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Free Citation Generator

Generate properly formatted APA, MLA, or Chicago style citations from your source details instantly.

✅ Free📚 3 Styles⚡ Instant

Source Details

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between APA, MLA, and Chicago?

APA is common in social sciences, MLA in humanities and literature, and Chicago in history and other disciplines. Each has distinct formatting rules for authors, dates, and titles.

Do I need the exact publication date?

Yes, an accurate publication year is an important part of a correctly formatted citation in all three styles.

What if I don't have a URL?

Leave the URL field blank — the citation will be formatted as a standard print/publisher source instead of an online source.

Generate Citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago Format

This tool generates properly formatted citations in three of the most widely used academic citation styles — APA, MLA, and Chicago — from the source details you provide. Enter the author, title, publisher, year, and optional URL, and get all three formats at once, ready to copy into your bibliography or works cited page.

When Each Citation Style Is Used

Key Formatting Differences

While all three styles cite the same underlying source information, they format it differently. APA places the publication year immediately after the author's name in parentheses. MLA places the publisher and year toward the end of the citation, with less emphasis on the exact date for many source types. Chicago's bibliography style is similar to MLA but with its own specific punctuation and ordering conventions. This tool handles these formatting differences automatically based on the fields you provide.

Why Citations Matter

Proper citation gives credit to original sources, allows readers to locate and verify the material you referenced, and is a fundamental requirement of academic integrity. Different institutions, publications, and disciplines require different citation styles, which is why having quick access to all three formats from the same source details saves time when you're not sure which style a particular assignment or publication requires.

Privacy and Local Processing

All citation formatting happens directly in your browser — the source details you enter are never sent to a server.

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