How do I cite a letter in Harvard?

To cite a letter in Harvard (Cite Them Right), include the author, title, date, and source location. Use our free citation generator for automatic formatting.

What does the in-text citation look like for a letter in Harvard?

In Harvard, the in-text citation for the example above is (Adams, 1963, p. 370)

How to Cite a Letter in Harvard (Cite Them Right)

Learn how to cite published letters, letters in archives, and open letters in Harvard format (Cite Them Right). This guide includes the reference list format, in-text citation examples, and key formatting rules.

Harvard Reference List Format

Here is the standard Harvard format for citing a letter in your reference list:

Writer, A. (Year) ‘Letter to Recipient, Day Month Year’, in Editor, A. (ed.) Title of collection. Vol. #. Place: Publisher, pp. xx–xx.

Harvard Example for a Letter

A complete Harvard reference for a letter, written by hand and checked against the official Harvard guidance for this source:

Adams, A. (1963) ‘Letter to John Adams, 31 March 1776’, in Butterfield, L.H. (ed.) Adams family correspondence. Vol. 1. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, pp. 369–371.

Matching in-text citation: (Adams, 1963, p. 370)

Harvard In-Text Citation

Use one of these formats when referencing this source within your paper:

Parenthetical

(Adams, 1963, p. 370)

Narrative

Adams (1963, p. 370) urged…

Key Harvard Formatting Rules

Cite a letter in a published collection like a chapter in an edited book, with the collection’s year and the letter’s own date in its title.
Put the collection title in italics after the editor and (ed.), then the place, publisher and page range.
For a letter in an archive, give the writer, year, a description such as Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, the full date, then the collection and the archive with its location.
A private letter that readers cannot consult is a personal communication: Sender (Year) Letter to Recipient, Day Month.

Step-by-Step Guide

Gather source information: Collect the author name, title, publication date, and URL or DOI for your letter.
Format the reference: Arrange the elements following the Harvard (Cite Them Right) template shown above.
Create the in-text citation: Add a parenthetical or narrative citation in your paper where you reference this source.
Add to your reference list: Include the full formatted citation at the end of your paper.
Double-check formatting: Verify italics, punctuation, capitalization, and hanging indents match Harvard requirements.

Evidence and review notes

Worked examples on this page are written by hand from the style's own published guidance and checked against it, because the general CSL styles do not encode this source's rules. Editorial guidance and sources in this section were reviewed on 2026-08-14.

Metadata to collect

writer and recipient
date the letter was written
collection title, editor, publisher, year and pages, if published
collection name, box or folder, and repository, if archival
URL of a digitized copy, if you used one

Common metadata traps

A private letter sent to you that no reader can consult is a personal communication; cite it the way the email page shows, not with the formats below.
In a published collection the editor’s heading is not the letter’s title; describe the letter by writer, recipient and date.
An open letter printed in a newspaper or posted online is cited as that article or web page, with the publication that carried it.

Editorial sources

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a letter in Harvard?: To cite a letter in Harvard (Cite Them Right), include the author, title, date, and source location. Use our free citation generator for automatic formatting.
What is the Harvard format for a letter citation?: The Harvard format for a letter is: Writer, A. (Year) ‘Letter to Recipient, Day Month Year’, in Editor, A. (ed.) Title of collection. Vol. #. Place: Publisher, pp. xx–xx.
What does the in-text citation look like for a letter in Harvard?: In Harvard, the in-text citation for the example above is (Adams, 1963, p. 370)