EssayClerkHarvard citation generator
Create Harvard Cite Them Right 12 references and author-date examples in your browser. Free referencing generator; optional DOI/ISBN lookups go online.
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Your source details
Import BibTeX or RIS
Books, journal articles, and webpages. Maximum 200,000 characters. URLs and DOI strings alone are not imports.
Find a source by DOI or ISBN
When you choose Look up source, only this identifier is sent to EssayClerk and Crossref (DOI) or Open Library (ISBN). Your source form and bibliography stay in this browser. Entering a URL elsewhere does not fetch it.
Crossref does not cover every DOI registry. If no match is found or lookup is unavailable, use the manual form below.
Your sources (0/100)
Add a source to start your bibliography.
Harvard has several variants. This uses Cite Them Right 12th edition; check your institution’s requirements.
References
Add or import sources to create your bibliography.
Keep a copy on this device
Optional. One saved citation project per browser and site address. Save replaces the previous copy; edits are never saved automatically. Restore is always your choice.
Includes added sources, style, and lookup provenance. Unadded forms, pasted imports, and citation locators are not saved.
Anyone using this browser profile can access the saved copy. Browser data may be cleared or unavailable. Device saving is not a backup or cloud sync; download your work separately.
Add sources and save or clear source-form edits before saving a project snapshot. Pasted import previews are not included.
Use Harvard — Cite Them Right 12th edition
Harvard names a family of author/date styles rather than one universal standard. This page specifically uses Cite Them Right 12th edition. Check that variant against your institution’s assignment guide before using the output.
- For a book, collect the author, year, title and publisher. Keep details tied to the edition you consulted.
- For a journal article, enter the journal title separately and include available volume, issue, pages and DOI.
- For a webpage, review the organization or personal author, title, URL and available dates. Supply your actual access date when required; the tool does not fill in today’s date automatically.
A worked book example
This is a fictional teaching example, not a verified publication.
Reference: Jones, A. (2024) Study skills. Example Press.
Page-12 citation: (Jones, 2024, p. 12)
This fictional book uses author initials followed by a parenthesized year. Its punctuation differs from APA: there is no period immediately after the year. The preview italicizes the title; the citation example includes the supplied page locator.
Compare the named variant with your course guide
Check your assignment’s Harvard instructions before formatting the full list. Compare a book, an article and a webpage example with the Cite Them Right variant used here. If the required variant differs, retain your source records and follow your institution’s examples for the final presentation.
Keep publication and access dates separate. A webpage’s displayed year should not be replaced by the date you visited it. When details are missing, review the source and your required style guidance rather than supplying guessed metadata. The formatter keeps unknown fields unknown and does not infer dates from a URL.
Questions about this style
Which Harvard referencing system does this use?
This generator uses Cite Them Right 12th edition. Harvard is a family of author-date systems, so another university or course guide may require different punctuation or fields. Confirm the required variant before using the reference.
Will this match every university’s Harvard guide?
No. Institutions use different Harvard variants. This page labels the supported variant explicitly; compare punctuation, required fields and access-date rules with your own guide.
Can I change styles without adding sources again?
Yes. The citation workspace formats the same source records in each supported style. Switching style changes the formatted results; review them before using the bibliography.
Review the guidance
Supported sources are books, journal articles and webpages. Formatting does not verify that a publication exists or certify assignment compliance. Use the bibliography formatter for structured imports and the word counter when reviewing your draft.
Build references from details you know
Enter books, journal articles, or webpages manually, or preview supported BibTeX/RIS records before adding them. APA, MLA, Chicago author-date and Harvard sort references using the style. IEEE and Vancouver number references in source-list order; use Move up/down to arrange the order of first citation. Unknown author/date fields stay unknown. Formatting is not a check that a source exists or that all metadata is correct.
Imports preserve parsed CSL metadata, including additional roles such as editors; the form edits the common fields shown. Unsupported source types and incomplete imports are rejected without adding partial records. Possible duplicates require an explicit keep-separate decision; automatic merging and arbitrary prose repair are not implemented.
Keep your sources
The citation generator and bibliography formatter share this browser session’s sources when navigating between them. Refreshing or closing clears the current project. A device copy is saved and restored only through the controls above; later edits need another save. Export BibTeX/RIS to keep source records; a plain-text bibliography is formatted output rather than an editable source project.
Open the bibliography formatter
Check this citation project for missing details, identifiers, dates, and possible duplicates.
Formatting uses Citation.js and citeproc-js. citeproc-js © 2009–2019 Frank Bennett. Licenses and covered source. Styles/locales from Citation Style Language are licensed CC BY-SA 3.0; author notices are retained. Review APA guidance or MLA guidance for your source.