Citation Generator (APA and MLA)

About Citation Generator (APA and MLA)

Citations show where your information came from and help you avoid plagiarism, but the formatting rules are easy to mix up. This tool creates a basic APA 7 or MLA 9 citation for a website or a book from the details you enter: author, title, publisher or site name, year and URL. It is a quick way for students to produce a correctly structured reference. Always compare the result with your instructor's requirements for unusual sources.

Example

Input: author "Smith, Jane", title "How much sleep do teens need", site "Sleep Health Hub", year 2024, with a website URL and APA 7 selected. Output: "Smith, J. (2024). How much sleep do teens need. Sleep Health Hub. https://...".

Tips for better results

• Enter the author as Last, First so the tool can create initials for APA.
• For websites with no author, use the organization name or begin with the title according to your style guide.
• Keep a list of sources while you research so you can generate all citations at once.

When to use Citation Generator (APA and MLA)

Use the Citation Generator when you need a quick, correctly structured reference for a website or a book and do not want to memorize APA or MLA punctuation. It helps high school and college students building a works cited list, and anyone writing a report that needs sources. Enter the details you have from the page or title page and copy the result. Style rules have many special cases, so always compare the output with your instructor's guide and the official style manual.

Real-world uses

• A student finishing a research paper has ten web sources and needs each one in MLA format for a works cited page.
• A psychology student writing in APA wants a reference for a book chapter and needs the author, year and publisher in the right order.
• A blogger wants to credit a data source at the bottom of an article and needs a simple, consistent reference format.
• A high school writer is unsure how to cite a page with no listed author and wants to see where the title goes.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving out details such as publication year or the date you accessed a page, which some styles require and which are hard to find later.
• Mixing APA and MLA formats in one paper, which looks inconsistent and can lose marks even if each reference is correct alone.
• Copying URLs from search results instead of the actual page address, which can produce links that break or do not match the source.

Create APA or MLA citations for websites and books. It works instantly in your browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to upload. Citation Generator (APA and MLA) is part of our collection of 100 free tools in the Student & Study category.

How to use it

1. Enter your information or choose a file in the tool above.
2. Your result appears right below the tool.
3. Copy the result, or adjust your input and try again.

Want a deeper guide? Read APA vs MLA Citations: Simple Cheat Sheet with Examples.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a citation for every source I read?

You generally cite sources you quote, paraphrase or take ideas or data from. Ask your instructor or check the style guide to know exactly what your assignment requires.

Where do I put the citations in my paper?

Place the full references in a list at the end, called References in APA or Works Cited in MLA, and add short in-text citations in your sentences. Follow your teacher's formatting for the list order.

Is Citation Generator (APA and MLA) free to use?

Yes. Citation Generator (APA and MLA) is completely free and you do not need to create an account.

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No. This tool runs in your browser, so what you type or choose stays on your device.

How accurate are the results?

Calculations use standard formulas, but always double-check important figures, especially for money, health or legal decisions.