Citation Formatter
Format citations in various academic styles
Overview
Convert raw citation data into properly formatted academic citations for APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, and Vancouver styles. Generate both in-text citations and complete reference list entries in under 60 seconds, with automatic alphabetical ordering and correct capitalization.
Use Cases
- Format 50+ citations for thesis bibliography in under 5 minutes
- Convert references when switching citation styles mid-project
- Generate citations for conference paper submissions with strict formatting deadlines
- Create reference lists for journal article submissions during grant application sprints
- Format citations for systematic literature reviews with 100+ sources
- Build bibliographies for book chapters with mixed source types
Benefits
Time savings: Format 20 citations in 2 minutes instead of 30+ minutes of manual formatting
Accuracy: Eliminate common citation errors like incorrect capitalization, missing punctuation, or wrong DOI placement
Style switching: Convert entire bibliographies between citation styles in seconds when journal requirements change
Consistency: Maintain uniform formatting across team members working on collaborative research projects
Stress reduction: Meet tight submission deadlines without last-minute citation panic
Template
Format the following citations in {{citationStyle}} style:
Citations to Format:
{{citations}}
Document Type: {{documentType}}
Include:
{{includeElements}}
Please provide:
1. Properly formatted in-text citations
2. Complete reference list entries
3. Alphabetical ordering where applicable
4. Proper capitalization and punctuation
5. DOI/URL inclusion as appropriate
Special Instructions: {{specialInstructions}}
Properties
- citationStyle: Single Selection (default:
APA 7th)- Options: APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, Vancouver
- citations: Multi-line Text
- documentType: Single Selection (default:
Research Paper)- Options: Research Paper, Thesis/Dissertation, Book Chapter, Conference Paper
- includeElements: Multiple Selection (default:
DOI, Page Numbers)- Options: DOI, URLs, Access Dates, Page Numbers
- specialInstructions (optional): Single-line Text (default:
None)
Example Output
Using APA 7th style with journal articles:
Input:
Brown, J. (2023). The impact of AI on research methodology. Journal of Modern Research, 45(2), 120-145.
Smith, A., & Jones, B. (2024). Machine learning in academic writing. Academic Press.
Generated Citations:
In-text citations:
- (Brown, 2023)
- Brown (2023) found that…
- (Smith & Jones, 2024)
- Smith and Jones (2024) demonstrated…
Reference list:
Brown, J. (2023). The impact of AI on research methodology. Journal of Modern Research, 45(2), 120-145. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Smith, A., & Jones, B. (2024). Machine learning in academic writing. Academic Press.
Note: References are automatically alphabetized by first author’s surname. Journal titles and volume numbers are italicized, while issue numbers remain in standard text. Only the first word of titles and proper nouns are capitalized per APA sentence case rules.
Common Mistakes This Template Fixes
Inconsistent capitalization: Academic citation styles use sentence case for article titles but different rules for journal names. The template applies the correct capitalization automatically.
DOI formatting errors: Different styles place DOIs differently. APA requires “https://doi.org/" format while other styles may use “doi:” prefix. The template handles these variations.
Author name formatting: Styles disagree on how to format multiple authors, use of ampersands vs “and,” and handling of 3+ authors. You get the correct format every time.
Italicization mistakes: Journal names, volume numbers, book titles - each style has different italicization rules that are easy to mix up. The template knows which elements to italicize.
Alphabetization issues: Large bibliographies require alphabetical ordering, but rules for handling special characters, numbers, and organization names vary by style.
Missing elements: Forgetting to include retrieval dates for websites, page numbers for book chapters, or issue numbers for journals creates incomplete citations.
Setup Time
3 minutes to paste citations and select style preferences. Citation generation completes in under 60 seconds regardless of bibliography length.
Frequently Used Together
- Literature Review - Build comprehensive literature reviews with properly formatted citations
- Bibliography Builder - Create and organize citation databases
- Research Summary - Summarize research papers with citation tracking
- Abstract Writer - Generate abstracts with inline citation formatting