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Citation Generator (IEEE)

EducationCitations and Bibliographies
Source type

The bracketed number this source takes, in the order it is first cited.

Write each author as Last, First and separate authors with a semicolon.

IEEE reference entry —
In-text citation
—
Authors read
—

IEEE references are numbered in the order you first cite them and put author initials before the surname. A two-author book becomes: [1] B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 1986. Pick the source type, fill in the fields and the entry and its bracketed in-text marker appear below.

About this tool

Engineering, computing and physics papers, theses and lab reports usually follow IEEE style, where each source gets a number in square brackets and the reference list is ordered by first citation, not alphabetically. The fiddly parts are small: initials before the surname, and between the last two authors, an en dash in page ranges, three-letter month abbreviations with a period, and et al. once a work has more than six authors. This generator handles those details for journal articles, books and web pages and shows the in-text marker to paste into your text. It cannot italicise, so set journal and book titles in italics yourself after pasting, and it does not abbreviate journal names; type the standard IEEE abbreviation if your venue requires one.

How to use it

  1. Choose the source type

    Journal article, Book or Website; the fields below change to match.

  2. Set the reference number

    Use the stepper to give the number the source takes in your list, counted in order of first citation.

  3. List the authors

    Type each as Last, First and separate them with semicolons; initials are made for you.

  4. Fill the details

    Add volume, issue, pages and month for articles, edition, city and publisher for books, or the URL and access date for web pages.

Examples

Two-author book

Source type
Book
Reference number
1
Authors
Klaus, Berthold; Horn, Paul
Title
Robot Vision
Edition
1
Publisher city
Cambridge, MA, USA
Publisher
MIT Press
Year
1986

Result IEEE reference entry: [1] B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 1986.
In-text citation: [1]
Authors read: 2

  1. Book pattern: A. Author, Title, xth ed. City, State, Country: Publisher, Year.
  2. Authors read: B. Klaus; P. Horn

First names shrink to initials, the two authors are joined with and, and the city and country come before the publisher.

Journal article with page range

Source type
Journal article
Reference number
2
Authors
Pevere, G.
Title
Infrared nation
Journal name
The International Journal of Infrared Design
Volume
33
Pages
56-99
Month
January
Year
1979

Result IEEE reference entry: [2] G. Pevere, “Infrared nation,” The International Journal of Infrared Design, vol. 33, pp. 56–99, Jan. 1979.
In-text citation: [2]
Authors read: 1

  1. Journal pattern: A. Author, “Title,” Journal, vol. x, no. x, pp. x–y, Mon. Year.
  2. Authors read: G. Pevere

The article title sits in quotation marks with the comma inside, the hyphen in the page range becomes an en dash, and the month is abbreviated.

Web page

Source type
Website
Reference number
3
Authors
Smith, Jane
Title
Grid storage in 2024
Website name
Energy Notes
URL
https://energy.example/grid
Date accessed
2024-03-05

Result IEEE reference entry: [3] J. Smith. “Grid storage in 2024.” Energy Notes. https://energy.example/grid (accessed Mar. 5, 2024).
In-text citation: [3]
Authors read: 1

  1. Website pattern: A. Author. “Title.” Site. URL (accessed Mon. Day, Year).
  2. Authors read: J. Smith

Online sources end with the address and the date you read the page, because pages change.

How it is calculated

Journal: [n] A. B. Author, “Title,” Journal, vol. v, no. i, pp. a–b, Mon. Year. Book: [n] A. Author, Title, xth ed. City: Publisher, Year. Web: [n] A. Author. “Title.” Site. URL (accessed Mon. D, Year).

[n]
reference number, by order of first citation
A. B. Author
given-name initials followed by the surname
Mon.
IEEE month abbreviation such as Jan., Sep. or May
pp. a–b
first and last page joined by an en dash

The patterns follow the IEEE Reference Guide published by the IEEE Author Center. Up to six authors are all listed, separated by commas with and before the last; with seven or more only the first appears, followed by et al. A single page is written p. 12, a range pp. 12–19. An edition is shown only from the second onwards, as 2nd ed. or 3rd ed. Web entries end with the access date because online content changes.

When not to use it

  • Your journal or school asks for APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard instead.
  • You cite standards, patents or conference papers, which have their own IEEE patterns.
  • You manage hundreds of sources, where a reference manager that renumbers automatically saves work.

Common mistakes

  • Numbering the list alphabetically instead of by first appearance in the text.
  • Typing full first names, which IEEE replaces with initials.
  • Forgetting to italicise the journal or book title after pasting.
  • Reusing a new number for a source already cited; IEEE reuses the original number.

Frequently asked questions

How are authors ordered and joined in IEEE?

Keep the order printed on the work. Each author is written as initials then surname, such as B. Klaus. Two authors are joined with and; three to six are separated by commas with a comma and and before the last. From seven authors on, IEEE gives only the first followed by et al.

Where does the citation number go in my sentence?

Place the bracketed number inside the sentence, before the punctuation, as in: earlier work [2] showed this. You can treat it as a noun (as shown in [2]) and cite several at once as [2], [5] or a range [2]–[5].

Why does the month come out as Sep. rather than Sept.?

IEEE uses its own short forms, which are mostly the first three letters followed by a period, such as Jan., Jun. and Sep. May is written in full with no period because it is not shortened. That differs from MLA, which writes Sept. and June.

Do I need the issue number for a journal article?

Include it when the journal prints one, after the volume as no. 4. Some journals number pages continuously through a volume and readers can find the article without it, but adding it does no harm. Leave the field empty if the article shows none.

What if a web page has no author?

Leave the Authors field empty. The entry then opens with the quoted page title, followed by the site name, URL and access date. A corporate author such as an agency can be typed as a single name without a comma.

Should journal names be abbreviated?

IEEE publications abbreviate journal titles, for example IEEE Trans. Power Electron. This generator prints exactly what you type, so enter the abbreviation your publisher expects or the full name if your instructor accepts it.

Cite this tool

Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.

APA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 27). Citation Generator (IEEE). Tools Directory. Retrieved October 27, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-ieee/

MLA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Citation Generator (IEEE).” Tools Directory, 27 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-ieee/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Citation Generator (IEEE).” Tools Directory. Last modified October 27, 2026. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-ieee/.

Link<a href="https://tools.milunir.com/education/citations-and-bibliographies/citation-generator-ieee/">Citation Generator (IEEE) – Tools Directory</a>