Citation Format

Author, A. A. (2023). Chapter title. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. 45-67). Publisher.

2. IEEE

Use for: Engineering, computer science, technology

Journal Article:

[1] J. Smith and M. Jones, "Title of article," Journal Name, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 123-145, 2023.

Conference:

[1] J. Smith, "Paper title," in Proc. Conference Name, City, Country, 2023, pp. 45-52.

3. Chicago (Author-Date)

Use for: History, arts, humanities

Journal Article:

Smith, John, and Mary Jones. 2023. "Title of Article." Journal Name 15 (2): 123-145.

Book:

Smith, John. 2023. Book Title. City: Publisher Name.

4. Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)

Footnote:

1. John Smith and Mary Jones, "Title of Article," Journal Name 15, no. 2 (2023): 123-145.

Bibliography:

Smith, John, and Mary Jones. "Title of Article." Journal Name 15, no. 2 (2023): 123-145.

5. Harvard

Use for: UK universities, various disciplines

Smith, J. and Jones, M. (2023) 'Title of article', Journal Name, 15(2), pp. 123-145.

6. MLA 9th Edition

Use for: Literature, languages, humanities

Smith, John, and Mary Jones. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. 15, no. 2, 2023, pp. 123-145.

7. Nature

Use for: Natural sciences

Smith, J. & Jones, M. Title of article. Journal Name 15, 123-145 (2023).

8. Science

Use for: Multidisciplinary sciences

J. Smith, M. Jones, Title of article. Journal Name 15, 123 (2023).

When to Use This Skill

1. Journal Submission - Format references for target journal
2. Style Conversion - Convert between styles (APA → IEEE)
3. Dissertation Formatting - Ensure consistency across chapters
4. Bibliography Cleaning - Fix formatting errors in .bib files
5. Citation Validation - Verify proper formatting before submission
6. Collaborative Writing - Standardize citations from multiple authors

Common Formatting Tasks

Task 1: Convert Citation Style

Input:

Style: APA → IEEE
Citation: Smith, J., & Jones, M. (2023). Deep learning. AI Journal, 15(2), 123-145.

Process:

1. Extract metadata: authors, title, journal, volume, issue, pages, year
2. Apply IEEE template
3. Add numbering

Output:

[1] J. Smith and M. Jones, "Deep learning," AI Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 123-145, 2023.

Task 2: Clean BibTeX Entry

Input (messy):

@article{smith2023,
  author={Smith, John and Jones, Mary and Johnson, Bob},
  title={A Really Long Title That Goes On And On},
  journal={Journal},
  year=2023,
  volume=15,
  pages={123--145},
  doi={10.1000/xyz}
}

Output (cleaned):

@article{smith2023deep,
  author = {Smith, John and Jones, Mary and Johnson, Bob},
  title = {A Really Long Title That Goes On and On},
  journal = {Journal Name},
  year = {2023},
  volume = {15},
  number = {2},
  pages = {123--145},
  doi = {10.1000/xyz123}
}

Task 3: Generate Reference List

Input: List of DOIs or BibTeX entries
Output: Formatted reference list in specified style

Formatting Rules by Style

APA 7th Edition Rules

• Author names: Last, F. M., & Last, F. M.
• Year: (2023)
• Title: Sentence case (only first word capitalized)
• Journal: Title Case, volume(issue), pages
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy

IEEE Rules

• Numbering: [1], [2], [3] in order of appearance
• Author names: F. M. Last and F. M. Last
• Title: "Title case with quotes"
• Journal: Italic Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 123-145, Month 2023
• DOI: doi: 10.xxxx/yyyy

Chicago Rules

• Author-Date: Last, First, and First Last. Year.
• Notes: Superscript footnote numbers
• Bibliography: Alphabetical by last name
• Title: Title Case for Books, "Sentence case" for articles

Integration with Other Components

With Citation-Management MCP Server

Use citation-management MCP to:
1. Fetch metadata from DOI
2. Verify citations via Crossref
3. Check for retractions
4. Then apply formatting with this skill

With Manuscript-Writer Agent

Agent workflow:
1. Collect citations during writing
2. Use citation-format skill to format
3. Generate bibliography
4. Validate all citations before submission

With Bibliography Tools

• BibTeX: Parse and reformat .bib files
• Zotero: Export and format Zotero libraries
• Mendeley: Convert Mendeley exports

Examples

Example 1: Multi-Author APA Citation

Input Data:

Authors: Smith, J., Jones, M., Johnson, B., Williams, K., Brown, L., Davis, R., Miller, T., Wilson, P.
Year: 2023
Title: large-scale meta-analysis of intervention effects
Journal: Psychological Bulletin
Volume: 149
Issue: 3
Pages: 456-489
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000123

APA Format (7+ authors):

Smith, J., Jones, M., Johnson, B., Williams, K., Brown, L., Davis, R., Miller, T., & Wilson, P. (2023). Large-scale meta-analysis of intervention effects. Psychological Bulletin, 149(3), 456-489. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000123

Example 2: Conference Proceedings (IEEE)

Input Data:

Authors: Zhang, L., Kumar, R.
Year: 2024
Title: Neural architecture search using reinforcement learning
Conference: International Conference on Machine Learning
Location: Vienna, Austria
Pages: 1234-1242

IEEE Format:

[1] L. Zhang and R. Kumar, "Neural architecture search using reinforcement learning," in Proc. Int. Conf. Mach. Learn., Vienna, Austria, 2024, pp. 1234-1242.

Example 3: Book Chapter (Chicago)

Input Data:

Author: Thompson, S.
Year: 2023
Chapter: Qualitative research methods in education
Editors: Anderson, P., Baker, M.
Book: Handbook of Educational Research
Pages: 234-267
Publisher: Academic Press
Location: New York

Chicago (Author-Date):

Thompson, Sarah. 2023. "Qualitative Research Methods in Education." In Handbook of Educational Research, edited by Peter Anderson and Michelle Baker, 234-267. New York: Academic Press.

Validation Checklist

Before finalizing citations, verify:

• Author names formatted correctly for style
• Publication year present and correct
• Title capitalization follows style rules
• Journal names spelled out or abbreviated per style
• Volume and issue numbers formatted correctly
• Page ranges use correct separator (–, --, or -)
• DOIs formatted correctly and functional
• Punctuation matches style guide exactly
• Hanging indents applied (APA, MLA, Chicago)
• Numbering sequential and correct (IEEE)
• Alphabetical order correct (most styles)

Common Errors to Fix

Error 1: Incorrect Capitalization

❌ "Deep Learning Applications in Medical Imaging" (Title Case in APA) ✅ "Deep learning applications in medical imaging" (Sentence case)

Error 2: Missing DOI

❌ Citation without DOI ✅ Add: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy

Error 3: Inconsistent Formatting

❌ Mixed citation styles in one document ✅ All citations use same style

Error 4: Incorrect Ampersand Usage

❌ "Smith and Jones" in APA in-text citation ✅ "Smith & Jones" in APA in-text citation

Error 5: Page Range Separator

❌ "123-145" in Chicago (should be en-dash) ✅ "123–145" in Chicago

Best Practices

1. Choose Style Early - Select citation style at project start
2. Use Reference Manager - Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote
3. Validate DOIs - Ensure all DOIs resolve correctly
4. Check Journal Requirements - Some journals have specific rules
5. Automate When Possible - Use tools for consistent formatting
6. Proofread Carefully - Citation errors are common in rejections

Resources

• APA Style: https://apastyle.apa.org/
• IEEE Reference Guide: https://ieee-dataport.org/sites/default/files/analysis/27/IEEE%20Citation%20Guidelines.pdf
• Chicago Manual of Style: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/
• MLA Handbook: https://style.mla.org/
• Purdue OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/

Last Updated: 2025-11-09 Version: 1.0.0