EssayClerkAPA citation generator
Create APA 7 references and in-text citation examples for books, journal articles and websites in your browser. Free; optional DOI/ISBN lookups go online.
Loading citation tools…
Your source details
Import BibTeX or RIS
Books, journal articles, and webpages. Maximum 200,000 characters. URLs and DOI strings alone are not imports.
Find a source by DOI or ISBN
When you choose Look up source, only this identifier is sent to EssayClerk and Crossref (DOI) or Open Library (ISBN). Your source form and bibliography stay in this browser. Entering a URL elsewhere does not fetch it.
Crossref does not cover every DOI registry. If no match is found or lookup is unavailable, use the manual form below.
Your sources (0/100)
Add a source to start your bibliography.
References
Add or import sources to create your bibliography.
Keep a copy on this device
Optional. One saved citation project per browser and site address. Save replaces the previous copy; edits are never saved automatically. Restore is always your choice.
Includes added sources, style, and lookup provenance. Unadded forms, pasted imports, and citation locators are not saved.
Anyone using this browser profile can access the saved copy. Browser data may be cleared or unavailable. Device saving is not a backup or cloud sync; download your work separately.
Add sources and save or clear source-form edits before saving a project snapshot. Pasted import previews are not included.
Build an APA 7 reference list
Start with the details printed on the source. This page uses APA 7th edition with English (US) formatting. Add sources manually or review a DOI/ISBN lookup before including it in your project.
- For a book, enter authors, publication year, title and publisher. Use the edition you actually read.
- For a journal article, distinguish the article title from the journal title; add volume, issue, page range and DOI when known.
- For a webpage, enter the named author or organization and its publication date if available. An access date is separate from publication; enter it only when your reference requires it.
A worked book example
This is a fictional teaching example, not a verified publication.
Reference: Jones, A. (2024). Study skills. Example Press.
Page-12 citation: (Jones, 2024, p. 12)
This fictional book shows initials and the year in parentheses. The bibliography preview italicizes the book title. The citation example points to page 12; use the real page you consulted. The complete project supplies alphabetical ordering and author/year disambiguation.
Review the reference and its citation together
Check that the author and year used in your essay identify the intended entry in the reference list. A quotation needs the actual page or other applicable locator from the work you read; the page-12 example here is illustrative. Changing the selected example source does not place a citation in your document.
Before submitting, review titles, author order and publication dates against the source. The preview can display italics, but a plain-text copy cannot carry that formatting into your essay. Check the APA guidance linked below and apply the required reference-list layout in your editor.
Questions about this style
How do I make an APA website citation?
Choose Webpage, then enter the author or organization, date, page title and URL you can verify. The generator does not fetch the URL. Check the formatted entry and in-text example against APA 7 guidance and the source.
What if a publication date is missing?
Leave it blank. The formatter uses missing-date rules, including n.d. where applicable. A DOI lookup is editable metadata, not a reason to invent a date.
Does copying preserve italics?
The preview displays styled references, but the current copy and text download contain plain text. Apply required italics and document layout in your editor.
Review the guidance
Supported sources are books, journal articles and webpages. Formatting does not verify that a publication exists or certify assignment compliance. Use the bibliography formatter for structured imports and the word counter when reviewing your draft.
Build references from details you know
Enter books, journal articles, or webpages manually, or preview supported BibTeX/RIS records before adding them. APA, MLA, Chicago author-date and Harvard sort references using the style. IEEE and Vancouver number references in source-list order; use Move up/down to arrange the order of first citation. Unknown author/date fields stay unknown. Formatting is not a check that a source exists or that all metadata is correct.
Imports preserve parsed CSL metadata, including additional roles such as editors; the form edits the common fields shown. Unsupported source types and incomplete imports are rejected without adding partial records. Possible duplicates require an explicit keep-separate decision; automatic merging and arbitrary prose repair are not implemented.
Keep your sources
The citation generator and bibliography formatter share this browser session’s sources when navigating between them. Refreshing or closing clears the current project. A device copy is saved and restored only through the controls above; later edits need another save. Export BibTeX/RIS to keep source records; a plain-text bibliography is formatted output rather than an editable source project.
Open the bibliography formatter
Check this citation project for missing details, identifiers, dates, and possible duplicates.
Formatting uses Citation.js and citeproc-js. citeproc-js © 2009–2019 Frank Bennett. Licenses and covered source. Styles/locales from Citation Style Language are licensed CC BY-SA 3.0; author notices are retained. Review APA guidance or MLA guidance for your source.