Accurate Harvard, APA, MLA, and Chicago references, verified by experts, trusted by millions.
Look up your source by its title, URL, ISBN, or DOI, and let Scribbr do the rest! The reference generator will automatically find all the necessary information to generate a perfect reference, including the author(s), publication date, and publisher.
| ⚙️ Styles | Harvard, APA, MLA, Chicago |
|---|---|
| 📚 Source types | Websites, books, articles, reports, and more |
| 🔎 Autocite | Search by title, URL, DOI, or ISBN |
Inaccurate references can cost you points on your assignments, so our seasoned referencing experts have invested countless hours in perfecting Scribbr’s reference generator algorithms. We’re proud to be recommended by teachers and universities across the UK.
Staying focused is already difficult enough, so unlike other reference generators, Scribbr won’t slow you down with flashing banner ads and video pop-ups. That’s a promise!
Look up your source by its title, URL, ISBN, or DOI, and let Scribbr find and fill in all the relevant information automatically.
Generate flawless references according to the official Harvard, APA, MLA, or Chicago style rules. More referencing styles will be available soon!
When your reference list is complete, export it to Word. We’ll apply the official formatting guidelines automatically.
Create separate reference lists for each of your assignments to stay organized. You can also group related lists into folders.
Are you using a LaTex editor like Overleaf? If so, you can easily export your references in Bib(La)TeX format with a single click.
Change the typeface used for your reference list to match the rest of your document. Options include Times New Roman, Arial, and Calibri.
Scribbr’s Referencing Generator is built using the same citation software (CSL) as Mendeley and Zotero, but with an added layer for improved accuracy.
Describe or evaluate your sources in annotations, and Scribbr will generate a perfectly formatted annotated bibliography.
Scribbr’s popular guides and videos will help you understand everything related to finding, evaluating, and referencing sources.
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Working with sources is an important skill that you’ll need throughout your academic career.
It includes knowing how to find relevant sources, assessing their authority and credibility, and understanding how to integrate sources into your work with proper referencing.
This quick guide will help you get started!
Sources commonly used in academic writing include academic journals, scholarly books, websites, newspapers, and encyclopedias. There are three main places to look for such sources:
When using academic databases or search engines, you can use Boolean operators to refine your results.
Scribbr Referencing Generator
In academic writing, your sources should be credible, up to date, and relevant to your research topic. Useful approaches to evaluating sources include the CRAAP test and lateral reading.
CRAAP is an abbreviation that reminds you of a set of questions to ask yourself when evaluating information.
Lateral reading means comparing your source to other sources. This allows you to:
If a source is using methods or drawing conclusions that are incompatible with other research in its field, it may not be reliable.
Once you have found information that you want to include in your paper, signal phrases can help you to introduce it. Here are a few examples:
| Function | Example sentence | Signal words and phrases |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral: You present the author’s position neutrally, without any special emphasis. | According to recent research, food services are responsible for one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. | According to, analyzes, asks, describes, discusses, explains, in the words of, notes, observes, points out, reports, writes |
| Supportive: A position is taken in agreement with what came before. | Recent research has confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity by observing light from behind a black hole. | Agrees, confirms, endorses, reinforces, promotes, supports |
| Argumentative: A position is taken for or against something, with the implication that the debate is ongoing. | Allen Ginsberg denies the importance of artistic revision … | Argues, contends, denies, insists, maintains |
Following the signal phrase, you can choose to quote, paraphrase or summarize the source.
Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source, you must include a citation crediting the original author.
Referencing your sources is important because it:
The most common citation styles in the UK are APA, MLA, Harvard, Vancouver, MHRA, and Oscola. Each citation style has specific rules for formatting citations.
Scribbr’s free Reference Generator can generate perfect references and in-text citations in both APA and MLA styles. More citation styles will be available soon!
Scribbr Referencing Generator
Scribbr and partners offer tons of tools and resources to make working with sources easier and faster. Take a look at our top picks: