There’s
nothing like MLA or APA citation formatting requirements to add even more
tedious hours to your research paper that’s already dragged on for weeks. But
with these easy-to-use online tools, you can get picture-perfect bibliographies
and Works Cited pages at the click of a button.
1)
Citation Machine
Citation
Machine offers free, automatic formatting for MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian styles.
From the left-hand menu, choose the style manual you’re using, then the type of
source you need to cite (book, journal, website, etc.). You’ll get an online
form to fill out with information like author name, page number, and publication
date. Simply plug in the info, click “Submit,” and your formatted citation pops
out, ready for you to copy and paste into your paper.
2)
Source
Aid
Source
Aid works almost the same as Citation Machine. Select the style guide you need,
and click “Start Citation Builder.” Choose the type of source you’re citing, then
fill out the form with the necessary publication info. Click “Next” to get your
fully formatted, rules-compliant citation.
3)
Easy
Bib
EasyBib
is a free MLA citation tool for sources of all kinds. Just select your type of
source from a drop-down menu, specify what form you found it in (print or
electronic), then click “Next.” Fill out the citation info (just like in
Citation Machine and Source Aid), click “Format Citation,” and you’re done! You
can even view your formatted citations online or save your Works Cited list in
a Word doc format as you go along. For $7.99 a year, you can upgrade to MyBib Pro to get access
to APA formatting as well.
4)
Knight Cite
This
citation tool on the Calvin College
website is possibly the simplest tool of the bunch. The entire page is nothing
but fields asking for author, title, page numbers, and basic publication info. Type
in the info, click “Submit,” and out comes your citation. Choose from MLA, APA,
and Chicago styles, and a variety of print or electronic sources.
5)
Carmun
Easy Bibliography Formatting
This
handy tool formats citations for five different standards: MLA, APA, Chicago,
Turabian, and CSE. As with the other tools, all you have to do is fill in
specified fields with requested source info. Then click the green “Format
Bibliography” button at the bottom of the form, and voilá — a quick, painless, standards-compliant citation for your
paper.
As you’re probably noticing, these online citation tools
are all very similar. The one you end up using the most will depend on what style
guide your professors require, your input and layout preferences, and the interface
that you find easiest and quickest to use.