Citation Formatter
Format a reference and in-text citation in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago author-date, Harvard or IEEE for a book, journal article, chapter or web page.
The reference-list entry with italics marked, an HTML version, the matching in-text citation, and notes on missing fields and on what the core pattern does not cover.
Example: Smith, J. A., & Doe, J. (2021). A study of things. Journal of Studies, 12(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123 — in text (Smith & Doe, 2021); in IEEE: [1] J. A. Smith and J. Doe, …
Five styles,
four source types.
What each style does with the same fields, how authors are read, and what the page leaves to the style guide.
The patterns
APA 7: Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year). Title. *Journal, vol*(issue), pages. DOI. MLA 9: Last, First, and First Last. "Title." *Journal*, vol. X, no. Y, Year, pp. A–B. Chicago author-date: Last, First. Year. "Title." *Journal* vol (issue): pages. Harvard: Last, F. (Year) 'Title', *Journal*, vol(issue), pp. A–B. IEEE: [n] F. Last, "Title," *Journal*, vol. X, no. Y, pp. A–B, Mon. Year. Books, chapters and web pages follow each style's corresponding pattern with publisher, place, edition, editors, URL and access date where the style asks for them.
Authors and dates
One author per line as "Last, First Middle" (initials are formed from the first names) or "First Last"; an organisation ends with a semicolon and is used whole. Author lists follow each style's rule — APA "&" up to 20, MLA "et al." from three, Chicago "and" up to ten, Harvard up to three, IEEE up to six — as do the in-text forms. Dates are YYYY-MM-DD or a year; month names are written per style.
What the page does not do
Title case or sentence case, capitalisation of journal names, translators, editions of multivolume works, reprints, corporate authors that are also the publisher, missing-date conventions beyond "n.d.", and the many house variants of Harvard: check those against the guide. Italics are marked *like this* in the copyable text and rendered in the preview. Nothing leaves the browser; the same four anonymous usage counts as the rest of the site apply.
SOURCES
- Core reference patterns of the APA Publication Manual (7th), MLA Handbook (9th), Chicago Manual of Style (17th, author-date), IEEE Reference Guide and the common Harvard author-date form
Last reviewed 21 September 2026. How results are checked: How we verify.