How to Cite a Journal Article in Any Style

Journal articles are the most commonly cited source in academic writing. Every citation style handles them differently. Here's the same article formatted in all six major styles, with the key rules for each.

The Example Article

We'll cite this article in every style:

• Authors: John D. Smith, Mary K. Johnson
• Year: 2025
• Title: The impact of citation accuracy on academic publishing
• Journal: Journal of Academic Writing
• Volume: 15, Issue: 3, Pages: 45--62
• DOI: 10.1234/example

APA 7th Edition

Smith, J. D., & Johnson, M. K. (2025). The impact of citation accuracy on academic publishing. Journal of Academic Writing, 15(3), 45--62. https://doi.org/10.1234/example

Key rules:

• Author last name, initials. Use "&" before last author.
• Year in parentheses after authors.
• Article title in sentence case (only first word capitalized).
• Journal name in title case, italicized. Volume italicized, issue in parentheses.
• DOI as full URL, no period at end.

For more APA details: Getting started with APA citations.

MLA 9th Edition

Smith, John D., and Mary K. Johnson. "The Impact of Citation Accuracy on Academic Publishing." Journal of Academic Writing, vol. 15, no. 3, 2025, pp. 45--62.

Key rules:

• First author inverted (Last, First), second author normal (First Last).
• "and" between authors (not "&").
• Article title in quotation marks, title case.
• Journal name italicized.
• "vol." and "no." and "pp." spelled out with periods.
• DOI only if instructor requires it.

Chicago 17th Edition (Notes-Bibliography)

Footnote:

1. John D. Smith and Mary K. Johnson, "The Impact of Citation Accuracy on Academic Publishing," Journal of Academic Writing 15, no. 3 (2025): 45--62, https://doi.org/10.1234/example.

Bibliography entry:

Smith, John D., and Mary K. Johnson. "The Impact of Citation Accuracy on Academic Publishing." Journal of Academic Writing 15, no. 3 (2025): 45--62. https://doi.org/10.1234/example.

Key rules:

• Footnote uses full names, first name first (except bibliography first author).
• No "vol." prefix -- just the number.
• Year in parentheses after issue number.
• Colon before page numbers.

For a broader comparison: APA vs MLA vs Chicago.

Harvard

Smith, J.D. and Johnson, M.K. (2025) 'The impact of citation accuracy on academic publishing', Journal of Academic Writing, 15(3), pp. 45--62. doi:10.1234/example.

Key rules:

• "and" between authors (not "&").
• Article title in single quotation marks (British convention).
• "pp." before page range.
• "doi:" prefix without "https://".

For the full guide: Harvard referencing.

IEEE

1 J. D. Smith and M. K. Johnson, "The impact of citation accuracy on academic publishing," J. Acad. Writing, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 45--62, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.1234/example.

Key rules:

• Initials before last name (J. D. Smith).
• Numbered reference in square brackets.
• Journal name abbreviated.
• Month abbreviated before year.

For the full guide: IEEE citation style.

Vancouver

1. Smith JD, Johnson MK. The impact of citation accuracy on academic publishing. J Acad Writing. 2025;15(3):45-62. doi:10.1234/example.

Key rules:

• No periods in author initials (Smith JD).
• No spaces in Year;Vol(Issue):Pages.
• Journal name abbreviated per MEDLINE.
• Numbered reference list.

For the full guide: Vancouver citation style.

Quick Comparison Table

Special Cases

Online-Only Articles (No Page Numbers)

Replace page numbers with the article number if available. In APA: "Article e12345." In others, include the DOI and omit pages.

Preprints

Cite preprints as you would the platform:

APA: Smith, J. D. (2025). Title. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2025.12345

Retracted Articles

If you must cite a retracted article, note the retraction:

APA: Smith, J. D. (2025). Title (Retracted). Journal, 15(3), 45. https://doi.org/10.1234/example

Try It with CiteTools

Don't memorize six different formats. Paste your journal article's DOI into CiteTools.io and switch between APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, and Vancouver with one click. Works with DOIs, URLs, BibTeX, and plain text input.

Conference papers follow different rules -- see how to cite a conference paper. Reports and white papers also have their own formatting conventions; check our guide on how to cite a report or white paper.