Referencing styles explained: Harvard, APA, MLA, Chicago and Vancouver
How the main citation styles differ, and how to keep yours consistent.
Your university, department or journal decides your referencing style. If you have a choice, pick one and use it the same way every time.
The main styles at a glance
| Style | In the text | Commonly used in |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard | (Smith, 2024) | Many UK universities, business, social sciences |
| APA | (Smith, 2024) | Psychology, education, social sciences |
| MLA | (Smith 45) | Literature, languages, humanities |
| Chicago (notes) | a footnote number¹ | History, arts, some humanities |
| Vancouver | a number in brackets [1] | Medicine, health and life sciences |
Author–date styles (Harvard, APA)
Citations in the text give the author and year; the reference list is in alphabetical order by author. Harvard is a family of styles, not one standard, so follow your own institution's version exactly.
Numbered styles (Vancouver)
Sources are numbered in the order you first cite them, and the reference list follows that order.
Notes styles (Chicago)
Each citation is a footnote, and a bibliography at the end lists all sources alphabetically.
Keeping it consistent
- Use a reference manager such as Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote. It formats citations for you.
- Check both directions. Every citation should appear in the list, and every entry should be cited.
- Watch the small things: italics for titles, the position of the year, "et al." rules and punctuation between parts.
- Do not mix styles, even for sources you added late.
What an editor will and will not do
A proofreader corrects obvious typing errors in references but should never add, remove or change your sources. Our referencing and citation consistency check goes further: it checks every citation and list entry against the style you name.
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