How to cite a source in APA, MLA and Chicago

The example we'll use

A 2015 article in the journal Nature by Yann LeCun, Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton, titled "Deep learning", volume 521, issue 7553, pages 436 to 444, DOI 10.1038/nature14539.

APA 7

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx

LeCun, Y., Bengio, Y., & Hinton, G. (2015). Deep learning. Nature, 521(7553), 436-444. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14539

In the text: (LeCun et al., 2015). Only the first word of the article title is capitalized, and the journal name and volume are in italics.

MLA 9

Last, First, et al. "Title of the Article." Journal Name, vol. X, no. X, Year, pp. X-X. https://doi.org/xxxx.

LeCun, Yann, et al. "Deep Learning." Nature, vol. 521, no. 7553, 2015, pp. 436-44. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14539.

In the text: (LeCun et al. 436). With three or more authors, MLA lists the first author followed by "et al."

Chicago author-date

Last, First, First Last, and First Last. Year. "Title of the Article." Journal Name Volume (Issue): pages. https://doi.org/xxxx.

LeCun, Yann, Yoshua Bengio, and Geoffrey Hinton. 2015. "Deep Learning." Nature 521 (7553): 436-44. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14539.

In the text: (LeCun et al. 2015, 436).

Tips that save marks

• Use the DOI when there is one. It is the most reliable link to the article.
• Copy author names and titles exactly as the article shows them.
• List references in alphabetical order by the first author's last name.
• Open and read every source you cite. A title that sounds right isn't proof.

Find and cite sources in your browser

With NOVA Ink, highlight a claim and tap Find sources. It shows real published papers from Crossref and OpenAlex, each with a DOI link, and formats the citation in APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago 18. Copy it, or insert it where you are writing.