Free Citation Generator (MLA, APA, Chicago)
Pick a style, pick a source type, fill the form. The citation renders live and updates as you type.
ITALICS ARE PART OF THE STYLE · COPY STRIPS MARKDOWN
How to use this tool
- 1
Pick MLA 9, APA 7, or Chicago 17.
- 2
Choose what you're citing: book, website, journal, newspaper, or YouTube video.
- 3
Fill in the fields you have. Optional fields can be left blank.
- 4
Copy the formatted citation, or switch styles to compare.
Why this tool exists
Citing sources correctly is one of those time-sinks that doesn't make your writing better but absolutely will sink a grade if you skip it. The three big styles — MLA, APA, and Chicago — each have their own rules about author order, date placement, italicization, and which punctuation goes where, and each gets a major revision every few years.
This generator handles the five source types you'll actually use most often: books, websites, journal articles, newspaper articles, and YouTube videos. Pick a style, pick a source type, and the form adapts to ask only for the fields that style needs. The citation renders live as you type so you can see what's missing.
For a full project bibliography, use Zotero or another reference manager — they organize sources, store PDFs, and integrate with Word and Google Docs. For one or two citations or for quickly converting a paper between styles, this tool is faster.
When you'd use this
- Building a quick works-cited list for a paper
- Double-checking the format of a citation you already wrote
- Switching a draft from MLA to APA without rewriting every entry
- Citing a YouTube video or news article quickly