Select your source type

Click the source-type chip that matches your source: Journal Article, Book, Website, Newspaper, Report, or Thesis. The input fields update automatically to show only what's needed for that format.

2

Choose a citation style

Pick APA 7th Edition, MLA 9th Edition, or Chicago 17th Edition from the Citation Style dropdown. You can switch styles at any time — the citation regenerates instantly.

3

Fill in the author and year

Enter the author's last name and first name in separate fields. For APA, the generator converts the first name to initials automatically. Enter the four-digit publication year (leave blank for undated sources — APA will show 'n.d.').

4

Add the title and publisher details

Type the title of the article, book, or page. Then fill in the journal name, publisher, or website name in the Journal/Publisher field — its label changes based on your selected source type. Add volume, issue, and page range for journal and newspaper articles.

5

Copy the formatted reference

The Reference, In-Text, and (for Chicago) Footnote sections update as you type. Click 'Copy Citation' to copy all three to your clipboard in plain text, ready to paste into Word, Google Docs, or any reference manager.

6

Use Bulk Entry for reference lists

Switch to the Bulk Entry tab to generate up to 10 citations at once. Add a row for each source, fill in the fields, click Generate All, then Copy All to get a numbered reference list in one click.

APA 7th Edition — Journal Article

Author, A. A. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/...

Author last name followed by initials. Year in parentheses. Article title in sentence case (not italicised). Journal name italicised. Volume italicised, issue in parentheses, page range.

MLA 9th Edition — Journal Article

Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, Year, pp. X–X.

Author in Last, First format. Article title in double quotes. Journal name italicised. Volume, issue number, year, and page range separated by commas.

Chicago 17th — Footnote vs. Bibliography

Footnote: First Last, "Title," Journal vol, no. (Year): pages. Bibliography: Last, First. "Title." Journal vol, no. (Year): pages.

Chicago uses two formats: footnotes cite sources inline (First Last order), while the bibliography at the end uses Last, First order. The generator outputs both.

DOI Digital Object Identifier — a permanent URL that links to a published article. Format: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx. APA 7 and Chicago 17 include the DOI at the end of journal citations; MLA uses it only when no URL is available.

Bibliography A list of all sources cited in a paper, arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. APA calls this list the 'Reference List'; MLA calls it 'Works Cited'; Chicago uses 'Bibliography' for both notes-bibliography and author-date styles.

In-text citation A short reference placed inside the body of your paper, pointing the reader to the full entry in the bibliography. APA uses (Author, Year); MLA uses (Author page); Chicago author-date uses (Author Year).

Works Cited MLA's term for the bibliography page — a list of every source you quoted, paraphrased, or summarised in your paper, formatted in MLA style.

Hanging indent The standard formatting for bibliography entries: the first line is flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 inches (1.27 cm). Most word processors apply this automatically when you select the 'hanging indent' paragraph option.

et al. Latin for 'and others.' Used when a source has more than two authors (MLA) or more than two authors (APA 7). APA: list up to 20 authors before using et al.; MLA: list the first author followed by et al. for sources with three or more authors.

n.d. Abbreviation for 'no date,' used in APA 7 citations when no publication or update year can be found. Appears in place of the year in both the reference list entry and the in-text citation.

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Graduate student — psychology paper

APA 7th journal article citation

Author Last Smith Author First Jane Year 2022 Title Cognitive load in online learning Journal Journal of Educational Psychology Volume/Issue/Pages 114(3), 487–502 DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000721

APA result: Smith, J. (2022). Cognitive load in online learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(3), 487–502. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000721. In-text: (Smith, 2022). The journal name and volume number are italicised; the article title is in sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalised).

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Undergraduate — English literature essay

MLA 9th book citation

Author Last Atwood Author First Margaret Year 1985 Title The Handmaid's Tale Publisher McClelland and Stewart

MLA result: Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. McClelland and Stewart, 1985. In-text: (Atwood 47) — include the page number of the specific passage you're citing. Book titles are italicised in MLA; publisher name comes after the title, followed by the year.

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Researcher — Chicago footnote for a website

Chicago 17th website citation

Author Last Johnson Author First Mark Year 2023 Title How AI is changing peer review Website Name Science News URL https://www.sciencenews.org/ai-peer-review

Chicago footnote: Mark Johnson, "How AI is changing peer review," Science News, 2023, https://www.sciencenews.org/ai-peer-review. Bibliography: Johnson, Mark. "How AI is changing peer review." Science News. 2023. https://www.sciencenews.org/ai-peer-review. Footnote uses First Last order; bibliography uses Last, First.

APA, MLA, and Chicago are the three most common citation styles in academic writing, each developed for a specific set of disciplines. Choosing the wrong one can cost marks — understanding the key differences helps you format correctly the first time.

APA 7th Edition — Science, Psychology, and Social Sciences

APA (American Psychological Association) style emphasises the date of publication, reflecting the fast-moving nature of scientific research. In-text citations always include the author's last name and year — (Smith, 2022) — so readers immediately know how current a source is. The reference list at the end of the paper is organised alphabetically and uses hanging indents.

APA 7 (the current edition, released 2019) simplified several rules: you no longer need to include the location of the publisher for books, running heads are required only for manuscripts submitted for publication, and DOIs are formatted as hyperlinks (https://doi.org/…). For sources with up to 20 authors, list all of them; for 21 or more, list the first 19, an ellipsis, and the last author.

MLA 9th Edition — Humanities and Literature

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used in literary studies, languages, and the humanities. It emphasises the author and page number in in-text citations — (Atwood 47) — because humanities scholars frequently quote specific passages. MLA uses a 'Works Cited' page rather than a 'Reference List.'

MLA 9 (released 2021) introduced a container model: every source exists inside a larger container (a journal, a database, a website) and you list the container name in italics after the article title. This makes it easier to cite the same article found through different databases. MLA 9 also dropped the requirement to include a URL access date for most web sources.

Chicago 17th Edition — History and the Humanities

Chicago style comes in two flavours: Notes-Bibliography (used in history, art, and literature) and Author-Date (used in the sciences and social sciences). The Notes-Bibliography system uses footnotes or endnotes in the body of the paper, plus a full bibliography at the end. This style is favoured when authors need to include detailed commentary in notes without breaking the flow of the main text.

The key distinction between the footnote and bibliography entry is the author-name order: footnotes use First Last (e.g., Jane Smith) while bibliography entries use Last, First (Smith, Jane). This generator outputs both automatically when you select Chicago 17.

Which style should you use?

If your instructor or journal has not specified a style, a general rule of thumb: APA for sciences, social sciences, education, and psychology; MLA for literature, languages, film, and cultural studies; Chicago for history, philosophy, theology, and fine arts. When in doubt, ask your instructor — they often have a strong preference even when the syllabus does not specify one.

How do I cite a website in APA 7th edition?+

Select 'Website' as the source type, choose APA 7, and fill in the author, year, title, website name (in the Journal/Publisher field), and URL. The generator produces: Author, A. A. (Year). Page title. Website Name. URL. If there is no author, start the citation with the page title. If there is no date, use 'n.d.' in the year field.

What changed in APA 7th vs. APA 6th edition?+

The most important changes in APA 7 (2019): (1) Publisher location is no longer required for books; (2) DOIs are formatted as active hyperlinks (https://doi.org/…) rather than the older doi: prefix; (3) up to 20 authors are listed before using an ellipsis; (4) running heads are now optional for most papers; (5) new guidance for citing social media, YouTube, podcasts, and other digital sources.

What is the difference between MLA and APA?+

APA and MLA differ in three main ways: (1) In-text format: APA uses (Author, Year); MLA uses (Author page). (2) Author format: APA abbreviates first names to initials; MLA writes the full first name. (3) Emphasis: APA's date-first format reflects currency of research; MLA's page-number focus supports close textual analysis. Use APA for science, MLA for literature and humanities.

What is a DOI and do I always need one?+

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent alphanumeric code assigned to a published article — it always links to the same document even if the journal moves to a new website. Include a DOI whenever one is available. If the article has no DOI but is available online, use the stable URL to the journal's homepage. If the article was only read in print, no URL or DOI is needed.

Can I use this generator for Chicago footnotes?+

Yes — select Chicago 17th Edition and the generator outputs both the footnote (First Last, 'Title,' Journal…) and the bibliography entry (Last, First. 'Title.' Journal…) simultaneously. Copy the footnote text for in-paper notes and the bibliography text for the reference list at the end of your paper. Note that this generator covers the Notes-Bibliography style; the Author-Date style is structurally similar to APA and is not shown separately.

Source	APA 7th	MLA 9th	Chicago 17th
Journal	Author, A. (Year). Title. Journal, vol(issue), pp. DOI	Last, First. "Title." Journal, vol., no., Year, pp.	Last, First. "Title." Journal vol, no. (Year): pp. DOI.
Book	Author, A. (Year). Title. Publisher.	Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year.	Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year.
Website	Author, A. (Year). Title. Site Name. URL	Last, First. "Title." Site Name, Year, URL.	Last, First. "Title." Site Name. Year. URL.
Newspaper	Author, A. (Year). Title. Paper, pp.	Last, First. "Title." Paper, Year, pp.	Last, First. "Title." Paper, Year.
Report	Author, A. (Year). Title. Publisher.	Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year.	Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year.
Thesis	Author, A. (Year). Title [Doctoral dissertation, Institution].	Last, First. "Title." Institution, Year.	Last, First. "Title." PhD diss., Institution, Year.

Citation Generator

Citation Details

Formatted Citation

Quick Reference

Bulk Entry

How to Use This Calculator

Select your source type

Choose a citation style

Fill in the author and year

Add the title and publisher details

Copy the formatted reference

Use Bulk Entry for reference lists

Formula & Methodology

Key Terms Explained

Real-World Examples

Graduate student — psychology paper

Undergraduate — English literature essay

Researcher — Chicago footnote for a website

APA, MLA, and Chicago: Which Citation Style Do You Need?

APA 7th Edition — Science, Psychology, and Social Sciences

MLA 9th Edition — Humanities and Literature

Chicago 17th Edition — History and the Humanities

Which style should you use?

Frequently Asked Questions

Citation Generator

Citation Details

Formatted Citation

Quick Reference

Bulk Entry

How to Use This Calculator

Select your source type

Choose a citation style

Fill in the author and year

Add the title and publisher details

Copy the formatted reference

Use Bulk Entry for reference lists

Formula & Methodology

Key Terms Explained

Real-World Examples

APA, MLA, and Chicago: Which Citation Style Do You Need?

APA 7th Edition — Science, Psychology, and Social Sciences

MLA 9th Edition — Humanities and Literature

Chicago 17th Edition — History and the Humanities

Which style should you use?

Frequently Asked Questions

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