citation templates you can check line by line.

A journal article viewed in a browser is still a journal article. A chapter downloaded as a PDF is still a chapter. The file format and the place where you found a source do not necessarily determine its citation type.

1. 01Name the source
   Decide whether you have a whole book, one chapter, a journal article, a webpage, a video, a report, or another format.
2. 02Collect the facts
   Record the creator, date, source title, larger container, publisher, edition or volume, page range, DOI, and URL when they exist.
3. 03Fill the right pattern
   Replace every bracketed field. Do not leave brackets, placeholder labels, or punctuation for a missing element.
4. 04Match the in-text form
   Use the same first identifying element in the paper and the final source list so the reader can move between them.

Use this pattern when your source is the entire book. If you used one chapter written by a different author inside an edited collection, use the chapter pattern below instead.

APA 7 does not include the publisher’s location. MLA may need a second container if, for example, you read the book through a database or platform whose role is important to locating the version you used.

Capture the article title, journal title, volume, issue, year, full page range, and DOI when available. A DOI is a stable identifier; format it as a URL when the style calls for it.

Cite the specific page you used, not the site’s homepage. Look for a named author or responsible organization and the page’s own publication or update date. A copyright year in the footer may describe the entire site rather than your page.

If the page has no individual author, an organization may be the author. If neither is available, the title can move into the lead position. Then your in-text citation must point to that same lead element, often a shortened title.

This source has two levels: the chapter you used and the book that contains it. Keep the chapter author separate from the book editor.

The credited creator depends on what your paper discusses. It may be the uploader, director, performer, interviewer, or organization. Name the role when it helps the reader understand why that person leads the entry.

Government agencies, research institutes, and nonprofits often act as group authors. Preserve a report number when it is part of the source’s identity.

1. 01Open each source
   Check the spelling and order of authors, the full title, publication date, journal or publisher, DOI, and URL against the source itself.
2. 02Check typography
   Confirm italics, quotation marks, sentence case or title case, and the hanging indent after pasting.
3. 03Check punctuation
   Periods, commas, parentheses, and labels such as vol., no., pp., or Ed. differ by style and source type.
4. 04Check the pair
   Make sure every entry has a matching in-text citation and that the first identifying element agrees in both places.
5. 05Check local rules
   Apply your instructor’s requirements for access dates, annotations, course-specific source labels, or other variations.

A generator can reduce typing, but it cannot inspect a source you described incorrectly. Use Lervan’s citation generator for a starting point, then verify the finished entry against the linked official guides.