MHRA referencing is a footnote style from the Modern Humanities Research Association, used widely in English, modern languages, history and other humanities subjects, especially in the UK.
You give a full reference in a footnote the first time you cite a source, a short reference after that, and an alphabetical bibliography at the end. Departments sometimes adapt the rules, so check your own handbook as well.
MHRA in Three Rules
First, the first footnote for a source gives full details, with the author's name in normal order and publication details in parentheses. Second, later footnotes use a short form: surname, short title and page. Third, the bibliography inverts the first author's name and omits the specific page you cited.
First note: 1 Helen Carter, Reading the Industrial Novel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2018), p. 42.
Later note: 4 Carter, Reading the Industrial Novel, p. 57.
Bibliography: Carter, Helen, Reading the Industrial Novel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2018)
MHRA Compared with Chicago Notes
| Feature | MHRA | Chicago notes and bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation marks | Single, with double for quotations inside | Double, with single inside |
| Book publication details | In parentheses: (Place: Publisher, Year) | In notes in parentheses; in the bibliography without |
| Journal volume and year | Volume (Year) | Volume, no. Issue (Year) |
| Page abbreviations | p. and pp. | Page numbers alone |
| URLs | In angle brackets, with access date in square brackets | Plain URL |
Footnote Basics
- Place the note number after the punctuation at the end of the clause or sentence, as a superscript.
- End each footnote with a full stop.
- Use "p." for a single page and "pp." for a range.
- Use "ed. by" for editors and "trans. by" for translators within a reference.
- Write dates in the form 3 May 2026.
Subsequent References
After the first full citation, use the author's surname and the page. If you cite more than one work by the same author, add a short title so the reader knows which. Short references keep notes readable and are the form most MHRA users prefer for repeat citations.
Books
Single author, first note: 1 Helen Carter, Reading the Industrial Novel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2018), p. 42.
Two authors: 2 Owen Price and Lena Fischer, Translation and Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), pp. 15–19.
Edited book: 3 Women Writers of the Romantic Period, ed. by Sarah Ellis (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016), p. 8.
Later edition: 4 Helen Carter, Reading the Industrial Novel, 2nd edn (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2021), p. 60.
Chapters in Edited Books
Give the chapter title in single quotation marks, then "in" and the book details, then the chapter's full page range followed by the specific page in parentheses.
First note: 5 Ruth Okoye, 'Letters and Silence in Austen', in Women Writers of the Romantic Period, ed. by Sarah Ellis (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016), pp. 101–24 (p. 110).
Bibliography: Okoye, Ruth, 'Letters and Silence in Austen', in Women Writers of the Romantic Period, ed. by Sarah Ellis (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016), pp. 101–24
Journal Articles
MHRA places the volume number, then the year in parentheses, then the article's page range. The specific page cited follows in parentheses in the footnote.
First note: 6 Daniel Morrow, 'Dialect and Class in the Victorian Periodical', Review of English Studies, 71 (2020), 455–72 (p. 460), doi:10.0000/example.2020.07.
Later note: 9 Morrow, 'Dialect and Class', p. 466.
Bibliography: Morrow, Daniel, 'Dialect and Class in the Victorian Periodical', Review of English Studies, 71 (2020), 455–72
The DOI is a placeholder. Include a DOI where your department's guidance asks for one, especially for articles consulted online.
Online Sources
Enclose URLs in angle brackets and give the date you accessed the page in square brackets.
Web page: 10 British Library, 'Chartism and the Press', Discovering Literature (2019) <https://www.example.org/chartism> [accessed 3 May 2026].
Bibliography: British Library, 'Chartism and the Press', Discovering Literature (2019) <https://www.example.org/chartism> [accessed 3 May 2026]
The URL above is a placeholder. For an ebook that reproduces a print edition, cite the print details and add the format or URL as your department advises.
Bibliography Rules
- Arrange entries alphabetically by author surname.
- Invert the first author's name only: Price, Owen, and Lena Fischer.
- Give the full page range for chapters and articles, but not the specific page cited.
- Many departments separate primary and secondary sources into two lists.
- Use a hanging indent and do not end entries with a full stop.
Quotations in MHRA
Short quotations run in the text inside single quotation marks. Longer quotations, generally over about 40 words or more than two lines of verse, are set off as an indented block without quotation marks.
Show omissions with an ellipsis in square brackets, [...], and your own insertions in square brackets. Keep the original spelling and punctuation of the source.
Common MHRA Errors
| Error | Correct form |
|---|---|
| Double quotation marks for titles | Single quotation marks: 'Dialect and Class' |
| Repeating full details in every note | Short form after the first note |
| Missing specific page in chapter or article notes | Add it in parentheses after the range: (p. 110) |
| URL without brackets or access date | <URL> [accessed 3 May 2026] |
| Inverting the name in footnotes | Normal order in notes; inverted only in the bibliography |
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Frequently Asked Questions
A footnote referencing style from the Modern Humanities Research Association, widely used in humanities subjects. It uses full footnotes on first citation, short forms after that and a bibliography.
Footnotes are standard, though some publishers use endnotes. Follow your department or publisher.
Most departments require one, even though footnotes contain full details. Check your handbook.
Use the author's surname and page, adding a short title if you cite more than one work by that author.
Single quotation marks, with double marks for a quotation inside a quotation.
Give the author or organization, title in single quotation marks, site name in italics, date, the URL in angle brackets and the access date in square brackets.