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ABNT reference generator
Make references by Brazil’s NBR 6023:2018 and citations by NBR 10520:2023: surnames in capitals, the title highlighted, place and publisher, and “Disponível em” and “Acesso em” for online sources.
Citation style
Your citation
The reference appears here as you type.
Titles follow the style’s capitals. Check that names in a title still start with a capital letter.
In-text citation
- Parenthetical
- Narrative
Your bibliography
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In your own order. Sort A–Z puts it back in the style’s order.
Fill in the form and press Add to bibliography to start your list.
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How ABNT references work
An ABNT reference starts with the surname in capitals, then the given names: SILVA, Ana Maria. Up to three authors are separated by semicolons. An organization is written in full, in capitals. With no author, the entry starts with the title, its first word in capitals.
The main title is highlighted (usually in bold) and the subtitle isn’t. For an article or chapter the highlight moves to the journal or the book. Books give the edition from the second on (2. ed.) and the place and publisher: São Paulo: Atlas, 2019.
Online sources end with the address and the access date: Disponível em: … Acesso em: 12 mar. 2024. In the text, cite the surname and year in upper and lower case: (Silva, 2020) or Silva (2020).
Examples
- Book
-
ROSA, João Guimarães. Grande sertão: veredas. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1956.
In the text: (Rosa, 1956) Rosa (1956)
- Journal article
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KENG, Shao-Hsun; LIN, Chun-Hung; ORAZEM, Peter F. Expanding college access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on graduate quality and income inequality. Journal of Human Capital, v. 11, n. 1, p. 1-34, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
In the text: (Keng; Lin; Orazem, 2017) Keng, Lin e Orazem (2017)
- Web page
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YALE UNIVERSITY. About Yale: Yale facts. [s. d.]. Disponível em: https://www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts. Acesso em: 1 maio 2017.
In the text: (Yale University, [s. d.]) Yale University ([s. d.])
How to make an ABNT reference
- Choose the kind of source and fill in its details, including the city and publisher for books.
- For anything online, add the URL and the date you accessed it: ABNT ends online references with “Disponível em” and “Acesso em”.
- Copy the reference into your REFERÊNCIAS list and use the citation, such as (Silva, 2020, p. 15), in your text.
Questions
Which ABNT standards does this follow?
References follow NBR 6023:2018 and citations in the text follow NBR 10520:2023, the current versions. The 2023 citation standard writes authors in upper and lower case, (Silva, 2020), where the 2002 version used capitals inside parentheses.
Bold or italics for the title?
NBR 6023 lets you choose bold, italics or underlining for the highlighted title, as long as the whole list uses the same. Bold is the most common choice in Brazil and is the default here; switch to italics in the ABNT options if your institution prefers it.
What about four or more authors?
NBR 6023:2018 recommends naming every author but allows the first followed by et al. Choose either in the ABNT options. In the text, four or more authors are cited as (Silva et al., 2020).
What if there’s no date?
ABNT asks for an approximate date in brackets rather than leaving it out. Type a year with a question mark, such as 2019?, to get [2019?]. If you can’t estimate one, the reference shows [s. d.] (sem data) so you can see what’s missing.
Are references in Portuguese even on this English page?
Yes. ABNT is a Brazilian standard, so its words (In:, Disponível em, Acesso em, month abbreviations such as mar.) are always in Portuguese, whatever the language of the page.