Formatting of names

In the footnote, names are given in Forename Surname order:

In a bibliography, the first author's surname is given first in the bibliography to allow for alphabetic listing:

Number of authors

If a source has one, two or three authors or editors, include all of their names in full, in the order they appear on the source.

For a source with four or more authors or editors, give the name of the first author followed by 'and others'.

If you refer to the same work on more than one occasion, you have three options, depending on context.

Citing the same work directly after the original reference

You can use the Latin abbreviation ‘ibid.’. This means ‘in the same place’, and you footnotes might look like this:

Refer to the same source at different points of your essay.

Here you are free to abbreviate the original reference to something intelligible to the reader, as in the following example:

Then after some other references:

Frequent references to the same source

If you frequently refer to the same source, eg, when quoting from the same play throughout an essay, you can signal in the first footnote that you will be including an ‘in-text’ references for all subsequent mentions:

A subsequent example in the essay may look like this:

There is no longer need for a footnote in this case.

No author name

It is important to use quality sources to support your arguments and so you should consider carefully the value of using any source when you cannot identify its author. For online sources, look carefully for named contributors, such as in the ‘about us’ sections. For printed material, try to locate authors in the publication/ copyright information which is often on the inside cover of a book or back page of a report.

If you can't find the author information, you can use ‘Anon.’ in place of a name.

No publication date

Knowing when a source was created, published, or last updated is important as this helps you to determine the relevance and reliability of the source. Sacred and classical works where dates are not given (precisely) are, however, also commonly used. For online sources, look carefully for created and/ or last updated dates on the page(s).

If you can't find a publication date, use ‘n.d.’ for no date in place of the year.

Quotations are word-for-word text included in your work and they must always be copied with exact accuracy. This includes, for instance, precise transcription of the smallest details of both punctuation and typography (the use of italics, say, or capitalisation, etc.). Do not italicise quotations unless they appear in italics in the original. Quotations should always be carefully identified as quotations.

If your chosen quotation is relatively short (i.e., no more than two lines in length), use a brief phrase within your paragraph or sentence to introduce the quotation before including it inside single quotation marks ‘ ’. For longer quotations, you should indent the quotation in full, so that it appears as an indented paragraph of its own, and no quotation marks are needed around the text. A footnote should follow both forms of quotation.

Quoting a person quoted in a source

For example, you may find an interesting quotation from a named person in a newspaper article, interview or other published material. In this case, the person quoted is different from the person writing the source itself.

In-text:

Footnote:

Quoting from plays

Quoting from a single character’s speech involves simply putting the line in single quotation marks. When quoting dialogue, you should include the characters’ names, as in the following example:

This would then be followed by a footnote.

When quoting from a play with line numbers, such as a play by Shakespeare, include the line number in the footnote (in the form: p. x, l. y). For example:

Corresponding footnote:

When you want to cite a comment about one author's work quoted in another author's work. 

Secondary referencing should be avoided as far as possible and the original source consulted and cited. If it is essential to use a secondary reference follow these guidelines:

In-text:

Footnote:

Bibliography: 

Note: Only list the source that you have actually read in your bibliography. 

Information to include
Author name, Title, including subtitle if one exists, # edn* (Place of publication: publisher, year), page number or page numbers quoted.

Footnote 
Names are given in Forname Surname order.

Bibliography:

The first author’s surname is given first in the bibliography to allow for alphabetic listing.

*include edition number only if it is not the first edition.

These are usually books that contain a number of essays by different contributors, compiled by an editor or editors.

Information to include:
Author name, ‘Title of essay in full’, in Title of book, ed. by Editors’ names or name (Place of publication: publisher, year), page range of the essay (page or pages quoted).

Footnote: 

Articles which are republished later in an edited edition should take one of the following forms:

Or

Journals’ first and last pages aren’t preceded by pp.

Bibliography:

See MHRA Style Guide 11.2.3 for more details. 

Footnote: 

Bibliography:

Notes:
• If an entry refers to a span of pages, the first and last pages should be given eg. 17-25.
• Specific pages within that should be indicated by pages numbers within brackets eg (pp.18-19).

More details are in the MHRA Style Guide 11.2 

Journal article / paper (print copy)

Information to include
Author name, ‘Title of article / paper in full’, Title of journal, volume number: part number (year), page range of the article / paper (page or pages quoted).

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Note:

• Reverse the order of the first author’s surname and first name in the bibliography, but not for subsequent authors. This is so that works can be placed in author order in the bibliography.
• First and last pages of journal articles / papers cited do not use pp. unless referring to specific pages within that span. Indicate specific pages referred to in brackets using p. or pp.

Journal article / paper (electronic copy)

Use the information for the print version if that is available. Only provide URLs and DOI for material that can only be obtained via the web.

Footnote:

Note: if there are no page numbers, refer using ‘para’, for paragraphs.

Bibliography:

Footnote

Bibliography

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Present the information in the language of origin if the book was read in that language. for a translated book, see specific advice). Use the language conventions for capitalisation.

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Give conference paper in single inverted commas and the title of the conference in Italics. If the paper has been published, give the details of the publisher and the page references. If it hasn't been published, just give the location of the conference.

Footnote

Bibliography

Give details of the type of digital file and give pages numbers where possible.

Footnote

Bibliography

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Use the term Figure and arabic numerals (1,2,3 etc) to identify graphs and figures and if necessary, allocate a footnote to them.

In text:

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Footnote:

n.d is used to indicate no date known.

Bibliography:

Indicate date of issue, section (where relevant) and page numbers. Omit ‘The’ or ‘A’ when citing newspapers or magazines with the exception of The Times. Newspapers and magazines use pp. to indicate the first and last pages of the article, unlike journal article citations.

Footnote:

Bibliography:

References to online digital media should include the author, the title in italics, the type of source, the title of the website, the date of publication, the URL, and the date of access, e.g.:

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Small roman numerals should be used for the numbers and acts of plays eg iv. Smaller subdivisions such as scenes, chapters etc. are indicated by Arabic numbers eg 1,2,3. The first footnote should give full details, subsequent footnotes can use the title.

Footnotes:

Bibliography:

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Give full details in the first footnote. Subsequent footnotes can indicate book, chapter, verse etc.
Titles of books from the Bible are not italicised. Book numbers are given in roman numerals, chapter and verse numbers are given in arabic numerals (1,2,3 etc) separated by a full stop.

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Include composer or author; title of piece in italics; artist, orchestra etc separated by commas; recording company, CD reference, date in brackets().

Footnote:

First names of composers, artists, conductors, may be omitted if not deemed necessary.

Bibliography:

Give the title of the specific episode if there is one in single inverted commas. Give the title of the series in italics.

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Footnotes:

Bibliography:

Do not cite a web source unless there is no other version of that source. Cite the print version if that is available. Do not give a web address unless the source is only found via the web.

Footnote:

Bibliography:

Short posts on X or Facebook: ‘“X post or Facebook post.” #hashtag(s) [if present in original post]’ (@handle, date).

Footnote:

Bibliography:

List the post by the first major word