When do I need an access date or retrieval date?

Rarely. MLA 9 requires an access date only when the source has no publication date or could change. APA 7 requires a retrieval date only for content designed to change with no archived version. The tool deliberately omits the access date unless one of those conditions is met, because stamping every web source with 'Accessed...' is one of the most common citation errors.

How does the 'et al.' rule differ between styles?

In-text, APA and MLA shorten to the first author plus 'et al.' at 3 or more authors, while Chicago waits until 4 or more. In the reference list, APA lists up to 20 authors (21+ uses the first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author), MLA uses the first author plus 'et al.' for 3+, and Chicago lists up to 10. These cutoffs are hard-coded per style.

Why is my APA title in sentence case but my MLA title in Title Case?

APA 7 uses sentence case for the title of the cited work (capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns) but Title Case for journal and container names. MLA 9 and Chicago use Title Case (headline style) for all titles. The tool re-cases your input per style while preserving proper nouns and acronyms it can detect.

Does the citation generator format the whole Works Cited page?

Yes. Add multiple sources and the tool builds a running References / Works Cited / Bibliography list, auto-alphabetized by the lead element (ignoring a leading A, An, or The), double-spaced, with a 0.5-inch hanging indent and the correct section heading for your style.

Is the citation generator free and private?

Yes — it's free and fully client-side. Everything you type stays in your browser; nothing is uploaded. It works offline once loaded and needs no account to format a citation.

Citation Generator

Q: Which citation styles does this generator support?

APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and both Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition systems — Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date. Each output is labeled with its style version so you can confirm against your instructor's required edition. Chicago 18th was released in 2024 but the rules handled here are largely unchanged.

Build a perfectly formatted citation in APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago 17 — correct author order, italics, dates & hanging indent, plus the matching in-text citation. Runs in your browser.

Style & source

Citation style

Source type

Author(s) — leave blank to lead with the title

Enter Last name and First / given name(s) separately so the tool can invert and abbreviate correctly per style.

The work

Title of source *

Required. Capitalization (sentence vs. Title Case) and italics-vs-quotes are applied automatically for your style.

Container / website name

The journal, website, or book this work appears in — usually italicized.

Publisher

Books and chapters. APA 7 and MLA drop the publisher's city.

Edition (optional)

Editor / translator (optional)

For edited books and translated works.

Date & locators

Year

Month (opt)

Day (opt)

No date? APA & Chicago print “n.d.”; MLA omits it but may require an access date.

Volume

Issue

Pages

Page range (optional)

Online details

DOI or URL (optional)

A bare DOI (starting 10.) is rendered as a clickable https://doi.org/… link. APA prefers DOI over URL.

Source is undated or its content may change

Tick this only if the page has no fixed publication date or could be updated — it triggers the access/retrieval date.

Date accessed

Required only when the rule above is met; otherwise leave blank (the tool will omit it).

Formatted citation

—

Reference-list entryAPA 7

Matching in-text citation

Element-by-element breakdown — why each piece looks the way it does

Lead element—

Author rule applied—

Title case—

Title styling—

Date format—

Locator—

Access date—

Your References list

0 sources

Add a source to build your list — entries are auto-alphabetized, double-spaced, and hanging-indented.

Citation Generator — guide & how to use

What it does

This free citation generator turns the details of a book, article, or web page into a correctly formatted reference entry in APA 7, MLA 9, or Chicago 17 (both the Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date systems). It handles the fiddly parts students lose points on — author inversion, the et al. cutoff, sentence vs. Title Case, italics vs. quotation marks, the date format, page prefixes, and the 0.5-inch hanging indent — and shows you the matching in-text citation plus an element-by-element breakdown so you learn the rule, not just copy the output. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is uploaded.

How to use it

Pick your citation style and the source type — the form shows only the fields that style needs.
Add each author (last name and first name in separate boxes). Leave it blank and the tool leads with the title.
Fill in the title (required), container/journal, date, and any locators (volume, issue, pages, DOI/URL).
Read the live reference entry, the in-text citation, and the breakdown. Click Copy entry (rich) to paste into Word/Docs with italics preserved.
Click Add to list for each source to build an auto-alphabetized Works Cited / References / Bibliography, then Copy whole list.

Worked example — a journal article in APA 7

Suppose you cite an article by Maria Gonzalez and David Lee, titled “Sleep and memory consolidation in adolescents,” published in 2022 in the Journal of Sleep Research, volume 31, issue 4, pages 220–235, DOI 10.1111/jsr.13456. Enter the two authors (Gonzalez / Maria and Lee / David), set Source type to Journal article, type the title in plain text, the container Journal of Sleep Research, year 2022, volume 31, issue 4, pages 220-235, and the DOI. APA 7 outputs:

Gonzalez, M., & Lee, D. (2022). Sleep and memory consolidation in adolescents. Journal of Sleep Research, 31(4), 220–235. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13456

Notice the article title is in sentence case, the journal name and volume are italic, the issue and pages are plain, and the entry ends with the DOI and no trailing period (an APA-7 quirk). The matching in-text citation is (Gonzalez & Lee, 2022). Switch the style dropdown to MLA 9 and the same source re-renders with the title in quotation marks, vol. 31, no. 4, and a trailing period.

The rules this tool encodes

Author order & inversion. APA inverts every author (Last, F. M.) and joins with &; MLA and Chicago invert only the first author and leave the rest First Last.
“Et al.” cutoffs. In-text, APA and MLA shorten at 3+ authors; Chicago waits for 4+. In the reference list APA lists up to 20 (21+ uses first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author), MLA uses first author + “et al.” for 3+, Chicago lists up to 10.
Title case. APA work titles use sentence case (journal names stay Title Case); MLA and Chicago use Title Case throughout, preserving proper nouns and acronyms.
Italics vs. quotes. Whole works (books, journals, whole sites, films) are italic; parts (articles, chapters, web pages) are plain in APA but quoted in MLA/Chicago, with the container italic.
Dates. APA puts the year in parentheses after the author (with month/day for news/web); MLA uses D Mon. YYYY; Chicago bibliography spells out Month D, YYYY; Chicago author-date mirrors APA.
Access dates are the exception. Shown only when MLA has no publication date, or when you flag an undated/changeable source — never stamped on every entry.

Accuracy & honesty notes

Editions covered. APA 7th, MLA 9th, and Chicago Manual of Style 17th. Chicago 18th (2024) is largely unchanged for these cases, but each output is labeled with its style version — always confirm against your instructor's required edition.
Verify your assignment's rules. Institutions sometimes mandate variations (always including DOIs, retaining URLs, specific font/spacing), so check your specific instructions.
Garbage in, garbage out. The tool formats what you type; it can't verify that author names, dates, or page numbers are correct. Double-check proper-noun capitalization and spelling.
Spacing may shift on paste. The hanging indent and double-spacing render in the preview, but Word/Docs paragraph settings can override them; “Copy entry (rich)” preserves italics, and you can re-apply the hanging indent in your editor.
Access dates are deliberately omitted unless the source is undated or designed to change — to avoid the common over-citation error.
Fully client-side. All data stays in your browser, nothing is uploaded; it works offline once loaded and needs no account or paid API to format a citation.
Not a substitute for your style manual. Edge cases beyond the common source types may need a manual check against APA Style, the MLA Handbook, or the Chicago Manual.

How to embed this tool on your website

No account, no coding. Copy the embed code and paste it where you want it to appear:

Embeddable in one line — copy the ready-made snippet from the box below.

Frequently asked questions

Which citation styles are supported?

APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition — both the Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date systems. Every output is labeled with its style version so you can confirm against your instructor's required edition.

When do I need an access date?

Rarely. MLA 9 requires one only when the source has no publication date or could change; APA 7 requires a retrieval date only for changeable content with no archived version. The tool omits the access date unless one of those conditions is met — stamping every web source with "Accessed..." is a common error.

Why is "et al." applied differently in Chicago?

In-text, APA and MLA shorten to "first author et al." at 3 or more authors, but Chicago waits until 4 or more. The reference list also differs: APA lists up to 20, MLA uses "et al." for 3+, and Chicago lists up to 10. These cutoffs are hard-coded per style.

Why doesn't APA put the title in quotation marks?

APA 7 leaves article, chapter, and web-page titles in plain text (no quotes) and italicizes the container. MLA and Chicago wrap the part title in double quotation marks. Whole works — books, journals, whole sites — are italic in all three styles.

Can I build a whole Works Cited page?

Yes. Click "Add to list" for each source. The tool auto-alphabetizes by the lead element (ignoring a leading A, An, or The), double-spaces, applies a 0.5-inch hanging indent, and shows the correct section heading — References, Works Cited, or Bibliography.

Is it free and private?

Yes. It's free and runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded. It works offline once loaded. A free Snap Tool Suite account lets you download and save your results across all the tools.

Related tools

Put this citation generator on your site

Free, one line, no account. Great for a school library, writing center, or course page.

<iframe src="https://snaptoolsuite.com/citation-generator/?embed=1"
  style="width:100%;max-width:560px;height:1400px;border:0;"
  title="Citation Generator (APA, MLA, Chicago)" loading="lazy"></iframe>

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