Introduction 

Academic writing is a particular type of writing in which a person needs to mention the sources of every information they are including in any argument or discussion. Not mentioning sources can cause multiple issues for the writer and writing. For example, without a source information may seem arbitrary, lose trust among readers and may also hamper the overall clarity. On the other hand, representing information published by others without mentioning the source can also raise legal issues for the academic writer. The actual writer can raise copyright-related charges against the writer using it without providing credit. To avoid both quality and legal issues, mentioning sources is essential. The process or set of rules followed for mentioning a source is known as referencing. There are different types of referencing styles available in the academic writing process. For example, Harvard referencing, MLA referencing styles, IEEE referencing style, Chicago referencing and more. Different referencing styles follow different sets of rules. One particular academic writer can google a single type of referencing style throughout the whole writing. Harvard referencing is one of the most common referencing styles used in the academic writing process. This essay describes the rules that need to be followed while referencing. 

Harvard referencing

Harvard referencing is an “Author date referencing style” that includes detailed in-text citations along with a detailed referencing list at the end of the whole work. There are two parts in Harvard referencing styles that are in in-text citation and detailed referencing style linked with the in text citation. There are different types of sources that can be referenced under this reference. Various kinds of information need to be referenced and texted differently. For example, books, journals, and online articles can be sourced under this referencing style. 

Overall, Harvard’s referencing style is essential since it provides credit to the authors for their work. Passing credit is necessary to encourage further research work. Another importance of referencing is that it helps to increase the overall credibility of the writer. 

In-text citation in Harvard referencing process 

Whole referencing process can be divided into two parts such as in text citation and reference list. This section focuses on the styles or rules that need to be followed while providing context citations. 

In text citation can be divided into two types such as basic format and direct quotation format. In the case of base format. 

In-text citation: Include the Author’s name followed by the year of publication in a closed bracket. Essential in-text citations are provided at the end of a line before the full stop. The context citation cannot be provided at the end of a sentence. In the case of direct quotation format, the writer’s first name remains outside of the bracket, and the year is only kept in the brackets. These in-text citations can be included at the beginning and within a sentence. This citation should be included as a part of a sentence. Some examples of primary and direct quotation formats are as follows: 

Basic format: (author’s first name, Year)

Direct Quotation: Author, page number (year)

In a reference, there can be more than one writer present. There can be two writers and more than two writers for a single reference. In the case of two writers, while using in-text citation, both authors’ names should be mentioned by using “and after that year should be mentioned. In the case of more than two writers, the first person’s name should be followed by “et al.” and “year. Here, the term “et al.” refers to laying, etcetera, or there are more writers. Mentioning “et al.” helps to reduce the effort of adding multiple authors’ names in a single sentence, which can lower the overall quality of the argument. Examples of such citations are as follows: 

• Basic format, in the case of two authors: (author 1 first name and Author 2 first name, year)
• Basic format and there are more than two authors: (Author 1 first name et al., (year)
• Direct quotation for two authors: Author 1 first name and Author 2 first name (year)
• Direct quotation for more than two authors Author 1 first name et al. (Year). 

The following discussion reflects that different types of rules or styles are followed for different situations. This rule has been set by Harvard University, focusing on convenience and citation clarity requirements.  

Referencing styles 

Harvard-style reference lists are arranged alphabetically. For example, references starting with the alphabet “A” are listed before references beginning with the alphabet “B.” The main reason for arranging it in an Alphabetical manner is that it helps readers find full references easily. 

In the case of Books at first authors names are mentioned followed by year, book title, book edition, and publication location and publishers name. In the case of journals reference starts with authors name, year, paperless title, Journals name volume of the journal and page number.  

In the case of a website the reference starts with authors followed by year, title page and link of the website. The date at which website was accessed by the academic writer also needs to be mentioned since web pages can change over time. 

Reports are another type of information that can be referenced. Referencing starts with the author’s or organization’s name, followed by the Year, report title, place of publication, name of the publisher, and report number. 

Overall, the following discussion reflects that there are different types of information that can be referenced using Harvard referencing style ps. Overall, this referencing style is the same and starts with the author’s name. The key information in these reference styles is the year of publication, the publisher’s name, and the exact location of the information, such as edition number or page number. 

Information published on websites also needs to be referenced in a similar manner to books, reports, and journals. For example, the name of the author needs to be mentioned, followed by the date of publication, the title of the webpage, the URL address, and the date it was accessed. The main difference between webpage referencing and other pieces of information is that here the latest access date needs to be inserted. Materials published on a particular webpage can be changed by the owners of the writers, unlike reports and journals, which cannot be changed after publication. Due to this reason it is essential to mention the access date. It helps to track down the changes that happened between the reader reading the referenced information and the time the data was collected from the webpage. 

Harvard referencing rules are comparatively simple. However, due to the presence of multiple rules, they can become confusing. For this reason, scholars need to follow the Harvard referencing style with care. Scholars also need to understand the incidents where to use direct in-text citation style and indirect in-text citation styles. For example, it can be said that while mentioning numerical values and critical findings, scholars should use direct quotation styles. This helps ensure that readers understand the contribution of the actual author of the information correctly. On the other hand, while summarizing the overall findings of a research, an indirect in-text citation should be provided. Scholars try to present arguments about their study by summarizing the arguments presented in other research works. While summarizing, indirect in-text citations should be used. Analyzing the situation before citing is essential. Providing proper citations is necessary to maintain the overall quality of research. 

Conclusion 

Harvard referencing follows a simple referencing format, which makes it easily usable in the academic writing process. It should be mentioned that while following this referencing style the writer needs to ensure the format of the writing. For example, writing should be written on a full merged page, including the page number at the box right. There are different types of referencing styles apart from the Harvard referencing style. Before choosing the Harvard referencing style, scholars should check the referencing style recommended by the university under which she or he is working. Referencing styles used by previous scholars in similar research topics can also be considered if universities do not have strict rules regarding the referencing process. Observing previous referencing style trends can help researchers to ensure that it is following the referencing traditions followed in a particular group of research. Lastly, scholars should also consider research guides and fellow researchers to determine a specific style of referencing. One research can have multiple team members.  Collaboration among all the researchers is essential. If different scholars follows different referencing styles while writing other parts of the research, then it can create a misalignment in presentation style. To avoid such issues, it is essential to maintain collaboration among the writers. Every scholar should understand the referencing style rules properly to ensure that rules are followed properly. This can help in ensuring the overall quality of the writing. Scholarly writers also need to ensure that every piece of information is cited to avoid any legal issues. Failing to provide citations to any information can result in legal issues. Due to this reason it is essential to provide citations while writing.  Schools should not wait for the whole writing to end before starting referencing.