Citation and Bibliography Generator
Citation and Bibliography Generator: While writing a paper takes a considerable amount of time, you may notice that writing your bibliography and citing the reference(s) you have used can also be pretty time-consuming. And we all know how precious time can be when you have to finish your paper by a due date. So, wouldn’t it be nice to have a citation and bibliography generator maker to make them faster? It certainly would!
APA citation and bibliography generator guidelines
APA citation style is widely used by writers all over the world to come up with powerful, concise, and persuasive scholarly materials. We have developed a comprehensive and easy to use guide that will make citing any materials in APA (American Psychological Association) very easy. In this guideline, we have stated the most important points as stated in the American Psychological Association (APA) seventh edition (2020).
APA in-text citation and Bibliography Generator
The basics
An in-text is included in the body of the main text as a brief form of the reference. It refers to a direct quote or a paraphrase and it gives information that can be used to identify the source used from the reference list. It uses the author’s last name and year of publication (author-date system) for example: (Jones, 1998). In the case of a direct quotation, a locator should be included. The locator can be the page number, chapter, timestamp, paragraph, or anything else that can help identify your source. For example (Jones, 1998, p. 150)
The structure of in-text changes depending on whether a direct quote or parenthetical is used. The following are the two forms of in-text citation and bibliography generator.
- Parenthetical citation: This type of citation and bibliography generator is mostly used for paraphrased text and not for direct quotes. The citation style uses the author-date system and the author’s name and date of publication appear in the parentheses. For example, Students found it difficult to use APA style in their writing (Jones, 1998)
- Narrative citation: This citation method is preferred when citing quotes. It can also be used in paraphrasing and summarizing text. In a narrative citation, the author’s name is written together with the quote or the paraphrase of their work. For example: According to Jones 1998, students often had difficulty using APA style (p. 199)
Multiple authors and corporate authors of citation and bibliography generator
APA style has guidelines regarding citing works by multiple authors. The in-text citation and bibliography generator is different when a source has an organization as the author or in a case of multiple authors. The most important thing is to note how punctuations are used in each case and the use of the ampersand (&) symbol.
| Author type | Parenthetical citation | Narrative citation |
| One author | (Jones, 1998) | Jones (1998) |
| Two authors | (Jones &Smith, 1998) | Jones and Smith (1998) |
| Three or more authors | (Jones et al., 1998) | Jones et al. (1998) |
| Organization | (Muttstreet, 2020) | Muttstreet (2020) |
Missing information.
The following steps will help cite text in APA style in a case where the author, publication date, or locator is unknown or missing.
| Missing element | What to do | Parenthetical citation |
| Author | Use the source title | (Source title, 2020) |
| Date | Write “n.d.” for “no date” | (Jones, n.d.) |
| Page number | You can omit the page number or use an alternative locator. | (Jones, 1998) or (Jones, 1998, chapter 4) |
APA references
The basics
A reference is a list of all sources used in a piece of writing and it consists of the name of the author, date of publication, title, and the source. You might be required to give extra information to help the reader locate the sources used depending on the type of source.
Reference example.
When citing a source, select the correct reference format. Learn the formats of the most common source types and take note of the use of punctuation, capitalization, and italicization. The following are some formats used in referencing different sources.
Book
Rules
- The title of the book should be italicized.
- For the title, the first letter of the first word and any first letter of a proper noun should be capitalized.
The format should be as follows:
Author surname, initial(s). (Year of publication). Title (ed.). Publisher location: Publisher
Example
Mitchell, J.A., Thomas, M., & Coyne, R.P. (2017). A guide to citation. London, England: My publisher
Jones, A.F & Wang, L. (2011). Spectacular creatures: The Amazon rainforest (2nd ed.). San Jose, Costa Rica: My publisher
(ed)- stands for edition and is not included for 1st edition books.
For an E-book, referencing is similar to a book except that the publisher is changed for a URL.
Article or Journal
When citing a journal article, publisher and publisher location are not included. They are usually replaced by the title of the journal, page number, volume number, and issue number.
Rules
- The title of the article is not italicized but the title of the journal and volume number are italicized.
- All words in the journal-title should be capitalized.
Format
Author surname, initial (s).Article title. Journal Title, Volume Number (issue or part number), page numbers. DIO
DIO or Retrieved from URL is included in a case where the article can be accessed from an online source.
Example
Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important. Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95
Webpage
Many sources can be retrieved online but in most cases, the “website” format is not supposed to be used in citing these sources. Such sources include journal articles, books, and reports. The website format should only be used in the case where other reference categories can’t fit and it is the only option.
Format
Author surname, initial (s). (Year, month day). Page title. Site name. URL
Online video
Follow the following steps to cite an online video.
- Citation and bibliography generator: The author should be the account that uploaded the video.
- Citation and bibliography generator: Give the date the video was uploaded.
- Citation and bibliography generator: The title of the video should be italicized.
- Citation and bibliography generator: In the square brackets after the title, include the description “[Video]”
- Citation and bibliography generator: Provide the site name (YouTube) and URL of the video.
Format
Channel name. (Year, Month Day). Title of the video [Video]. Site name. URL
Report
The following steps are used in citing a report in the APA format.
- Author (S) surname followed by first initials.
- Year
- Title of the report which should be italicized.
- Publisher information (The publisher should be omitted if the author is the publisher)
- DIO or URL.
Format
Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year, Month Day). Title of the report (Report No. xxx). Publisher. DOI or URL
NB: In a case where a source is written by an organization instead of a person, the organization’s name is included in the author’s position.
Missing information
Some online sources do not have certain information that can be used in referencing. In these cases, the reference will be adjusted to match the available information.
| Missing information | What to do | Reference format |
| Author | The reference entry should begin with the source title. | Title. (Date). Source. |
| Date | “n.d” should be written to mean “no date” | Author. (n.d). Title. Source |
| Title | The work should be described in square brackets [ ]. | Author. (Date). [Description]. Source. |
Formatting the APA reference page
The basics
A reference page is the last page of a research paper or an essay that consists of a list of all sources used in writing the paper. The list begins on a new page and appears after the main body and before the appendices. It contains all sources cited in the main text.
The word “References” is written at the center of the first line of the page in bold. The references are then listed alphabetically from the second line. The following are the guidelines used in formatting the APA reference page.
- The references should be sorted alphabetically by the author’s last name.
- All references in the list should have a hanging indent.
- Everything should be double-spaced (within and between references).
- Use a legible font. (Times New Roman 12, Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10 or Georgia 11). The selected font should be used throughout the paper.
- The page number should be in the top-right header.
Which sources should you include in the reference list?
The reference list should only contain sources that have been cited in the main text using an in-text citation. Do not include sources that can’t be accessed by the reader such as online private materials, phone conversations, or emails.
