MHRA referencing uses numbered footnotes for citations and a bibliography of all sources at the end. It is the style of the Modern Humanities Research Association and is common in English, modern languages, history and other humanities subjects at UK universities.
The rules are precise about punctuation, and the footnote and bibliography forms differ on purpose. This guide shows both forms for the main source types, followed by the rules students most often get wrong.
How MHRA Referencing Works
- Footnotes: a superscript number in the text links to a full citation at the foot of the page.
- Short forms: later notes for the same source use the surname, a short title and the page.
- Bibliography: every source appears at the end, alphabetical by surname.
- Single quotation marks: used for article and chapter titles and for quotations in your text.
Footnote and Bibliography: Why They Differ
In a footnote, the author's name appears in normal order and the note ends with a full stop and the page you are citing. In the bibliography, the surname comes first so entries can be alphabetized, there is no specific page reference, and the entry has no full stop at the end.
| Feature | Footnote | Bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Name order | Raymond Williams | Williams, Raymond |
| Page reference | The specific page cited | None for books; full page range for articles and chapters |
| Final full stop | Yes | No |
Place the note number after punctuation, at the end of the clause or sentence it relates to, wherever possible.
Books
Footnote: 1. Raymond Williams, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (London: Fontana, 1976), p. 87.
Short form: 4. Williams, Keywords, p. 90.
Bibliography: Williams, Raymond, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (London: Fontana, 1976)
For a later edition, add it after the title: Title, 2nd edn (Place: Publisher, Year). MHRA writes "edn", not "ed." or "edition".
Chapters in Edited Books
Footnote: 2. Sarah Morgan, 'Letters and Silence in Victorian Fiction', in Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel, ed. by Daniel Hughes (Manchester: Northgate Press, 2020), pp. 45–67 (p. 52).
Bibliography: Morgan, Sarah, 'Letters and Silence in Victorian Fiction', in Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel, ed. by Daniel Hughes (Manchester: Northgate Press, 2020), pp. 45–67
The chapter title goes in single quotation marks and the book title in italics, introduced by "in". "ed. by" introduces the editor. In the footnote, the page you are citing follows the full range in brackets.
Journal Articles
Footnote: 3. Helen Carter, 'Memory and Landscape in Post-War British Poetry', Journal of Modern Literary Studies, 14.2 (2019), 22–39 (p. 28).
Short form: 6. Carter, 'Memory and Landscape', p. 31.
Bibliography: Carter, Helen, 'Memory and Landscape in Post-War British Poetry', Journal of Modern Literary Studies, 14.2 (2019), 22–39
The volume and issue are joined with a full stop (14.2), followed by the year in brackets. Notice that journal page ranges have no "pp." before them in MHRA, unlike chapters in books.
Websites and Online Sources
Footnote: 5. James Allen, 'Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets Aloud', Poetry Notes (2023) <https://www.example.org/sonnets-aloud> [accessed 12 March 2025].
Bibliography: Allen, James, 'Reading Shakespeare's Sonnets Aloud', Poetry Notes (2023) <https://www.example.org/sonnets-aloud> [accessed 12 March 2025]
MHRA places URLs in angle brackets and the date you accessed the page in square brackets. For a journal article found online, cite it as a journal article and add the DOI or URL if your guide asks for one.
Key Punctuation and Quotation Rules
| Element | MHRA rule |
|---|---|
| Article and chapter titles | Single quotation marks |
| Book and journal titles | Italics |
| Quotations in your text | Single quotation marks; double for a quotation inside a quotation |
| Long quotations | Over about forty words: indented block, no quotation marks |
| Pages | "p." for one page, "pp." for a range, except journal page ranges in a full reference |
| Editions and editors | "2nd edn"; "ed. by" |
| Several authors | "and others" rather than "et al." when shortening a long author list |
Ibid. and Short Forms
Short forms are the standard way to cite a source again. Some tutors also accept "ibid." when a note refers to exactly the same source as the note immediately before it. Check your department's guidance and be consistent.
Common MHRA Mistakes
- Using double quotation marks for article titles.
- Formatting footnotes and bibliography entries identically.
- Ending bibliography entries with a full stop.
- Writing "2nd ed." instead of "2nd edn".
- Adding "pp." before a journal article's page range.
- Forgetting the specific page in brackets after a chapter or article range.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A footnote-based referencing style from the Modern Humanities Research Association, used widely in UK humanities subjects.
Yes. Footnotes give citations as you go, and a bibliography lists every source alphabetically at the end.
Single, for article and chapter titles and for quotations. Double marks are kept for a quotation within a quotation.
Use a short form: the surname, a shortened title and the page, such as Williams, Keywords, p. 90.
Some departments accept it for a note that repeats the source of the note immediately before. Short forms are always acceptable.
After the punctuation at the end of the relevant clause or sentence, wherever possible.
Give the author, title in single quotes, site name in italics, year, the URL in angle brackets and the access date in square brackets.
Yes, MHRA also describes an author-date system, but most humanities courses using MHRA expect footnotes. Follow your department.
Not for whole books. For chapters and journal articles, give the full page range of the piece, but not the specific page you quoted.