Referencing and citation for history essays
History essays require a specific form of citation. Throughout the text you should use footnotes when:
● you provide information that is not common knowledge.
● you give an idea that is not your own.
● you quote directly from a reading.
Footnotes can be inserted in Word by going to the ‘insert’ tab and selecting ‘footnote’. A pop up menu may ask you to confirm the style of numbering (choose numbers rather than letters or Roman numerals) and to select footnote (bottom of the page) as opposed to endnote (end of document). Once you have done this a superscript (small and raised) number will appear and you will be taken to the bottom of the page to provide the reference.
FOOTNOTES
Single author book Author Name, Title of book (City, Year), page number.
If you cite the same book a second time you can abbreviate by using only the author’s surname and a short form of the title.
Example:
First footnote: Juliana Adelman, History is awesome (Dublin, 2010), p. 10.
Second footnote: Adelman, History, p. 10.
Chapter from an edited (multiauthor) book
Author Name, ‘Title of chapter’, in Editor Name (ed.), Title of book (City, Year), pages.
Example:
First footnote: Juliana Adelman, ‘I like history’ in Matthew Stout (ed.), History is fun (Dublin, 2015), pp 2-6.
Second footnote: Adelman, ‘I like history’, pp 2-6.
Article from periodical/journal
Author Name, ‘Title of article’, Title of periodical, volume:issue (Year), pages.
Example:
First footnote: Juliana Adelman, ‘History rocks’, Journal of History, xxii, no.1 (2012), pp 4-7.
Second footnote: Adelman, ‘History rocks’, pp 4-7.
Primary sources (documents from the past)
You do not have to cite these, but if you wish to do so the following is a suggested format: Author Name, Title of document (Year), page number.
This won’t work for works of art which you could refer to as follows: Artist Name, Title of painting (Year).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
At the end of the essay you should provide a bibliography. The bibliography is a list of the sources you have used for the essay. They should be listed in alphabetical order by the author’s SURNAME. The format is very similar to the first time you reference something in a footnote.
Adelman, Juliana, History is awesome (Dublin, 2010).
Adelman, Juliana, ‘I like history’ in Matthew Stout (ed.), History is fun (Dublin, 2015), pp 2-6.
Adelman, Juliana, ‘History rocks’, Journal of History, xxii, no.1 (2012), pp 4-7.