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Citation generator
Make references and in-text citations in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17 or ABNT for web pages, books, articles, videos and more. Build a bibliography, then copy it with the italics intact or download it.
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
No sources yet
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.
Your list stays in this browser on this device. Download it to keep a copy.
What you type stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
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How to cite a source
- Choose the style your teacher or journal asks for, then the kind of source: a web page, a book, a journal article, a video and so on.
- Type the details as they appear on the source. Paste a DOI or a link and it lands in the right box; paste a list of names such as “Smith, Ana; Lee, Bo” and each becomes an author.
- Check the reference and the in-text citation as they update, then press Add to bibliography. Switch styles at any time: the whole list is formatted again.
- Copy the list into your document with its italics, or download it as a Word-ready .rtf file, a web page, plain text or BibTeX.
Questions
Which citation style should I use?
The one your assignment, teacher or journal names. As a rough guide, APA is common in psychology, education and the sciences, MLA in literature and languages, Chicago in history and the arts, and ABNT in Brazilian schools and universities. When in doubt, ask: a style mix-up costs marks.
Does it look up my source on the internet?
No. It never fetches web pages and never looks up DOIs or ISBNs, because that would send what you’re researching to another server. You type the details from the source itself, which is also the surest way to get them right. Pasting helps: a DOI or a link goes into its own box, and a list of names is split into authors.
Where is my bibliography saved?
In this browser on this device, and nowhere else. It’s still there when you come back, but it doesn’t follow you to another device or browser, and clearing the browser’s data removes it. Download it as a file to keep a copy.
How do I get the italics into Word or Google Docs?
Copy keeps the formatting: paste into Word, Google Docs or Pages and the titles stay in italics (or bold, for ABNT). You can also download an .rtf file, which Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice open with the formatting and the hanging indent.
Why did the capital letters in my title change?
Each style has its own rule. APA writes the titles of works in sentence case, and MLA and Chicago in title case, so titles are changed to match. A program can’t tell names from ordinary words, so check that people, places and organizations in the title still start with a capital, or tick “Keep capital letters exactly as typed”.
What if my source has no author or no date?
Leave the boxes empty. With no author, the title takes the author’s place, as the styles require. With no date, APA and Chicago write n.d. (no date), MLA leaves the date out and gives the date you accessed the page, and ABNT writes [s. d.]. If you can tell roughly when it was published, type the year followed by a question mark, such as 2019?, for an approximate date.