Citation Generator

Generate properly formatted citations for books, websites and journals in APA, MLA and Chicago styles instantly.

Source type

Citation format

Author last name

Author first name

Book title

Year published

Publisher

City of publication

Related tools

let source='book',format='apa'; function setSource(s,btn){source=s;document.querySelectorAll('.src-btn').forEach(b=>b.classList.remove('active'));btn.classList.add('active');['book','website','journal'].forEach(t=>document.getElementById('fields-'+t).style.display=t===s?'':'none');} function setFormat(f,btn){format=f;document.querySelectorAll('.fmt-btn').forEach(b=>b.classList.remove('active'));btn.classList.add('active');} function v(id){return(document.getElementById(id)||{}).value||'';} function generateCitation(){ let cite=''; const today=new Date().toLocaleDateString('en-US',{year:'numeric',month:'long',day:'numeric'}); if(source==='book'){ const last=v('b-last'),first=v('b-first'),title=v('b-title'),year=v('b-year'),pub=v('b-pub'),city=v('b-city'); if(!last||!title){alert('Please enter at least author last name and book title.');return;} if(format==='apa')cite=`${last}, ${first?first[0]+'.':''} (${year||'n.d.'}). ${title}. ${city?city+': ':''}${pub}.`; else if(format==='mla')cite=`${last}${first?', '+first:''}. ${title}. ${pub}${year?', '+year:''}.`; else cite=`${last}${first?', '+first:''}. ${title}. ${city?city+': ':''}${pub}${year?', '+year:''}.`; } else if(source==='website'){ const last=v('w-last'),first=v('w-first'),title=v('w-title'),site=v('w-site'),url=v('w-url'),date=v('w-date'); const dateStr=date?new Date(date).toLocaleDateString('en-US',{year:'numeric',month:'long',day:'numeric'}):today; if(!title){alert('Please enter at least a page title.');return;} if(format==='apa')cite=`${last?last+', '+(first?first[0]+'. ':''):''}(n.d.). ${title}. ${site}. Retrieved ${dateStr}, from ${url}`; else if(format==='mla')cite=`${last?last+(first?', '+first:'.')+'. ':''}${'"'+title+'"'} ${site}, ${dateStr}, ${url}.`; else cite=`${last?last+(first?', '+first:'')+'. ':''}${'"'+title+'"'} ${site}. Accessed ${dateStr}. ${url}.`; } else { const last=v('j-last'),first=v('j-first'),title=v('j-title'),journal=v('j-journal'),year=v('j-year'),vol=v('j-vol'),pages=v('j-pages'),doi=v('j-doi'); if(!last||!title){alert('Please enter at least author last name and article title.');return;} if(format==='apa')cite=`${last}, ${first?first[0]+'.':''} (${year||'n.d.'}). ${title}. ${journal}${vol?', '+vol:''}${pages?', '+pages:''}.${doi?' https://doi.org/'+doi:''}`; else if(format==='mla')cite=`${last}${first?', '+first:''}. "${title}." ${journal}${vol?' '+vol:''}${year?' ('+year+')':''}${pages?': '+pages:''}.`; else cite=`${last}${first?', '+first:''}. "${title}." ${journal}${vol?' '+vol:''}${year?' ('+year+')':''}${pages?': '+pages:''}.${doi?' https://doi.org/'+doi:''}`; } document.getElementById('cite-text').innerHTML=cite; document.getElementById('cite-result').style.display='block'; } function copyCite(){ const text=document.getElementById('cite-text').innerText; navigator.clipboard.writeText(text).then(()=>{const btn=document.getElementById('copy-btn');btn.textContent='Copied!';btn.style.background='#D1FAE5';setTimeout(()=>{btn.textContent='Copy citation';btn.style.background='';},2000);}); } document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',()=>{ document.getElementById('w-date').value=new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0]; document.getElementById('related-grid').innerHTML=TOOLS.filter(t=>t.category==='writing'&&t.slug!=='citation-generator').slice(0,4).map(buildToolCard).join(''); });