Citing Your Sources

Citation generators allow writers to quickly generate citations. They use online forms to create a citation in various formats such as MLA, APA, Chicago, and more. Some even allow writers to construct entire bibliographies on the fly that can be imported into projects with a few clicks.

Used wisely, citation generators remove much of the tedium from the task of citations. Used unwisely, they can introduce systematic errors into citations that the writer isn’t even aware of.

Citation generators cannot think for you!

There are a number of web sites that will help you format your citations in APA, MLA, and Turabian style. However, you should always double-check the results you get as the results are not always completely accurate.

1.

ZoteroBib helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software. Use it to help you seamlessly add sources and easily produce bibliographies.

At no cost, you can:

• Cite your sources using over 9,000 styles
• Cite directly inside a Word document or Google Doc

2.

Generate your reference list and in-text citations in APA and MLA format. For free!

• APA Citation Generator
• MLA Citation Generator

3.

Beware of banner ads, but with the free version, you can:

• Search for sources easily by title, author, or URL to take advantage of the auto-cite tool
• Cite over 50 types of resources using the APA, MLA, Chicago style, and more

Several library databases will generate a citation. Look for a "Cite" button on the source's "record" to see if the database you are using provides a citation you can copy and paste into a document. As always, double check any citation generator, even the ones found in databases, as errors can occur. Specific instructions for EBSOhost and ProQuest databases can be found below.

EBSCOhost

Click the article (or book) title in the database.  This will take you to the source's "record" in the database.  On the right side of the record screen, click "Cite."  A list of citations will pop up in the center of the screen (scroll down to find the style that you need).  Highlight the citation, then copy/paste it where needed.

ProQuest

Click the article (or book) title in the database.  This will take you to the source's "record" in the database.  On the top right of the record screen, click "Cite."  A list of citations will pop up in the center of the screen (scroll down to find the style that you need).  Highlight the citation, then copy/paste it where needed.

Library Catalog

Click the book title in the library catalog. This will take you to the book's "record" in the catalog. On the record screen under the send to section, click "CITATION". A citation will be generated according to the style chosen on the left. Click "COPY CITATION TO CLIPBOARD" to then copy/paste the citation where needed.

 This page was created by Erica Huff under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.