Citation Generator
The Citation Generator turns the details of a source into a finished reference in APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago 17 style.
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Enter the authors, title and publication details once, then switch styles to see the same source reformatted — including the in-text citation or shortened note that goes with it. Titles are italicised where the style requires it, and the tool tells you which details are still missing.
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How to Use
Pick a style and source type
Choose APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago 17, then say whether the source is a web page, a book or a journal article. The form changes to ask only for the fields that style and type need.
Enter the source details
Type one author per line as "Last, First". Add the title, the site or journal name, the date, and page numbers or a DOI if you have them.
Check what is missing
If a required detail is absent the tool names it, so you know whether the gap is a genuine one or something still to look up.
Copy the reference and the citation
Copy the reference-list entry for your bibliography and the in-text citation for the body of your text. Switch styles at any time — the details you entered are kept.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between APA, MLA and Chicago?
They order and punctuate the same facts differently, and they disagree on substance too. APA 7 leads with the year in parentheses and no longer names the publisher's city. MLA 9 puts the page number rather than the year in the in-text citation and prints URLs without https://. Chicago's notes-bibliography style uses footnotes rather than parenthetical citations and still gives the city of publication. They also cut author lists at different points.
How many authors do I list before "et al."?
It depends on the style. APA 7 names up to 20 authors in the reference list, and uses "et al." in text from three authors onwards. MLA 9 names two authors in full and switches to "et al." from three. Chicago names up to three in the bibliography and uses "et al." from four. This tool applies each rule automatically as you switch styles.
How do I cite a source with no author or no date?
Leave the field blank. With no author, APA and MLA move the title into the author's place in the in-text citation. With no date, APA prints "n.d." where the year would go. The tool handles both, but flags them so you can check the source really has neither rather than the detail being missed.
Do I need to italicise anything myself?
No — the preview italicises what the style italicises: book titles, journal names and website names, but not article or web-page titles, which take quotation marks instead. The copy button gives you plain text, so if you paste into a document you may need to re-apply the italics there.