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Citation Generator

Create APA, MLA and Chicago citations for books and websites.

Style
Source type
Authors

Leave empty if there is no author; the organization or title is used instead.

Your citation

When to use it

The citation generator formats references for books, websites and journal articles in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago style. Use it while writing an essay, report, dissertation or presentation to get the punctuation, order and italics right, and to build a sorted bibliography as you go. It’s especially helpful when you have to switch styles between classes.

How to create a citation

  1. Choose the Style: APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago.
  2. Choose the Source type: Website, Book or Journal article.
  3. Enter the Authors (first and last names). Press Add author for more, or leave them empty if there’s no author.
  4. Fill in the fields shown for that source: Page or article title, Website name or Publisher, Edition, Volume, Issue, Pages, Year published, URL and Date accessed.
  5. Copy the result under Your citation with Copy citation. The matching in-text citation is shown underneath.
  6. Press Add to bibliography to keep it. The Bibliography is sorted A–Z; use Copy all to paste it into your document.

A worked example

You’re citing Carol Dweck’s book Mindset, published by Random House in 2006. Choose Book, enter Carol S. Dweck, the title “Mindset: The new psychology of success”, the publisher and the year.

  • APA 7: Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House. In-text: (Dweck, 2006)
  • MLA 9: Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House, 2006. In-text: (Dweck 12) when quoting page 12.
  • Chicago: Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House, 2006. In-text (author-date): (Dweck 2006)

Tips

  • Collect details as you research: author, title, date, publisher or website, and URL.
  • Use the publication’s own spelling of names and include middle initials when given.
  • Check italics after pasting. Titles should stay italic in your document; paste with formatting kept.
  • Add a page number to in-text citations when you quote directly.
  • Use a hanging indent in your reference list (second and later lines indented), as most styles require.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing styles in one paper, such as APA in-text citations with an MLA reference list.
  • Citing a search engine or database instead of the actual article or page.
  • Leaving out the year, or using the year you read it instead of when it was published.
  • Pasting long tracking links; use a clean URL or the DOI for journal articles.

Check your essay’s length with the Essay Word Counter, improve clarity with the Readability Checker, or plan deadlines with the Homework Planner.

Frequently asked questions

Which citation style should I use?

Use the one your teacher, school or journal asks for. APA is common in psychology, education and the social sciences; MLA in literature, languages and the humanities; Chicago in history and some publishing. If you're not told, ask, because marks are often lost for mixing styles.

Why is the title written differently in each style?

APA uses sentence case for book and article titles (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized). MLA and Chicago use title case. Type the title as it appears and the tool adjusts MLA and Chicago automatically; for APA, type it in sentence case.

What if a web page has no author?

Leave the author fields empty. The organization or the page title is used instead, which is what the style guides recommend.

Do I need the date I accessed a website?

MLA recommends it for web pages that may change, and it never hurts. APA only needs it for pages designed to change over time, such as a live data page.

Is my bibliography saved?

Yes, in this browser on this device, sorted alphabetically. It's never uploaded. Press Clear to remove it.

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