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Free Citation Generator for Academic Papers

Generate perfectly formatted citations and reference list entries in 15 recognized academic styles. Fast, private, and calculated entirely in your browser.

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In-Text Citation

Browse 15 Citation Style Guides

Explore rules, examples, and formatting standards tailored to each discipline.

author-date

APA 7th Edition

APA style uses author-date in-text citations with a corresponding alphabetical reference list at the end of the manuscript. The 7th edition emphasizes clarity, concise attribution, and DOI hyperlinks.

Used in: Psychology, Education, Social Sciences
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author-page

MLA 9th Edition

MLA style emphasizes author and page number for direct attribution in the humanities, prioritizing primary sources and the container model for citations.

Used in: Literature, Languages, Cultural Studies
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notes-bibliography

Chicago 17th Edition (Notes & Bibliography)

Chicago Notes & Bibliography style uses superscript footnote or endnote numbers throughout the text paired with a comprehensive final bibliography.

Used in: History, Art History, Philosophy
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author-date

Harvard Referencing System

The Harvard author-date referencing standard is widely favored across UK and Commonwealth universities for business, social sciences, and multidisciplinary programs.

Used in: Economics, Management, Social Sciences (UK/Commonwealth)
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numeric

IEEE Style

IEEE style is a sequential numeric system enclosed in square brackets. References are listed in order of first appearance in the manuscript, not alphabetically.

Used in: Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics
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numeric

Vancouver Style

Vancouver style is the dominant biomedical reference system using numeric citation markers in the text linked to a numbered reference list following NLM standards.

Used in: Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Clinical Research
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numeric

ACS Style (American Chemical Society)

ACS style supports superscript numbers, italicized numbers in parentheses, or author-date citations, with bolded publication years in chemical bibliographies.

Used in: Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry
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numeric

AMA Manual of Style

Published by the American Medical Association, AMA style uses superscript numbers outside periods and commas, with compact, unpunctuated author initials.

Used in: Medicine, Public Health, Epidemiology
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numeric

CSE Style (Council of Science Editors)

CSE style offers three distinct citation formats: Citation-Sequence (numeric), Citation-Name (alphabetical numeric), and Name-Year (author-date), serving biological and environmental sciences.

Used in: Biology, Ecology, Zoology
Explore CSE Guide →
author-date

ASA Style (American Sociological Association)

ASA style is tailored for sociological research, utilizing author-date parenthetical citations with full first names of authors in the reference list.

Used in: Sociology, Demography, Social Policy
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notes-bibliography

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

The standard legal citation manual in the United States, prescribing strict citation forms for judicial opinions, statutes, law reviews, and legislative documents.

Used in: Law, Legal Studies, Jurisprudence
Explore Bluebook Guide →
notes-bibliography

Turabian 9th Edition

Kate L. Turabian's student adaptation of The Chicago Manual of Style, specifically tailored for student essays, MA theses, and PhD dissertations.

Used in: Academic Theses, Dissertations, Student Research across Humanities
Explore Turabian Guide →
author-date

APSA Style (American Political Science Association)

Governed by the American Political Science Association, this style adapts Chicago Author-Date for political science, government publications, and constitutional documents.

Used in: Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy
Explore APSA Guide →
numeric

NLM Style (National Library of Medicine)

The National Library of Medicine standard developed for PubMed and NCBI databases. Characterized by strict punctuation, standardized date formats, and unique digital object identifiers.

Used in: Health Sciences, Bioethics, Medical Informatics
Explore NLM Guide →
numeric

ASME Style (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)

ASME style uses bracketed numbers in order of appearance in engineering papers, with authors' initials preceding surnames and capitalized article titles in quotes.

Used in: Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics
Explore ASME Guide →

The Three Major Referencing Systems

1. Author-Date Systems

APA, Harvard, ASA, APSA. The author’s surname and year appear in parentheses (e.g. Smith, 2024), allowing readers to gauge recency immediately without losing narrative context.

2. Numeric Systems

IEEE, Vancouver, AMA, NLM, ACS, ASME, CSE. Citations use bracketed numbers [1] or superscripts¹ ordered by first appearance or alphabetically, preserving layout space in dense STEM manuscripts.

3. Notes & Bibliography

Chicago, Turabian, Bluebook. Citations live in footnotes or endnotes, keeping prose uninterrupted and allowing detailed commentary, common in history, humanities, and law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are citations generated completely free of charge?

Yes. All 15 citation style generators run directly in your browser without paywalls, signups, or limits on the number of generated references.

Which citation style should I choose for my paper?

The choice depends on your discipline and publication venue. Psychology and education use APA 7th; humanities prefer MLA 9th; history uses Chicago Notes & Bibliography; engineering and computer science rely on IEEE; medicine and life sciences use Vancouver, AMA, or NLM; chemistry adheres to ACS.

How does Diglot ensure citation accuracy and academic integrity?

Our generator follows exact official style manuals (APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago 17th, IEEE, etc.), correctly placing punctuation, italics, author inversions, and DOI links. Most importantly, Diglot upholds an honest authorship policy: we never fabricate non-existent citations or sources.

Can I copy both the in-text citation and the bibliography entry?

Yes! The tool provides dedicated 1-click copy buttons for both the full reference list entry and the corresponding parenthetical or numeric in-text marker.

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