Free Citation Generator: APA 7, Harvard, MLA, Vancouver and Chicago
Type the details of your source once and get a correctly formatted reference and in-text citation in five major styles. Build a reference list, sort it automatically and paste it into Word with the italics intact.
Your reference list
How to use the citation generator
- Choose your citation style (ask your supervisor or check the journal’s author guidelines) and the source type.
- Type the authors one per line as
Last name, First name. The tool converts them to initials and the right order for each style. - Fill in the year, title and the other fields. The formatted reference and in-text citations appear as you type.
- Click Copy reference to paste it into Word with italics, or Add to reference list to build a sorted bibliography.
- Switch styles at any time. Your whole list is reformatted instantly.
Which citation style should I use?
| Style | Used in | In-text format |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Psychology, education, social sciences, many science journals | (Tufail et al., 2023) |
| Harvard | UK and Australian universities, business, many theses | (Tufail et al., 2023) |
| MLA 9 | Languages, literature, humanities | (Tufail et al. 113) |
| Vancouver | Medicine, nursing, health sciences | [1] or superscript ¹ |
| Chicago author-date | History, social and natural sciences | (Tufail, Bejarano, and Smith 2023) |
Tips for perfect references
- Always include the DOI for journal articles. Find it on the article page or at Crossref.
- APA uses sentence case for article and book titles: only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns are capitalized.
- Vancouver uses abbreviated journal names from the NLM Catalog, for example Plant Soil rather than Plant and Soil. Type the abbreviation in the journal box.
- Be consistent. Mixing styles is one of the most common comments from examiners.
- Use a reference manager for big projects. For a thesis with 150 references, EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley will save you weeks. Watch our free EndNote crash course.
Frequently asked questions
Is this citation generator accurate?
It follows the official rules for APA 7, MLA 9, Vancouver (NLM), Chicago author-date and Harvard (Cite Them Right) for the four most common source types. Always check unusual cases, such as translated works, preprints or legal documents, against your style guide.
Why do I have to type the details myself?
To keep the tool private and fast, it does not look anything up on the internet. Copy the details from the article’s web page or PDF, or use a reference manager that imports them automatically.
How do I cite a source with no author?
Leave the author box empty. APA moves the title to the author position, and the in-text citation uses the first words of the title. For a website by an organization, type the organization’s name as the author.
How many authors do I list before 'et al.'?
APA 7 lists up to 20 authors in the reference list and uses ‘et al.’ in text for three or more. MLA uses ‘et al.’ for three or more. Vancouver lists the first six followed by ‘et al.’. Harvard (Cite Them Right) uses ‘et al.’ for four or more. The tool applies these rules automatically.
Will my reference list be saved?
Yes, in your own browser, so it is still there when you come back on the same device. It is never uploaded. Clearing your browser data removes it.
Can I paste the references into Word with italics?
Yes. ‘Copy reference’ and ‘Copy reference list’ copy formatted text, so journal and book titles stay in italics when you paste into Word or Google Docs.
