Harvard Style Paper Guidelines

Harvard Style Cover Page


  • The title of the paper is placed halfway down the page and written in capital letters.
  • After the title, three lines down write the name of the author in small letters.
  • Move four lines down and place the name of the class.
  • Move one line down put the name of the professor.
  • The next line entails the name of the school.
  • Then move to the next and write the city and state located and the final line should have the date.
  • The cover page of the Harvard essay format gives you all the information one needs to know about the author in question.

There are several key components to note when using the Harvard format. The title in a Harvard essay format is right justified. A partial title expresses the main idea in the essay between it, and the page number is exactly five spaces. The Harvard essay format cover sheet would like roughly like this:

The Harvard Essay Template

  • by (Name of the author)
  • Name of the Class (Course)
  • Professor
  • Name of University
  • City and State where university is located
  • Date

Cover Page in Harvard Format

Here are other essay formatting styles:



Paragraphs in a Harvard Format Essay

The Harvard essay format paragraphs are highly structured. The first section of the article is supposed to be captivating and entertaining. The article may begin with a lively quotation or an interesting fact and information that sheds light on the essay in question.

The introduction should smoothly lead to the thesis statement. The thesis statement refers to the main idea of the sentence and a summary of what the article body entails.

The first sentence in the body paragraph should tell the reader what the paragraph is discussing. The topic sentence is followed by supporting facts that relate to it. The details in the supporting sentences can be facts, quotations or analysis.

The paragraph then concludes with a sentence that summarizes what the paragraph is about and leads into the next section smoothly. Subheadings can also be used to introduce new subtopics and are italicized.

Transition between the Paragraphs

Writing an article using the Harvard format one should show the transition from one paragraph to the next and these paragraphs should be interconnected.

The topic should gradually grow from one point to the next. A paragraph in Harvard format has three parts:

– The topic sentence

– Supporting details 

– Closing sentence form

Citations in a Harvard Style Paper

One can use in-text citations. With the Harvard style, a quote uses the author’s name and first initial, year of publication and page number where the information appears. Citation for each fact is provided, if not it is considered plagiarism which is a serious offense. In-text citations for example from J. K. Rowling book published in 2004 page 45 would look like (Rowling J.K,2004,45).These quotes make the Harvard format essay easy to understand and comprehend as one read.

Harvard style uses a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial at size 12. Fancy fonts are not allowed because the Harvard format is used in writing outstanding academic and research essays. The essay should be double-spaced with smooth left margins. In the Harvard format titles of journals, newspapers or books or websites are italicized in in-text citations while that of poems and short stories is written in “quotation marks”. This helps readers know what they are referring to read quickly through an essay written in the Harvard format.


The conclusion of a Harvard format essay is vital and should be written with high accuracy understanding and mastery. The first sentence of the conclusion is used to put emphasis on the thesis statement and remind the reader what the essay has proved showed or theorized. After the first sentence provides brief information of the main points that were discussed throughout the whole piece to encourage remembrance of the most important points that were discussed. It mainly involves a summary of the main points of the article in other words. The essay should then finish with an outstanding powerful message that leaves the reader still thinking minutes or hours after they have finished reading the article.

The conclusion is followed by the reference page which consists of the reference list and is placed in its page known as the reference page.

The general format of a Harvard essay referencing is referenced as follows:

  • Book Author’s Last Name, First Initial
  • Year of publication
  • The title of book (capitalized)
  • City of Publication: Publisher



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