed in quotation marks. The author’s name, date of publication, and page number are included.
The font size of the quotation should be at least 2 points smaller than the font size of the rest of the text.
The full citation in the reference list should be formatted the same way as for shorter direct quotations.
The narrator describes why Radley house was different from the otherwise amiable neighborhood of Maycomb county. As stated by Lee (1960, p. 9):
This clearly shows why the Radleys were different.
Published October 29, 2020.
Harvard Formatting
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If you are quoting someone word-for-word or using someone else's ideas or statistics in your writing, you will need to reference it within the body of your work. Work the author’s surname or organisation’s name, the year of publication and the page number into the paragraph you are writing. The purpose is to give basic details so your reader can get more information from the list at the end.
Example 1: 'In the food and beverage industry, it is estimated that 25 percent of employees steal regardless of the controls in place' (Walker 2011, p. 222). Example 2: Walker (2011, p. 222) states that 'in the food and beverage industry, it is estimated that 25 percent of employees steal regardless of the controls in place'. Example 3: In his 2011 text, Walker states that 'in the food and beverage industry, it is estimated that 25 percent of employees steal regardless of the controls in place' (p. 222). Note that page numbers are only necessary for in text citations when direct quotes or precise information is used. Direct quotations
Small quotations (less than 30 words)are included in your writing with the text in single quote marks: The pearl has been 'a particularly potent literary device' (Joyce & Addison 1992, p. 15) in many cultures from ancient times. If the quotation is longer than 30 words, set it out like this: The post-war years were not a time of great innovation. As Ewing (2001, p. 167) states: To get back to normal, which meant to order and stability, was the general longing and fashion voiced this conservative mood in a series of smooth, well-balanced lines, embodied in clothes of notable elegance, carefully designed, well-made and flattering. OR The post-war years were not a time of great innovation: To get back to normal, which meant to order and stability, was the general longing and fashion voiced this conservative mood in a series of smooth, well-balanced lines, embodied in clothes of notable elegance, carefully designed, well-made and flattering. (Ewing 2001, p. 167) Points to remember for longer quotes:
Sometimes an author will cite another author and you may want to use this in your assignment. Care needs to be taken with quotations and citations taken out of context. It is a good idea to try to track down the original work. If you are not able to find the original work, you may still use a quotation from or a reference to the cited work, making sure that you acknowledge both of the authors.
Original text:
'Although Barnes sees the mods as a male-dominated youth culture (Barnes, 1991: p.8), Garber and McRobbie argue that the mods were the first 'softer' working-class subculture, in which girls could participate more openly and directly (Garber & Mc Robbie, 1979: p.226).'
In-text citation:
Some writers disagree with the idea that the mods were a male dominated subculture (Garber & McRobbie 1979, p. 226 in Jenss 2005, p. 192).
Garber & McRobbie (1979 p. 226 in Jenss 2005, p. 192) claim that the mods were one of the first youth subcultures in which girls could participate more fully.
Reference list:
Jenss, H. 2005, 'Sixties dress only!', in A. Palmer & H. Clark (eds), Old clothes, new looks: second hand fashion, Berg Publishers, Oxford.
References to personal communications such as letters, emails, interviews, or phone conversations can be included in assignments. The in-text citation should have the author's surname followed by their initials, then the abbreviation pers. comm. and the date. These citations should not be included in the Reference List/Bibliography.
The patient valued the knowledge and experience of other cancer patients more than medical information ( Wilson, P. 2013, pers. comm., September 10).
When interviewed, Susan Jones said she halted her information seeking because of fearful and contradictory information (Jones, S. 2013, pers. comm., September 28).
If you include the authors in the sentence, they are listed in chronological order by year of publication in brackets.
If the author's names are not included in the sentence, they are enclosed together in one set of brackets and presented chronologically, starting with the first published. A semi-colon is inserted after each citation of the author and year of publication.
Morrow & Young (1996), Irish & Parsons (2016) and Elish-Piper (2017) all stress the importance of parent participation in children's literacy development.
Previous research has found that parents play a key role in their children's literacy development and school success (Morrow & Young, 1996; Irish & Parsons, 2016; Elish-Piper, 2017).
If you are referring numerous times to an organisation with a long title, you may use the relevant acronym or initialism. The first time you refer to the organisation, include both the full title and, in parentheses (round brackets), the acronym or initialism. Thereafter, the acronym or initialism will suffice. Both acronyms and initialisms are written without full stops .
Example in text :
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has a policy on removing injured animals. The RSPCA is permitted to enter a property at any time following a report of complaint (RSPCA 2006).
In the reference list, both the long title and the acronym or initialism must be included. For example:
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) 2006, Policy statement on removal of animals at risk , RSPCA, Brisbane.
Note: There is no need to use quotation marks. Instead start a new line and indent the quotation.
Example: The methodology required for a thorough literature search requires an understanding of a number of different sources:
... it is important to be familiar with the tertiary sources (bibliographies of bibliographies), which will help you to identify the secondary sources (such as bibliographies, indexes and abstracts), which will then lead you to primary sources for your review (Pickard, 2013, p.27).
You do not need to include the page number from the quotation in your reference list. If you are taking a quotation from a website you may not be able to find a page number, so you will need to include an indication of where the quote can be found. Give a line or screen number instead, e.g. use [45 lines] or [approx. 5 screens].
Remember: it is best to paraphrase the sources you have used in your work, putting the author’s words into your own and crediting them with the idea through the citation. This demonstrates more understanding of the content. Try and keep quotations to a minimum.
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There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .
For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism . If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material .
This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students . If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules .
In-text citations and full references.
Referencing consists of two elements:
To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right .
a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text.
a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment.
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You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Harris, 2015). OR It has been emphasised by Harris (2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill. | It has been emphasised (Shah and Papadopoulos, 2015) that good referencing is an important academic skill. OR Shah and Papadopoulos (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill. | It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong, Smith and Adebole, 2015). OR Wong, Smith and Adebole (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill. | It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (Wong , 2015). OR Wong (2015) emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill. |
It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill (The Open University, 2015). Information from The Open University (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill. | It has been emphasised that good referencing is an important academic skill ( , 2015). Information from (2015) emphasises that good referencing is an important academic skill. |
You use secondary referencing when you want to refer to a source that is mentioned or quoted in the work you are reading. To do this, you add the phrase ‘quoted in’ or ‘cited in’ (depending on whether the author of the secondary source is directly quoting or summarising from the primary source) to your intext citation, along with the details of the source that you are reading.
West (2007, quoted in Birch, 2017, p. 17) state that… You would then include full references to Birch and The Open University in your reference list as these are the sources that you have read. There is no change to the structure of the full reference for these sources. |
You should include page numbers in your citation if you are quoting directly from or using ideas from a specific page or set of pages. Add the abbreviation p. (or pp. if more than one page) before the page number(s).
Harris (2015, p. 5) argues that… In the drying process "polyphenol oxidizing reactions" form new flavour compounds (Toker 2020, pp. 585–586)... |
Add a lower case letter to the date in the in-text citation and in the matching full reference to distinguish between the sources. : Snow is formed in part because the temperature drops enough that rain freezes (The Open University, 2022a), however the freezing temperature of water is often below 0°C under certain conditions (The Open University, 2022b).
The Open University (2022a) '1.2 What are clouds?'. . Available at: (Accessed: 22 November 2022). The Open University (2022b) '1.3.1 Snow and ice'. . Available at: (Accessed: 22 November 2022). Note: this only applies when you are using multiple different sources with the same author and year – if you are referring to the same source more than once then you do not need to add a letter to the date. The citation will be the same each time and you only need to include the source once in your reference list. |
Example with one author:
Almeroth-Williams, T. (2019) City of Beasts: How Animals Shaped Georgian London . Manchester: Manchester University Press.
RSPCA (2024) Caring for cats and kittens . Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats (Accessed: 1 August 2024).
Example with two or three authors:
Grayling, A. and Ball, B. (2024) ' Philosophy is crucial in the age of AI', The Conversation , 1 August. Available at: https://theconversation.com/philosophy-is-crucial-in-the-age-of-ai-235907 (Accessed: 1 August 2024).
Chu, M., Leonard, P. and Stevenson, F. (2012) ' Growing the Base for Citizen Science: Recruiting and Engaging Participants', in J.L. Dickinson and R. Bonney (eds.) Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research . Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 69-81.
Example with four or more authors:
Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.
Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.
(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).
When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
OR, if there is no named author:
The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).
The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633§ion=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).
You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:
The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014§ion=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941§ion=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).
Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).
Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).
Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.
For ebooks that do not contain print publication details
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).
Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).
Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.
Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.
Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.
Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.
If accessed online:
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).
Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.
Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).
Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.
Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.
Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).
Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).
The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).
Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.
Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).
stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).
Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.
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Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 15 September 2023.
Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It tells your readers what sources you’ve used and how to find them.
Harvard is the most common referencing style used in UK universities. In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list .
In-text citation | Referencing is an essential academic skill (Pears and Shields, 2019). |
Reference list entry | Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) 11th edn. London: MacMillan. |
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Harvard in-text citation, creating a harvard reference list, harvard referencing examples, referencing sources with no author or date, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.
A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:
Note that ‘p.’ is used for a single page, ‘pp.’ for multiple pages (e.g. ‘pp. 1–5’).
An in-text citation usually appears immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in question. It may also appear at the end of the relevant sentence, as long as it’s clear what it refers to.
When your sentence already mentions the name of the author, it should not be repeated in the citation:
When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors’ names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ‘ et al. ’:
Number of authors | In-text citation example |
---|---|
1 author | (Davis, 2019) |
2 authors | (Davis and Barrett, 2019) |
3 authors | (Davis, Barrett and McLachlan, 2019) |
4+ authors | (Davis , 2019) |
Some sources, such as websites , often don’t have page numbers. If the source is a short text, you can simply leave out the page number. With longer sources, you can use an alternate locator such as a subheading or paragraph number if you need to specify where to find the quote:
When you need multiple citations to appear at the same point in your text – for example, when you refer to several sources with one phrase – you can present them in the same set of brackets, separated by semicolons. List them in order of publication date:
If you cite multiple sources by the same author which were published in the same year, it’s important to distinguish between them in your citations. To do this, insert an ‘a’ after the year in the first one you reference, a ‘b’ in the second, and so on:
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A bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your text. It lists all your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, giving complete information so that the reader can look them up if necessary.
The reference entry starts with the author’s last name followed by initial(s). Only the first word of the title is capitalised (as well as any proper nouns).
As with in-text citations, up to three authors should be listed; when there are four or more, list only the first author followed by ‘ et al. ’:
Number of authors | Reference example |
---|---|
1 author | Davis, V. (2019) … |
2 authors | Davis, V. and Barrett, M. (2019) … |
3 authors | Davis, V., Barrett, M. and McLachlan, F. (2019) … |
4+ authors | Davis, V. (2019) … |
Reference list entries vary according to source type, since different information is relevant for different sources. Formats and examples for the most commonly used source types are given below.
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) . City: Publisher. |
Example | Smith, Z. (2017) . London: Penguin. |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) ‘Chapter title’, in Editor name (ed(s).) . City: Publisher, page range. |
Example | Greenblatt, S. (2010) ‘The traces of Shakespeare’s life’, in De Grazia, M. and Wells, S. (eds.) . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–14. |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) . Translated from the [language] by Translator name. City: Publisher. |
Example | Tokarczuk, O. (2019) . Translated from the Polish by A. Lloyd-Jones. London: Fitzcarraldo. |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) . Edition. City: Publisher. |
Example | Danielson, D. (ed.) (1999) . 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) ‘Article title’, , Volume(Issue), pp. page range. |
Example | Thagard, P. (1990) ‘Philosophy and machine learning’, , 20(2), pp. 261–276. |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) ‘Article title’, , Volume(Issue), page range. DOI. |
Example | Adamson, P. (2019) ‘American history at the foreign office: Exporting the silent epic Western’, , 31(2), pp. 32–59. doi: https://10.2979/filmhistory.31.2.02. |
Notes | if available. |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) ‘Article title’, , Volume(Issue), page range. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
Example | Theroux, A. (1990) ‘Henry James’s Boston’, , 20(2), pp. 158–165. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20153016 (Accessed: 13 February 2020). |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) . Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
Example | Google (2019) . Available at: https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en-US (Accessed: 27 January 2020). |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. (Year) ‘Article title’, , Date. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
Example | Leafstedt, E. (2020) ‘Russia’s constitutional reform and Putin’s plans for a legacy of stability’, , 29 January. Available at: https://blog.politics.ox.ac.uk/russias-constitutional-reform-and-putins-plans-for-a-legacy-of-stability/ (Accessed: 13 February 2020). |
Notes |
Format | Author surname, initial. [username] (Year) or text [Website name] Date. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
Example | Dorsey, J. [@jack] (2018) We’re committing Twitter to help increase the collective health, openness, and civility of public conversation … [Twitter] 1 March. Available at: https://twitter.com/jack/status/969234275420655616 (Accessed: 13 February 2020). |
Notes |
Sometimes you won’t have all the information you need for a reference. This section covers what to do when a source lacks a publication date or named author.
When a source doesn’t have a clear publication date – for example, a constantly updated reference source like Wikipedia or an obscure historical document which can’t be accurately dated – you can replace it with the words ‘no date’:
In-text citation | (Scribbr, no date) |
Reference list entry | Scribbr (no date) . Available at: https://www.scribbr.co.uk/category/thesis-dissertation/ (Accessed: 14 February 2020). |
Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.
When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.
When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:
In-text citation | (‘Divest’, no date) |
Reference list entry | ‘Divest’ (no date) Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divest (Accessed: 27 January 2020). |
Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.
Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.
Harvard style | Vancouver style | |
---|---|---|
In-text citation | Each referencing style has different rules (Pears and Shields, 2019). | Each referencing style has different rules (1). |
Reference list | Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019). . 11th edn. London: MacMillan. | 1. Pears R, Shields G. Cite them right: The essential referencing guide. 11th ed. London: MacMillan; 2019. |
A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.
The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.
In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’
In-text citation | Reference list | |
---|---|---|
1 author | (Smith, 2014) | Smith, T. (2014) … |
2 authors | (Smith and Jones, 2014) | Smith, T. and Jones, F. (2014) … |
3 authors | (Smith, Jones and Davies, 2014) | Smith, T., Jones, F. and Davies, S. (2014) … |
4+ authors | (Smith , 2014) | Smith, T. (2014) … |
Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 21 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/
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Harvard Guide to Using Sources
In APA style, you use parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources, to show how recently your sources were published, and to refer your reader to a more detailed citation of the source in the reference list at the end of your paper. You should use parenthetical citations when you paraphrase, quote, or make any reference to another author's work. A parenthetical citation in APA style includes the author's last name as well as the year in which the work was published, with a comma between them. If you are referring directly to a specific page in the source, you should also include the page number in your parenthetical citation. APA requires you to cite page numbers when you are quoting directly from the source. If you are paraphrasing, which is more common in the social sciences, you generally do not need to include a page number. If you have questions about whether you should include page numbers when citing in APA, you should consult your instructor.
If you mention the author's name and/or the year of publication in the sentence preceding the citation, you do not need to include them in the parenthetical citation. When you name the author in the sentence, you should include the publication year in parentheses right after the author’s name—do not wait until the end of the sentence to provide that information.
When you include a parenthetical citation at the end of a sentence, the punctuation for your sentence appears after the citation.
Citing author and date in a parenthetical citation
When you don’t mention either the author or the date of publication in your sentence, you should include both the author and the year, separated by a comma, in the parenthetical citation.
Colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (Jack, 2019).
Citing when author’s name is mentioned in body of paper
When you mention the author’s name in your sentence, the year of publication should immediately follow the author’s name.
Anthony Jack’s (2019) study of low-income students on an elite college campus revealed that these schools are often unprepared to support the students they admit.
Jack (2019) studied the ways low-income students experience elite college campuses.
Citing page numbers
When you cite a direct quote from the source or paraphrase a specific point from the source, you should include the page number in the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. When you refer to a specific page or pages of the text, first list the year of publication and then list "p." followed by the page number or "pp." followed by the range of pages. If you refer to a specific chapter, indicate that chapter after the year.
The author contends that “higher education in America is highly unequal and disturbingly stratified” (Jack, 2019, p. 4).
Jack (2019) contends that “higher education in America is highly unequal and disturbingly stratified” (p. 4).
Citing sources with more than one author
When you cite a source that has two authors, you should separate their names with an ampersand in the parenthetical citation.
The authors designed a study to determine if social belonging can be encouraged among college students (Walton & Cohen, 2011).
If a work has three or more authors , you should only include the first author's name followed by et al. ( Et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others.”)
The implementation of postpartum contraceptive programs is both costly and time consuming (Ling et al., 2020).
Attributing a point to more than one source
To attribute a point or idea to multiple sources, list them in one parenthetical citation, ordered alphabetically by author and separated by semicolons. Works by the same author should be ordered chronologically, from oldest to most recent, with the publication dates separated by commas.
Students who possess cultural capital, measured by proxies like involvement in literature, art, and classical music, tend to perform better in school (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Dumais, 2002; Orr, 2003).
Citing multiple works by the same author
If your reference list includes multiple works by the same author in the same year, identify them in your parenthetical citations and in your reference list by a lowercase letter after the year, assigning each letter in alphabetical order by the title of the work. When establishing the alphabetical order of works in your reference list, do not count the words "A" or "The" when they appear as the first word in a title.
One union-endorsed candidate publicly disagreed with the teachers' union on a number of issues (Borsuk, 1999a).
Citing multiple authors with the same last name
If your reference list includes sources by multiple authors with the same last name, list each author's initials before their last name, even when the works were published in different years.
The question of whether a computer can be considered an author has been asked for longer than we might expect (B. Sobel, 2017).
Citing when no author is listed
To refer to a work that is listed in your reference list by title rather than by author, cite the title or the first few words of the title.
The New York Times painted a bleak picture of the climate crisis (“Climate Change Is Not Negotiable,” 2022).
Citing when no date is listed
If the work you are citing has no date listed, you should put “n.d.” for “no date” in the parenthetical citation.
Writing research papers is challenging (Lam, n.d.).
Citing a specific part of a source that is not a page number
To refer to a specific part of a source other than page number, add that after the author-date part of your citation. If it is not clear whether you are referring to a chapter, a paragraph, a time stamp, or a slide number, or other labeled part of a source, you should indicate the part you are referring to (chapter, para., etc.).
In the Stranger Things official trailer, the audience knows that something unusual is going to happen from the moment the boys get on their bicycles to ride off into the night (Duffer & Duffer, 0:16).
Citing quotations using leeds harvard, what is quoting.
Quoting is where you copy an author's text word for word, place double quotation marks around the words and add a citation at the end of the quote. Quotes should be used sparingly. Using too many quotes can suggest you don't fully understand the text you are referring to.
In most academic writing, you should generally paraphrase from sources, rather than quote directly. Quoting more extended sections of text tends to be more common in arts and humanities subjects where it may be appropriate to quote frequently from sources that are being analysed or translated, like novels, plays or historical texts.
As you take notes, ensure you clearly mark where you have quoted directly from the source.
If you use a direct quotation from an author, you should:
If you are quoting from a website or webpage that does not have page numbers, you do not need to include anything to indicate this in the citation.
Example: "Language is subject to change, and is not caused by unnecessary sloppiness, laziness or ignorance" (Aitchison, 1981, p.67).
If the quotation is more than two lines:
Example: One answer to this is that language has always been subject to change, just as everything else in the world is, and we should not feel that this is a bad thing. As Aitchison (1981, p.16) puts it:
Language, then, like everything else, gradually transforms itself over the centuries. There is nothing surprising in this. In a world where humans grow old, tadpoles change into frogs, and milk turns into cheese, it would be strange if language alone remained unaltered. In spite of this, large numbers of intelligent people condemn and resent language change, regarding alterations as due to unnecessary sloppiness, laziness or ignorance.
Aitchison clearly sees every change in language as neither good nor bad, but inevitable...
You may want to make minor changes to a direct quotation. This is possible (as long as you don't change the meaning), but you must follow the rules.
Example 1: Language changes are natural and inevitable. It has been argued that language:
gradually transforms itself over the centuries. In a world where [everything changes], it would be strange if language alone remained unaltered. In spite of this, large numbers of intelligent people condemn and resent language change (Aitchison, 1981, p.16, my italics).
Example 2: According to Smith (1992, p.45), "Aitcheson [sic] appears to believe that everything changes ; but this is questionable" (italics in original).
The writer of the academic essay aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence. The beginning of the essay is a crucial first step in this process. In order to engage readers and establish your authority, the beginning of your essay has to accomplish certain business. Your beginning should introduce the essay, focus it, and orient readers.
Introduce the Essay. The beginning lets your readers know what the essay is about, the topic . The essay's topic does not exist in a vacuum, however; part of letting readers know what your essay is about means establishing the essay's context , the frame within which you will approach your topic. For instance, in an essay about the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech, the context may be a particular legal theory about the speech right; it may be historical information concerning the writing of the amendment; it may be a contemporary dispute over flag burning; or it may be a question raised by the text itself. The point here is that, in establishing the essay's context, you are also limiting your topic. That is, you are framing an approach to your topic that necessarily eliminates other approaches. Thus, when you determine your context, you simultaneously narrow your topic and take a big step toward focusing your essay. Here's an example.
was published in 1899, critics condemned the book as immoral. One typical critic, writing in the , feared that the novel might "fall into the hands of youth, leading them to dwell on things that only matured persons can understand, and promoting unholy imaginations and unclean desires" (150). A reviewer in the wrote that "there is much that is very improper in it, not to say positively unseemly." |
The paragraph goes on. But as you can see, Chopin's novel (the topic) is introduced in the context of the critical and moral controversy its publication engendered.
Focus the Essay. Beyond introducing your topic, your beginning must also let readers know what the central issue is. What question or problem will you be thinking about? You can pose a question that will lead to your idea (in which case, your idea will be the answer to your question), or you can make a thesis statement. Or you can do both: you can ask a question and immediately suggest the answer that your essay will argue. Here's an example from an essay about Memorial Hall.
The fullness of your idea will not emerge until your conclusion, but your beginning must clearly indicate the direction your idea will take, must set your essay on that road. And whether you focus your essay by posing a question, stating a thesis, or combining these approaches, by the end of your beginning, readers should know what you're writing about, and why —and why they might want to read on.
Orient Readers. Orienting readers, locating them in your discussion, means providing information and explanations wherever necessary for your readers' understanding. Orienting is important throughout your essay, but it is crucial in the beginning. Readers who don't have the information they need to follow your discussion will get lost and quit reading. (Your teachers, of course, will trudge on.) Supplying the necessary information to orient your readers may be as simple as answering the journalist's questions of who, what, where, when, how, and why. It may mean providing a brief overview of events or a summary of the text you'll be analyzing. If the source text is brief, such as the First Amendment, you might just quote it. If the text is well known, your summary, for most audiences, won't need to be more than an identifying phrase or two:
, Shakespeare's tragedy of `star-crossed lovers' destroyed by the blood feud between their two families, the minor characters . . . |
Often, however, you will want to summarize your source more fully so that readers can follow your analysis of it.
Questions of Length and Order. How long should the beginning be? The length should be proportionate to the length and complexity of the whole essay. For instance, if you're writing a five-page essay analyzing a single text, your beginning should be brief, no more than one or two paragraphs. On the other hand, it may take a couple of pages to set up a ten-page essay.
Does the business of the beginning have to be addressed in a particular order? No, but the order should be logical. Usually, for instance, the question or statement that focuses the essay comes at the end of the beginning, where it serves as the jumping-off point for the middle, or main body, of the essay. Topic and context are often intertwined, but the context may be established before the particular topic is introduced. In other words, the order in which you accomplish the business of the beginning is flexible and should be determined by your purpose.
Opening Strategies. There is still the further question of how to start. What makes a good opening? You can start with specific facts and information, a keynote quotation, a question, an anecdote, or an image. But whatever sort of opening you choose, it should be directly related to your focus. A snappy quotation that doesn't help establish the context for your essay or that later plays no part in your thinking will only mislead readers and blur your focus. Be as direct and specific as you can be. This means you should avoid two types of openings:
Remember. After working your way through the whole draft, testing your thinking against the evidence, perhaps changing direction or modifying the idea you started with, go back to your beginning and make sure it still provides a clear focus for the essay. Then clarify and sharpen your focus as needed. Clear, direct beginnings rarely present themselves ready-made; they must be written, and rewritten, into the sort of sharp-eyed clarity that engages readers and establishes your authority.
Copyright 1999, Patricia Kain, for the Writing Center at Harvard University
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Published on April 25, 2018 by Courtney Gahan . Revised on May 31, 2023.
A block quote is a long quotation, set on a new line and indented to create a separate block of text. No quotation marks are used. You have to use a block quote when quoting more than around 40 words from a source.
In APA and MLA styles, you indent block quotes 0.5 inches from the left, and add an in-text citation after the period. Some other citation styles have additional rules.
Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you – haunt me, then! The murdered DO haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts HAVE wandered on earth. Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! only DO not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I CANNOT live without my life! I CANNOT live without my soul! (Brontë, 1847, 268)
How long is a block quote, step 1: introduce the quote, step 2: format and cite the quote, step 3: comment on the quote, when to use block quotes, other interesting articles.
The minimum length of a block quote varies between citation styles . Some styles require block quote formatting based on the number of words, while others require it based on the number of lines.
Citation style | Block quote minimum length |
---|---|
Harvard | 30 words |
Vancouver | 40 words |
ACS | 50 words |
APSA | 100 words |
Four lines of prose Three lines of poetry or verse | |
| Three lines |
AAA | Four lines |
Turabian | Five lines |
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Every time you quote a source , it’s essential to show the reader exactly what purpose the quote serves. A block quote must be introduced in your own words to show how it fits into your argument or analysis.
If the text preceding the block quote is a complete sentence, use a colon to introduce the quote . If the quote is a continuation of the sentence that precedes it, you don’t need to add any extra punctuation .
lawmakers and regulators need to stop pharmaceutical companies from marketing drugs like OxyContin and establish stronger guidelines about how and when doctors can prescribe them. These drugs are often the last resort for people with cancer and other terminal conditions who experience excruciating pain. But they pose a great risk when used to treat the kinds of pain for which there are numerous non-addictive therapies available. (The Editorial Board, 2018)
Block quotes are not enclosed in quotation marks . Instead, they must be formatted to stand out from the rest of the text, signalling to the reader that the words are taken directly from a source. Each citation style has specific formatting rules.
APA and MLA format both require an indent of 0.5 inches on the left side. Block quotes are double spaced, the same as the rest of the document. Some other citation styles also require indentation on the right side, different spacing, or a smaller font.
To format a block quote in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:
If you quote more than one paragraph, indent the first line of the new paragraph as you would in the main text.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.
Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. (Rowling 1)
All block quotes must end with a citation that directs the reader to the correct source. How the citation looks depends on the citation style. In most styles, including APA and MLA , the parenthetical citation comes after the period at the end of a block quote.
A paragraph should never end with a block quote. Directly after the quote, you need to comment on it in your own words. Depending on the purpose of the block quote, your comment might involve:
The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:
Block quotes should be used when the specific wording or style of the quoted text is essential to your point. How often you use them depends partly on your field of study.
Avoid relying on block quotes from academic sources to explain ideas or make your points for you. In general, quotes should be used as sparingly as possible, as your own voice should be dominant. When you use another author’s ideas or refer to previous research, it’s often better to integrate the source by paraphrasing .
If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
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Gahan, C. (2023, May 31). How to Block Quote | Length, Format and Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/block-quote/
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When proving your viewpoint, disputing, or just presenting information, it is advisable to back your words with solid arguments or citations. When you have a live discussion or speech, you may turn to other people’s words without considering proper punctuation or formatting style. However, when quoting in an essay, you need to be aware of the principal academic writing rules. This post is devoted to the pivotal peculiarities of quoting.
Before we start discovering how to quote in an essay, we need to find out what a quotation is. A quote in an essay refers to a short excerpt or passage taken directly from a text, speech, or another source that is included within the body of the essay to support or illustrate a point being made by the author.
Quotes in an essay are commonly used to lend credibility, provide evidence, or add depth to an argument or analysis presented in a paper. By incorporating someone else’s words, properly cited and attributed, an author can reinforce their ideas and strengthen the overall impact of their writing. It is important to use quotes sparingly, ensuring they are relevant and effectively incorporated into the essay’s narrative to maintain a coherent flow of ideas.
When dealing with essay writing and finding a suitable phrase or words to refer to, it is obligatory to know how to put a quote into an essay. Improper or incorrect citations may play a nasty trick on you and spoil your GPA. Perhaps, in general, you know how to quote, but it must be mentioned that punctuation always depends on the required formatting style.
However, there are some commonly accepted standards.
Use quotes in an essay that support or enhance your argument, emphasize a point, or provide evidence from a credible source. Ensure that the quote aligns with the topic and purpose of your essay.
Begin by introducing the quote with context, attribution, and the source. It can be done by briefly explaining who said or wrote the quote and why it is significant in relation to your essay’s topic.
Use quotation marks to enclose the quote in an essay and indicate that it is someone else’s words. Place any punctuation marks (like commas or periods) that belong to the quote inside the quotation marks, while those that pertain to the overall sentence are placed outside.
After the quote, you need to include an in-text citation to indicate the source. It typically includes the author’s name (or the name of the organization if it’s a corporate source) and the page number (if applicable). Additionally, make sure to follow the appropriate citation format required by your academic institution or professor (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago style).
After using a quote in an essay and providing the necessary citation, it’s crucial to analyze and explain its relevance to your argument. It helps connect the quote to your overall essay and demonstrates your understanding of its implications.
Remember, quotes can add credibility, depth, and support to your essay, but they should be used sparingly and always be integrated smoothly into your writing. Avoid excessively long quotes that may overshadow your original ideas, and make sure to balance them with your analysis and interpretation.
It is crucial to identify your sources in quotes in an essay because they strengthen the credibility and reliability of your statements. By providing clear attribution to the original authors or creators of the information you are quoting, you give proper acknowledgement and respect to their intellectual property. What is more:
An essay with quotes is often highly valued and graded since it is a sign of profound and well-thought investigation that requires an indication of the primary source.
If you need to quote in a paragraph and choose a short quotation, you should seamlessly integrate it into your writing following the next steps:
Ensure that quotations in an essay are accurate and word-for-word from a credible source. If you need to omit or modify any part of the quotation for better clarity or conciseness, use ellipses (…) or brackets ([ ]) respectively to convey those changes.
When citing a quote in APA, MLA, and Chicago styles, there are specific guidelines to follow. Here’s how you can quote in an essay in each of these formats:
When you quote in an essay MLA, you need to include the author’s last name and page number in parentheses. For example:
“Quote here” (Author’s Last Name Page Number).
In APA style, you should indicate the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number. For example:
“Quote here” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. Page Number).
In Chicago style, there are two quotation essay methods: notes and bibliography or author-date.
Footnote example:
1st citation: Author’s Full Name, Title of Source (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.
Subsequent citation: Author’s Last Name, Shortened Title of Source, Page Number.
“Quote here” (Author’s Last Name Year, Page Number).
Remember, when citing quotes, it is crucial to properly attribute a reliable source to avoid plagiarism and provide a clear reference for readers to locate the cited material in your essay with quotes.
Quoting an article in an essay in different formatting styles can add variety and visual appeal to your writing. Here are a few ways to do so:
According to John Doe, “citation text” (25).
Smith (2019) stated, “citation text” (p. 42).
As stated by Jane Smith in her article “Wild Life,” published on April 1, 2020, “citation text”
According to Williams (2018, p. 10), “citation text”
Remember, it’s important to follow the specific formatting guidelines required by your academic institution or publication. These examples serve as a starting point, but always consult the appropriate style guide for accurate referencing.
The best way to cite correctly is to follow the example quotes in an essay. Here are some samples of the main formatting styles.
MLA formatting style:
APA formatting style:
Chicago formatting style:
Now, everything is clear on how to quote in an essay and why it is important to cite properly for the sake of credibility and academic integrity.
Gina twardosz.
Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of your Common App personal statement…or you’re thinking about the end of your personal statement, and that’s still a cause for celebration.
Consider your favorite show, film, or book—how did you feel when it ended? Perhaps you were sad because you had spent so much time with the characters that they felt like close friends, or maybe you were angry at a disappointing conclusion that left more questions than answers.
Whether we like it or not, a conclusion, good or bad, can change how we feel about a piece of media. It’s just as important as your introduction, and maybe even more important since it’s the last thing your reader will read. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to end a college essay to make a lasting impression.
When friends ask me for book or movie recommendations, I always start with the ending. “You have to watch it, the ending was so heartwarming!” I say, or, more often than not, “Don’t watch it—the ending didn’t make any sense.”
Endings have huge cultural staying power and can even change the audience’s perception of the entire work. You don’t want to unravel your tightly wound story with a loose ending!
And they lived happily ever after.
This ending may be unforgettable but for the wrong reasons. Your life is not a fairy tale, so your essay can’t have such a boring, basic conclusion. The ending to your college essay should be rich with nuance and insight.
To make a lasting impression on the reader, your conclusion should push boundaries, following the reader long after they finish reading your college essay. The end of your college essay should satisfy the reader, tying up loose ends, but a good conclusion is also active, not passive. A good ending to your college essay asks and answers the question, “What’s the point?” Why did the reader just read a 650-word story about you?
Your conclusion is, in many ways, a gift to the reader. It’s the dessert after a long meal—it completes their reading experience and makes everything that came before it worth it.
Before we explore the different ways to end a college essay, let’s discuss what not to do.
The biggest mistake students make when crafting an end to their college essay is not taking the conclusion seriously.
In essays you’ve written for class, you may have been encouraged to restate your thesis in the conclusion. While that’s a good strategy for an informative essay, a college personal essay is very different. Your college essay may not even have a clear thesis statement, and that’s okay.
You should not summarize your essay in your conclusion either. A pointed summary of all the main points of your college essay may seem memorable, but it lacks creativity and can seem as though you’re talking down to the reader. A good ending introduces a new part of the essay, so it should stand out while remaining cohesive.
If you want your essay to capture attention and resonate with the reader, follow these six strategies for ending a college essay.
While you should be reflecting throughout your essay, a great way to tie together any themes or lessons learned is by reflecting on your values or beliefs at the end of the essay. Have they changed since the beginning of the story by growing stronger, maybe even weaker as you’ve gained more knowledge?
It’s important to note that reflection is not summary—you’re introducing a new way of looking at your story in the conclusion. In a way, reflection is the analysis of your story.
Reflection is a great way to show maturity and growth. While you’ll likely grow and mature even more throughout college, reflecting on your experiences shows a thoughtfulness conducive to a college education.
If you’ve ever seen a stand-up comedian perform, then you know that sometimes they reference earlier jokes later in the set. A “callback” can seem like an inside joke between the comedian and audience, creating familiarity between performer and spectator.
Let’s look at the essay introduction imagined in the article, “ How to Write a Good Essay Hook. ”
“Yuck!” I yelled as the pigeon pooped on my head.
It’s safe to assume this essay will be, in part, about overcoming challenges or adversity. So, how should it end? To match the humor of the introduction, a callback can be utilized to end this college essay.
The best advice I ever received was to stay positive. Keep looking up, because if anything, you’ll see the pigeon before it poops!
While this essay is very humorous, your essay doesn’t have to be funny to use a callback.
It may be self explanatory, but if you started your essay with a cliffhanger, you’ll have to return to it at the end, saving whatever you left dangling in a move that will leave the reader both relieved, satisfied, and maybe even a little surprised.
Ending your essay in a scene is also an active way to leave a memorable impression on the reader.
You’ve experienced a lot so far, but there is still so much for you to discover. Readers of your essay know that your big journey is just beginning, so don’t be afraid to end your essay looking toward the future. Especially if your essay is about overcoming a challenge, you’ll want to end on a positive note as you look out toward your potential.
Just as you’re reflecting inward, look outward at the world around you. What’s next for you? Show the reader that your story is only ending on paper.
When writing the perfect college essay, the stakes can feel overwhelming. Applying to colleges is a serious undertaking, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t allow yourself to feel excited! You’re going to college, and you’re going to do big things when you’re there, and beyond.
While you’ll likely have a chance to write about your career aspirations in one of the many short answer supplemental essays colleges require, your college essay can be a great way for you to write about your hopes and dreams. Especially if you’re writing about your identity, background, or talents, ending on your dreams can leave the reader with a memorable and heartwarming message.
M. Night Shyamalan: You either love his twist endings…or you loathe them. I won’t tell you how to watch movies, but when it comes to writing, I can assure you that a surprise twist can make your college essay impossible to forget.
It should be said that this can be one of the hardest endings to get right, and it definitely depends upon the way you’ve structured your essay. But if your essay is pretty conventional, a surprise twist can take your college essay to the next level.
Think of your twist ending as more of a pivot into a new direction. It’s important not to stray too far from the topic of the essay—you don’t want a disjointed essay—but surprise twists can be a great way to ensure your essay doesn’t fall victim to trope.
For example, maybe your essay is about becoming a more adventurous cook, but in the end, you end up burning Thanksgiving dinner! Things didn’t go as expected, but through this journey, you learned what truly matters is family…and takeout food.
Life is full of twists and turns, and if you can work one into your essay, you may just take the right path toward your dream school.
While the end of a college essay is only one part of it, it has the ability to the define the essay, so it’s important to take it seriously and write a creative ending that satisfies the reader while leaving a lasting impression. It’s not enough to simply start the race, you have to finish strong to secure your victory. One of these six strategies can help you end your college essay, ensuring that your college essay is unforgettable.
If you aim to join the ranks of UPenn’s elite students, you’ll need more than good grades and
Think about your favorite book or movie: How does it start? Is there action or mystery? Does the
Filling out your college application will take time and patience. You’ll have to gather a range of documents,
Crack the code on getting into highly selective schools.
The Common App personal statement is a student’s chance to make their application stand out. And your supplemental essays can help you tell a compelling and memorable story.
We will cover important topics for high school freshmen and sophomores to set them up for later success in college planning. Learn the basic fundamentals of college planning that set the stage come junior & senior year.
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Introducing our college planning timeline with a handy checklist of essential tasks, a step-by-step guide for every grade level, from freshman to senior year, AND financial aid, college applications, extracurricular activities, and more.
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Subscribe. Harvard conventions suggest doing this when quoting passages of 40-50 words (approximately four lines). To block quote, the quoted text must begin on a separate line after a colon and be inset from the rest of your essay, somewhat like this: We must realise that bread is made to eat, and that the palate and not the eye must always be ...
The Harvard Style dictates that when using another's exact words, known as direct quotation, then those words must be placed in inverted commas/quotation marks ('' or "") followed by an in-text citation that includes the Author Last name, Year and page numbers. Inverted commas/quotation marks can be single or double, simply be consistent or ...
Citing a quote in APA Style. To cite a direct quote in APA, you must include the author's last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas. If the quote appears on a single page, use 'p.'; if it spans a page range, use 'pp.'. An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative.
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting. Depending on the conventions of your discipline, you may have to decide whether to summarize a source, paraphrase a source, or quote from a source. Scholars in the humanities tend to summarize, paraphrase, and quote texts; social scientists and natural scientists rely primarily on summary and paraphrase.
leave a space of one line before and after a long quotation. do not use quotation marks around a long quotation. use a smaller font for the quote, e.g. if your assignment is in font 12, use 10 for the quotation. indent the quote. if your assignment is in double spacing, have the quotation in single spacing (for Harvard; there may be different ...
Long Quotations. If you wish to insert a long quotation (more than three lines of text) into your work: Enter the quotation as a separate paragraph. Indent the paragraph. Do not use quotation marks. Leave a blank line above, and below the quotation. In-text citation. If there were no events in the universe, then there would be no time.
Long quotations Long quotations (more than 30 words) should: be introduced in your own words, begin on a new line, be fully indented by default (i.e. 1.27 cm) from the left margin, be in single line spacing. Separate the quotation from the lead-in statement with one blank line. The lead-in statement ends with a colon(:).
The Harvard style of referencing follows an author-date format for in-text citations; this means that the surname of the author and the date of publication are used to cite a quotation or idea borrowed from another author. If you include a direct quote in your paper and that source has page numbers, you'll also need to know how to format page ...
leave a space of one line before and after the quotation. do not use quotation marks around the quotation. use a smaller font for the quote, e.g. if your assignment is in 12, use 10 for the quotation. indent the quote. if your assignment is in double spacing, keep the quote in single spacing.
If you are taking a quotation from a website you may not be able to find a page number, so you will need to include an indication of where the quote can be found. Give a line or screen number instead, e.g. use [45 lines] or [approx. 5 screens]. Remember: it is best to paraphrase the sources you have used in your work, putting the author's ...
There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database. For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library's ...
If you quote from a longer source without page numbers, it's best to find an alternate location marker, such as a paragraph number or subheading, and include that: (Google, 2019, para. 14) (Scribbr, 2020, under 'Creating a Harvard reference list') Frequently asked questions about Harvard in-text citations
Harvard College Writing Center 5 Asking Analytical Questions When you write an essay for a course you are taking, you are being asked not only to create a product (the essay) but, more importantly, to go through a process of thinking more deeply about a question or problem related to the course. By writing about a
LabSimone A. Fried, TF Spring 2021Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing SourcesThe three most common te. iques for writing with evidence are direct quotes, summarizing, and paraphrasing. Direct qu. tes are probably what most people think of first as a way to use academic evidence. In the U. . we often teach children to support an argument by ...
Harvard College. Writing Program. roJeCT BrIeF gUIde SerIeSA Brief Guide to the Elements of the Academic Essayby Gordon HarveyGordon Harvey's "Ele. nts of the Academic Essay" provide a possible vocabulary for commenting on student writing. Instructors in Harvard College Writing Program tend to use some version of this vocabulary when ...
Highlight the "so what". At the beginning of your paper, you explain to your readers what's at stake—why they should care about the argument you're making. In your conclusion, you can bring readers back to those stakes by reminding them why your argument is important in the first place. You can also draft a few sentences that put ...
When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors' names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ' et al. ': Number of authors. In-text citation example. 1 author. (Davis, 2019) 2 authors. (Davis and Barrett, 2019) 3 authors.
In APA style, you use parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources, to show how recently your sources were published, and to refer your reader to a more detailed citation of the source in the reference list at the end of your paper. You should use parenthetical citations when you paraphrase, quote, or make any ...
enclose it in quotation marks. give the author, date and page number (s) that the quotation was taken from, in brackets. If you are quoting from a website or webpage that does not have page numbers, you do not need to include anything to indicate this in the citation. Example: "Language is subject to change, and is not caused by unnecessary ...
When Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening was published in 1899, critics condemned the book as immoral.One typical critic, writing in the Providence Journal, feared that the novel might "fall into the hands of youth, leading them to dwell on things that only matured persons can understand, and promoting unholy imaginations and unclean desires" (150).A reviewer in the St. Louis Post- Dispatch ...
A block quote is a long quotation, set on a new line and indented to create a separate block of text. No quotation marks are used. You have to use a block quote when quoting more than around 40 words from a source. In APA and MLA styles, you indent block quotes 0.5 inches from the left, and add an in-text citation after the period. Some other ...
In APA formatting, you can introduce a quote by mentioning the author's name, publication year, and page number in parentheses. Here's an example: Smith (2019) stated, "citation text" (p. 42). In Chicago style, you have the option to use footnotes or endnotes to introduce a quote.
Jul 22, 2024 28720. There are no official limits to quotation length, though any quotations that are more than four lines should be formatted as a separate block quote. However, it is generally better to paraphrase the sources you cite rather than use direct quotations. Excessive use of direct quotations can make it look like you do not fully ...
But if your essay is pretty conventional, a surprise twist can take your college essay to the next level. Think of your twist ending as more of a pivot into a new direction. It's important not to stray too far from the topic of the essay—you don't want a disjointed essay—but surprise twists can be a great way to ensure your essay doesn ...