Article and web page titles go in quotation marks, containers such as journals and websites in italics, and three or more authors become the first author followed by et al.
How to cite sources correctly
Every citation style is trying to do the same job: let a reader find exactly the source you used. That means recording who made it, when, what it is called and where it was published. The styles differ in the order and punctuation of those details, which is where most marks are lost. CiteNeat applies the punctuation for you, so you can concentrate on getting the details right.
Where to find the details
For a book, use the title page and the copyright page, not the cover: they give the full title, edition, publisher, city and year. For a journal article, the first page or the journal’s website lists the volume, issue, page range and DOI. For a web page, look near the title and at the bottom of the page for an author and a published or updated date, and use the site name as the container. For a video, the channel name usually stands in for the author.
Author names
Type authors as Family, Given, separated by semicolons, or as Given Family separated by “and”. If the author is an organisation, such as a government department or a company, wrap it in braces, {World Health Organization}, so it is kept whole and not abbreviated to initials.
APA, MLA or Chicago?
Use the style your teacher, department or journal asks for. APA 7 is common in psychology, education, nursing and the social sciences, and puts the year near the front. MLA 9 is used in literature, languages and the humanities, and is built from “core elements”. Chicago is common in history and some publishing, and lists full names and places of publication.
Capitalisation and italics
APA writes article and book titles in sentence case: only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalised. MLA and Chicago use title case. The generator keeps titles exactly as you type them, so type them in the right case. Italics are applied automatically to book titles, journal names and website names as each style requires, and are kept when you copy into a word processor.
Building the list
Add each source as you research, not the night before the deadline. The list is sorted alphabetically by the first author, or by title when there is no author, and every entry is checked for missing details. Your sources are stored only in this browser.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an access date in MLA?
It is optional, but recommended for web pages with no publication date.
Should I include https:// in URLs?
MLA suggests leaving it off for URLs, but keeping full DOI links.
What does an MLA in-text citation look like?
Author and page with no comma, such as (Walker and Stickgold 124).
Is CiteNeat free?
Yes, with no ads, sign-up or limits.
Where is my list saved?
Only in this browser. Download a copy if you plan to clear your browser data.