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Citation Generator
Create APA 7, MLA 9, and Chicago citations for websites, books, and journal articles, with support for multiple authors, in-text citations, notes, cited pages, DOIs, and formatted copying.
This Citation Generator creates formatted citations for websites, books, and journal articles in APA 7, MLA 9, and the Chicago Notes and Bibliography system. It supports multiple personal authors, organization authors, sources without an identified author, publication dates, cited pages, journal details, DOIs, and article URLs.
Which Citations Are Generated?
APA produces a reference-list entry, parenthetical citation, and narrative citation. MLA produces a works-cited entry and parenthetical citation. Chicago produces a bibliography entry, full note, and shortened note. Each result appears separately and has its own Copy button.
How to Use the Citation Generator
Select the citation style and source type, choose the correct author type, and enter the bibliographic information exactly as it appears on the source. Add personal authors in their published order, provide an optional short title and cited page range when needed, then generate and review every output.
How Multiple Authors Are Formatted
The generator applies style-specific author rules. APA reference entries list all entered authors up to the supported limit of 20, while APA in-text citations use the first surname followed by et al. for three or more authors. MLA uses both authors when there are two and the first author followed by et al. for three or more. Chicago applies separate author rules to bibliography entries and notes.
Personal, Organization, and Missing Authors
Select Person when one or more named people wrote the source, Organization when an institution or company is credited as the author, or No author only when neither a personal nor organization author is identified. When no author exists, the source title moves into the author position as required by the selected style.
Short Titles and Cited Pages
A short title helps identify a source concisely in no-author in-text citations and shortened Chicago notes. The cited-page field identifies the specific page or range being quoted or discussed. It is different from the article page range, which describes the complete location of a journal article.
How Missing Publication Dates Are Handled
Leave the webpage publication date blank when the source does not provide one. APA uses n.d. for an undated webpage, while the supported MLA and Chicago outputs omit the unavailable publication date. Do not invent a date that is not shown by the source.
Review Title Capitalization
The generator preserves the capitalization entered by the user. APA commonly uses sentence case for article, webpage, and book titles, while MLA and Chicago commonly use title-style capitalization. Proper names, acronyms, languages, and specialized terms may require exceptions.
DOIs and Article URLs
When a journal article has a DOI, use it instead of an ordinary article URL when the selected style requires a location. The generator accepts raw DOI values, values beginning with doi:, and complete DOI URLs. Recognized DOI values are normalized to the https://doi.org/ format.
Formatted Display and Copying
Titles, website names, journal names, and volume numbers are displayed in italics when required. Primary reference entries use a hanging indent. Copying into a compatible rich-text editor can preserve italics and indentation, while plain-text editors receive clean text without formatting markers.
Supported Scope and Limitations
The current generator supports websites, complete books, and journal articles. Sources involving editors, translators, editions, chapters, database containers, access dates, unusual contributor roles, or more than 20 personal authors may require additional information or manual formatting.
Review Citations Before Submitting
Citation rules contain exceptions based on the source, language, contributor roles, publication medium, assignment, and institutional requirements. Review generated citations against the applicable style manual and any instructions provided by your instructor, editor, or institution.
Private Browser-Based Generation
Citation generation runs locally in your browser. Author names, titles, publication details, page numbers, URLs, and DOI information are not uploaded to ORVITech.
Multiple-Author Journal Citation Example
Suppose a 2023 journal article titled "Does Citation Accuracy Matter?" was written by Mary Jane Smith, Robert Alan Jones, and Elena García López. Enter the authors in that order, followed by the journal name, volume, issue, full article page range, and DOI. APA lists all three authors in the reference entry but produces the parenthetical citation (Smith et al., 2023). MLA and Chicago apply their own author and punctuation rules to the same information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this citation generator create?
It creates APA reference entries and in-text citations, MLA works-cited entries and parenthetical citations, and Chicago bibliography entries, full notes, and shortened notes for supported source types.
Which citation styles are supported?
The generator supports APA 7, MLA 9, and the Chicago Notes and Bibliography system.
Which source types are supported?
It currently supports webpages, complete books, and journal articles.
Can I cite multiple authors?
Yes. You can add up to 20 personal authors in the order shown by the source. Each citation style applies its own rules for listing or shortening multiple-author names.
Why does an in-text citation use et al.?
APA uses the first author's surname followed by et al. for works with three or more authors. MLA also uses the first author followed by et al. for works with three or more authors. Chicago notes use et al. according to their own author-count rules.
Can an organization be the author?
Yes. Select Organization and enter the complete organization name. In an APA webpage reference, the website name is omitted when it duplicates the organization author.
What should I select when there is no author?
Select No author only after checking for both a named person and a responsible organization. The generator will move the title into the appropriate position and use it in relevant in-text citations or notes.
Does the generator create APA in-text citations?
Yes. APA results include both parenthetical and narrative citations in addition to the full reference-list entry.
Does the generator create MLA in-text citations?
Yes. MLA results include a parenthetical citation. When you provide a cited page or range, it is included without a comma between the author and page number.
Which Chicago outputs are generated?
Chicago results include a bibliography entry, a full note for the first citation, and a shortened note for later citations.
What is the difference between the article page range and cited pages?
The article page range identifies every page occupied by a journal article. The cited-page field identifies the particular page or range used in an in-text citation or note.
When should I enter a short title?
Enter one when a long source title needs to be shortened in a no-author in-text citation or Chicago shortened note. It should remain recognizable and distinguish the source from other works.
What happens when a webpage has no publication date?
Leave the date blank. APA uses n.d., while the supported MLA and Chicago outputs omit the unavailable publication date.
Can I enter a raw DOI?
Yes. You can enter a DOI such as 10.1234/example, a value beginning with doi:, or a complete DOI URL. Recognized values are converted to the https://doi.org/ format.
Does copying preserve italics?
Copying into compatible rich-text editors can preserve italics and hanging indentation. Plain-text editors receive clean citation text without visible asterisks.
Does the generator correct title capitalization?
No. It preserves the capitalization entered by the user because capitalization rules vary among styles, source types, languages, proper names, and specialized terms.
Is every possible citation variation supported?
No. Complex sources involving editors, translators, editions, chapters, databases, unusual contributor roles, access dates, or other specialized details may require manual formatting.
Are generated citations guaranteed to be correct?
The generator applies the supported formatting rules to the information provided, but users should verify the result against the applicable manual and their assignment or institutional requirements.
Is my citation information uploaded or stored?
No. Citation generation runs locally in your browser, and the information you enter is not uploaded to ORVITech.