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- Reference with MHRA

Reference with MHRA

If you are a student in English Literature, Drama or Creative Writing, you will need to use the MHRA referencing style in your assignments, projects and dissertation.

Use this online guide to find out how the style works and what your footnotes and bibliography should look like.

A shorter print guide Citing your References in the MHRA Style (revised August 2017) is also available as a word file or PDF.

For further help using MHRA:

Contact your Academic Liaison Librarian, Joanna Cooksey.
The MHRA Style Guide Online (3rd edn, 2013) is the official guide published by the Modern Humanities Research Association. Print copies are also available in Headington Library
Cite Them Right Online focuses on Harvard-style referencing but does include some advice and examples of the MHRA style.

How to use this guide

If you are new to using MHRA, or you have specific queries about how the style works, check the first two sections in yellow.

If you want to find out how to reference a specific kind of source, there are examples of most of the main types of sources you may use, including literary texts, secondary criticism and a range of online and media sources.

How MHRA works: creating footnotes and bibliographies

How to set out quotations in MHRA

How to reference a book

How to reference a book chapter

How to reference an article: journal and newspaper articles

How MHRA works: creating footnotes and bibliographies

When writing essays or dissertations you may need to refer to a variety of sources – literary texts, books, journal articles etc. – in the body of your work. Always cite the original source if you are providing a direct quotation or where you’re drawing on someone else’s ideas e.g. ‘Eagleton’s theory is that…’

When you want to cite a specific source, create a footnote (a note placed at the foot of the page) in Word, following the instructions below. Alternatively you can use endnotes (notes placed at the end of your essay). All the sources you have used, whether you've cited them in the text or not, should also be listed in a bibliography at the end of your essay.

How to create footnotes

Footnotes should run in one sequence throughout your document. When you insert a footnote in Word it adds a number in superscript1 in the text and creates a corresponding footnote at the bottom of the page. Ensure that the number in the text is placed at the end of a sentence, after the full stop. For example:

Schug analyzes the narrative structure of the novel.1
__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

1 Charles Schug, ‘The Romantic Form of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein’, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 17.4 (1977), 607-19.
__________________________________________

To insert a footnote in Word, click on ‘References’ and ‘Insert Footnote’. Word will automatically assign it a number in superscript and create the corresponding footnote at the bottom of the page.
In Word for Mac, go to the ‘View’ menu and click ‘Print Layout’. In your document, click where you want to insert the note reference mark. Go to the ‘Insert’ menu and click ‘Footnote’.

In the footnote put the full reference to the source, following the format set out in this guide.

If you have mentioned several sources in the same paragraph, you can use a single footnote/endnote to cover all of them. For example:

The action in Mary Shelley’s novel takes place in a variety of locations including Geneva, Evian and Ireland. The geographical aspect has been explored by several critics including Bohls and Randel. 2
__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

2 Elizabeth A. Bohls, ‘Standards of Taste, Discourses of “Race”, and the Aesthetic Education of a Monster: Critique of Empire in Frankenstein’, Eighteenth-Century Life, 18.3 (1994), 23-36.

Fred V. Randel, ‘The Political Geography of Horror in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein’, ELH, 70.2 (2003), 465-491

< http://www.jstor.org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/stable/30029885> [accessed 14 January 2015].

How to create a bibliography

A bibliography is a complete list of all the sources you’ve used – those you’ve cited in the text and additional ones you’ve read but not cited.

In a bibliography reference, reverse the order of the first author's name, for example:
Austen, Jane
Note that if there are several authors, only the first author's name is reversed, for example:
Wallis, Mick and Simon Shepherd,
The bibliography should be arranged in one alphabetical sequence - by the first author's surname - and should appear at the end of your document.
If there is no author or editor, list the source by title, ignoring initial definite or indefinite articles.
If the list includes more than one work by the same author, list them in alphabetical order of title, ignoring initial definite or indefinite articles. For each source after the first, substitute the author’s name with a long dash (use Shift + hyphen), for example:

Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice, ed. by James Kinsley (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)

_____, Sense and Sensibility, ed. by James Kinsley (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)

How to refer to the same source throughout your document

If you need to refer to the same source several times throughout an essay, you don't need to repeat this footnote multiple times. There are two options, choose the one that best suits the specific context.

1) Subsequent mentions in the text

This is the neatest way of referencing a literary text you're discussing throughout your essay. The first time you refer to the work, create a footnote which includes the full reference as normal. You can also set out in this footnote details of the short citation you will use to refer to the work in future, for example: “Further references (to this work), are given after quotations/mentions in the text”.

The next time you mention the same work in your text, just provide the relevant line numbers or page references in round brackets () after the quotation or mention. See the examples of dealing with quotations from prose, poetry and plays.

This method avoids overwhelming your essay with multiple footnotes for the same work.

2) Footnotes and short citations

The second method is appropriate if you've mentioned the same source a few times, for example if you've drawn on a source of secondary criticism such as a book or an article. In this method, create footnotes for each mention. The first footnote should include the full reference to the source, but the later footnotes need only have an abbreviated reference or ‘short citation’. This should usually be the author's name or a short form of the title, plus the cited page number(s). For example:

McArthur, p. 62.

If you are citing more than one work by the same author, use the author's surname and a short form of the title, plus the cited page number(s).

Harry Potter series

These books weren’t published as a series, so there is no overarching series title. To refer to the books collectively, provide a footnote the first time you mention one of the books in your text. In this footnote put the full reference details for each book individually (separate them with a semicolon), and at the end of the list write the following:

Further references to the Harry Potter books as a collection will be referred to as 'Harry Potter series (1997-2007)'.

You can then use this short form in further references to refer to the series as a whole.

How to cite a source quoted in another author’s work (secondary referencing)

In some cases you will want to reference a work mentioned or quoted in another author's work. If you can, you should try to locate and verify the details of the source referred to and then reference it as normal. In some cases it won’t be possible for you to consult the original source and in this case you would cite the source you have read – this is called ‘secondary referencing’. In the footnote use the phrase 'quoted in' or 'cited in', depending on whether the author of the work you are reading is directly quoting or summarizing from the original.

For example, you have read an article by Eva Badowska in the journal Victorian Literature and Culture which contains a quote from a book called Crimes of Writing: Problems in the Containment of Representation by Susan Stewart. You would like to use this quote in your essay but you have been unable to access Stewart’s original book. In this case, you would cite the source you have read, i.e. Badowska's article, as follows:

Susan Stewart describes Walpole’s Gothic Revival villa Strawberry Hill as ‘a form of trompe-l'oeil a triumph of surface over materiality and time’. 3

__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

3 Susan Stewart, quoted in Eva Badowska, ‘On the Track of Things: Sensation and Modernity in Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret’, Victorian Literature and Culture, 37.1 (2009), 157-175 (p.163) <http://www.jstor.org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/stable/40347219> [accessed 13 January 2015].

__________________________________________

How to calculate your word count

When writing an essay or a dissertation for English Literature, Creative Writing and Drama, you will usually need to provide a word count. Note that the allowed word length does not include abstract, footnotes/endnotes, bibliography and any appendices but it does include quotations used in the body of the text.

NB Different rules apply for PhD theses - check the guidance provided by the Graduate Office.

To calculate the word count without including the bibliography, highlight the relevant text to be counted.

To check your word count in Word 2010, click on ‘Review’ and ‘Word count’. A dialog box will open allowing you to choose whether to include footnotes and endnotes.
In Word for Mac 2011, click on ‘Tools’ and select ‘Word Count’. The default is to include text in footnotes and endnotes, so un-tick the option ‘Include footnotes and endnotes’ to change this.

How to set out quotations in MHRA

Direct quotation from any source must be indicated as such and the exact reference given within a footnote.

Prose quotations

Short quotations may be run into the text, using single quotation marks. The number for the note should appear at the end of the quotation, after the full stop, even if the quotation appears in the middle of the sentence. For example:

Lynch emphasizes that ‘In the culture about which Shakespeare wrote, hands were felt to have unique holy and sacramental powers’. 4
__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

4 Kathryn L. Lynch, ‘“What Hands Are Here?” The Hand as Generative Symbol in Macbeth’, The Review of English Studies, 39.153 (1988), 29-38 (p.32).
__________________________________________

Longer quotations should be separated from the rest of the text and should not be placed in quotation marks. Place the number for the note at the end of the quotation. If you have omitted part of the text indicate this with three dots in square brackets, like this [...]. For examples see the MHRA Style Guide 5.7

Prose quotations including the first line, can be indented, for example:

Bewell sums up Clare’s view of language:

Ecolect is thus inseparably fused with idiolect in his poetry, and, in resisting John Taylor’s efforts to rid his poetry of dialect and provincialisms, Clare was struggling for the continuance not just of a nature but also of the unique language in which that nature had long been experienced and understood 5
__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

5 Alan Bewell, ‘John Clare and the Ghosts of Natures Past’, Nineteenth-Century Literature, 65.4 (2011), 548-78 (p. 570) < http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ncl.2011.65.4.548> [accessed 13 July 2014].
__________________________________________

Dealing with quotations from poems

Verse quotations should be separated from the rest of your essay text and should not be placed in quotation marks. You should follow the lineation and indentation of the original text as it appears on the page. Never centre lines of poetry. Omitted lines of verse should be marked by three dots in square brackets, like this [...] on a separate line.

Here is an example of a poem quotation and corresponding footnote:

Keats describes a desire to escape the pain of reality in Ode to a Nightingale:

O for a beaker full of the warm South,

Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,

With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

And purple-stained mouth;

That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,

And with thee fade away into the forest dim - 6
__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

6 John Keats, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, in The Complete Poems, ed. by John Barnard, 3rd edn (London: Penguin, 1988), pp. 346-48 (p. 346), ll. 15-20.
__________________________________________

Dealing with quotations from plays

Short quotations are those of fewer than forty words or two lines of verse. These may be run into the text of your essay, using single quotation marks. The number for the note should appear at the end of the quotation, after the full stop, even if the quotation appears in the middle of the sentence.

Long quotations If your play quotation is over forty words or two lines of verse it should be separated from the rest of your text and should not be placed in quotation marks. You should keep the original spelling and punctuation of the play you are quoting, and aim to reproduce the formatting of the text as it appears on the page. In verse quotations, the speakers’ names are positioned to the left of the text. Place the number for the note at the end of the quotation. Omitted lines of verse quotations should be marked by three dots in square brackets, like this [...] on a separate line.

Here is an example of a play quotation and corresponding footnote:

MACBETH Prithee peace:

I dare do all that may become a man,

Who dares more is none.

LADY MACBETH What beast was’t then

That made you break this enterprise to me?

When you durst do it, then you were a man;

And to be more than what you were, you would

Be so much more the man.

(Macbeth, I.7.46–51) 7
__________________________________________

Corresponding footnote:

7 William Shakespeare, Macbeth, ed. by Nicholas Brooke (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), I.7.46-51.
__________________________________________

Further help: See the MHRA Style Guide section 9.

How to reference a book

Key things to remember when referencing books in MHRA

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the first author in the bibliography reference. If a book does not have an author, it should be Iisted in the bibliography by title, ignoring initial definite or indefinite articles.

Use book title as it appears on the title page.

Include edition if not the first, in the form ‘2nd edn’, ‘rev. edn’ etc, preceded by a comma.

If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n.p.]’ (= no place), ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).

Include page number(s) in footnote references only as you are citing a specific section of the book, in the form ‘p.’ for ‘page’ or ‘pp.’ for ‘pages’. In the bibliography you are citing the whole book, so no page numbers are needed.

The name of an editor or translator follows the title. For editors, use the format 'ed. by' as in the examples below. For translators, use the format 'trans. by'.

Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.

For further guidance, check the MHRA Style Guide on referencing books (11.2.2) and ebooks (11.2.13)

Referencing a book with 1 or more authors

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x.

For example:

Janette Dillon, The Cambridge Introduction to Early English Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 34.

Mick Wallis and Simon Shepherd, Studying Plays, 3rd edn (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010), p. 78.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Dillon, Janette, The Cambridge Introduction to Early English Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Wallis, Mick and Simon Shepherd, Studying Plays, 3rd edn (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010)

Referencing a book with an author and editor

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the first author in the bibliography reference. The editor's name follows the title, as in the examples below.

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x.

For example:

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, ed. by Maurice Hindle, rev. edn (London: Penguin, 2003), pp. 62-63.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, ed. by Maurice Hindle, rev. edn (London: Penguin, 2003)

Referencing a book with editor(s) but no author

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the first editor in the bibliography reference.

Footnote format: Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x.

For example:

Romanticism: An Anthology, ed. by Duncan Wu, 3rd edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), p. 88.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. B, 1820-1865, ed. by Nina Baym, Arnold Krupat and Robert S. Levine, 7th edn (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007), p.60.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ed., Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Wu, Duncan, ed., Romanticism: An Anthology, 3rd edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005)

Baym, Nina, Arnold Krupat and Robert S. Levine, eds., The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. B, 1820-1865, 7th edn (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007)

Referencing a library e-book

If you have used an e-book provided by the Library, treat this in the same way as a print book but add the URL of the resource in angle brackets < > and the date accessed in square brackets [ ] at the end of the reference

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x <URL> [accessed day month year].

For example:

Paul Giles, The Global Remapping of American Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011), p. 7 <https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/lib/brookes/detail.action?docID=662357> [accessed 13 July 2013].

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature, ed. by Margaret Drabble, Jenny Stringer and Daniel Hahn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 23 < http://www.oxfordreference.com> [accessed 14 September 2014].
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year) <URL> [accessed day month year]

For example:

Giles, Paul, The Global Remapping of American Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011) < http://www.dawsonera.com> [accessed 13 July 2013]

Drabble, Margaret, Jenny Stringer and Daniel Hahn, eds, The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) < http://www.oxfordreference.com> [accessed 14 September 2014]

Referencing a Kindle (or equivalent) e-book

The MHRA Style Guide recommends giving page numbers or section details only if these are fixed and stable.

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Place of publication if available: Publisher, Year), type of ebook, p. x.

For example:

Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. by Michael Hofmann (London: Penguin, 2007), Kindle ebook, p. 33.

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Place of publication if available: Publisher, Year), type of ebook

For example:

Kafka, Franz, Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. by Michael Hofmann (London: Penguin, 2007), Kindle ebook

Referencing The Bible and other sacred texts

Although book titles should normally be placed in italics, one exception to this is sacred texts such as The Bible, The Koran and The Talmud. The titles of these sources - and of books within them - should not be placed in italics or quotation marks. This is how to cite books of The Bible:

Footnote format:

The Bible. New International Version (Isaiah 22. 17).

Bibliography format:

If you've only cited one book from The Bible: The Bible. New International Version (Isaiah 22. 17)

To cite the whole source: The Bible. New International Version

How to reference a book chapter

Key things to remember when referencing book chapters in MHRA

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the chapter author in the bibliography reference.
Put chapter title in single quotation marks and the book title in italics. Use book title as it appears on the title page.
If the title of the chapter includes works of literature, these should be italicized or placed within double quotation marks to differentiate, for example "Hamlet", or Macbeth.
Include edition if not the first, in the form ‘2nd edn’, ‘rev. edn’ etc, preceded by a comma.
If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n.p.]’ (= no place), ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Include page range of chapter in the form ‘pp.’ in both footnote and bibliography references. Specify page cited in footnote references only.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.

For further guidance check the MHRA Style Guide on referencing chapters or articles in books (11.2.3)

Referencing a book chapter or essay from a collection

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Chapter Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), pp. x-xx (p. x).

For example:

Nathaniel Leach, ‘Mary Shelley and the Godwinian Gothic: Matilda and Mandeville’, in Mary Shelley: Her Circle and Her Contemporaries,ed. by L. Adam Mekler and Lucy Morrison (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars, 2010), pp. 63-82 (p. 66).
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Chapter Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), pp. x-xx

For example:

Leach, Nathaniel, ‘Mary Shelley and the Godwinian Gothic: Matilda and Mandeville’, in Mary Shelley: Her Circle and Her Contemporaries, ed. by L. Adam Mekler and Lucy Morrison (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars, 2010), pp. 63-82

How to reference an article: journal and newspaper articles

Key things to remember when referencing articles from journals and newspapers

PDF articles from e-journals can be referenced in the same way as articles from print journals. You may choose to include online details at the end of the reference but this is optional. If you do, add the URL or DOI of the resource details in angle brackets <URL> and the date accessed in square brackets [accessed day month year]. NB If the article is only available as a Web page, you must include the URL and date accessed.
If you have accessed a newspaper article via a database, include online details at the end of the reference: add the URL or DOI of the resource details in angle brackets <URL> and the date accessed in square brackets [accessed day month year].
The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the article author in the bibliography reference.
Put article title in single quotation marks and journal or newspaper title in italics. The titles of works of literature occurring within article titles should be italicized or placed within double quotation marks, to differentiate. Quotations from literary works which occur as part of the article title should also be enclosed in double quotation marks, as in the example of Saunders below.
Include page range of journal article but just use the numbers - don’t use pp. Specify page cited in footnote references. Where an online journal does not have page numbers, you need to include the location of passage cited (in round brackets).

For further tips see the MHRA Style Guide on how to reference journal articles (11.2.4) and newspaper articles (11.2.5)

Referencing a print or online journal article

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Article Title’, Journal Title, Volume.Issue (Year), x-xx (p. x).

For example:

Britta Martens, ‘Dramatic Monologue, Detective Fiction, and the Search for Meaning’, Nineteenth-Century Literature, 66.2 (2011), 195-218 (p. 203).

OR, if cited as an e-journal:

Britta Martens, ‘Dramatic Monologue, Detective Fiction, and the Search for Meaning’, Nineteenth-Century Literature, 66.2 (2011), 195-218 (p. 203) <http://www.jstor.org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/stable/10.1525/ncl.2011.66.2.195> [accessed 19 July 2017].

Graham Saunders, ‘‘‘Out Vile Jelly’’: Sarah Kane's Blasted and Shakespeare's King Lear’, New Theatre Quarterly, 20.1 (2004), 69-78 (p. 71).

OR, if cited as an e-journal:

Graham Saunders, ‘‘‘Out Vile Jelly’’: Sarah Kane's Blasted and Shakespeare's King Lear’, New Theatre Quarterly, 20.1 (2004), 69-78 (p. 71) <DOI: https://doi-org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/10.1017/S0266464X03000344> [accessed 19 July 2017].

Carole Jones, ‘Coming in from the Cold: Scottish Masculinity in Post-Millennial Fiction’, C21 Literature: Journal of 21st-Century Writings, 5.2 (2017) <https://c21.openlibhums.org/articles/10.16995/c21.21/> [accessed 19 July 2017] (para.3).
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Article Title’, Journal Title, Volume.Issue (Year), x-xx

For example:

Martens, Britta, ‘Dramatic Monologue, Detective Fiction, and the Search for Meaning’, Nineteenth-Century Literature, 66.2 (2011), 195-218

OR, if cited as an e-journal:

Martens, Britta, ‘Dramatic Monologue, Detective Fiction, and the Search for Meaning’, Nineteenth-Century Literature, 66.2 (2011), 195-218 <http://www.jstor.org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/stable/10.1525/ncl.2011.66.2.195> [accessed 19 July 2017]

Saunders, Graham, ‘‘‘Out Vile Jelly’’: Sarah Kane's Blasted and Shakespeare's King Lear’, New Theatre Quarterly, 20.1 (2004), 69-78

OR, if cited as an e-journal:

Saunders, Graham, ‘‘‘Out Vile Jelly’’: Sarah Kane's Blasted and Shakespeare's King Lear’, New Theatre Quarterly, 20.1 (2004), 69-78 <DOI: https://doi-org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/10.1017/S0266464X03000344> [accessed 19 July 2017]

Jones, Carole, ‘Coming in from the Cold: Scottish Masculinity in Post-Millennial Fiction’, C21 Literature: Journal of 21st-Century Writings, 5.2 (2017) <https://c21.openlibhums.org/articles/10.16995/c21.21/> [accessed 19 July 2017]

Referencing an article from a print or online newspaper

Note that with some newspaper articles, no individual author is credited. Start the reference with the title of the article. In the bibliography, list the source by article title, ignoring initial definite or indefinite articles.

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Article Title’, Newspaper Title, day month year, p. x

For example:

Jackie Kay, ‘Poetry…a Beautiful Renaissance’, Guardian, 29 January 2011, p. 30.

Stuart Jeffries, ‘Literature: Ventriloquist to the dead’, Guardian, 9 November 2012, p.34 <www.lexisnexis.com> [accessed 10 October 2014].
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Article Title’, Newspaper Title, day month year, p. x

For example:

Kay, Jackie, ‘Poetry…a Beautiful Renaissance’, Guardian, 29 January 2011, p. 30

Jeffries, Stuart, ‘Literature: Ventriloquist to the dead’, Guardian, 9 November 2012 <www.lexisnexis.com> [accessed 10 October 2014]

How to reference a poem

Key things to remember when referencing a poem in MHRA

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author or editor surname, so always reverse the name in the bibliography.
Put poem title in single quotation marks and anthology or collection title in italics. In the bibliography you need only cite the anthology or collection title as you are referencing the whole book.
Include page number(s) and line numbers (if available) in footnote references only, as you are citing a specific section of the book. Use the form ‘p.’ for ‘page’ or ‘pp.’ for ‘pages’ and/or ‘l.’ for ‘line’ or ‘ll.’ for ‘lines’. In the bibliography you are referencing the whole book.
Include edition if not the first, in the form ‘2nd edn’, ‘rev. edn’ etc, preceded by a comma.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.

Referencing a poem from a collection

Use this format when you are referencing a poem from a collection by a single poet.

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Poem Title’, in Collection Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x

OR pp. x-xx (p. x), ll. x-xx.

For example:

Sylvia Plath, ‘Daddy’, in Collected Poems, ed. by Ted Hughes (London: Faber and Faber, 1981), pp. 222-24 (p. 222), ll. 2-4.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Collection Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Plath, Sylvia, Collected Poems, ed. by Ted Hughes (London: Faber and Faber, 1981)

Referencing a poem from an anthology

Use this format when you are referencing a poem from an anthology or collection of works by several poets

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Poem Title’, in Anthology Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname, edition (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x OR pp. x-xx (p. x), ll. x-xx.

For example:

Sylvia Plath, ‘Daddy’, in The Norton Anthology of Poetry, ed. by Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy, 5th edn (London: W. W. Norton, 2005), pp. 1840-42, ll. 2-4.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Editor Lastname, Firstname, and Editor Firstname Lastname, eds, Anthology Title, edition (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Ferguson, Margaret, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy, eds., The Norton Anthology of Poetry, 5th edn (London: W. W. Norton, 2005)

How to reference a play

Key things to remember when referencing plays in MHRA

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the playwright in the bibliography reference.
If the play is anonymous (as is the case with some older plays), do not use 'Anon.' Instead start the reference with the title of the play.
If the play is part of a collection or anthology, put play title in single quotation marks and the collection title in italics.
In footnote references you need to specify the section of the play you are citing or quoting, including act, scene and line numbers if these are available, separated by full stops. For acts of plays, use roman numerals (e.g. VIII or viii) . These can be upper or lower case but be consistent. For scenes and lines, use regular arabic numerals (e.g. 2). Note that unlike references to poems, you do not include ‘l.’ for ‘line’ or ‘ll.’ for ‘lines’. If the play doesn’t have scenes, or if you’re citing the introduction, use page numbers in the form ‘p.’ for ‘page’ or ‘pp.’ for ‘pages’. In the bibliography you are referencing the whole book.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.

For further guidance check the MHRA Style Guide on referencing plays and long works (11.2.7)

Referencing a single play

Use this format when you are referencing a play published individually.

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Play Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Act. Scene. Line no. OR p. x.

For example:

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, ed. by John Dover Wilson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), III. 4. 139-155.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Play Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, ed. by John Dover Wilson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009)

Referencing a play in an anthology

Use this format when you are referencing a play published as part of a collection or anthology.

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Play Title’, in Collection Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Act. Scene. Line no. OR p. x.

If there is an editor: Firstname Lastname, ‘Play Title’, in Collection Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Act. Scene. Line no. OR p. x

For example:

Sarah Kane, ‘Crave’, in Complete Plays (London: Methuen Drama, 2001), p. 165.

Thomas Heywood, ‘A Woman Killed with Kindness’, in Renaissance Drama: An Anthology of Plays and Entertainments, 2nd edn, ed. by Arthur F. Kinney (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), VIII. 102-104.

‘The Tragedy of Master Arden of Faversham’, in Renaissance Drama: An Anthology of Plays and Entertainments, 2nd edn, ed. by Arthur F. Kinney (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), XIV. 223-225.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Play Title’, in Collection Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

If there is an editor: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Play Title’ in Collection Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Kane, Sarah, ‘Crave’, in Complete Plays (London: Methuen Drama, 2001)

Heywood, Thomas, ‘A Woman Killed with Kindness’, in Renaissance Drama: An Anthology of Plays and Entertainments, 2nd edn, ed. by Arthur F. Kinney (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005)

‘The Tragedy of Master Arden of Faversham’, in Renaissance Drama: An Anthology of Plays and Entertainments, 2nd edn, ed. by Arthur F. Kinney (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005)

How to reference a novel or short story

Key things to remember when referencing novels in MHRA

The basic guidelines are the same as those applying to books.
The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the novelist in the bibliography reference. Many scholarly versions of novels will have editors. The editor's name follows the title, as in the examples below.
Use book title as it appears on the title page.
If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n.p.]’ (= no place), ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Include page number(s) in footnote references only as you are citing a specific section of the book, in the form ‘p.’ for ‘page’ or ‘pp.’ for ‘pages’. In the bibliography you are citing the whole book, so no page numbers are needed.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.

Referencing a novel (no editor)

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x.

For example:

Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day (London: Faber and Faber, 1989), p. 245.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Ishiguro, Kazuo, The Remains of the Day (London: Faber and Faber, 1989)

Referencing a novel with an author and editor

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x.

For example:

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, ed. by Maurice Hindle, rev. edn (London: Penguin, 2003), pp. 62-63.
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)

For example:

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, ed. by Maurice Hindle, rev. edn (London: Penguin, 2003)

Key things to remember when referencing short stories

The basic guidelines are the same as those applying to book chapters.
The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the story author in the bibliography reference. Many scholarly versions of short story collections will have editors. The editor's name follows the title, as in the examples below.
Use book title as it appears on the title page.
If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n.p.]’ (= no place), ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Include page number(s) in footnote references only as you are citing a specific section of the book, in the form ‘p.’ for ‘page’ or ‘pp.’ for ‘pages’. In the bibliography you are citing the whole book, so no page numbers are needed.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.

Referencing a short story from a collection

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Story Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), pp. x-xx (p. x).

For example:

Jean Lorrain, ‘The Spectral Hand’, in Late Victorian Gothic Tales,ed. by Roger Luckhurst (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 177-182 (p. 179).

__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Story Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), pp. x-xx

For example:

Lorrain, Jean, ‘The Spectral Hand’, in Late Victorian Gothic Tales, ed. by Roger Luckhurst (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 177-182

How to reference a web page

Key things to remember when referencing web pages in MHRA

If no individual author is credited, you can use the name of the organisation responsible for the web page e.g. The Poetry Book Society.
If the web page is part of a larger resource or site, put the title of the page in single quotation marks and the title of the site in italics.
For the date, give the year the page was last updated if available If this information is not available, use ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).

Referencing a web page

Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Title of Web page’, Title of Resource (Year) <URL> [accessed day month year].

For example:

Gary Harrison, ‘Romanticism, Nature, Ecology’, Romantic Circles, (2006) < https://romantic-circles.org/pedagogies/commons/ecology/harrison/harrison.html> [accessed 12 July 2017].
__________________________________________

Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Title of Web page’, Title of Resource (Year) <URL> [accessed day month year]

For example:

Harrison, Gary, ‘Romanticism, Nature, Ecology’, Romantic Circles, (2006) < https://romantic-circles.org/pedagogies/commons/ecology/harrison/harrison.html> [accessed 12 July 2017]

How to reference media & other sources

For further guidance, check the MHRA Style Guide on referencing Recordings, Films, Digital Media, and Software; Broadcasts; Works of Art

Referencing a film on DVD

Note that the format remains the same for footnote and bibliography references, except for the omission of the full stop at the end of the bibliography reference:

Film Title, dir. by Firstname Lastname (Distributor, Year) [on DVD].

For example:

Footnote format: Pride and Prejudice, dir. by Joe Wright (Universal Pictures, 2006) [on DVD].

Bibliography format: Pride and Prejudice, dir. by Joe Wright (Universal Pictures, 2006) [on DVD]

Referencing a film, TV or radio programme viewed on BoB (Box of Broadcasts)

Note that the format remains the same for footnote and bibliography references, except for the omission of the full stop at the end of the bibliography reference:

‘Episode Title’, Programme/Series Title, Channel Name, day month year, time of broadcast.

For example:

Footnote format: 'Snacking through Shakespeare', Shakespeare's Restless World, BBC Radio 4, 18 April 2012, 13.45.

Bibliography format: 'Snacking through Shakespeare', Shakespeare's Restless World, BBC Radio 4, 18 April 2012, 13.45

Referencing a video viewed on YouTube

Name of person/organisation posting video, Video Title, online video recording, YouTube, date of posting, <URL> [accessed date].

For the bibliography format, reverse the author name and omit the full stop.

For example:

Footnote format: Waterstones, Hilary Mantel: The Waterstones Interview - Wolf Hall Trilogy, online video recording, YouTube, 24 February 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZrYQ2Ud_c> [accessed 13 March 2020].

Referencing a podcast

Name of person/organisation posting,'Title of episode', Title of Series, podcast, date of posting, <URL. [accessed date].

Footnote format: Marit Higraff and Neil McCarthy, 'The Isdal Woman', Death in Ice Valley, podcast, 16 April 2018, < https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0646dbd> [accessed 12 March 2020].

Bibliography format: Higraff, Marit and Neil McCarthy, 'The Isdal Woman', Death in Ice Valley, podcast, 16 April 2018, < https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0646dbd> [accessed 12 March 2020]

Referencing a lecture

Author/speaker; Date; Title of lecture, medium (ie lecture); Location/institution (Date)

For example:

Footnote format: Katherine Rundell, Daemon Voices, lecture, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, UK (22 February 2018).

Bibliography format: Rundell, Katherine, Daemon Voices, lecture, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, UK (22 February 2018)

Referencing a work of art

References to works of art should include at least the name of the artist (if known), the title of the work in italics, its date (if known), and the medium of composition. You may also include the dimensions (in cm), its current physical location or details of the online source you have consulted.

The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by surname, so always reverse the name of the artist in the bibliography reference.

Firstname Lastname of artist, Title of Art Work, Year, medium of composition, Current physical location

For example:

Footnote format: James Northcote, Othello, The Moor of Venice, 1826, oil on canvas, Manchester Art Gallery, UK.

Bibliography format: Northcote, James, Othello, The Moor of Venice, 1826, oil on canvas, Manchester Art Gallery, UK

If you've consulted an online source:

Firstname Lastname of artist, Title of Art Work, Year, medium of composition, Current physical location <URL> [accessed day month year].

For example:

Footnote format: Joseph Wright of Derby, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, 1768, oil on canvas, National Gallery, London, UK <https://library-artstor-org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/asset/ANGLIG_10313767843> [accessed 7 November 2018].

Bibliography format: Wright of Derby, Joseph, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, 1768, oil on canvas, National Gallery, London, UK <https://library-artstor-org.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/asset/ANGLIG_10313767843> [accessed 7 November 2018]