• 3-minute read
• 9th June 2022

How to Cite an Unpublished Conference Paper in MHRA

Papers presented at an academic conference are usually published as “conference proceedings,” and you would cite them in a similar way to journal articles or chapters from a book. But what if the conference paper hasn’t been published? MHRA referencing has special rules for citing unpublished conference papers, and in today’s post, we’ll guide you through them.

Citing an Unpublished Conference Paper in MHRA Referencing

In MHRA referencing, you use superscript numbers in the text that correlate with footnotes. The number is always placed after the end punctuation, like this:

MHRA style was developed by the Modern Humanities Research Association.¹

The relevant footnote, which provides the information source, is placed at the bottom of the same page. In the case of an unpublished conference paper, the format is as follows:

^n. Author’s Name, “Title of Paper,” unpublished paper delivered at the conference “Name of Conference,” (Venue, Date), Page Number(s).

So, an example of a footnote for an unpublished conference paper might look like this:

^2. Montgomery Scott, “Will Neuro Radionic Mechanisms Bring Down the Aviation Industry?” unpublished paper delivered at the conference “Quantum Physics: Implications for Tourism,” (University of Aberdeen, April 13–14, 2017), pp. 42–48.

If you refer to the same source again, you only need to cite the surname and the pinpoint reference (e.g., ⁵Scott, p. 53). However, if the citations are consecutive, you can use the Latin term ibid (i.e., in the same place) instead:

^2. Montgomery Scott, “Will Neuro Radionic Mechanisms Bring Down the Aviation Industry?” unpublished paper delivered at the conference “Quantum Physics: Implications for Tourism,” (University of Aberdeen, April 13–14, 2017), pp. 42–48.

^3. Ibid., p. 50.

Unpublished Conference Papers in an MHRA Bibliography

In addition to the footnotes, any unpublished conference papers cited in your work must be included in the bibliography. The formatting for the bibliography entry should be almost the same as the footnote, but with three differences: the surname comes before the first name, the pinpoint reference is removed, and there is no period at the end.

Therefore, our above example would appear in the bibliography like this:

Scott, Montgomery, “Will Neuro Radionic Mechanisms Bring Down the Aviation Industry?” unpublished paper delivered at the conference “Quantum Physics: Implications for Tourism,” (University of Aberdeen, April 13–14, 2017)

Note that a hanging indent is used for each line after the first.

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