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IEEE Citation Generator

Paste a DOI or link and get a correct IEEE reference plus the in-text citation in seconds. Free for students, with no sign-up needed to try it.

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What an IEEE reference looks like

IEEE style is the standard of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, widely used across engineering and computer science. Sources are cited with bracketed numbers like [1] that double as nouns in the sentence, as in "as shown in [3]".

Reference list entry (made-up example article)

L. Berg, "Climate adaptation in coastal cities," J. Urban Stud., vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 101–118, 2023.

In-text citation

[1] in citation order

Key IEEE rules

  • Cite with bracketed numbers in order of first appearance: [1], [2]; cite two sources at once as [1], [4], each number in its own brackets.
  • Author names render as initials before the surname: L. Berg.
  • Article titles take quotation marks; journal titles are abbreviated and italicized.
  • The reference ends vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 101–118, 2023, with the year last.
Used in: engineering, computer science and information technology Edition CitApp follows: IEEE Reference Guide (2023 version)

Frequently asked questions

How do you write an in-text citation in IEEE?

IEEE is a numbered style: instead of the author's name, you put a number in the text that points to the numbered entry in the reference list. It looks like this: [1] in citation order

What does an IEEE reference look like?

A journal article in IEEE style is formatted like this (the article is a made-up example): L. Berg, "Climate adaptation in coastal cities," J. Urban Stud., vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 101–118, 2023.

What are the main formatting rules in IEEE?

Cite with bracketed numbers in order of first appearance: [1], [2]; cite two sources at once as [1], [4], each number in its own brackets. Author names render as initials before the surname: L. Berg. Article titles take quotation marks; journal titles are abbreviated and italicized. The reference ends vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 101–118, 2023, with the year last.

Which subjects use IEEE style?

IEEE is most common in engineering, computer science and information technology. Always check your course guide, since departments sometimes use their own variant.

Which IEEE edition does CitApp follow?

CitApp follows the IEEE Reference Guide (2023 version).

Is the IEEE citation generator free?

Yes. You can generate IEEE citations free of charge: paste a DOI or URL above and copy the result. A free account saves unlimited sources to projects, and the full reference list is free for everyone.

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