Referencing styles
This information gives you an overview of referencing styles commonly used at the University of Warwick, including for each:
- a description of the style
- a Library quick guide to formatting references
- useful resources for further guidance
The drop-down boxes below can help you find out which style your department is likely to use. Links to departmental guidance are also provided where available (last updated September 2017).
For more in-depth guidance, see our Plagiarism and Referencing tutorials on Moodle.
Please note: you should always check with your department or course tutors to ensure you are using their preferred style.
APA
APA is an author-date style commonly used in the Social Sciences. The reference list will be alphabetical by author surname.
APS
APS is a numbered referencing style commonly used in Physics.
Harvard
Harvard is a commonly used author-date style. There are lots of different Harvard styles, so please make sure that you are using a version that your department recognises. The differences between the different styles relates to which parts of the reference are put into capitals, brackets, bold and italics. The order in which you cite the different parts of the reference remains the same.
Warwick Library Harvard Quick Guide 
Useful resources
Click to play! (Please note: compatible with desktop or laptop PCs and Macs only)
MHRA
MHRA is a footnote style commonly used in the Humanities. Superscript numbers are placed in the body of the text, and corresponding notes are placed at the end of each page to cite the resources used.
MLA
MLA is an author-date style commonly used in literature or language studies. In-text citations consist of the author surname in brackets.
Oscola
Oscola stands for Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities. It is designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials.
Useful resources
RSC/ACS
RSC and ACS are referencing styles commonly used in Chemistry.
Useful resources
ACS Chemistry-referencing, University of Southampton
Vancouver
Vancouver is a numbered referencing style. There are variations of the Vancouver style, for example the numbers may be in superscript or brackets and repeated references may be given a new number or use the number previously allocated to the source.
Warwick Library Vancouver Quick Guide
Useful resources
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). (2003). Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals: Sample References
- Patrias, K. and Wendling, D. (2007). Citing Medicine, 2nd edition. The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers.
Note that these sources may differ from each other in minor points of detail.