Citation Formatting Skill

Purpose

Format academic citations according to standard style guides. Ensures proper citation formatting for journal submissions, dissertations, and academic publications.

Supported Citation Styles

1. APA 7th Edition

Use for: Psychology, education, social sciences

Journal Article:

Smith, J., & Jones, M. (2023). Title of article. Journal Name, 15(2), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123

Book:

Author, A. A. (2023). Title of book (2nd ed.). Publisher Name.

Chapter:

Author, A. A. (2023). Chapter title. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. 45-67). Publisher.

2. IEEE

Use for: Engineering, computer science, technology

Journal Article:

[1] J. Smith and M. Jones, "Title of article," Journal Name, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 123-145, 2023.

Conference:

[1] J. Smith, "Paper title," in Proc. Conference Name, City, Country, 2023, pp. 45-52.

3. Chicago (Author-Date)

Use for: History, arts, humanities

Journal Article:

Smith, John, and Mary Jones. 2023. "Title of Article." Journal Name 15 (2): 123-145.

Book:

Smith, John. 2023. Book Title. City: Publisher Name.

4. Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)

Footnote:

1. John Smith and Mary Jones, "Title of Article," Journal Name 15, no. 2 (2023): 123-145.

Bibliography:

Smith, John, and Mary Jones. "Title of Article." Journal Name 15, no. 2 (2023): 123-145.

5. Harvard

Use for: UK universities, various disciplines

Smith, J. and Jones, M. (2023) 'Title of article', Journal Name, 15(2), pp. 123-145.

6. MLA 9th Edition

Use for: Literature, languages, humanities

Smith, John, and Mary Jones. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. 15, no. 2, 2023, pp. 123-145.

7. Nature

Use for: Natural sciences

Smith, J. & Jones, M. Title of article. Journal Name 15, 123-145 (2023).

8. Science

Use for: Multidisciplinary sciences

J. Smith, M. Jones, Title of article. Journal Name 15, 123 (2023).

When to Use This Skill

1. Journal Submission - Format references for target journal
2. Style Conversion - Convert between styles (APA → IEEE)
3. Dissertation Formatting - Ensure consistency across chapters
4. Bibliography Cleaning - Fix formatting errors in .bib files
5. Citation Validation - Verify proper formatting before submission
6. Collaborative Writing - Standardize citations from multiple authors

Common Formatting Tasks

Task 1: Convert Citation Style

Input:

Style: APA → IEEE
Citation: Smith, J., & Jones, M. (2023). Deep learning. AI Journal, 15(2), 123-145.

Process:

1. Extract metadata: authors, title, journal, volume, issue, pages, year
2. Apply IEEE template
3. Add numbering

Output:

[1] J. Smith and M. Jones, "Deep learning," AI Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 123-145, 2023.

Task 2: Clean BibTeX Entry

Input (messy):

@article{smith2023,
  author={Smith, John and Jones, Mary and Johnson, Bob},
  title={A Really Long Title That Goes On And On},
  journal={Journal},
  year=2023,
  volume=15,
  pages={123--145},
  doi={10.1000/xyz}
}

Output (cleaned):

@article{smith2023deep,
  author = {Smith, John and Jones, Mary and Johnson, Bob},
  title = {A Really Long Title That Goes On and On},
  journal = {Journal Name},
  year = {2023},
  volume = {15},
  number = {2},
  pages = {123--145},
  doi = {10.1000/xyz123}
}

Task 3: Generate Reference List

Input: List of DOIs or BibTeX entries
Output: Formatted reference list in specified style

Formatting Rules by Style

APA 7th Edition Rules

• Author names: Last, F. M., & Last, F. M.
• Year: (2023)
• Title: Sentence case (only first word capitalized)
• Journal: Title Case, volume(issue), pages
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy

IEEE Rules

• Numbering: [1], [2], [3] in order of appearance
• Author names: F. M. Last and F. M. Last
• Title: "Title case with quotes"
• Journal: Italic Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 123-145, Month 2023
• DOI: doi: 10.xxxx/yyyy

Chicago Rules

• Author-Date: Last, First, and First Last. Year.
• Notes: Superscript footnote numbers
• Bibliography: Alphabetical by last name
• Title: Title Case for Books, "Sentence case" for articles

Integration with Other Components

With Citation-Management MCP Server

Use citation-management MCP to:
1. Fetch metadata from DOI
2. Verify citations via Crossref
3. Check for retractions
4. Then apply formatting with this skill

With Manuscript-Writer Agent

Agent workflow:
1. Collect citations during writing
2. Use citation-format skill to format
3. Generate bibliography
4. Validate all citations before submission

With Bibliography Tools

• BibTeX: Parse and reformat .bib files
• Zotero: Export and format Zotero libraries
• Mendeley: Convert Mendeley exports

Examples

Example 1: Multi-Author APA Citation

Input Data:

Authors: Smith, J., Jones, M., Johnson, B., Williams, K., Brown, L., Davis, R., Miller, T., Wilson, P.
Year: 2023
Title: large-scale meta-analysis of intervention effects
Journal: Psychological Bulletin
Volume: 149
Issue: 3
Pages: 456-489
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000123

APA Format (7+ authors):

Smith, J., Jones, M., Johnson, B., Williams, K., Brown, L., Davis, R., Miller, T., & Wilson, P. (2023). Large-scale meta-analysis of intervention effects. Psychological Bulletin, 149(3), 456-489. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000123

Example 2: Conference Proceedings (IEEE)

Input Data:

Authors: Zhang, L., Kumar, R.
Year: 2024
Title: Neural architecture search using reinforcement learning
Conference: International Conference on Machine Learning
Location: Vienna, Austria
Pages: 1234-1242

IEEE Format:

[1] L. Zhang and R. Kumar, "Neural architecture search using reinforcement learning," in Proc. Int. Conf. Mach. Learn., Vienna, Austria, 2024, pp. 1234-1242.

Example 3: Book Chapter (Chicago)

Input Data:

Author: Thompson, S.
Year: 2023
Chapter: Qualitative research methods in education
Editors: Anderson, P., Baker, M.
Book: Handbook of Educational Research
Pages: 234-267
Publisher: Academic Press
Location: New York

Chicago (Author-Date):

Thompson, Sarah. 2023. "Qualitative Research Methods in Education." In Handbook of Educational Research, edited by Peter Anderson and Michelle Baker, 234-267. New York: Academic Press.

Validation Checklist

Before finalizing citations, verify:

• Author names formatted correctly for style
• Publication year present and correct
• Title capitalization follows style rules
• Journal names spelled out or abbreviated per style
• Volume and issue numbers formatted correctly
• Page ranges use correct separator (–, --, or -)
• DOIs formatted correctly and functional
• Punctuation matches style guide exactly
• Hanging indents applied (APA, MLA, Chicago)
• Numbering sequential and correct (IEEE)
• Alphabetical order correct (most styles)

Common Errors to Fix

Error 1: Incorrect Capitalization

❌ "Deep Learning Applications in Medical Imaging" (Title Case in APA) ✅ "Deep learning applications in medical imaging" (Sentence case)

Error 2: Missing DOI

❌ Citation without DOI ✅ Add: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy

Error 3: Inconsistent Formatting

❌ Mixed citation styles in one document ✅ All citations use same style

Error 4: Incorrect Ampersand Usage

❌ "Smith and Jones" in APA in-text citation ✅ "Smith & Jones" in APA in-text citation

Error 5: Page Range Separator

❌ "123-145" in Chicago (should be en-dash) ✅ "123–145" in Chicago

Best Practices

1. Choose Style Early - Select citation style at project start
2. Use Reference Manager - Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote
3. Validate DOIs - Ensure all DOIs resolve correctly
4. Check Journal Requirements - Some journals have specific rules
5. Automate When Possible - Use tools for consistent formatting
6. Proofread Carefully - Citation errors are common in rejections

Resources

• APA Style: https://apastyle.apa.org/
• IEEE Reference Guide: https://ieee-dataport.org/sites/default/files/analysis/27/IEEE%20Citation%20Guidelines.pdf
• Chicago Manual of Style: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/
• MLA Handbook: https://style.mla.org/
• Purdue OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/

---

Last Updated: 2025-11-09 Version: 1.0.0