Harvard vs APA vs OSCOLA: Choosing the Right Referencing Style
Referencing errors cost students up to 10% of their grade. Learn which style your subject expects and the five mistakes markers notice first.
Referencing feels tedious, but it is one of the easiest places to gain — or lose — marks. Here is how to get it right.
Harvard (author-date) is the default for most UK business, management and social science courses. In-text: (Smith, 2023). Reference list entries run alphabetically by author surname.
APA 7th edition rules psychology, education and nursing. Similar to Harvard but with stricter formatting: italics, DOIs, and specific rules for multiple authors (use 'et al.' for three or more in-text).
OSCOLA is the law school's choice — footnotes, not in-text citations, plus separate tables of cases and legislation. Mixing footnotes with Harvard-style brackets is the fastest way to signal carelessness.
The five mistakes markers notice first: inconsistent style mixing, missing page numbers for direct quotes, incorrect et al. usage, missing DOIs in APA, and a reference list that does not match in-text citations.
Quick wins: pick one style guide PDF from your university library, keep it open while you write, and reference as you go — never at the end.
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