intellect

Style Guide
6th edition
Contents

House Style 1

Alternative Styles for Books 1

Consistency 2

A–Z of Style 3

Abbreviations 3

Acknowledgements 3

Alternative text for images 3

Brackets 3

Bullet points 4

Capitalization 4

Capitals following colons 4

Captions 5

Contractions 5

Currencies 5

Dates and times 5

Emphasis 6

Foreign language titles 6

Foreign language words 6

Front matter and end matter 6

Funding information 7

Hyphens and dashes 7

Lists 7

Notes 8

Numbers 8

ORCID® identifiers 8
 Percentages 8

Personal pronouns 9

Punctuation in quotations 9

Quotations

Reviews: Book/exhibition/performance/film/television series 10

Serial comma/Oxford comma 11

Subject areas and titles 44

References 12

Citations 12

References 12

1. BOOKS 14

Books with a single author 14

Books with multiple authors 14

Edited books 15

Later editions/reprints/multi-volume works 16

Multiple cities of publication 16

Multiple works by the same author 17

Books in a series 17

Translated works 18

Translations of foreign language book titles 18

E-books and pdfs 19

Dictionary 19

Play and scripts 20

Poetry and short stories 20

2. JOURNAL AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES 21

Print journal articles 21

Special Issue or Special Section 22

Newspaper articles 22
 Online journal article 22

Online first articles 23

Online magazine or newspaper articles 23

Reviews 24

Translations of foreign language journal titles 44

3. OTHER SOURCE TYPES 25

Archive material 25

Comic books 25

Conference and symposium papers 26

Dissertations/Ph.D. theses 26

Laws and Acts of Parliament 27

Law report and court case 27

Personal interviews 27

Press releases 28

Published interviews (TV/radio/magazine) 28

Reports by organizations 28

Seminars and lectures 29

Transcripts 29

Religious texts 29

Working paper 30

4. FILM AND BROADCAST MEDIA 31

DVD 31

Film 31

Film festivals 32

Foreign film 32

Radio 33

Screenplays 33

Television episode 34
 Television series 34

5. ELECTRONIC SOURCES AND NEW MEDIA 36

Websites 36

Blog 36

Blog comments 36

Video/vlog 37

Facebook 37

Twitter 37

Video game 37

Podcast 38

YouTube video 38

Google Earth 44

6. MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE 39

CD/disk media 39

Song/composition 39

Album 39

Lyrics 40

Scores 40

Live performance 40

Music festival/tour performance 44

7. VISUAL ARTS 42

Artworks 42

Exhibitions 42

Exhibition catalogue 42

Installations 43

Fashion collections/shows 43

8. UNPUBLISHED WORKS 44

Forthcoming work 44
 In-house publication 44

Self-published work 44

Preferred Spellings 45

Using ‘ize’ Endings 54

Inclusive Language 55

Age 56

Class 56

Disability 57

Ethnicity 59

LGBTQ+ and Gender Equality 64

Religion 67
House Style
At Intellect we use Intellect Harvard, our version of the Harvard referencing system, with in-text
citations. The Harvard system was developed in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, and since
then it has become the most commonly used system in international academic journals. Harvard is
flexible and simple, easy to use for the author as well as the reader.

This guide should provide you with all the information you need to use Intellect Harvard, but, please
feel free to direct any queries you may have to naomi@intellectbooks.com or your production
manager.

Alternative Styles for Books

While Intellect would prefer authors to follow our own house style for books (Harvard), we also offer
copy-editing in the following styles:
● APA (7th edition)
● MLA (8th edition)
● MHRA (3rd edition)
● Chicago (17th edition)
Journal style is non-negotiable, and follows house style unless specified on the journal webpage.

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Consistency
We follow standard UK English, using the Oxford English Dictionary or the Oxford Dictionary for Writers
and Editors.
Our stylistic rules are based on New Hart’s Rules, although there are variations.
Thus, we ask authors to please use ‘ize’, not ‘ise’ endings (e.g. ‘organize’, ‘globalize’) in cases where
both are correct under UK English. See ‘Using ‘ize’ Endings’.

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A–Z of Style

Abbreviations
Unless commonly known, abbreviations should be spelt out in the first instance, with the abbreviated
form in parenthesis: e.g. ‘information and communications technology (ICT)’. Commonly used
abbreviations include Ph.D., BBC, UN, MA, Dr, Ltd, St.
See ‘Preferred Spellings’.
Please spell out the names of countries (e.g. European Union, United Kingdom, United States), these
should only be abbreviated when used as an adjective (US policy, EU Social Fund, etc.).
Do not confuse e.g. (meaning ‘for example’) with i.e. (meaning ‘that is’).
Book titles, journal titles and other text that usually appears in italics will produce abbreviations in
italics.
For example:
Dictionary of National Biography is abbreviated to DNB
Oxford English Dictionary can be written as OED
Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art is abbreviated to JCCA

Acknowledgements
In a journal, acknowledgements should appear at the end of the article under the heading
‘Acknowledgements’, not as a footnote attached to the title. In a book manuscript, Acknowledgements
will be part of the front matter, following the foreword or preface.

Alternative text for images

As part of Intellect’s commitment to innovation and accessibility, we ask our book authors and editors
to provide descriptive text alternatives for all images, graphs and figures in their work. Useful guidelines
for writing alternative text are available through the Intellect website:
https://www.intellectbooks.com/book-authors-and-editors#alternative-text-for-images

Brackets
Our preference is for curved parentheses ( ) when these are needed for citations, digressions,
translations, etc. Nested brackets within these should be square brackets ( [ ] ) for clarity. Within this,
return to curved brackets ( [ ( ) ] ). Square brackets are also used within quotes for insertions,
amendments or ellipses [...].

Bullet points
Various punctuation rules are acceptable with bullet points. Lists that are made up of full sentences

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 usually start each item with a capital letter and end each item in a full point. Lists that are made up of
sentence fragments usually start each item with a lowercase letter and end each item with a comma,
semicolon or no punctuation. Our preference is for the last item in a list to end with a full point;
without this, text-to-speech readers or assistive technologies may not mark the end of the list correctly.

Capitalization
Title case means that nouns, adjectives, pronouns, possessives and verbs are capitalized. Articles,
conjunctions and prepositions are lower case.
Sentence case means that the first word is capitalized (as well as any proper nouns or commonly
capitalized terms). Capitalization of foreign titles follows the rules of the language.
See ‘Foreign language titles’.

Capitals following colons

In UK English, the word immediately following a colon is in lower case, unless it is a quote, display
quote, or a subtitle in a reference list. In US English only, a capital letter may be used after a colon if the
following text is a complete sentence. See New Hart’s Rules Chapter 5.2 for guidance.

Captions
Images should be referred to as Figure 1, Figures 2–3, etc. Tables should be referred to as Table 1,
Tables 2–3, etc.
Please note the colon after the figure number and the terminating full point, even if the caption is not a
full sentence. Please do not place endnotes within a caption.
Figure captions appear below the image with the source included within them; table captions appear
above the table with the source listed underneath, in the following style (note the italics):
Source: Details of source, including citation and/or accessed date.

The following is the agreed style for captions, and as much information as is available should be
provided. Correct use of ‘Courtesy of’ or © is the responsibility of the author.

Artwork
Figure 1: Artist, Title of Artwork, Year. Medium. Dimensions. Location. Copyright holder information.
For example:
Figure 1: Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1503. Oil on canvas. 77 cm x 53 cm. The Louvre, Paris.
Courtesy of The Louvre, Paris.
Figure 1: Gran Fury, Women Don’t Get AIDS, 1991. Ink on acetate. New York. 47 inches x 70
inches. © Gran Fury.

Book/journal/newspaper illustration
Figure 1: Artist, Title of Illustration/description of image, illustration for Publication Title (Author Year:
Page). Copyright holder information.

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 For example:
Figure 1: John Minton, Landscape near Ajaccio, woodcut, illustration for Time Was Away (Ross
1948: 75). Courtesy of Alan Ross and John Lehmann Ltd.

Film still
Figure 1: Description of image (Actor Name if available), Director (dir.), Film, Year. Country. Copyright
holder information.
For example:
Figure 1: Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe) plays the ukulele, Billy Wilder (dir.), Some
Like It Hot, 1959. USA. © Ashton Productions.

Contractions
Contractions should be spelled out in academic writing: e.g. ‘don’t’, ‘didn’t’, ‘I’ll’ should be ‘do not’, ‘did
not’, ‘I will’, etc.

Currencies
Currencies should be in numerals preceded by symbols (£, $, €) or
three-letter currency codes (GBP, EUR, USD, AUD). Codes are especially
useful if there are different versions of the dollar referred to. The
use of symbols or of codes should be consistent throughout the text.
For example:
£20, £30.50, $20 million, €30,000
GBP 20, GBP 30.50, USD 20 million, AUD 20 million, EUR 30,000

Dates and times

Specific day: 21 March 1978 (September 11 or 9/11 is permitted)
Decades: 1920s, 1950s–60s
Date ranges: 1964–67, 1897–1901
Approximate dates (circa): use c., in italics, with no space: c.1960
Centuries: nineteenth century, twentieth century, twenty-first century (but ‘a nineteenth-century
woman’)
Twelve-hour clock: use a full point and p.m. or a.m. (5.30 p.m., 6 a.m.)
Twenty-four-hour clock: use a colon and no a.m./p.m. (17:30, 06:00)
Specific moments in time-based media: use hours, minutes and seconds separated by colons (05:00:06–
05:06:11)

Emphasis
When italics are used for emphasis within quotations, authors must indicate whether the emphasis is
from the original text or whether they are adding it to make their own point: (Smith 1999: 2, original
emphasis) or (Smith 1999: 2, emphasis added).

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Bold type should not be used for emphasis, or in the names of organizations or exhibitions. Italics
should be used sparingly, as they are also used for other purposes. If an author wishes to draw
attention to a word or phrase, roman type inside single quotation marks can also be used.

Foreign language titles

The rules governing the capitalization of titles in some languages, such as French and German, are
complex. See New Hart’s Rules Chapter 12 for guidance.
However, punctuation should be styled to be consistent with Intellect House Style. Note in particular
that a colon must separate the main title from the subtitle (not a period or dash).
It is not strictly necessary to provide translations of non-English-language titles. However, if you would
like to provide English translations for titles in other languages, see the relevant sections in References:
See ‘Translations of foreign language book titles’, ‘Translations of foreign language journal titles’ or
‘Foreign film’.

Foreign language words

We follow the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors for foreign words that are in popular use in UK
English (e.g. a priori, mise en scène). Unless specified otherwise in the ‘Preferred Spellings’ list or
dictionary, foreign words and phrases inserted in the text should be italicized.
If translations are provided, they should be in single quotation marks within brackets. The foreign
language word should be first, followed by the translation in brackets: l’oiseau (‘the bird’), rather than
‘the bird’ (l’oiseau). Capitalized proper names of foreign organizations, institutions, political parties,
trade unions, etc. should be kept in roman type, not in italics. Quotations from other sources that are in
foreign languages do not need to be italicized.

Front matter and end matter

Roman numerals are used for front matter page numbers. Any material provided should be ordered as
follows:
○ Half title (main title)
○ Frontispiece (if there is one)
○ Full title page
○ Copyright info page – verso of full title page
○ Dedication and/or epigraph
○ Foreword and/or preface
○ Acknowledgements
○ Contents
○ List of plates, figures, maps and tables (new page for each)
○ Conversion tables for imperial measures, currency, etc.
○ List of abbreviations
○ General map(s) relevant to the whole book

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 ○ Notes on the text/transliteration
○ Epigraph.

Endmatter should be ordered as follows:

○ Appendices – Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.
○ Bibliography
○ Notes on Contributors
○ Index.

Funding information
If your work has been funded, you must include the funding organization name and the award number
in your Acknowledgements section (for books) or under a separate Funding heading, before the
References but after your Acknowledgements section (for journals).
See ‘Acknowledgements’.
For example:
This research was made possible through a grant from Qatar National Research Fund (NPRP9
309-5-041).

Hyphens and dashes

Hyphens are used to avoid mispronunciation, particularly where there are two vowels or two
consonants together (anti-intellectual). A hyphen can also be used to avoid confusion where a prefix is
repeated (re-release, sub-subcategory) or to avoid confusion with another word (reform/re-form, re-
cover/recover). Hyphens are also used in compound adjectives (nineteenth-century women, free-range
egg).
Note that we use an en rule (–) with space either side, rather than a hyphen (-) or an em rule (—), as a
parenthetical dash.

Lists
Bulleted and numbered lists are both allowed, depending on author preference. When numbered lists
are incorporated within a paragraph, the numbers should be formatted as ‘(1) (2) (3), etc.’. If the list is
displayed with items one below another, the numbers should be formatted as ‘1. 2. 3., etc.’.
See ‘Bullet Points’.

Notes
We discourage the use of extensive notes – if something is worth saying, it is worth saying in the text
itself. If a note is necessary, please use Word’s note-making tool and create endnotes (not footnotes).
Once typeset, notes will appear as endnotes in books, and sidenotes in journal articles. Place note calls
outside the punctuation, i.e. after the comma, full point, colon, etc. The note call must be in superscript
Arabic (1, 2, 3).
As Intellect’s House Style uses the Harvard referencing system, citations should not be added to
endnotes. Sources should be cited in text, and in a reference list. Please do not place endnotes within a

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figure caption.

Numbers
One to twenty (in words), 21–99 (in figures)
100, 200, 1000, 1500, 5000, 10,000
Note: we use 10 million (not ten million, as this stands for a number higher than twenty)
Numbers in a range, up to 100, both numbers appear in full: pp. 10–19, 19–21
After 100, only the last two figures of the second number are shown, unless more are changed: 102–17,
347–49, 2001–03, 1999–2001
Approximations can be in words: around thirty, over forty, almost fifty
Ages: 15 years old, a 7-year-old child
3 per cent, 4.7 per cent, 10 per cent, 25 per cent. See ‘Percentages’.
16 mm, 35 mm, 6 km2.
Note: we prefer ‘feet’ and ‘inches’ spelled out in words, rather than symbols ' and "

ORCID® identifiers
ORCID iDs are unique, career-long identification numbers for authors. They are similar to ISBNs for
books, or DOI numbers for journal articles. Authors should provide iDs whenever they submit work to
us. ORCID iDs must be supplied with the prefix https://orcid.org/ in order for us to auto-update
publication records and connect with publishers, institutions and funders worldwide.
For example:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097
If you do not yet have an ORCID iD, please register at https://orcid.org/register.

Percentages
We use ‘per cent’ rather than ‘%’. ‘%’ is only acceptable if a series of percentages are given within a
paragraph, for example, in a statistical survey. Percentages should always be expressed in figures not
words (3 per cent, 10 per cent).

Personal pronouns
Capitalize the initial letter in personal pronouns (e.g. He, Him, His) only when referring to God. Do not
use this form when referring to prophets or founders of the world’s religions (e.g. Abraham,
Bahá’u’lláh, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, etc.).

Punctuation in quotations
In UK English, punctuation is placed outside the closing quotation mark if the quotation is a partial
sentence or phrase: the research does not show ‘sufficient results’.

The full point is placed within the closing quotation mark only if a complete sentence is being quoted:
as scholars have noted, ‘the research does not show sufficient results.’

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 Quoted sentences that end with a question mark or exclamation mark do not need any other form of
punctuation after the closing quotation mark. Only one closing form of punctuation is needed.

For example:
McLuhan comments on an advert for whiskey drinkers: ‘Hasn’t anyone in science or industry
ever distinguished himself by drinking whiskey?’ The advert depicts nine artistic gentlemen.
Omitted material in quotations should be signalled by an ellipsis enclosed in square brackets: [...].
Square brackets should be used if you choose to add details into a quotation, change a quotation’s
opening capitalization, or change tense so that the quotation agrees with your sentence grammatically.
For example:
Prior reveals the folly of the situation when he states ‘[t]his is my ex-lover’s [Louis’] lover’s
Mormon mother’ (Kushner 2003: 101).

Quotations
We use single quotation marks, with double quotation marks for a second quotation contained within
the first.
Display quotes
All long quotations (i.e. over 40 words long) should be ‘displayed’, i.e. set into an indented paragraph
with a line space above and below, and without quotation marks at the beginning or end. Any
quotations within this display quote will then have single quotation marks. Dialogue or scripts should
also always be displayed if there is more than one speaker.
Scripts
When quoting film scripts, play scripts or other scripted material (including if you transcribe the
dialogue yourself), use small caps for the names of the speakers and regular roman text for the
spoken text.

Interviews
When quoting interviews, set the names of the speakers in bold.

Emphasis
When italics are used for emphasis within quotations, authors must indicate whether the emphasis is
from the original text or whether they are adding it to make their own point: (Smith 1999: 2, original
emphasis) or (Smith 1999: 2, emphasis added).
Translated quotes
When authors provide translations of quotations from non-English-language sources, they must
indicate whether this is an official translation (Smith 1999: 2, official translation), or their own (Smith
1999: 2, translation added). See ‘Foreign words’.

Reviews: Book/exhibition/performance/film
When submitting a review for a journal, the following information should be provided in this order:

Book review

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 Title of Publication, Author or Editor Name/s (ed./eds) (Year), Edition number if not first,
City: Publisher, number of pages, ISBN 123-1-12345-123-1, h/bk or p/bk, price
For example:
Queer Game Studies, Bonnie Ruberg and Adrienne Shaw (eds) (2017)
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 336 pp.,
ISBN 978-1-51790-036-6, h/bk, $108

Exhibition/performance review
Title, Artist Name, curated/performed/directed by Name
Location, City, date or date range, year
For example:
Duck Weave, Richard Woods, curated by Ruth Claxton and Gavin Wade
Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK, 30 January–9 April 2016

Film review
Title, Director Name (dir.) (Year), Country: Production Company
For example:
Bring It On, Peyton Reed (dir.) (2000), USA: Beacon Pictures

Television series review

Title (Year), Country: Production Company
For example:
La Casa de Papel (2017–21), Spain: Atresmedia and Vancouver Media

Serial comma/Oxford comma

Please do not use a comma before the ‘and’ or the ‘or’ between the last two items of a list. A comma is
only required before ‘and’ if you are joining two independent sentences with a conjunction.

Subject areas and titles

In general, titles appearing before a name are in capitals: Professor Jones, Managing Director Emma
Smith, Senior Lecturer Carston.
Capitals are also used when a title acts as a synonym for a specific person or place: the Queen, the
Ministry, etc.
Titles appearing after a name are not normally in capitals: Tom Jones, the professor; Emma Smith,
managing director of the company; Carston is a senior lecturer, etc.
Lower case is used when a job title is referred to in a general sense: a professor, the marines, every
queen in the world, etc.
Abbreviations of academic qualifications with a mix of upper- and lower-case letters (such as Ph.D.,
M.Sc.) take full points. Full points are not used for abbreviations made up of upper-case letters only
(such as MA, BA, MFA).

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Note the difference between Master (upper case) and master’s (lower case, with apostrophe). If you
have a master’s degree (abbreviated to master’s), then you are a Master (of Law, of Art, etc.). Similarly,
if you have a bachelor’s degree, you are a Bachelor (of Art, of Science, etc.). If you have a doctorate,
you are a Doctor, etc.
For example:
Jack Smith, Ph.D., is a senior professor in the Department of Theatre Studies at the University of
Victoria. He specializes in contemporary performance practice, pedagogy and theatre
education, and earned his master’s at the University of Sydney.
The punctuation rules for job titles and subject areas vary and can be confusing – we are occasionally
able to follow authors’ preferences if requested.

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 References

Citations
● House style citations are embedded in the main text in Author Date format.
● When citing a quotation from text-based media, n.pag. may be used if there are no page
numbers available (i.e. for an online source).
● If there is no year available, n.d. may be used.
● If there is no place of publication available, n.p. may be used.
● Quotations from non-text-based media (i.e. film, music, DVD, television, vlog, radio, artwork),
do not require reference to a page number within the citation.
● Multiple citations within the same sentence can be listed in any order, separated by semi-
colons.
● References by the same author are separated with commas.
● Authors or artists cited in other works should be formatted as follows: (Williams cited in
Hughes 2012: 54). This should be listed under the secondary work (i.e. Hughes) in the references.
Citation:
(Surname Year: Page [or n.pag.])
For example:
(Harper 1999: 27)
(Anon. 2012; Rainer 1965)
(Benjamin 2005, 2009)

References
●Do not split bibliographies into ‘Further Reading’ or ‘Works Cited’.
●All items should be listed alphabetically by authorship.
●Works from the same author or source should be listed together chronologically, with the earliest work
listed first. Any works with (n.d.) are listed underneath those with a date.
●If there are multiple works by the same author, the author or source name should be repeated for every
reference.
●If the original publication date of a historical work is provided, as well as the date of a modern edition, the
original date may appear in square brackets before the date of the modern edition used: ([1830] 2005).
The chronological order follows the modern edition date, not the date in square brackets.
●‘Ibid.’ and ‘op. cit’ are not used in Harvard referencing.
●‘et al.’ must be used for in-text citations for works with three or more authors, but all author names
should be provided in the references.
●Our preference is for authors’ full first names. If a full first name is not available, initials can be used. The

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 use of full first names or of initials should be consistent across your reference list (not a mixture of two
formats). Understandably, use of all initials or all first names may vary across an entire journal issue or
edited book, but each article or chapter reference list should be consistent with itself.
●‘Anon.’ should be used for items for which you do not have an author.
●When film or book titles are cited within another title, they should be formatted according to Intellect
House Style i.e. film/book titles are set in roman font within an italicized reference, or italics within an
article/chapter reference.
●If there are no pages available, n.pag. may be used.
●If there is no year available, n.d. may be used.
●If there is no place of publication available, n.p. may be used.
●In title case, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, possessives and verbs are capitalized. The second part of a
compound word is also capitalized. Articles, conjunctions and prepositions are left in lower case.
●Capitalization of foreign titles follows the rules of the language. See New Hart’s Rules Chapter 12 for
guidance.
●Our preference is for USA and UK (rather than US and UK or United States and United Kingdom) when
stating country of production for film/TV/music references.

We have provided some examples of reference types below. Occasionally you may need to cite a source
not specified below – please follow the example type that is most like your source.

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 1. BOOKS
Book titles should be in italicized title case. Book chapter titles should be in sentence case within single
quotation marks. For the city of publication, US states are indicated using a two letter abbreviation,
unless the state is deemed unnecessary (as in New York, NY).

Books with a single author

Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title, City: Publisher.
For example:
Anon. (1957), Narrative in Early Renaissance Art, Oxford: Books Press.
Auslander, Philip (2007), Theory for Performance Studies, Abingdon: Routledge.
Carey, John (2012), The Intellectuals and the Masses: Pride and Prejudice Among the Literary
Intelligentsia 1880–1939, London: Faber & Faber.
Citation:
(Anon. 1957: 5)
(Auslander 2007: 56)

References should be alphabetized by author surname, taking multiple authors into account. Rules for
non-English names are complex. See New Hart’s Rules Chapter 6 for guidance. In general:
● Names containing the French prefix ‘de’ should not be alphabetized under ‘D’.
● Italian authors with a ‘di’ or ‘da’ prefix are commonly placed under ‘D’.
● Dutch authors with a ‘van’ prefix are placed under ‘V’.

For example:
Beauvoir, Simone de (2014), The Second Sex, London: Random House.
di Robilant, Andrea (2003), A Venetian Affair, New York: Knopf.
van Dijk, Teun A. (1987), Communicating Racism: Ethnic Prejudice in Thought and Talk,
Newbury Park: Sage.
Citation:
(Surname [with prefix] Year: Page)
(de Beauvoir 2014: 89)

Books with multiple authors

Separate authors with a comma, using ‘and’ instead of a comma before the last author name. All names
are in the order Surname, Name. Please note, ‘et al.’ should be used within citation text for books with

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 three or more authors, but all names must be provided in the references section.
Reference:
Surname, Name and Surname, Name (Year), Title, City: Publisher.
For example:
Saunders, Mark, Lewis, Phillip and Thornhill, Adrian (2016), Research Methods for Business
Students, Cambridge: Pearson.
Citation:
(Saunders et al. 2016: 78)

Edited books
Editors are indicated with (ed.) or (eds). The abbreviation (eds) does not need a full point: (eds) not
(eds.). The editor is referred to using ‘Initial. Surname’ rather than their full first name.
The year should be that of the edited collection. If the chapter/article has been published elsewhere,
the date of the original publication may appear in square brackets before the date of the edition. The
chronological order follows the later edition date, not the date in square brackets.
See ‘Later editions/reprints/multi-volume works’.
Listed under chapter author
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of chapter/article’, in Initial. Surname (ed.)/(eds), Title, City:
Publisher, page range.
For example:
Derrida, Jacques ([1999] 2002), ‘The university without condition’, in P. Kamuf (ed.), Without
Alibi, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 202–37.
Flieger, Verlyn (2011), ‘Sometimes one word is worth a thousand pictures’, in J. M. Bogstad and
P. E. Kaveny (eds), Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Film
Trilogy, London: McFarland and Co, pp. 46–52.
Citation:
(Derrida [1999] 2002: 204–05)
(Flieger 2011: 47)
Listed under editor
Reference:
Surname, Name (ed.)/(eds) (Year), Title, City: Publisher.
For example:
Frank, Claudine (ed.) (2003), The Edge of Surrealism: A Roger Caillois Reader, Durham: Duke
University Press.
Martin, Luther H., Gutman, Huck and Hutton, Patrick H. (eds) (1998), Technologies of the Self: A
Seminar with Michel Foucault, Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Citation:
(Frank 2003: 60)
The editors’ names may be omitted if the reference is to a chapter of the edited book written by the

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main editors, or if there are no other contributing authors or editors (e.g. within a collection of an
author’s own work).
For example:
Jeffreys, Elaine and Allatson, Paul (eds) (2015), ‘Afterword’, in Celebrity Philanthropy, Bristol:
Intellect, pp. 211–17.
Butler, Judith (1993), ‘Arguing with the real’, in Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of
‘Sex’, New York: Routledge, pp. 139–68.
Citation:
(Jeffreys and Allatson 2015: 215)

Later editions/reprints/multi-volume works

The following abbreviations are used for later editions, multi-volume works and reprints. See ‘8.
Unpublished works’, for how to reference forthcoming titles.
Later edition: 2nd ed., 3rd ed., etc. There is no need to specify for first editions.
For example:
Ben-Naim, Arieh (2016), Entropy Demystified: The Second Law Reduced to Plain Common Sense,
2nd ed., London: World Scientific Publishing Company.
Original publication: If a work has been published previously, the original date may be given in square
brackets before the date of the edition you are using. The chronological order follows the modern
edition date, not the date in square brackets.
For example:
Wilde, Oscar ([1891] 2009), ‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’, in R. Luckhurst (ed.), Late Victorian
Gothic Tales, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 10–25.
Reprint: Rpt. in
For example:
Wein, Len and Wrightson, Bernie (1971), ‘Swamp Thing’, House of Secrets #92, New York: DC
Comics. Rpt. in Wein, Len and Wrightson, Bernie (1991), Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis, New York:
DC Comics.
Revised edition: rev. ed.
For example:
Koch, Liz (2012), Core Awareness: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise and Dance, rev. ed., New
York: North Atlantic Books.
Second volume: vol. 2, note the ‘v’ is lower case.
For example:
Sykes, Christopher Simon (2014), Hockney: The Biography, vol. 2, London: Century.

Multiple cities of publication

Multiple publication locations should be indicated as ‘City and City: Publisher and Publisher’ (not & or
/). North American states are indicated using a two letter abbreviation unless the state is deemed
unnecessary (as in New York, NY).

16
 For example:
O’Donoghue, Tom (2017), Understanding Contemporary Education: Key Themes and Issues,
London and New York: Routledge.
Citation:
(O’Donoghue 2017: 43)

Multiple works by the same author

References by the same author should be ordered from oldest to most recent. References for the same
author with the same year should be distinguished using a, b, c, etc. within the parenthesis. ‘Ibid.’ and
‘op. cit’ are not used in Harvard referencing. The author or source name should be repeated for every
reference.
Solo edited works appear in date order with the monographs – the inclusion of (ed.) does not affect the
order. Co-authored titles appear after the monographs/solo edited works, as the inclusion of a second
or third name does affect the alphabetical order.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year a), Title, City: Publisher.
Surname, Name (Year b), Title, City: Publisher.
For example:
Žižek, Slavoj (2006a), How to Read Lacan, London: Granta Books.
Žižek, Slavoj (2006b), Interrogating the Real, New York: Continuum.
Žižek, Slavoj (ed.) (2011), Hegel and the Infinite: Religion, Politics and Dialectic, New York:
Columbia University Press.
Žižek, Slavoj and Daly, Glyn (2004), Conversations with Žižek, Cambridge: Polity.
Citation:
(Žižek 2006a: 54)

Books in a series
When books are in a series, the series name appears after the book title, in title case without italics.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title, Series Title, City: Publisher.
For example:
Margolis, Ellen and Tyler Renaud, Lissa (eds) (2010), The Politics of American Actor Training,
Routledge Advances in Theatre and Performance Studies, London: Routledge.
Citation:
(Margolis and Tyler Renaud 2010: 57)

Translated works
Where an editor and/or translator are named
When an editor and a translator are named in addition to the author, the editor is listed first in
parenthesis after the title.

17
 Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title (ed. Initial. Surname, trans. Initial. Surname), City: Publisher.
For example:
Lacan, Jacques (1988), The Seminar of Jacques Lacan (ed. J. A. Miller, trans. J. Forrester),
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nancy, Jean-Luc (2008), Philosophical Chronicles (trans. F. Manjali), New York: Fordham
University Press.
Citation:
(Lacan 1988: 34)

Translations of foreign language book titles

It is not strictly necessary to provide translations of non-English-language titles. However, if you would
like to provide English translations for titles in other languages, use the format below.
Unofficial title translations
Unofficial translations of book titles (i.e., those made by the author for explanatory purposes), are set
in sentence case, roman type, in single quotation marks within brackets. This also applies to other
reference types.
See ‘Translations of foreign language journal titles’, or ‘Foreign film’.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Original Title (‘Unofficial translation’), City: Publisher.
For example:
Maupassant, Guy de (1885), Bel Ami (‘A good friend’), Paris: Victor-Havard.
Citation:
(de Maupassant 1885: 23)
In the text:
Original Title (‘Unofficial English title’) then Original Title thereafter. Note that the unofficial
translation should be in sentence case.
Official titles
The official titles of published translations follow the same format as the original title. Alternative book
titles should be set in italics within brackets:
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Original Title (Official Translation), City: Publisher.
For example:
Beckett, Samuel (1951), Malone meurt (Malone Dies), Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.
Citation:
(Beckett 1951: 12)
In the text:
Original Title (English Title) then English Title thereafter.

18
 E-books and pdfs
These appear in a similar style to other journal references, but a URL and accessed date are included. If
there are no pages available, then n.pag. should be used in citations. If there is no date available, then
n.d. may be used. Original publication year may be referenced using square brackets. There is no need
to specify [online] in Harvard referencing.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title, City: Publisher and/or Collection, URL. Accessed date.
For example:
Carpentier, Nico (2011), Media and Participation: A Site of Ideological-Democratic Struggle,
Bristol: Intellect, https://oapen.org/search?identifier=606390. Accessed 1 July 2016.
Conan Doyle, Arthur ([1907] 2004), Through the Magic Door, Adelaide: University of Adelaide
Library Electronic Texts Collection, http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/d/doyle/arthur_conan/
d75th/part1.html. Accessed 3 February 2003.
Citation:
(Carpentier 2011: 34)
(Conan Doyle [1907] 2004: n.pag.)

Dictionary
Listed under a specific word
Reference:
‘word cited’ (Year), Dictionary Title, edition, City: Publisher, URL [if available]. Accessed date.
For example:
‘footnoting, n.’ (2016), OED Online, 16th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press,
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/36961802. Accessed 23 May 2016.
Citation:
We suggest citing the title of the dictionary and year in text, to avoid repeating the specific
word you are discussing:
(OED Online 2016) rather than (‘footnoting, n.’ 2016)
Listed with no specific word
Reference:
Dictionary Title (Year), edition, City: Publisher, URL [if available]. Accessed date.
For example:
Encyclopaedia Britannica (1991), 15th ed., Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.
Citation:
(Encyclopaedia Britannica 1991)

Play and scripts

For a printed publication/script of a play, emphasis is given to the author first. The play is referenced as
a book.
Reference:

19
 Surname, Name (Year), Title of Play, Series or Edition (ed./eds Initial. Surname) [if applicable],
City: Publisher.
For example:
Shakespeare, William (2001), Henry VI: Parts I, II, III, Signet Classics (ed. S. Barnet), New York:
Penguin.
Rabey, David Ian (2004), The Wye Plays: The Back of Beyond and The Battle of the Crows,
Bristol: Intellect.
Kane, Sarah (2001), Sarah Kane: Complete Plays (eds D. Greig and K. Brown), London: Methuen.

Citation:
For a specific quote, citations may include the Act, Scene and line number. Citations may also
use the (Author Date: Page) format if that is more appropriate for the play.
(Title of Play Act. Scene [in numbers or numerals as provided]: line numbers)
(Twelfth Night II.V: 36–37).
(Kane 2001: 35)

Poetry and short stories

Poems and short stories should be referenced in the collection that they appear in, unless unpublished.
Titles for poems and short stories appear in title case within quotation marks. Editors’ information may
also be provided if available.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of Poem/Short Story’, in Initial. Surname (ed.)/(eds) [if applicable],
Title of Publication, City: Publisher, page range.
For example:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott (2012), ‘The Jelly-Bean’, in Tales of the Jazz Age, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, pp. 11–15.
Plath, Sylvia (1965), ‘Morning Song’, in T. Hughes (ed.), Ariel, London: Faber & Faber, p. 3.
Citation:
(Fitzgerald 2012: 13)

20
 2. JOURNAL AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Article titles should be in sentence case within single quotation marks. Journal, newspaper and
magazine titles should be in italicized title case.

Print journal articles

Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, volume:issue, page range.
For example:
Overdiek, Anja (2016), ‘Fashion designers and their business partners: Juggling creativity and
commerce’, International Journal of Fashion Studies, 4:1, pp. 27–46.
Citation:
(Overdiek 2016: 32)

Journal without issue numbers

If a journal does not use issue numbers, then you can just include the volume number. Some journals
also use a month or season instead of an issue number.

Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, volume, month/season [if available], page
range.
For example:
Langlois, Justin (2020), ‘Invisible hospitalities of the art school’, PUBLIC, 61, pp. 196–207.
Setzler, Matthew and Goldstone, Robert (2020), ‘Coordination and consonance between
interacting, improvising musicians’, Open Mind: Discoveries in Cognitive Science, 4, November,
pp. 88–101.
Citation:
(Langlois 2020: 198)
(Setzler and Goldstone: 89–91)

Double issue
To cite a double issue, use ‘&’ between the issue numbers, not ‘/’ or ‘–’
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, volume:issue&issue, page range.
For example:
Roberts, Graham H. (2019), ‘Queering the stitch: Fashion, masculinity and the postsocialist
subject’, Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion, 6:1&2, pp. 59–80.
Citation:
(Roberts 2019: 71–72)

21
 Special Issue or Special Section
Entire Special Issue or Section
To cite an entire Special Issue, provide the editors and the title of the issue in title case without italics.
Reference:
Surname, Name (ed.) (Year), Journal Title, Special Issue/Section: ‘Title of Special Issue/Section’,
volume:issue, page range [if applicable].
For example:
Bolton, Lucy (ed.) (2015), Film, Fashion & Consumption, Special Issue: ‘#Marilyneveryday’,
4:2&3.
Dillane, Aileen, Langlois, Tony, Power, Martin J. and Bhriain, Orfhlaith N. (eds) (2015), Journal of
Urban Cultural Studies, Special Section: ‘Urban Soundscapes and Critical Citizenship’, 2:1&2, pp.
89–176.
Citation:
(Bolton 2015: 21)
(Dillane et al. 2015: 175)
Article within Special Issue or Section
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, Special Issue/Section: ‘Title of Special
Issue/Section’, volume:issue, page range.
For example:
McCoy, Kelli (2018), ‘What does a prince do?: Postfeminist girlhood and boyhood in Disney
Junior cartoons’, Visual Inquiry, Special Issue: ‘Identity, Gender, Power and Nostalgia in Twenty-
First-Century Disney Culture’, 7:2, pp. 111–23.
Citation:
(McCoy 2018: 112)

Newspaper articles
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article or column header’, Title of Newspaper, date and month,
page range [column line if appropriate].
For example:
Asthana, Anushka, Stewart, Heather and Brooks, Libby (2016), ‘Theresa May visits Scotland to
press case for “special union”’, The Guardian, 15 July, pp. 4–5.
Citation:
(Asthana et al. 2016: 4b)

Online journal article

If you accessed a journal article online, then you should reference it as such. These references appear in
a similar style to other journal references, but a URL or DOI are included. Note that all URLs except a
DOI must include an accessed date. The journal name should be in italics in title case. If there are no
pages available, then n.pag. should be used in citations. If there is no date available, then n.d. may be
used. There is no need to specify [online] in Harvard referencing.

22
See ‘Websites’.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, volume:issue, page range, URL. Accessed
date.
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, volume:issue, page range, DOI.
For example:
Pizzocaro, Silvia (2018), ‘Theory as habitus for scholarly design research’, Artifact: Journal of
Design Practice, 5:3, pp. 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1386/art_00001_1.
Pizzocaro, Silvia (2018), ‘Theory as habitus for scholarly design research’, Artifact: Journal of
Design Practice, 5:3, pp. 1–16,
https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/art_00001_1. Accessed 18 November
2022.

Citation:
(Pizzocaro 2018: 14)

Online first articles

Online first, also known as article first or fast-track articles, are articles that are published online ahead
of the print publication. They will have a journal title, year of online publication and DOI or URL, but
may not have a volume, issue or page numbers. Note that all URLs except a DOI must include an
accessed date. We use ‘online first’ to show these articles are different to other online journal articles.

Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, online first, URL. Accessed date.
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Journal Title, online first, DOI.
For example:
Choi, Dooyoung (2021), ‘Internalization of sexualized female ideals and body shame’, Fashion,
Style & Popular Culture, online first, https://doi.org/10.1386/fspc_00056_1.

Choi, Dooyoung (2021), ‘Internalization of sexualized female ideals and body shame’, Fashion,
Style & Popular Culture, online first,
https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/fspc/pre-prints/content-
fspc_intellect_00056. Accessed 18 November 2022.

Citation:
(Choi 2021: n.pag.)

Online magazine or newspaper articles

This category includes websites or online editions of broadsheets, tabloids and print magazines, or, in
general, pay-to-read content. For blogs, personal websites, organization websites, online pdfs (unless
scanned from a printed source), online encyclopaedias and social media, see ‘Websites’.

Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of article’, Title of Newspaper, date and month, URL. Accessed
date.

23
 For example:
Asthana, Anushka, Stewart, Heather and Brooks, Libby (2016), ‘Theresa May visits Scotland to
press case for “special union”’, The Guardian, 15 July, http://www.theguardian.com/
politics/2016/jul/15/theresa-may-to-visit-scotland-nicola-sturgeon. Accessed 16 July 2016.
Citation:
(Asthana et al. 2016: n.pag.)

Reviews
Unless the review is given an original title, book/conference/exhibition reviews should be clearly
indicated using ‘review’.
Reference:
Surname, Name [of reviewer] (Year), ‘Title of review’, review, Journal Title, volume:issue, page
range, URL [if available], Accessed date.
For example:
Keddie, Nikki (2000), ‘Women in the Medieval Islamic World: Power, Patronage, and Piety by
Gavin R. G. Hambly’, review, Iranian Studies, 33:1&2, pp. 242–45.
Citation:
(Keddie 2000: 243)

Translations of foreign language journal titles

We do not recommend providing translations for every non-English-language article title. If a translated
article title is necessary, use the format below. Note: this is the same for official and unofficial
translations.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Original article title’ (‘Translated article title’), Journal Title,
volume:issue, page range.
For example:
Kayser, Jacques (1954), ‘Une semaine dans le monde’ (‘A week in the world’), Etude comparée
de, 17:1, pp. 1–35.
Citation:
(Kayser 1954: 33)

24
 3. OTHER SOURCE TYPES

Archive material
Archive sources are often referred to by the MS number and/or the main title and author. Both are
allowed. As much information as is available should be provided.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title’/Title/MS Number or description [see below for an example of
each of these], date and month, City: Name of Library/Archive/Repository, Collection, MS
Number [whichever available].
With title
For example:
Harris, Charles J. (1969), Charles William Frederick Goss, London: Bishopsgate Institute Archive
Collections, Charles Goss Collection 2/2.
Citation:
(Harris 1969: 23)
With MS number
For example:
MS 42523 (1889), ‘letter by David M. Thompson’, 13 June, St Andrews: University of St.
Andrews Library Special Collections.
OR
Thompson, David M. (1889), MS 42523, 13 June, St Andrews: University of St Andrews Library
Special Collections.
Citation:
(MS 42523 1889: 9)
(Thompson 1889: 9)
With description
For example:
Peacock, Andrew (1960), BBC lecture broadcast transcript, 1 May, Dundee: University of
Dundee Archive Services, URSF 2/12/3(14).
Citation:
(Peacock 1960: n.pag.)

Comic books
Comic book series title and number should be in italics with title case. Note the use of #. Individual
issue titles are set in single quotation marks in title case, no italics. Standalone graphic novels should
follow the referencing style for a book.
Reference:

25
 Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of Issue’, Comic Book Series Title #Number, City: Publisher.
For example:
Wein, Len and Wrightson, Bernie (1971), ‘Swamp Thing’, House of Secrets #92, New York: DC
Comics.
Citation:
(Wein and Wrightson 1971: 2)

Conference and symposium papers

Unpublished conference papers
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of paper’, Title of Conference, location, date and month of
conference.
For example:
Cook, Dave (2000), ‘Developing franchised business in Scotland’, Small Firms Adding the Spark:
The 23rd ISBA National Small Firms Policy and Research Conference, Robert Gordon University,
Aberdeen, 15–17 November.
Citation:
(Cook 2000: n.pag.)
Published conference papers
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Paper title’, in Initial. Surname (eds) [if available], Title of the
Proceedings, location, date and month [of the conference], City: Publisher, page range.
For example:
Golez, Todd (2005), ‘Calculus between mathematic and physics’, in A. Beckmann, C. Michelsen
and B. Sriraman (eds), Proceedings of the First International Symposium of Mathematics and Its
Connections to the Arts and Science, Berlin, Germany, 13–16 June, Berlin: Franzbecker, pp. 201–
14.
Citation:
(Golez 2005: 213)

Dissertations/Ph.D. theses
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of thesis’, Ph.D. thesis/doctoral thesis/MA dissertation, etc., City:
Institution.
For example:
Erim, Greg (1999), ‘Color perception in basic design education’, Ph.D. thesis, Istanbul: Marmara
University.
Citation:
(Erim 1999: 15)

26
Laws and Acts of Parliament
Reference:
Title of Act (Year), chapter/section/paragraph, URL [if available]. Accessed date.
For example:
Criminal Justice Act (2003), § 44.3.2, p.9,
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/44/contents/ enacted. Accessed 18 July 2013.
Citation:
(Title of Act Year: section or page) (Criminal Justice Act 2003: § 44.3.2.a)

Law report and court case

N.B. this follows accepted legal citation, rather than Intellect House Style. The names of the two parties
are set in italics, title case, although the ‘v.’ is not italic: Name v. Name.
Reference:
Name v. Name of parties involved in the case (Year), abbreviation part number/case number,
starting page [if available].
For example:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation v. Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd. (2001), HCA 63, p. 1045.
Lessard v. Schmidt (1998), F. Supp 627, p. 483.
Citation:
(Name v. Name Year: page)
(Lessard v. Schmidt 1998: 483)

Personal interviews
Interviews may be cited in text and included in the references, although this is not compulsory for
casual or informal conversations.
Reference:
Interviewee Surname, Name (Year), type of communication with Initial. Surname of
interviewer, location [unless e-mail or telecommunication], date and month.
For example:
Björgvinsson, Evan (2009), telephone interview with A. Høg Hansen, 23 January.
Branson, Richard (2014), in-person interview with J. Doe, Birmingham City University, 4 July.
Walters, Frank (2007), letter to J. Stephens, 23 January.
Robson, Paul (2008), e-mail to author, 1 December.
Citation:
(Björgvinsson 2009: n.pag.)

Press releases
Note that we don’t recommend citing press releases that are informal/unavailable to the public.
However, for all others, you may include as much of the below information as you have.

27
 Anon./Company Name (Year), ‘Title’, press release, Day Month, URL. Accessed Date.

Published interviews (TV/radio/magazine)

TV
Reference:
Interviewee Surname, Name (Year), interviewed by Initial. Surname, Title of Programme,
Channel/Station, date and month.
For example:
Abbott, Diane (2016), interviewed by A. Marr, The Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 1 May.
Citation:
(Abbott 2016: n.pag.)

Print
Reference:
Interviewee Surname, Name (Year), interviewed by Initial. Surname, Title of Publication,
volume:issue, page range, URL. Accessed date [if available].
For example:
Cook, James (2005), interviewed by R. Anderson, Radio Times, 135:1, pp. 12–14.
Citation:
(Cook 2005: 12)

Radio/Live
See ‘Transcripts’.
Reference:
Interviewee Surname, Name (Year), interviewed by Initial. Surname, Title of Programme [if
available], Channel/Station, location, date and month.
For example:
Fry, Stephen (2012), interviewed by E. Lane, Today, BBC Radio 4, London, 23 March.
Citation:
(Fry 2012: n.pag.)

Reports by organizations
Reference:
Surname, Name OR Organization Name (abbreviation) (Year), Title of Report, Report number or
series [if available], City: Publisher/Organization [if available]. If online include URL and
Accessed date.
For example:
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2011), Students at the Heart of the
System, Higher Education White Paper, London: BIS,
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31384/11-
944-higher-education-students-at-heart-of-system.pdf. Accessed 25 May 2015.

28
 Healey, Mick, Flint, Abbi and Harrington, Kathy (2014), Engagement through Partnerships;
Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, York: Higher Education
Academy.
Citation:
(BIS 2011: 14)
(Healey et al. 2014: 33)

Seminars and lectures

Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of communication’, lecture/seminar delivered at Institution, City,
date and month, URL. Accessed date [if available].
For example:
Stewart, Charles (2014), ‘For an anthropology of history’, lecture delivered at University College
London, London, 28 January, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ah/inaugural-lectures-2013-14/inaugural-
lecture-charles-stewart. Accessed 29 December 2014.
Citation:
(Stewart 2014: n.pag.)

Transcripts
Transcript references appear similar to the medium of the source (i.e., book, website, etc.) but with
some slight variations, including attributing the reference to the individual delivering the
speech/performance rather than the platform hosting the transcription.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of transcription’, transcript, date and month [if available],
Platform/Host, URL. Accessed date [if available].
For example:
Carrick, Damien (2016), ‘The consequences of dodgy migration advice’, transcript, 26 July, ABC
Radio National, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/migration-
agents/7637348#transcript. Accessed 29 July 2016.
Citation:
(Carrick 2016: n.pag.)

Religious texts
Italics are not commonly used for citing the Bible, the Torah, the Qur’an and other religious texts. See
New Hart’s Rules, Chapter 13 for guidance.
Bible
Reference:
Book and chapter: verse (Year), Title of Bible Version, edition, City: Publisher.
For example:
Matthew 5: 3–12 (1985), King James Bible, International ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Citation:
(Matthew 5: 3–12, 1985)

29
Qur’an
Reference:
Qur’an (not in italics), surah/chapter: verse (Year), Initial. Surname of translator (trans.) [if
applicable], City: Publisher.
For example:
Qur’an 18: 20 (2010), A. Haleem (trans.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Citation:
(Qur’an 18: 20, 2010)

Working paper
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of paper’, working paper, City: Institution/Organization.
For example:
Grande, Michael (1998), ‘Detecting financial growth in the arts’, working paper, New York: New
York University.
Citation:
(Grande 1998: 32)

30
 4. FILM AND BROADCAST MEDIA
Our preference is for USA and UK (rather than US and UK or United States and United Kingdom) when
stating the country of production. Quotations from non-text-based media (i.e. film, music, DVD,
television, vlog, radio, artwork), do not require reference to a page number within the citation.

DVD
If you need to cite a specific DVD release of a film in the reference list, the following information should
be provided:
Reference:
Director Surname, Name (Year), Title, DVD, edition, Country: Production Company.
For example:
Jackson, Peter (2001), Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Extended, DVD, extended
ed., USA: Warner Bros.
Citation:
(Director Surname Year).
(Jackson 1993)
DVD extras and features
Interviews, features and other material from DVDs can be included in the reference list. These should
list the following information:
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of piece’, Title of DVD/Film/Series, DVD extras, Country:
Production Company.
For example:
Thomas, Rob and Bell, Kristen (2007), ‘Interview: Seeking the truth with Veronica’, Veronica
Mars: Season Three, DVD extras, USA: Warner Bros.
Citation:
(Thomas and Bell 2007)

Film
Films should be listed alphabetically by director in the main reference list, not under a separate
‘Films cited’ list.
Reference:
Director Surname, Name (Year), Title, Country: Production Company.
For example:
Spielberg, Steven (1993), Jurassic Park, USA: Universal Studios.
Citation:
(Director Surname Year).

31
 (Spielberg 1993)

Film festivals
Film festivals would not usually be listed in a reference list, but if this is necessary, see ‘Music festival’
or ‘Music tour’. For festival catalogues, see ‘Electronic Sources’ or other print reference types. When
referred to in the body of the text, film festivals should be in title case with no quotation marks. If the
particular edition of the festival has a theme, this can be placed in single quotation marks, in title case.
For example:
The 2010 World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Caracas with the theme ‘For Peace
and Solidarity, We Struggle against Imperialism and War!’

Foreign film
It is not necessary to provide translations of non-English-language titles. However, if you would like to
provide English translations for titles in other languages, use the format below.
Official translations
Films that have been officially released with an alternative title are set in title case, in italics within
brackets.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Original Title (Official Translation), Country: Production Company.
For example:
Zhang, Zimou (2004), Shi mian mai fu (House of Flying Daggers), China: Beijing New Picture Film
Co.
Citation:
Original Title (Translation) (Name of Director, Year)
Shi mian mai fu (House of Flying Daggers) (Zhang, 2004)
In the text:
Original Title (English Title) then English Title thereafter.
Unofficial translations (i.e. those by the author)
Unofficial translations of film titles (by the author for illustration), are set in sentence case, roman type,
in single quotation marks within brackets.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Original Title (‘Unofficial translation’), Country: Production Company.
For example:
Mehra, Rakesh Omprakash (2006), Rang De Basanti (‘Colour it yellow’), India: ROMP.
Citation:
Original Title (‘Translation’) (Name of Director, Year)
Rang De Basanti (‘Colour it yellow’) (Mehra, 2006)
In the text:
Original Title (‘Unofficial English title’) then Original Title thereafter. Note that the unofficial
translation should be in sentence case.

32
 Radio
Radio programme
Reference:
Title of Programme (Year), Station, location, date and month, local time [as much as is
available].
For example:
Letter from America (2002), BBC Radio 4, UK, 2 November, 8.45–9.00 p.m.
Citation:
(Letter from America 2002)
Radio drama (by episode)
Reference:
‘Episode Title’ (Year), Title of Programme, Station, location, date and month, local time.
For example:
‘Reality Bites for Fallon’ (2018), The Archers, BBC Radio 4, UK, 19 August, 7.00–7.13 p.m.
Citation:
(‘Reality Bites for Fallon’ 2018)
Online
Reference:
Title of Programme (Year), Station, location, date and month, local time, URL. Accessed date.
‘Episode Title’ (Year), Title of Programme, Station, location, date and month, local time, URL.
Accessed date.
For example:
Parklive (2015), The Source FM, Australia, 12 January, http://www.thesourcefm.co.uk/parklive.
Accessed 11 January 2015.
‘Reality Bites for Fallon’ (2018), The Archers, BBC Radio 4, UK, 19 August, 7.00–7.13 p.m.,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bfxl00. Accessed 21 January 2019.
Citation:
(Parklive 2015)

Screenplays
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title, draft number [if available], screenplay, City: Production Company.
For example:
Mayer, Carl (1927), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, 2nd draft, screenplay, Los Angeles: Los
Angeles Film Corporation.
Citation:
(Mayer 1927: 3)
Unpublished
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title, unpublished screenplay.

33
 For example:
Smith, Tony (2016), The Fear, unpublished screenplay.
Citation:
(Smith 2016: n.pag.)

Television episode
Reference:
‘Episode Title’ (Date), director (dir.), Series Title, Season number Episode number (date and
month, Country: Production Company).
For example:
‘Blood of My Blood’ (2016), J. Bender (dir.), Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 6 (29 May, USA:
HBO).
Citation:
(‘Episode Title’ Year)
(‘Blood of My Blood’ 2016)
If you would like to cite the production company, set a comma after the date.
(‘Blood of My Blood’ 2016, HBO)

Television series
With end date
Reference:
Title (Year–Year, Country: Production Company).
For example:
Firefly (2002–03, USA: Mutant Enemy Productions and 20th Century Fox).
Citation:
(Firefly 2002–03)
See ‘Television episode’ for citing production company as well as broadcast years.
Ongoing
Reference:
Title (Year–present, Country: Production Company).
For example:
Game of Thrones (2011–present, USA: HBO).
Citation:
(Game of Thrones 2001–present)
See ‘Television episode’ for citing production company as well as broadcast years.
Several versions/translations
Reference:
Original Title (Translated/Alternative Title) (Years, Country and Country: Production Company
and Production Company).

34
 For example:
Forbrydelsen (The Killing) (2009, 2010, 2012, Denmark, Norway and Sweden: Danmarks Radio,
Norsk Rikskringkasting and Sveriges Television).
Citation:
(Forbrydelsen [The Killing] 2009, 2010, 2012)
See ‘Television episode’ for citing production company as well as broadcast years.

35
 5. ELECTRONIC SOURCES AND NEW MEDIA
Quotations from non-text-based media (i.e. film, music, DVD, television, vlog, radio, artwork), do not
require reference to a page number within the citation.
Quotations from text-based media (i.e. websites, blogs), should be cited using a page number, or n.pag.
for clarity.

Websites
Websites and blog names are set in roman, title case with no quotation marks. If citing the entire
website, rather than a specific article with a separate author, the website can appear as the author.
Blogs, personal websites, organization websites, online pdfs (unless scanned from a printed source),
online encyclopaedias and social media all fall into the website category and therefore their title must
not be italicized. For websites or online editions of broadsheets, tabloids and print magazines, or, in
general, pay-to-read content see ‘Online magazine or journal article’.
Reference:
Title of Website OR Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of webpage’, Website Title, date and month,
URL. Accessed date.
For example:
Francois Ozon Official Website (2016), ‘Home page’, http://www.francois-ozon.com/en.
Accessed 27 June 2016.
Gevinson, Tavi (2016), ‘End of 2016’, Style Rookie, 12 December,
http://www.thestylerookie.com/2016/12/end-of-2016.html. Accessed 14 August 2018.
Citation:
(Francois Ozon Official Website 2016: n.pag.) (Gevinson 2016: n.pag.)

Blog
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of blog entry’, Blog Title, date and month, URL. Accessed date.
For example:
Kermode, Mark (2017), ‘Audience appreciation’, Kermode Uncut, 17 November,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/entries/61bec71c-916d-4a13-a782-79c3afb3c2b9.
Accessed 20 November 2017.
Citation:
(Kermode 2017: n.pag.)

Blog comments
Reference:
Surname, Name OR Screen name (Year), ‘Comment: Title of blog entry’, Blog Title, comment
date and month, URL. Accessed date.

36
 For example:
Chelsea (2014), ‘Comment: Westonbirt in autumn’, LilyDoughball, 8 November,
http://www.lilydoughball.com/category/photography/. Accessed 15 July 2016.
Citation:
(Chelsea 2014: n.pag)

Video/vlog
Reference:
Surname, Name OR Screen name (Year), ‘Video/vlog title’, Platform Title, date and month, URL.
Accessed date.
For example:
Sugg, Zoella (2016), ‘May favourites 2016’, YouTube, 29 May,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR9g5BKeivk. Accessed 21 June 2016.
Citation:
(Sugg 2016)

Facebook
Reference:
Surname, Name OR Group page (Year), ‘Facebook post’, Facebook, date and month, URL.
Accessed date.
For example:
Solomons, Gabriel (2013), ‘A little promo...’, Facebook, 2 July,
https://www.facebook.com/Intellect-81012892121/. Accessed 12 July 2016.
ruangrupa (2016), ‘Events’, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ruangrupa/events. Accessed
1 August 2016.
Citation:
(Solomons 2013: n.pag.)
(ruangrupa 2016: n.pag.)

Twitter
Reference:
Surname, Name (Twitter handle) (Year), ‘Tweet text’, Twitter, date and month, URL. Accessed
date.
For example:
Delaney, Richard (@RichardDDelaney) (2016), ‘Let the reading commence: TEACHING ACTORS
by Ross W Prior from @IntellectBooks. #Pedagogy #MustRead #Acting’, Twitter, 28 June,
https://twitter.com/RichardDDelaney/status/747896807338942465. Accessed 5 July 2016.
Citation:
(Delaney 2016: n.pag.) OR (@RichardDDelaney 2016: n.pag.)

37
Video game
Reference:
Developer (Year), Title, City: Developer/Publisher.
For example:
Bethesda Game Studios (2008), Fallout 3, Rockville, MD: Bethesda Softworks.
Linden Lab (2003), Second Life, San Francisco, CA: Linden Lab.
Citation:
(Developer Year).
(Linden Lab 2003)

Podcast
See ‘Radio’.
Reference:
Title of Podcast (Year), ‘Episode Title’, Broadcaster/Production Company [if available], location,
date and month, URL. Accessed date.
For example:
The Guilty Feminist (2019), ‘132: Creativity with Jessica Fostekew and Matilda Leyster’, UK, 14
January, http://guiltyfeminist.libsyn.com/132-creativity-with-jessica-fostekew-and-matilda-
leyser. Accessed 16 January 2019.
Citation:
(The Guilty Feminist 2019)

YouTube video
See ‘Video/vlog’.

Google Earth
Reference:
Google Earth version [if available] (Year data released), Image location, coordinates, elevation,
URL. Accessed date.
For example:
Google Earth 6.2 (2012), Imperial War Museum 51.496496, -0.108261, https://goo.gl/aEXrjj.
Accessed 28 July 2016.
Citation:
(Google Earth 6.2 2012)

38
 6. MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE
For all music references, the band name can replace the name of the recording/performing artist or
composer. For performance references, the name of the company can be used when there is no
director/choreographer information available.
Quotations from non-text-based media (i.e. film, music, DVD, television, vlog, radio, artwork), do not
require reference to a page number within the citation.

CD/disk media
Reference:
Title of Publication (Year), Country: Producer/Publisher/Distributor.
For example:
The Official DSA Complete Learner Driver Pack (2006), UK: TSO.
Citation:
(The Official DSA Complete Learner Driver Pack 2006)

Song/composition
Song titles, including operas, arias, anthems and movements, should be in title case within single
quotation marks. Album information should be provided if available.
Reference:
Recording Artist OR Composer Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of Work’, composed by Initial.
Surname of artist [if different from recording artist], Title of Album, Format, Country: Label.
For example:
The Rolling Stones (1966), ‘Paint it Black’, Aftermath, CD, Hollywood, CA: RCA.
Carlton, Vanessa (2002), ‘Paint it Black’, composed by M. Jagger and K. Richards, Be Not
Nobody, CD, USA: A&M Records.
Citation:
(The Rolling Stones 1966)
(Carlton 2002)

Album
Reference:
Artist Surname Name (Year), Title of Album, Medium, Country: Label.
For example:
Bowie, David (2016), Blackstar, CD, USA: Columbia Records.

39
 Citation:
(Bowie 2016)

Lyrics
See ‘Song/composition’.

Scores
See ‘Song/composition’. Scores may also have editor information.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), ‘Title of Score’ (ed. Initial. Surname), score, Country: Publisher.
For example:
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1969), ‘Symphony No. 35, D Major, K.385 “Haffner”’ (ed. L.
Bernstein), score, Germany: Bärenreiter-Verlag.
Citation:
(Mozart 1969: 3)

Live performance
Play
Reference:
Director Surname, Name (dir.) (Year of performance), Title of Performance, Initial. Surname of
Playwright, Performing Company, location, date and month of performance/date range.
For example:
Bell, James (dir.) (2011), Much Ado about Nothing, W. Shakespeare, Bell Shakespeare Company,
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 9 April–14 May.
Citation:
(Director Surname Year).
(Bell 2011)
Dance
Reference:
Choreographer Surname, Name (Year of performance), Title of Performance, Performing
Company, location, City, date and month of performance/date range.
For example:
Page, Stephen (2009), Matthina, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Playhouse, Queensland Performing
Arts Centre, 29 May–7 June.
Citation:
(Choreographer Surname Year).
(Page 2009)
Music
Reference:
Performing Artist OR Composer Surname, Name (Year of performance), ‘Title of

40
 Composition/Song’, live performance, composed by Artist Name [if different from performing
artist], location, date and month of performance/date range.
For example:
The Pixies (2010), ‘Where Is My Mind?’, live performance, composed by F. Black, Parc del
Forum, Barcelona, 28 May.
Citation:
(The Pixies 2010)

Music festival/tour performance

Reference:
Artist Name (Year), Festival Title/Tour Title, location/s, date and month of performance/date
range.
For example:
Beyoncé (2016), The Formation World Tour, Stadium of Light, Sunderland, 27 April–2 October.
Parton, Dolly (2014), Glastonbury Festival, Worthy Farm, Pilton, UK, 22 June.
Citation:
(Beyoncé 2016)
(Parton 2014)

41
 7. VISUAL ARTS
Quotations from non-text-based media (i.e. film, music, DVD, television, vlog, radio, artwork), do not
require reference to a page number within the citation.

Artworks
It is not compulsory to include artworks in the reference list. If included, the following information
should be provided. Artwork titles are in italics, title case.
See ‘Captions’.
Reference:
Artist Surname, Name (Year), Title, City: Gallery/Museum or Collection.
For example:
Monet, Claude (1899), The Water-Lily Pond, London: The National Gallery.
Citation:
(Monet 1899)

Exhibitions
Reference:
Exhibition Title (Year), Gallery/Museum/Institution Name, City, date range [if available].
For example:
Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme (1938), Galerie Beaux Arts, Paris, 23 January–15
March.
Citation:
(Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme 1938)

Exhibition catalogue
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Exhibition Title, exhibition catalogue, Gallery/Museum/Institution
Name, City, date range.
For example:
Cakirkaya, Sena (2013), Close Quarters, exhibition catalogue, Istanbul Modern Art Museum,
Istanbul, 9 May–17 November.
Citation:
(Cakirkaya 2013: 16)

42
If no author available
Reference:
Exhibition Title (2013), exhibition catalogue, Gallery/Museum/Institution Name, City, date
range.
For example:
Close Quarters (2013), exhibition catalogue, Istanbul Modern Art Museum, Istanbul, 9 May–17
November.
Citation:
(Close Quarters 2013: 27)

Installations
Reference:
Artist Surname, Name (Year), Title, installation, Gallery/Museum/Institution Name, City, date
range.
For example:
Serra, Richard (1968), Splashing, installation, Castelli Warehouse, New York, 1 January–1 April.
Citation:
(Serra 1968)

Fashion collections/shows
It is not compulsory to include fashion collections or shows in the reference list. If included, the
following information should be provided:
Reference:
Designer Surname, Name OR House (Year launched), Title.
For example:
McQueen, Alexander (2015), Spring 2016 Ready-to-Wear.
Citation:
(McQueen 2015)

43
 8. UNPUBLISHED WORKS

Forthcoming work
If date is unknown, (forthcoming) can be used on its own. If the publication date is known, this should
be listed after ‘forthcoming’.
Reference:
Surname, Name (forthcoming Year), Title, City: Publisher.
For example:
Jennings, Pam (forthcoming 2020), A History of Speeches, London: Horizon Press.
Millard, Kathryn (forthcoming), ‘The universe is expanding’, Journal of Screenwriting.
Citation:
(Jennings forthcoming 2020: n.pag.)
(Millard forthcoming: n.pag.)

In-house publication
Reference:
Organization/Institution (Year), Title of Work, medium/format, City: Publisher.
For example:
Intellect (2015), Journal Catalogue 2016, catalogue, Bristol: Intellect.
Citation:
(Intellect 2015: 5)

Self-published work
Self-published works can be referenced using the author’s name in place of publisher.
Reference:
Surname, Name (Year), Title of Work, City: Author Name.
For example:
Leadbeater, David (2017), The Relic Hunters, London: David Leadbeater.
Citation:
(Leadbeater 2017: 17)

44
Preferred Spellings
We follow standard UK English, using the Oxford English Dictionary or the Oxford Dictionary for Writers
and Editors as our main sources of reference. If in doubt, please consult one of these texts.

Please note that we required ‘ize’, not ‘ise’ endings (e.g. ‘organize’, ‘globalize’) in cases where both are
correct under UK English. There is a list of common exceptions at the end of the ‘Preferred Spellings’
list.

a
a priori (no italics)

Academe

Act 1, Act 2

ad hoc (no italics)

African American (no hyphen even when attributive)

aka

Al-Jazeera

Al-Qaeda

a.m.

anglophone (all lower case)

anime

12ème arrondissement

artwork (all one word)

Asian American (no hyphen even when attributive)

audio-visual

auteur, auteurism, auteurist (no italics)

Autonomous Communities (of Spain)

45
BA (Bachelor of Arts, a bachelor’s degree)

biotechnology

biofertilizer

Black (capitalized when referring to a racial, ethnic or cultural context)

Brown (capitalized when referring to a racial, ethnic or cultural context)

c
Cahiers du Cinéma (in italics, two initial caps)

Channel 4, Channel 5

Chapter 1, Chapter 2 (in body text)

coexist

Cold War

commonplace

communism, communist (all lower case except when referring to the Marxist-Leninist political system)

Communist Party

cooperation

coordination

co-production

copy-edit (v.)

copy-edited (adj.)

copy editor (n.)

coronavirus (lowercase)

COVID-19

cultural studies

d
de rigueur (no italics)

DJ

46
e
Easter Uprising (Ireland)

eastern
e-book

e-mail

Estado Novo (no italics)

et al. (no italics)

Eurocentric

extratextual

f
fascist, fascism (all lower case except when referring to Italian Fascist Party)

fellowships

Fifth Generation Chinese film directors

filmmaker, filmmaking

film noir, films noirs (plural) (no italics)

film school environment

First World War (rather than ‘World War I’)

focused

folk tale (two words)

francophone (all lower case)

la francophonie

Fredric Jameson (not Frederic nor Frederick)

further education (all lower case)

g
geopolitical

glasnost (lower case, no italics)

47
The Guardian

guest-edit (v.) / guest-edited (adj.) guest editor

h
Hezbollah

higher education (lower case)

hip hop

Hispanist

Home Rule

i
Iberian peninsula

inter-colony, inter-colonial

internet and intranet (lower case ‘i’)

interrelationship

intertextual

inter-war

intifada (lower case)

j
jouissance

l
Labour Party (UK)

Labor Party (Australia)

Latin American (no hyphen)

life cycle, life form

48
lifespan, lifestyle

Luso-Brazilian

lusophone (all lower case)

m
MA (Master of Arts, a master’s degree)

Maghreb

marketplace

Mass (said Mass, hear Mass. i.e. Catholic term)

master’s degree

McGuffin

media studies (all lower case) unless the name of a specific examination or qualification (e.g. BA Media
Studies)

media (should always be treated as plural)

MFA

micro-organism

micro-organization

mise en abyme (in italics)

mise en scène (in italics)

M.Sc.

multi-centred

multi-layered

multimodal

multinational

multiracial

multi-screen, multi-storey

49
n.d. (for ‘no date’)

n.p. (for ‘no place’)

n.pag. (for ‘no page’)

nation state (no hyphen)

nationwide

neo-liberal
New Wave (but see nouvelle vague below)

the New York Times (no italics on ‘the’)

northern

nouvelle vague (in italics, lower case)

o
off-screen

offstage (all one word, no hyphen)

online

on-screen

onstage

op. cit.

outdate

p
par excellence (no italics)

peer-reviewed (adj.)

peer review (n.)

peer reviewer (n.)

per se (no italics)

Ph.D.

1 p.m.

policy-making, policy-maker

50
postcolonial

postmodern

post-structural, post-structuralism

practice as research

prerequisite

public service broadcasting

Radio 1, Radio 2

reinvention

(Laughton) Report, (but ‘the report’)

roman noir (in italics)

s
screenplay

screenwriter

scriptwriter

Second World War (rather than World War II)

September 11 or 9/11 (if referring to attack on the World Trade Center in 2001)

Sixth Generation Chinese film directors

smallholder

sociocultural

socio-economic

sociopolitical

southern

spaghetti western (lower case)

51
Special Issue

spiritualism

sync, synced

t
takeover

The Times (UK), but the New York Times

Transition to Democracy (the period just after the death of Franco in Spain)

tweet (lower case)

Twitter (upper case)

vice versa (no hyphen)

voice-over

Volume 1, Volume 2 (in body text)

vol. 1, vol. 2 (in references)

voodoo

vs.

w
War on Terror

webcam

website

western society

the West

White (capitalized when referring to a racial, ethnic or cultural context; however, we understand that
some authors may prefer to use a lower case letter for ‘white’ as a protest against White supremacy,
and that is also acceptable)

52
World Trade Center (note US English spelling)

world-view

zeitgeist (lower case, no italics)

53
Using ‘ize’ Endings
We use ‘ize’ rather than ‘ise’ endings where both are generally acceptable. Please note that ‘yze’
endings are not used in UK English (‘analyse’, not ‘analyze’).
There are some words, however, where an ‘ise’ ending must always be used. Some common examples
of these are listed below:

advertise
advise
apprise
arise
comprise
compromise
demise
despise
devise
disenfranchise
disguise
enfranchise
enterprise
excise
exercise
improvise
incise
merchandise
premise
revise
supervise
surmise
surprise
televise

54
Inclusive Language

Introduction to the Inclusive Language Guide

These guidelines are designed to help authors avoid using language that may harm individuals who are
part of minority or marginalized groups. They are not a strict set of rules, but have been put together in
the spirit of inclusivity and respect, values Intellect wishes to champion in all its content.

We suggest referring to this guide particularly when you are writing about communities that you are not
a part of. Intellect editors may challenge language that they deem inappropriate or offensive, but will
always remain open to discussion on the matter. We will not bar authors from talking about their own
identity and experiences using the language they prefer.

As a general rule, you should not refer to a person’s ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, class
or age unless it is relevant to your argument. If you need to refer to any of these characteristics, you
should be as specific as possible to avoid homogenising distinct groups e.g. do not refer to someone as
‘LGBT’ if you know they are transgender or ‘Asian’ if you know they are Chinese.

In many instances, using person-first language – e.g. ‘patient diagnosed with dementia’ rather than
‘dementia patient’ – is preferable, as it prioritises the individual over their characteristic/s. This is the
social model, which Intellect prefers. However we will not bar authors from using the identity-first
model if they feel it is the better choice for their writing.

It is also advisable to use non-judgemental language when comparing groups or individuals – that is,
avoiding ‘better’ or ‘best’ when you could use the more objective more/most/less/least/as likely to X.

Some of the language included in the guide may be used with caution, other terms should be avoided
altogether. It should also be noted that although some initially derogatory terms have been reclaimed
by the communities against which they were initially used, these reclaimed terms should be used with
caution, particularly if you are not part of the community. Further, if offensive terms must be referred to
when referencing sources that use them, they may be used within quote marks, but their use should be
minimized as much as possible.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is always preferable that you sensitively ask the people you feature in
your work about their background and identity than misrepresent them. Please see this guide’s
reference section for extensive resources, or e-mail the diversity team on: naomi@intellectbooks.com.

You can read Intellect’s Ethical Guidelines here.

55
 Age
General tips

● When referring to age groups it is best to avoid informal or vague terms such as ‘OAPs’ as well
as disparaging or infantilising ones. Vague terms can fail to fully represent the different experiences of
that group or imply judgement.
● Try to find a label that describes the specific age group being discussed, such as octogenarians
or teenagers.
● Above all, it is important to avoid any language that reinforces stereotypes such as younger
people as irresponsible or older people as infirm.
● Age descriptors are frequently gendered. Use terms individuals use to self-describe, whether
these are binary ‘female adolescent’, ‘young man’ or non-binary e.g. ‘gender-queer child’ or ‘gender-
fluid woman’. Please refer to the LGBTQ+ and Gender Equality section for further guidance.

Terms to be careful of

Avoid Use

OAPs, the elderly, aged, seniors older adults, older people, people in their sixties,
octogenarians etc. (see tips above)

senile person with dementia

Class
General tips

● Avoid using generalizing terms and be mindful of the negative connotations of some terms such
as ‘the homeless’.
● Terms referring to socio-economic status have historically been used to imply minority ethnic
people. Be explicit in your descriptors e.g. ‘low-income African Americans’ to avoid bias and deficit-
based language. Please refer to the Ethnicity section for further guidance.
● Deficit-based language focuses on what people lack, and can imply blame or judgement for an
individual’s economic status, for instance ‘poorly educated’.

56
Terms to be careful of

Avoid Use*

high-school dropouts, poorly educated people without a high-school diploma, people

without a university degree

the homeless people experiencing homelessness

illegal immigrants, undocumented people people without documents for legal immigration

the poor, poor people people with low incomes, people below the poverty
threshold

welfare mothers mothers who receive income support, mothers who

receive TANF benefits
* See Disability for further guidance on person-first language.

Updated: February 2021

Disability
General tips

● Choose language that is neutral, accurate and represents the preference of the groups to which
it refers, to convey respect and integrity.
● Avoid passive, victim words.
● Use language that respects disabled people as active individuals with control over their own
lives.
● Our accessibility strategy is based on the social model of disability. Under social model thinking,
the person has an impairment and is disabled by oppressive barriers of attitude, structures and
environments in society. Disabled people are anyone with a long-term impairment who is
oppressed and discriminated against because of these barriers. Not everyone uses the social
model and that’s ok. Visit Scope’s webpage at this link for more information about models of
disability.

Avoid Use
able-bodied non-disabled
afflicted by, suffers from, victim of has [name of condition or impairment]
the blind visually impaired person, blind people,

57
 blind and partially sighted people
(is) colour blind (has) colour vision deficiency
cripple, invalid disabled person
deaf and dumb, deaf mute deaf, user of British Sign Language
(BSL), person with a hearing impairment
Down’s, person with Down’s person/people with Down’s Syndrome
dwarf, midget someone with restricted growth or
short stature, person with dwarfism,
people with dwarfism
an epileptic, diabetic, depressive, etc. person with epilepsy, diabetes,
depression or someone who has
epilepsy, diabetes, depression
fits, spells, attacks seizures
(the) handicapped, (the) disabled disabled (people)
hearing impaired D/deaf or hard of hearing. In some
cases, the word Deaf is spelled with a
capital D to refer to members of the
Deaf Community. This would be
appropriate if discussing a cultural
issue.
The use of deaf with the lower-case
spelling more typically refers to a
hearing loss and is appropriate if
cultural issues are not part of the
discussion topic.
mentally handicapped, mentally with a learning disability (singular) with
defective, retarded, subnormal learning disabilities (plural)
mental patient person with a mental health condition
normal non-disabled people/person
spastic person with cerebral palsy
wheelchair-bound, confined to a wheelchair user
wheelchair

Last updated: May 2022

58
 Ethnicity

General tips
● If a person’s ethnicity is not genuinely relevant to your point, don’t mention it.
● It’s better to be as specific as possible when talking about ethnicity to avoid homogenizing
distinct groups.
● A person cannot be described as ‘ethnic’ – we all have ethnicity, so be specific.
● Do not treat White as default – if it’s necessary to mention the ethnicity of people of colour, it’s
likely that you should also mention the ethnicity of White people in the same context.
● If you are listing ethnicities, alphabetize your list; be careful not to default to putting ‘White’
first.
● Capitalize Black, Brown, Indigenous and White when referring to a racial, ethnic or cultural
context. However, we understand that some authors may prefer to use a lower case letter for ‘white’ as
a protest against White supremacy, and that is also acceptable.
● When describing physical characteristics such as hair, ensure you use the correct language and if
necessary double-check with the subject e.g. cornrows, braids.
● Be careful not to conflate ethnicity and nationality. Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani
are ethnic groups and nationalities. When referring to the ethnic group, use ‘people from the Chinese
ethnic group’, not e.g. ‘Chinese people’ (which would suggest nationality).

Terms to be careful of

Avoid Use

Afro-American; Afro-Caribbean African American; African Caribbean (no hyphen)

or Black

BAME/BME people of colour; minority ethnic; BIPOC (Black,

Indigenous and people of colour)

Note that BAME/BME is generally disliked as it’s

often used to homogenize everyone who isn’t
White. The terms above are preferred by many,
but it’s better to be as specific as possible.

Blacks Black people

59
coloured Black; multiracial (see below other preferable
alternatives to ‘mixed race’); people of colour;
minority ethnic; BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and
people of colour)

Be specific if you can.

exotic Calling a person of colour ‘exotic’ is othering. If

relevant, mention their specific ethnicity.

Gypsy (if referring to Roma people in general; Roma, Sinti, Travellers, Ashkali, Manush,
the term is fine if that is the group from which a Jenische, Kaldaresh, Kalé (as appropriate)
person hails e.g. the UK and Ireland are home to
Gypsy groups) Please note that while EU institutions use Roma
as the umbrella term, not all Romani-speaking
groups identify this way, so it’s better to be
specific if possible.

host society society receiving migrants

Indigenous [Nationality] / [Country’s] Indigenous Indigenous people in [Country] (e.g. Indigenous

people people in Canada)

e.g. Many Indigenous people see themselves as a

nation within a nation (hence, e.g. Indigenous
Indigenous Canadians/Canada’s Indigenous Canadians is not appropriate).
people
Using [Country’s] Indigenous people is
paternalistic and implies ownership.

Jew - used in a derogatory way or as a verb Only use the term to factually refer to someone
of Jewish ethnicity and/or someone who
practises Judaism

Kurd/s; Kurdish (if referring in general to those Kurdistani/s

living in Kurdistan)
The term Kurdistani is more inclusive than 'Kurd'
or 'Kurdish', because it refers to everyone in the
region instead of to a specific ethnicity.
However, not everyone identifies as 'Kurdistani';

60
 it is generally most popular with younger
generations.

minority/minorities when used to refer to an Be specific about the person/people’s ethnicity

individual/individuals (as far as is relevant).

e.g. there are three minorities on the board Minority ethnic (which prioritizes minority over
ethnic and better conveys that we all belong to
an ethnic group).

You can also use people of colour + its variations

(women of colour, academics of colour, etc.).

Use only as a mass noun.

Bear in mind that ‘ethnic minorities’ as a term

can include White minorities i.e. in the UK
anyone outside White British would be in a
minority ethnic group.

Make sure if you do use ‘minorities’ the group

should be a minority in the context – either
numerically or according to power held.

mixed; mixed people; mixed race people Biracial/multiracial (be aware not all bi- or
multiracial people will want to identify in this
way and you should check); people with a mixed
ethnic background; people from the mixed
ethnic group; dual heritage

Native/Aboriginal Indigenous

non-White people of colour; minority ethnic (excluding

White minorities); BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and
people of colour)

oriental (when referring to a person) Asian, Chinese, Japanese (as appropriate)

61
race ethnicity

Ethnicity is the social group a person belongs to,

and either identifies with or is identified with by
others, as a result of a mix of cultural and other
factors including language, diet, religion,
ancestry and physical features traditionally
associated with race. It is self-defined and may
change over time.

Meanwhile, race is controversial as there is no

objective set of categories and categorizing by
appearance is of questionable validity when
studies have found 93-95% genetic variation is
within commonly recognized ‘racial’ groups.

racially diverse (when you mean ‘not White’) people of colour; minority ethnic (excluding
White minorities); BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and
people of colour)

redskin Indigenous People/s; Indigenous people in

America

When this term came into use Indigenous

Peoples were being violently removed from their
land; it is a slur

slave1 enslaved (people, mothers, workers, artisans,

children, etc). Using enslaved (as an adjective)
disaggregates the condition of being enslaved
with the status of ‘being’ a slave. People
aren’t/weren’t slaves; they are/were enslaved.

If possible, use the enslaved people’s names

when referring to them in your work.

slave master/slaveholder/slave owner enslaver

The term ‘master’ transmits the aspirations and

values of the enslaving class without naming the
practices they engaged.

1
Although ethnicity and slavery are not necessarily related, discourse around slavery is often connected
to power dynamics around ethnicity, hence its inclusion in this section.

62
 Alternatives: those who claimed people as
property, those who held people in slavery.

slave mistress/enslaved mistress Enslaved person who survived sexual violence;

also consider centring the abuser’s crimes and
slave breeding/breeders referring to them as an abuser or rapist, or
enslaver who sexually abused those they
slave concubine/enslaved concubine enslaved. Never refer to sexual abuse of the
enslaved as ‘sex’.

Forced reproduction

Third World developing countries

If necessary to use e.g. when discussing sources

that use the term, ‘Third World’ may be used
within quote marks, but its use should be
minimised as much as possible.

The term has negative connotations, which

include characterizing nations or people as
uncivilized/primitive.

tribe (used as a generic term in reference to nation; people

Indigenous Peoples in the US)
Not all Indigenous nations in the US have been
allowed to gain recognition as a tribe, so it’s best
to research the specific nation you are writing
about, and avoid ‘tribe’ if not.

Do not use tribe to refer to a sports team or

social circle.

West Indian African Caribbean, if referring to those of African

descent. However be careful as this can
homogenize various distinct groups of Black
people in this culturally diverse area.

White Gypsy/Roma ethnic group White Gypsy and Roma ethnic group (using a
slash in this instance implies that the groups are
the same).

Last updated: February 2022

63
 LGBTQ+ and Gender Equality
General tips
● LGBTQIA+ is itself not seen as an inclusive term by some, and although we recommend the use
of LGBTQIA+ or 2SLGBTQIA+ in general (the latter including Two Spirit people, an identity found in
some Indigenous groups), varied perspectives should be taken into account. We respect authors’ rights
to use any initialisms they are comfortable with and are applicable to their work: LGBTQ+, LGBT, GLBT,
QIPOC and any others are all valid.

● Be careful of using historically derogatory terms, even those that may be reclaimed by LGBTQ+
people, such as ‘fag’, ‘dyke’ or ‘queer’. Similarly, any phrase that suggests being LGBTQ+ is shameful,
negative or a preference, should be avoided.

● Try not to generalize about the people you are discussing. Terms like ‘gay lifestyle’ can
undermine the diversity of LGBTQ+ experience, and should be avoided. Similarly, do not use LGBTQ+ as
a catch-all term if you are not discussing an issue that affects all parts of the initialism; e.g. doesn’t affect
transgender people or bisexual people, etc.
● Use the guidance of the person you are discussing in order to determine if specific terms apply
to them. The way someone defines themselves may not be obvious, nor does it need to be.
● It is never appropriate to refer to someone’s pronouns or name in quotation marks (‘she’ said,
‘Elliott’ said), or in any other way that invalidates them. This includes other derogatory terms such as
‘he/she’, ‘(wo)man’, ‘it’, ‘shim’, ‘she-male’.
● Avoid gender-biased descriptions that reinforce gender stereotypes. A good way to check if the
language is gender-biased is to change the gender used within your sentence.
● Questions to ask yourself:
○ Have you used ‘man’ or ‘men’ or words containing them to refer to people who may not be
men?
○ If you have mentioned someone’s sex or gender, was it necessary to do so?
○ Do you use any occupational (or other) stereotypes?
○ Do you provide the same kinds of information and descriptions when writing about people of
different genders?
○ Have you used ‘he’, ‘him’, ‘his’, or ‘himself’ to refer to people who may not use he/him
pronouns?
● Avoid gendered metaphorical expressions; e.g. Mother Nature, Father Time
● If you are unsure of a person’s pronouns and are not able to check them, we suggest using ‘they’
and ‘their’ as a gender neutral singular pronoun:
o Use they or their instead of he or she: Before a production editor sends a book to be copy-edited,
they need to ensure it has passed peer review.
o Use they when referring to generic subjects: Production editors must familiarise themselves with
the revised production bible.

64
 o Use the pronoun one: An author in the UK might reply to an e-mail earlier in the day than one in
the US.
o Use the relative pronoun who: A peer reviewer who has completed their review, will be entitled
to choose three books.
o Use the passive voice: The author of a communication must have direct and reliable evidence of
the situation being described.

Terms to be careful of

Avoid Use

Bathroom Bill Refer to the specific law / ordinance. The term

‘bathroom bill’ is politically charged. It can be seen as
simplifying arguments on both sides, and politicizing
the role of public bathrooms when discussing
complex nondiscrimination laws.

biologically male, biologically female, born male, born assigned, designated or assumed… at birth.
female
Use with care, as these terms can be problematic. A
person’s gender can be a complex mixture of biology
and gender identity and should not be simplified,
even if they do identify with the sex assigned at birth.
‘Assigned… at birth’ is seen as more inclusive.

deviant, disordered, perverted… Terms like these suggest that being LGBTQ+ is a
psychological illness, and should be avoided. If they
are used to analyse a historical attitude towards the
LGBTQ+ community, the bias within this use of
language should be clearly shown.

freshman first-year student

gay agenda, homosexual agenda Refer to the specific issue being discussed by activist
special rights groups. Use equal rights or equal protection.

‘Gay agenda’ or ‘homosexual agenda’ are politically

charged terms used to imply a unified, sinister and
dangerous motive behind LGBTQ+ activism.

Gender Identity Disorder (GID) Gender Dysphoria

GID is an outdated term, and should be avoided. Not

all transgender people have or desire a clinical
diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

65
gender-bender, gender-bending Use with care, self-referentially, or with the guidance
of the person you are discussing. Not synonymous
with gender fluid, gender nonconforming,
genderqueer, non-binary, etc.

gendered occupational terms: gender-neutral occupational terms:

- chairman - chair, chairperson, coordinator, head
- policeman - police officer
- fireman - fire fighter
- steward, stewardess, air hostess - flight attendant
- actor, actress - actor
- congressman - congressional representative
- mailman/postman - mail carrier, letter carrier, postal worker

hermaphrodite intersex

Note that intersexuality does not imply someone’s

sexual orientation or gender identity.

homosexual gay, gay person, lesbian, bisexual, queer, etc. as

appropriate.

Homosexual has a clinical and negative association

and has been used by anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns.

man (when referring to a hypothetical individual, or person, individual

humanity in general)

man-made machine-made, synthetic, artificial

mankind human beings, humanity, people

manpower staffing

practising, avowed, admitted, confessed, ‘Out’ or openly is preferred, as other terms have
acknowledged [gay person] more negative, shameful or confessional
connotations. Some people also choose to avoid
‘openly’.

pre-op / post-op transition / transitioning

pre-operative / post-operative
Use of pre- or post-op suggests that a person must
undergo surgery in order to transition, which is not
the case. Avoid overemphasizing the role of surgery.

preferred pronouns pronouns

male pronouns
female pronouns Pronouns are not necessarily tied to someone’s
gender identity or biology.

66
 sex change/sex change operation Gender Confirmation Surgery
Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS)
SRS is a term still used by some medical professionals,
but it can also be seen as reductive.

sexual preference sexual orientation, orientation

sodomy, sodomite A derogatory term, used to demonize and criminalize

certain sexual acts. If these terms are used to explain
a legal or historical position, the bias within the use of
language should be clearly shown.

the common man the average person

a transgender / transgenders (n.) a transgender person

transgendered person
transgenderism Transgender should be used as an adjective, not a
noun or a participial adjective ‘transgendered’. Terms
such as ‘transgenderism’ are more often used by anti-
transgender campaigns to suggest that being
transgender is a condition.

transsexual (adj.) Transsexual is not an umbrella term nor a synonym

for ‘transgender’ - it should be used with care, self-
referentially, or with the guidance of the person you
are discussing. Transsexual should not be used as a
noun. ‘Tranny’ is often a derogatory word and should
be avoided.

transvestite An outdated and often derogatory word. ‘Cross-

dresser’ can be seen as more appropriate, though the
person’s preference should take priority. Neither
‘cross-dresser’ or ‘transvestite’ indicate that a person
is transgender, or gay. Not synonymous with drag
queen or drag king.

Last updated: September 2022

Religion

General tips
● Be mindful that sweeping generalizations might ignore denominational differences within a
certain religious movement, or unnecessarily conflate terms (note the Arab/Muslim distinction drawn
below).

67
 ● Consider any gendered references to figures of worship in your work, and whether they owe
themselves to necessity (biblical exegesis, for instance), or prejudice.
● Consistency of capitalization is most important:
○ Employ the lower-case ‘god/goddess’ when discussing polytheistic religion(s) or using as a
common noun.
○ Exceptions may be made if quoting directly from scripture (in most standardized versions of the
Bible, for instance, non-specific uses of the term ‘god’ are often capitalized, and reverential
capitalization used, e.g. ‘Him’, ‘His’, ‘He’).
○ Ensure that all appearances of deistic names as proper nouns are capitalized.
○ If using gendered pronouns in reference to God outside of direct quotation, remain consistent in
your application/exclusion of capitals.
● Dysphemisms that stereotype religious tradition (such as ‘Bible-basher’) are, when used
interpretatively, often inappropriate and serve to compromise the standing of an academic text.
● Be careful not to inadvertently ostracize religious or social groups through your terminological
choices. Question whether labels such as ‘BC/AD’ are appropriate.
● Be careful not to inadvertently express ableism through your terminological choices. Question
whether expressions such as ‘standing up for one’s beliefs’ serve as the best turn of phrase

Terms to be careful of

Avoid Use

Arab (not all Arabs are Muslim – or, indeed, Muslim

inclined to any religion – and vice versa)

BC/AD (numbering of years) BCE/CE

He/His/Father (gendered pronouns bind us Utilize names: God/Allah/Yahweh, etc. or in a

necessarily to a particular orthodoxy or non-specific milieu: Parent/Creator
metaphorical range that excludes – in this
particular case, a patriarchal subtext reigns) Also god/goddess (lower case) when concerning
polytheistic religions

Jew – used in a derogatory way or as a verb Only use the term to factually refer to someone
of Jewish ethnicity and/or someone who practises
Judaism

Kingdom/Princedom Domain/Realm/Sphere/House

Layman/Laywoman/Clergyman Layperson/Minister/Leader/Ecclesiastic

68
 Master/Son/Lord/Son of God (ordinarily referring Teacher/Child (of God)/Heir/Sovereign (advocacy
to Jesus) also of ‘The Human One’)

pagan (lower case – suggestive of non-Christian Pagan (capitalized, to reference revived religions,
belief) such as Wicca and Druidry, or Indigenous
religions, such as Romuva, Voudun or Santeria)

Pejorative expressions/Dysphemisms:

Bible bash/God bother Proselytize/Promote/Discuss

To ‘jew’ Bargain/Negotiate/Barter

Vision/‘Standing up for one’s beliefs’ (the latter Aspiration/Values/‘Sticking up for one another’
two examples betray a veiled ableism)

Last updated: February 2021

References
Age and Class
APA Style
Butcher’s Copy-Editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-Editors and Proofreaders
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Language of Ageism: Why We Need to Use Words Carefully
New Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide
Purdue Online Writing Lab

Ethnicity
Black British Academics
British Sociological Association
European Network Against Racism
Foreman, P. Gabrielle et al. (2022), ‘Writing about slavery/teaching about slavery: This might help’, community-
sourced document.
Gov.uk
Iraq since the Invasion: People and Politics in a State of Conflict
The Kurds of Iraq: Ethnonationalism and National Identity in Iraqi Kurdistan

69
Lexico
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
Radical Copyeditor 1
Radical Copyeditor 2
Scottish Public Health Observatory
Style Guide for Reporting on Indigenous People
United Nations
University of Cambridge

LGBTQ+ and Gender Equality

Associated Press Stylebook
GLAAD Media Reference guide
NABJ style guide
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists
Pink News - The Ultimate LGBT Glossary
Re:searching for LGBTQ2S+ Health
Stonewall
The Language of Inclusion, 3rd edition
The Writing Center
United Nations: Gender-Inclusive Language
University of North Carolina: Gender-Inclusive Language
YMCA Canada

Religion
18F Content Guide
Black Flag Theology
British Council
Campaign Against Anti-Semitism
GSMA Inclusive Language Guide
Journal for the Study of Religion
Metropolitan Community Churches
Religion Stylebook
Religious Education
Rider University

70
intellect