Harvard referencing is one of the most widely used citation styles in UK, Australian, and international universities. If your institution requires Harvard style and you need a properly formatted starting point, this page gives you a ready-to-use Harvard referencing template for Word — download it, replace the placeholder content, and submit.
Download Harvard Referencing Template for Word
The template includes a title page, abstract, double-spaced body with in-text citation examples, a sample data table, and a complete reference list with 11 formatted entries across different source types.
Free download · Microsoft Word compatible (2013 and later) · No registration needed
What’s Included in the Harvard Template
- Title page — Essay title, student name, ID, course, tutor, institution, and date fields
- Abstract — Pre-formatted with keywords section
- Double-spaced body — Times New Roman 12pt throughout, 1.25″ left margin
- Numbered sections — Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology (with subsections), Results, Discussion, Conclusion
- In-text citation examples — Single author, two authors, multiple authors (et al.), direct quotes with page numbers
- Sample table — TABLE 1 with header row and four data rows, captioned above in Harvard style
- Reference list — 11 fully formatted entries: book, journal article, two-author article, website, thesis, and more
- Appendix section — Correctly labelled (Appendix A)
Harvard Referencing: The Complete Guide
Harvard is an author-date citation system. This means citations in the body of your text show the author’s surname and year of publication, and full details appear in the reference list at the end. There’s no single official «Harvard» standard — different universities have their own variations — but the core rules are consistent across all of them.
How In-Text Citations Work
In-text citations appear in parentheses within your text. The basic formats are:
- One author: (Smith, 2023) or Smith (2023) argues that…
- Two authors: (Smith and Jones, 2023) — use «and», not «&»
- Three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2023) — «et al.» means «and others»
- Direct quote: (Smith, 2023, p. 45) — always include the page number
- Multiple citations: (Brown, 2021; Davis, 2022) — separate with semicolons, alphabetical order
- No author: (Title of Work, 2023) — use a shortened title
- Organisation as author: (World Health Organisation, 2022)
Place the citation immediately after the information it supports, before the full stop: «Research suggests that outcomes improved significantly (Wilson, 2022).» If the author’s name is part of the sentence, only the year goes in parentheses: «Wilson (2022) found that outcomes improved significantly.»
How to Format the Reference List
The reference list (called «References» or «Bibliography» depending on your institution) appears at the end of the paper on a new page. Key rules:
- List all sources alphabetically by the first author’s surname
- Use a hanging indent — first line flush left, subsequent lines indented
- Double-space the entire list (or follow your institution’s spacing requirements)
- Include all sources cited in the text, and only those sources
Harvard Reference Format for Every Source Type
The format varies depending on the type of source. Here’s how to format the most common ones correctly.
Book (Single Author)
Format: Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of Book. Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher.
Example: Smith, K. (2023) Introduction to Academic Writing. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Book (Two or More Authors)
Example: Wilson, D. and Clarke, E. (2020) Research Methods for Beginners. London: Routledge.
Journal Article
Format: Author, Initial(s). (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pp. pages.
Example: Clarke, J. and Smith, P. (2022) ‘The impact of digital media on academic writing’, Journal of Higher Education, 45(3), pp. 112–128.
Website / Online Source
Format: Author/Organisation (Year) Title of Page. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).
Example: University of Leeds (2023) Harvard Referencing Guide. Available at: https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/referencing/50/leeds_harvard (Accessed: 7 March 2025).
Edited Book Chapter
Format: Author, Initial(s). (Year) ‘Title of chapter’, in Editor, Initial(s). (ed./eds.) Title of Book. Place: Publisher, pp. pages.
Example: Brown, T. (2021) ‘Qualitative approaches in social research’, in Green, R. and Hall, M. (eds.) Handbook of Social Research Methods. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 89–115.
Thesis or Dissertation
Example: Taylor, S. (2022) Digital literacy in higher education: A mixed methods study. PhD thesis. University of Manchester.
Report
Example: Office for National Statistics (2023) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: 2023 Results. London: ONS. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk (Accessed: 15 January 2024).
Harvard Document Formatting Requirements
While Harvard style is primarily about citations, most institutions that require Harvard referencing also have document formatting guidelines. The template follows these standard conventions:
Font and Size
Times New Roman 12pt is the standard across most institutions. Some accept Arial 11pt or Calibri 11pt as alternatives. Unless your institution specifies otherwise, use Times New Roman 12pt — it’s the most universally accepted.
Line Spacing
Double spacing (2.0) is required for the main body text. The reference list is typically also double-spaced, though some institutions allow single spacing between entries with a blank line between each. Check your submission guidelines.
Margins
Standard margins are 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides, though some institutions require a 1.25 inch left margin to allow for binding. The template uses 1.25″ left / 1″ right / 1″ top and bottom, which is the most common requirement.
Paragraph Indentation
The first line of each paragraph is indented by 0.5 inches (1.27 cm). Do not use a blank line between paragraphs in the main body — indentation alone marks where one paragraph ends and the next begins. The reference list uses a hanging indent (first line flush, subsequent lines indented).
Page Numbers
Page numbers are placed in the top right header, typically starting from the title page or first page of the introduction. The title page is often counted as page 1 but the number is not shown. Check your institution’s preference.
How to Use the Harvard Template: Step-by-Step
- Fill in the title page — Replace «Essay Title», your name, student ID, course, tutor, institution, and submission date.
- Write or paste your abstract — Replace the placeholder abstract text. Update the keywords to match your paper’s content.
- Write your introduction — The first citation example is already in the template. Follow the same pattern: (Author, Year) for paraphrase, (Author, Year, p. X) for direct quotes.
- Add and rename sections — The template includes 6 main sections. Add, remove, or rename them to match your assignment structure.
- Replace the sample table — Rename Table 1, replace the column headers and data. Keep the caption above the table.
- Build your reference list — Replace the 11 example references with your actual sources. Keep the alphabetical order and hanging indent format.
- Delete the appendix if not needed — If you have no appendix, simply delete that page.
Common Harvard Referencing Mistakes
- Using «&» instead of «and» — Harvard always uses «and» between author names, both in-text and in the reference list. The ampersand is APA style.
- Forgetting page numbers on direct quotes — Every direct quotation needs a page number: (Smith, 2023, p. 45). Without it, the citation is incomplete.
- Mixing up the reference list and bibliography — A reference list contains only sources you cited. A bibliography includes additional sources you read but didn’t cite. Use whichever your institution requires.
- Not italicising correctly — Book and journal titles are italicised. Article titles are in single quotation marks and not italicised.
- Wrong order in the reference list — Alphabetical by surname, not by first name. If an author has multiple works, list them chronologically by year.
- Incomplete website citations — Always include the access date for websites, as web content changes. Format: (Accessed: Day Month Year).
- Using «ibid» or footnotes — Harvard doesn’t use ibid or footnote citations. Every citation repeats the author and year, every time.
Harvard vs. APA: Key Differences
Harvard and APA are both author-date systems and look very similar, which causes confusion. The key differences are subtle but matter for academic submissions:
In APA, the reference list uses «&» between authors (Smith & Jones, 2020) and has specific rules about how many authors to list before using «et al.» (more than two in APA 7th edition). In Harvard, you use «and» and the threshold for «et al.» varies by institution (typically three or more). APA also requires a running head on each page and has stricter rules around DOIs and URLs. Harvard is more flexible on these points, which is partly why universities prefer it — they can adapt it to their own house style.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an official Harvard referencing guide?
No. Unlike APA (published by the American Psychological Association) or MLA (published by the Modern Language Association), there is no single official Harvard style guide. «Harvard» refers to a family of author-date citation styles. Your university’s library will have its own Harvard referencing guide — always follow that version above any general guide.
Does the template work for all Harvard variations?
The template follows the most widely used conventions (Leeds Harvard, Cite Them Right Harvard, Anglia Ruskin Harvard). The core formatting — author-date citations, reference list with hanging indent — is consistent. Minor variations (how to handle multiple authors, whether to include DOIs, date format) differ between institutions. Check your specific institution’s guide for those details.
Should I use single or double quotation marks for article titles?
Most Harvard guides use single quotation marks for article titles (chapter titles, journal article titles). Some American-influenced guides use double quotation marks. Follow your institution’s style guide. The template uses single quotation marks, which is the UK standard.
What’s the difference between a reference list and a bibliography in Harvard?
A reference list contains only the sources you cited in your paper. A bibliography includes all sources you consulted, whether or not you cited them. Many UK institutions use the terms interchangeably, but technically they mean different things. The template uses «References» — if your assignment requires a full bibliography, simply add all sources you read, not just those cited.