Free citation generator for students

Type the details of your source. Get the reference in the right style, with the in-text citation beside it, ready to copy.

Free, no sign-up. Your work lives on your device. We don't store it.

What are you citing?

Author

No author? Leave it blank and the title moves to the front.

Leave it blank if there is no date.

Editors of the book optional

Keep the journal's own capitals.

The city. Harvard includes it; APA and MLA leave it out.

Paste the DOI in any form. It comes out as https://doi.org/…

My references

    How this citation generator works

    It formats what you type, with the rules of the style you pick. Nothing is looked up, so nothing breaks.

    Pick the style, then the source

    Choose APA 7, MLA 9 or Harvard, then say whether it is a book, a journal article, a website or a chapter. Only the fields that style needs for that source appear. Harvard asks for the city; APA and MLA do not.

    Watch it build as you type

    The reference fills in line by line, with italics where the style puts them. Grey words show what is still missing. Names become initials, page ranges get a proper dash, and a DOI becomes a https://doi.org/ link.

    The in-text citation sits beside it

    APA and Harvard cite the name and year, like (Smith, 2021). MLA cites the name and page, like (Smith 45). Add a page number and it goes in. With no date, APA writes n.d. and Harvard writes no date.

    Keep the list, take it with you

    Every reference you add stays on this device, sorted A to Z. Switch style and the whole list reformats. Copy it into your essay with the italics kept, print it, or download .bib and .ris for Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote.

    What this tool will not do

    It will not look up a DOI, an ISBN or a web address and fill in the details for you. It does not use AI, it does not check your references against a database, and it does not check for plagiarism. It cannot change the capitals in a title reliably either, so type titles the way your style wants them. It formats what you type, every time, the same way.

    Keep your references under control

    A reference list is easier when it grows as you read. Start with how to manage references for a thesis, then build the reading habit behind it with a research reading system and how to read research papers for a thesis. When the sources pile up, a literature review system turns them into an argument, and a thesis writing system that keeps moving gets the chapters written. Plan the essay first with the essay outline planner, keep the length in check with the essay word counter, and put the deadline in the assignment and deadline tracker.

    Questions

    It follows the published rules for APA 7, MLA 9 and Harvard (Cite Them Right), and the same details always give the same reference. It cannot see your source, so it can only format what you type. Check every reference against your source before you submit.

    APA and Harvard are author-date styles: the in-text citation gives the name and the year, like (Smith, 2021). MLA gives the name and the page, like (Smith 45), and puts the date near the end of the reference. Your course handbook says which one to use.

    In APA and MLA the in-text citation uses the first name and et al. from three authors, like (Smith et al., 2021). Cite Them Right Harvard names up to three authors in the text and uses et al. from four. In the reference itself APA lists up to 20 authors, MLA lists the first then et al., and Harvard lists them all.

    No account, no email and no sign-up. Your reference list is saved in this browser on this device, and nothing is sent anywhere. Download it as .bib or .ris to keep a copy or move it into Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote.

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