Citation Generator

Frequently asked questions

How do I cite a website in APA?

Author, A. (Year). Title of page. Site name. URL, with the page title in italics. When the page shows no date, write "n.d." in place of the year. The tool gives "Smith, J. (2020). Choosing a wire gauge. Example Electrical Guide. https://www.example.com/wire" for the sample page. The date field is free text, so type 2020, March 23 if your guide wants the full date. APA entries from the tool carry no access date.

How do I cite a book in MLA?

Last name, First name. Title in italics. Publisher, Year. The tool gives "Yu, Charles. Interior Chinatown. Pantheon Books, 2020." For two authors it writes "Lopez, Ana, and Brian Chen."; for three or more it gives the first author and "et al."

How many authors does each style list?

A Chicago bibliography entry lists up to six authors; with seven or more it gives the first three followed by "et al." MLA lists one or two authors in full and, for three or more, the first author and "et al." APA lists every author, up to 20 in this tool, with an ampersand before the last. The author-list table on this page shows all three for the same seven names. In the in-text citation, APA and MLA name one or two authors and from three give the first author and et al.: (Lopez et al., 2021, p. 50) and (Lopez et al. 50). A Chicago note does the same, as the Chicago quick guide says: Ana Lopez et al.

Does it add the date accessed?

Only to MLA website entries, as "Accessed 14 Oct. 2026." The Date Accessed field appears for every website and starts at your local date today, but APA and Chicago entries ignore it. The Chicago quick guide’s own website example does include an access date, so add one by hand to a Chicago entry if your instructor wants it.

Can it make a whole bibliography and sort the list?

Yes. Press Add this source after each entry and the tool keeps up to 100 sources in this browser, sorted by the first author’s surname, or by the title when there is no author (a leading A, An or The is skipped), then by year and title. The list is shown in the style you pick, so switching from APA to MLA reformats every entry. Copy whole list copies it as plain text, one entry per paragraph, and the cross next to an entry removes it.

What does Copy give, and what is saved?

Where the browser can write formatted text, Copy puts the entry on the clipboard twice: with its italics for a word processor and as plain text for a plain box; the status line says "Citation copied with its italics." Otherwise it copies plain text. The in-text citation, the three-style comparison and the source list have their own copy buttons, which give plain text. The authors and the source list are saved in this browser, and Clear Saved Values removes both and resets every field. The other fields are kept only as part of a source added to the list.