MHRA style
The Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) referencing style guidance below is based on 3rd edition of the MHRA Style Guide.
Important to note:
The MHRA referencing style requires the second and subsequent lines of each entry in the bibliography to be indented. Due to the formatting constraints of this website, this requirement is not reflected in the examples below; please keep this in mind when formatting your bibliography.
How to reference a particular source in MHRA style
Click on the appropriate header below to expand the section and find information about how to reference a particular source in MHRA style.
- In-text numbering, footnotes and endnotes
The MHRA style of referencing requires you to use superscript numbers in place of in-text citations. These numbers should follow any punctuation (except a dash, which it should precede).
In-text example
...the Skills Hub uses the 10th edition of Cite them right.1
The numbers correspond to a full reference in either a footnote or endnote, in addition to your bibliography. Footnotes are set out at the bottom of each page whereas endnotes should be set out at the end of the piece of work (or at the end of each chapter if book length).
Please check to see if your school has a preference for footnotes or endnotes.
Format your footnotes or endnotes as follows
- Provide full reference details the first time you cite a source; abbreviate subsequent entries of the same source to author's surname, first two words of the title, and a page number
- Author's forename is followed by surname in the footnotes but not in the bibliography
- Put a full stop at the end of footnotes and endnotes
- Number footnotes in the order they appear in the text, not alphabetically
- Where there is no author, use the title instead
- Use title case, capitalising the first letter of each major word
- Place urls between angle brackets < >
Example footnote
- Vivian Caillard, The Songs of Innocence of William Blake Set to Music (London: Novello, Ewer and Co, 1891), p. 5.
- Rebecca Hutcheon, ‘George Gissing: A Story of English Surrealism’, English Literature, 6 (2019), 69-82 (p. 73) <http://doi.org/10.30687/EL/2420-823X/2019/01/004>.
- Willem Hollmann, Five things people get wrong about standard English, <https://theconversation.com/five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english-168969> [accessed 11 January 2022].
- Creating your bibliography/list of references
The bibliography is the list of all the sources that you have used. In your bibliography you must list every source you have reviewed, even those you have not cited in the text. A reference list should just contain sources that you have cited in your work.
Format your bibliography as follows
- Arrange references in alphabetical order by author's surname
- Where there is no author, use the title instead and place in alphabetical order
- Use title case, capitalising the first letter of each major word
- Do not put a full stop at the end of bibliographic entries
- Indent the second and subsequent lines of each bibliographic entry
- Place urls between angle brackets < >
- Add the relevant page range for chapters or sections of an edited book that are included in the bibliography (preceded by pp.) e.g. pp. 27-52
- Include the page range for journal articles included in the bibliography, but without the pp. denotation e.g. 240-67
Bibliography example
Caillard, Vivian, The Songs of Innocence of William Blake Set to Music (London: Novello, Ewer and Co, 1891)
Dickens, Charles, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1889), in BL 19th Century in Historical Texts <https://historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk> [accessed 11 January 2022]
Hollmann, Willem, Five things people get wrong about standard English (2021) <https://theconversation.com/five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english-168969> [accessed 11 January 2022]
Hutcheon, Rebecca, ‘George Gissing: A Story of English Surrealism’, English Literature, 6 (2019), 69-82 <http://doi.org/10.30687/EL/2420-823X/2019/01/004>
Tulloch, Graham, 'Scott, India and Australia', The Yearbook of English Studies, 47 (2017), 263-278
Walsh, Audrey, 'Management Issues', in The Treatment of Children, ed. by John Smith (London: Collins Books, 2012), pp. 83-95
- Book
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, book title (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), p. page number you've referred to.
Example
1. Vivian Caillard, The Songs of Innocence of William Blake Set to Music (London: Novello, Ewer and Co, 1891), p. 5.
Page 58 of the MHRA Guides suggests that when referring to works with numerous editions, it can be helpful to include additional information in the footnote, after the page number, for example: p. 543 (Book ii, Chapter 1). It is not a definitive instruction so we would recommend that you're consistent in either applying or not applying this rule to ensure that footnotes for similar materials look the same.
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, book title (place of publication: publisher, year of publication)
Example
Caillard, Vivian, The Songs of Innocence of William Blake Set to Music (London: Novello, Ewer and Co, 1891)
- Ebook
The Library subscribes to many different ebook collections (also referred to as databases); all discoverable through Library Search and the Subject Guides. Library Search and the Subject Guides are not collections in the same sense - they will instead take you through to the different online collections that contain the ebooks. The name of the online collection you are taken to, which contains the ebook used, should be included as in the example below - not Library Search. Sometimes the online collection will consist of numerous smaller databases. In this case, details of both the smaller database and the larger online collection should be included (see example).
The MHRA manual states that “it is preferable, wherever possible, to cite the details of the original print edition”.
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, title (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), p. page number you've referred to, in title of online collection/s <url of main collection> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1889), p. 123, in BL 19th Century in Historical Texts <https://historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk> [accessed 11 January 2022].
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, title (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), in title of online collection/s <url of main collection> [accessed date month year].
Example
Dickens, Charles, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1889), in BL 19th Century in Historical Texts <https://historicaltexts.jisc.ac.uk> [accessed 11 January 2022]
- Chapters/sections in edited books
When you want to quote a chapter or section of text within an edited book, use the format below:
Footnote
Citation order and format
Chapter author forename followed by surname, ‘chapter title’, in book title, ed. by editor forename followed by surname (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), pp. page range of chapter (p. page number you've referred to).
Example
1. Audrey Walsh, 'Management Issues', in The Treatment of Children, ed. by John Smith (London: Collins Books, 2012), pp. 83-95 (p .88).
If you are looking for guidance on how to reference a particular chapter in a book that isn’t edited, e.g. a single author, please look under ‘Book’ on the accordion above.
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Chapter author surname, forename, ‘chapter title’, in book title, ed. by editor forename followed by surname (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), pp. page range of chapter.
Example
Walsh, Audrey, 'Management Issues', in The Treatment of Children, ed. by John Smith (London: Collins Books, 2012), pp. 83-95.
- Journal article (print)
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘title of article’, title of journal, volume number.issue number if applicable (year of publication), page range of article (p. page number you've referred to).
Example
1. Graham Tulloch, 'Scott, India and Australia', The Yearbook of English Studies, 47 (2017), 263-278 (p. 270).
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename,‘title of article’, title of journal, volume number.issue number if applicable (year of publication), page range of article
Example
Tulloch, Graham, 'Scott, India and Australia', The Yearbook of English Studies, 47 (2017), 263-278
- Journal article (online)
When referencing online journal articles, include the online location by using either a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or URL. If you include a URL, you must also include the date that you accessed the article as websites and constituent pages can move. However, a DOI is a persistent identifier that will always link through to the article, so an accessed date is not needed if using a DOI.
Footnotes
Online journal article with DOI
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘article title’, title of journal, volume number.issue number if applicable (year published), page range if available (p. page number you've referred to) <DOI>
Example with DOI but no issue number
1. Rebecca Hutcheon, ‘George Gissing: A Story of English Surrealism’, English Literature, 6 (2019), 69-82 (p. 73) <http://doi.org/10.30687/EL/2420-823X/2019/01/004>
Online journal article with URL
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘article title’, title of journal, volume number.issue number (year published), page range if available (p. page number you've referred to). <URL> [accessed day month year]
Example with issue number but no DOI
1. Olivia Harrison, ‘Translating Race on the French Stage’, Comparative Literature, 73.4 (2021), 385-402 <https://read.dukeupress.edu/comparative-literature/article/73/4/385/276757/Translating-Race-on-the-French-Stage> [accessed 11 January 2022].
Bibliography
Online journal article with DOI
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘article title’, title of journal, volume number.issue number if applicable (year published), page range if available <DOI>
Example with DOI but no issue number
Hutcheon, Rebecca, ‘George Gissing: A Story of English Surrealism’, English Literature, 6 (2019), 69-82 <http://doi.org/10.30687/EL/2420-823X/2019/01/004>
Online journal article with URL
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘article title’, title of journal, volume number.issue number if applicable (year published), page range if available url [accessed date month year]
Example with issue number but no DOI
Harrison, Olivia, ‘Translating Race on the French Stage’, Comparative Literature, 73.4 (2021), 385-402 <https://read.dukeupress.edu/comparative-literature/article/73/4/385/276757/Translating-Race-on-the-French-Stage> [accessed 11 January 2022]
- Newspaper article (print)
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘title of article’, title of newspaper, publication date month year, name of section if applicable, p. page number.
Example
1. Dan Old, 'House Price Gloom', Evening Chronicle, 26 June 2008, p. 25.
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename,‘title of article’, title of newspaper, publication date month year, name of section if applicable, p. page number
Example
1. Old, Dan, 'House Price Gloom', Evening Chronicle, 26 June 2008, p. 25
- Newspaper article (online)
Footnote
Online newspaper, citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘title of article’, title of newspaper, publication date month year, name of section if applicable, p. page number if applicable <url> [accessed date month year]
Example
1. Sandra Laville, ‘MPs call for bathing rivers across England as part of anti-pollution drive’, The Guardian, 13 January 2022, Environment section <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/13/bathing-rivers-england-pollution-water-quality-mps-report> [accessed 13 January 2022]
Newspaper from online collection, citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘title of article’, title of newspaper, publication date month year, name of section if applicable, p. page number if applicable, in title of online collection <url> [accessed date month year]
Example
1. Liam Rice, ‘Five Primary Schools Twin With University Colleges’, Oxford Mail, 14 January 2022, in LexisNexis <https://advance.lexis.com> [accessed 14 January 2022]
Bibliography
Online newspaper, citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘title of article’, title of newspaper, publication date month year, name of section if applicable, p. page number if applicable, <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Laville, Sandra, ‘MPs call for bathing rivers across England as part of anti-pollution drive’, The Guardian, 13 January 2022, Environment section <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/13/bathing-rivers-england-pollution-water-quality-mps-report> [accessed 13 January 2022]
Newspaper from online collection, citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘title of article’, title of newspaper, publication date month year, name of section if applicable, p. page number if applicable, in title of online collection <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Rice, Liam, ‘Five Primary Schools Twin With University Colleges’, Oxford Mail, 14 January 2022, in LexisNexis <https://advance.lexis.com> [accessed 14 January 2022]
Page 73 of the MHRA manual states that “it is preferable, wherever possible, to cite the details of the original print edition”.
- Theses and dissertations (print)
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘title of thesis’ (degree level, university, year of publication), p. page number referred to.
Example
1. Claire Walsh, 'Sylvia Plath's Poetry of Youth' (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Sussex, 2006), p. 22.
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘title of thesis’ (degree level, university, year of publication)
Example
Walsh, Claire, 'Sylvia Plath's Poetry of Youth' (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Sussex, 2006)
- Theses and dissertations (online)
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘title of thesis’ (degree level, university, year of publication), p. page number referred to, in title of online collection if applicable <URL of collection> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. Rebecca Sinar, 'A history of English reflexives : from Old English into Early Modern English' (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of York, 2006), p. 34, in EThOS <https://ethos.bl.uk/> [accessed 14 January 2022]
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘title of thesis’ (degree level, university, year of publication), in title of online collection if applicable <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Sinar, Rebecca, 'A history of English reflexives : from Old English into Early Modern English' (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of York, 2006), in EThOS <https://ethos.bl.uk/> [accessed 14 January 2022]
- Poems
Footnotes
Individual poem from online database, citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘poem title’, in database title, <URL> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings, ‘maggie and milly and molly and may’, in Literature Online <http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk> [accessed 14 January 2022].
Poem from book included in database, citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, ‘poem title’, in book title (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), p. page containing poem, in database name/s <URL> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. Davis McCombs, ‘Star Chamber’, in Ultima Thule (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000), p.4, in Database of Twentieth-Century American Poetry in Literature Online <http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk> [accessed 14 January 2022].
Bibliography
Individual poem from online database, citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘poem title’, in database title, <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), ‘maggie and milly and molly and may’, in Literature Online <http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk> [accessed 14 January 2022]
Poem from book included in database, citation order and format
Author surname, forename, ‘poem title’, in book title (place of publication: publisher, year of publication), p. page containing poem, in database name/s <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
McCombs, Davis ‘Star Chamber’, in Ultima Thule (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000), p.4, in Database of Twentieth-Century American Poetry in Literature Online <http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk> [accessed 14 January 2022]
- Plays
Footnotes
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, play title, ed. by editor forename followed by surname (place of publication: publisher, year), act. scene. line or page number referred to.
Example
1. William Shakespeare, Hamlet, ed. by T.J.B. Spencer (London: Penguin, 1980), I. 2. 177.
n.b., Acts/Large play sections are listed using small roman numberals.
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename play title, ed. by editor forename followed by surname (place of publication: publisher, year)
Example
Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, ed. by T.J.B. Spencer (London: Penguin, 1980)
- Webpage
Footnote
Citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, title of website, (publication date month year), <URL> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. Willem Hollmann, Five Things People Get Wrong About Standard English, <https://theconversation.com/five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english-168969> [accessed 11 January 2022].
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, title of website, (publication date month year), <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Hollmann, Willem, Five Things People Get Wrong About Standard English, <https://theconversation.com/five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english-168969> [accessed 11 January 2022]
- Film, television, radio
Footnote
DVD citation order and format
Film title, dir. by director forename followed by surname (distributor, year) [on DVD].
Example
1. Macbeth, dir. by Orson Wells (Republic Pictures, 1943) [on DVD].
YouTube citation order and format
Author forename followed by surname, title, online video recording, name of website i.e. YouTube, publication date month year, <URL> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. Adam Buxton, David Bowie - Cobbler Bob, online video recording, YouTube, 4 January 2014, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZEGHK_3W2o> [accessed 14 January 2022].
Film from online collection, citation order and format
Unfortunately there is no specific guidance in the MHRA Guide or Cite Them Right about citing films on streaming services like Netflix. We would therefore recommend using a combination of the two formats above for consistency. Similarly, applying guidance from elsewhere in the MHRA Guide, we would recommend citing the details of the original physical edition wherever possible e.g. treating as a DVD or television broadcast (adding channel name, date, and time of broadcast as below). If you are in any doubt please check with your tutor or School.
Film title, dir. by director forename followed by surname (distributor, year) online video recording, name of website i.e. Netflix, <URL> [accessed date month year].
Example
1. Seaspiracy, dir. by Ali Tabrizi (Netflix, 2021) online video recording, Netflix <https://www.netflix.com/> [accessed 14 January 2022].
Television and radio, citation order and format
'Episode title', broadcast / programme / series title, channel name, broadcast date month year, time.
Example
1. 'The One Where Joey Speaks French', Friends, E4, 2 February 2015, 17:30.
Bibliography
DVD citation order and format
Film title, dir. by director forename followed by surname (distributor, year) [on DVD]
Example
Macbeth, dir. by Orson Wells (Republic Pictures, 1943) [on DVD]
YouTube citation order and format
Author surname, forename, title, online video recording, name of website i.e. YouTube, publication date month year, <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Buxton, Adam, David Bowie - Cobbler Bob, online video recording, YouTube, 4 January 2014, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZEGHK_3W2o> [accessed 14 January 2022]
Film from online collection, citation order and format
Film title, dir. by director forename followed by surname (distributor, year) online video recording, name of website i.e. Netflix, <URL> [accessed date month year]
Example
Seaspiracy, dir. by Ali Tabrizi (Netflix, 2021) online video recording, Netflix <https://www.netflix.com> [accessed 14 January 2022]
Television and radio, citation order and format
'Episode title', broadcast / programme / series title, channel name, broadcast date month year, time.
Example
'The One Where Joey Speaks French', Friends, E4, 2 February 2015, 17:30
- Music scores
Footnote
Citation order and format
Composer forename followed by surname, title of work (place of publication: publisher, year).
Example
1. Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony no. 5 (London: Merryman Music, 1994).
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Composer surname, forename, title of work (place of publication: publisher, year)
Example
Beethoven, Ludwig van, Symphony no. 5 (London: Merryman Music, 1994)
- Art
Footnote
Citation order and format
Artist forename followed by surname, title of work, year of creation, medium, location.
Example
1. Frieda Kahlo, Frieda and Diego Rivera, 2008, oil on canvas, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.
Bibliography
Citation order and format
Author surname, forename, title of work, year of creation, medium, location
Example
Kahlo, Frieda, Frieda and Diego Rivera, 2008, oil on canvas, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.