Citation Guides
Authoritative guides covering every supported style — written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team against the current editions of their respective style manuals. Or jump straight to the citation generator.
Style guides
Complete reference for each major citation style.
- AMA Citation Guide: AMA Manual of Style 11th Edition Complete AMA guide following the AMA Manual of Style 11th edition (the variant this site generates). Numeric in-text citations, numbered reference list, italicized abbreviated journal names, worked examples for every common source type. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- APA Citation Guide: APA 7th Edition Format Made Clear Complete APA 7 guide: in-text citations, references list, worked examples for every common source type, and what changed from APA 6. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team against the 2020 Publication Manual.
- Chicago Citation Guide: Chicago Manual of Style 18th Edition Made Clear Complete Chicago 18 guide focused on the author–date system (what this tool generates), with notes–bibliography also covered. In-text citations, reference list, worked examples, and what changed in the 18th edition. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team against the 2024 Chicago Manual.
- Harvard Citation Guide: Cite Them Right 12th Edition (Author-Date) Complete Harvard guide following Cite Them Right 12th edition — the variant this site generates. In-text citations, reference list, worked examples for every common source type, and how Harvard differs from APA and MLA. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- IEEE Citation Guide: Numeric Citation Style for Engineering and Computer Science Complete IEEE guide following the IEEE Reference Guide (current edition) — the variant this site generates. Numeric in-text citations in square brackets, numbered reference list, italicized abbreviated journal/conference names, worked examples for every common source type. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- MLA Citation Guide: MLA 9th Edition Format Made Clear Complete MLA 9 guide: in-text citations, Works Cited page, the core elements approach, and worked examples for every common source type. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team against the 2021 MLA Handbook.
- Vancouver Citation Guide: NLM Citing Medicine, Numeric Citation-Sequence Complete Vancouver guide following NLM Citing Medicine 2nd edition (the variant this site generates). Numeric citation-sequence in-text citations, numbered reference list, NLM-abbreviated journal names, worked examples for every common source type. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
How to cite
Format common source types across every style.
- How to Cite a Book in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Four More Styles How to cite a book in all seven major citation styles — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA. The same single-author book and a chapter in an edited book formatted side by side in every style, plus rules for editions, translations, e-books, and books with no named author. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- How to Cite a Journal Article in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Four More Styles How to cite a peer-reviewed journal article in all seven major citation styles — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA. The same article formatted side by side in every style, plus rules for DOIs, preprints, retractions, and online-only journals. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- How to Cite a PDF in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Four More Styles How to cite a PDF in all seven major citation styles — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA. The same government report formatted side by side in every style, plus rules for white papers, working papers, scanned PDFs, and PDFs behind a login. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- How to Cite a Website in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Four More Styles How to cite a website in all seven major citation styles — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA. Includes the same article formatted in every style side by side, plus edge cases for missing author, missing date, social media, and archived pages. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Four More Styles How to cite a YouTube video in all seven major citation styles — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA. The same video formatted side by side in every style, plus rules for timestamps, channels with no named creator, and videos that get removed or changed after citation. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- How to Cite an Interview in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Four More Styles How to cite an interview in all seven major citation styles — APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA. The same published interview formatted side by side in every style, plus rules for personal interviews you conducted, podcast interviews, broadcast interviews, and email correspondence. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
Concepts
Core citation concepts and how they apply.
- Annotated Bibliography: Format, Examples, and How to Write One What an annotated bibliography is, the three types of annotation (descriptive, evaluative, reflective), and how to format one in APA, MLA, and Chicago. With a worked example showing the same source annotated three different ways. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- Avoiding Plagiarism: The Bright Lines, the Gray Areas, and Prevention Habits A practical guide to avoiding plagiarism in academic writing. The bright lines (what is never okay), the gray areas (paraphrasing too closely, self-plagiarism, AI assistance, secondary citation), the prevention habits that prevent both the act and the accusation, and what to do if you are wrongly accused. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- Hanging Indents: What They Are and How to Make Them in Word, Google Docs, Pages, and LaTeX Hanging indents are the standard reference-list format in every major citation style. This guide explains what they are, why they exist, and how to apply them in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages, and LaTeX — without the manual tab work that breaks them. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- In-Text Citations: Format, Rules, and How They Differ Across Styles How in-text citations work across the seven major academic styles. Author–date versus numeric systems, the exact format for each style, page-number rules, and the et al. thresholds that students get wrong most often. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- Works Cited vs. Bibliography vs. References: What to Call Your Source List The difference between a Works Cited, References, and Bibliography section — what each name means, what goes in each, and which one your style requires. Includes a per-style table mapping the right heading. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
Comparisons
Choosing the right style for your work.
- Chicago Notes–Bibliography vs Author–Date: The Two Chicago Systems Compared The Chicago Manual of Style supports two citation systems — notes–bibliography (footnotes plus Bibliography) and author–date (parenthetical citations plus References). This guide compares them side by side, explains when each is used, and shows the same source formatted in both. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team against the 2024 Chicago Manual.
- MLA vs APA: Differences in Format, Citations, and When to Use Each Side-by-side comparison of MLA 9 and APA 7 — what each style is for, where they diverge in in-text citations, reference lists, capitalization, and the nine-element container model that distinguishes MLA. The same source formatted in both styles. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- When to Use Each Citation Style: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, or AMA How to pick the right citation style for your paper. Per-discipline defaults for APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA, plus what to do in interdisciplinary work and when the assignment leaves the choice open. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
Reference & FAQ
Tool documentation and frequently asked questions.
- Citation Generator FAQ: How the Tool Works, What It Supports, and How Accurate It Is Frequently asked questions about the MLA Generator citation tool — which styles and editions are supported, how citations are produced from URLs/ISBNs/DOIs, what to do if a citation looks wrong, and how to use the saved-references feature. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- Research and Works Cited: A Complete Guide to Sourcing Academic Papers How to find, evaluate, integrate, and cite sources across the seven major academic styles. Coverage of finding reliable sources, avoiding plagiarism, choosing the right citation style, and building a polished works cited page. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.
- What's New in Each Citation Style: APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, and the Rest A survey of the most recent edition changes for the seven major citation styles — APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, Harvard (Cite Them Right 12), Vancouver, IEEE, and AMA 11. The changes that matter for writers updating from a previous edition, with notes on how to tell which edition a paper is in. Written and reviewed by the MLA Generator Editorial Team.