15 Harvard Referencing Mistakes Students Make — Corrected, with Examples
Short answer: most Harvard marks are lost on the same 15 fixable mistakes — uncited paraphrases, et al. used for two authors, quotes without page numbers, and reference lists that do not match the citations. Each mistake below is shown wrong, then corrected, so you can check your own assignment against real examples.
Harvard is an author–date style used across Australia, the UK and New Zealand. There is no single official Harvard — universities publish variants (Cite Them Right, AGPS and others) that differ in small details. The mistakes below are wrong in every variant; for fine punctuation, match your own university's guide. If your course uses APA 7th instead — or you are moving between the two styles — start with our side-by-side guide to APA vs Harvard referencing, which works the same sources in both styles.
The mistake bank
1. Paraphrase with no citation
Citations credit ideas, not just exact words. See how to paraphrase without plagiarising.
2. Cited in the text, missing from the reference list
Every (Author, Year) in your text must have a full entry in the list. This mismatch is the most common Harvard error markers find — check both directions in the referencing pass of the proofreading checklist.
3. Reference list padded with sources never cited
The list is not a bibliography of everything you read. If it is not cited in the text, it does not go in — unless your brief explicitly asks for a bibliography.
4. Direct quote with no page number
5. Et al. used for two authors
6. Only the first author named for two authors in the list
In the reference list, name every author of the work, however many — et al. is an in-text shortcut only.
7. Reference list in the order you used the sources
Harvard lists are alphabetical by author surname, always — not by citation order, and not grouped by source type (unless your variant specifically says so).
8. Italics on the wrong title
For journals, the article title goes in single quotes and the journal name takes the italics. For books, the book title is italicised.
9. Google, JSTOR or the database cited as the author
Cite the person or organisation that created the content. A database is a shelf, not an author.
10. Website reference with no access date
Web pages change; the access date is your evidence of what you saw.
11. Same author, same year, not distinguished
12. A secondary citation passed off as a primary one
13. ChatGPT or AI output cited like a book — or not declared
AI output is not a recoverable source: your marker cannot retrieve the same text. Most universities require AI use to be declared and do not accept it as a reference-list source at all. Check your institution's AI policy; where a variant allows citing it, the entry names the tool, the organisation and the date generated — never an invented page or journal.
14. "Anonymous" used when there is no named author
If an organisation published it, the organisation is the author. If there is genuinely no author, use the title in the author position, per your variant — do not write "Anonymous" unless the work is actually signed that way.
15. Entries copy-pasted from five databases in five styles
Database exports mix APA, MLA and Harvard punctuation. Paste the facts, then reformat every entry into one consistent style — same author format, same italics, same punctuation — before submitting.
The correct formats (for reference)
| Source type | Format |
|---|---|
| Book | Author, A.A. (Year) Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher. |
| Journal article | Author, A.A. (Year) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pp. xx–xx. |
| Website | Author, A.A. (Year) Title of page. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year). |
| Edited book chapter | Author, A.A. (Year) 'Title of chapter', in Editor, E.E. (ed.) Title of book. Place: Publisher, pp. xx–xx. |
A 60-second self-test
Each entry below contains exactly one mistake from the bank above. Spot it before reading the answer.
Answer: et al. used in the reference list. The list names every author — mistake 6.
Answer: a direct quote with no page number — mistake 4. It should read (Lee, 2021, p. 88).
Answer: cited in the text but missing from the list — mistake 2, the commonest of all.
Referencing is one stage of the full process — see how to write an assignment step by step for where it fits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I cite a paraphrase in Harvard style?
Yes. A citation credits the idea, not only the exact wording, so paraphrases need in-text citations exactly as quotes do. An uncited paraphrase is one of the most common — and most avoidable — Harvard mistakes.
What if a source has no author or no date?
Use the responsible organisation as the author; if there is genuinely no author, use the title in its place. For no date, write (n.d.) in place of the year. The no-author case is mistake 14 in the bank above.
Can I cite ChatGPT or another AI tool in my reference list?
Usually not as a source — AI output cannot be retrieved by your marker, and most universities require AI use to be declared instead. Follow your institution's AI policy; never invent a page, journal or publisher for AI output.
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