How to Add Citations in Google Docs (MLA, APA, Chicago)

Whether it's a white paper, a research-backed blog post or a report for a client, citing your sources makes the work more believable. Google Docs has a built-in citations tool that formats references for you, so you don't have to remember where every comma goes in an APA reference.

Add citations in Google Docs, step by step

1. Open your document and click Tools, then Citations. A sidebar opens on the right.
2. Pick your style: MLA, APA or Chicago Author-Date.
3. Click + Add citation source and choose the source type, such as a website, book or newspaper article.
4. Choose how you accessed it, fill in the details, then click Add citation source.
5. Click in your text where the citation should go.
6. Hover over the source in the sidebar and click Cite.

The citation appears in your chosen style. If you see a # symbol in the citation, Google's help page says to delete it or replace it with the page number for that quote.

Which citation styles you get

Style	Edition Google uses	Pick it when
MLA	8th edition	Your brief, school or editor names MLA
APA	7th edition	You're asked for APA, often in business or academic reports
Chicago Author-Date	17th edition	A publisher or editor asks for Chicago author-date

If a client or publisher asks for a different style or edition, you'll need to format those references by hand, because these are the only three the tool offers.

Let Docs fill in the details for you

Typing every author and date is the slow way. For books, book sections, websites and newspaper articles, Google lets you search instead. Choose Search with an ISBN for a book or Search with a URL for a web page, click Search, check the result is the right one and click Continue. Docs fills in what it finds, and you add anything missing. Fields marked with a blue asterisk are the ones Google recommends filling in.

If the search can't find your source, click Cite manually and type the details yourself.

Insert the bibliography

1. Click where you want the reference list, usually at the end of the document.
2. At the bottom of the Citations sidebar, click Insert bibliography.

Docs builds the list in your chosen style, with a Bibliography heading on top.

The catch: the bibliography includes every source, cited or not

This is the one that catches people. Google's guidance is that the bibliography includes all sources in the sidebar, not only the ones you clicked Cite on. If you added a few sources while researching and never used them, they'll still turn up in the list. Delete them from the bibliography, or from the sidebar before you insert it.

There's a second trap in the other direction. Deleting a source from the Citations sidebar doesn't remove anything from your document. Google says you need to delete the in-text citations and bibliography entries yourself. So if you cut a paragraph and drop a source, check the reference list by eye before you send the document.

Adding more than one author

Reports and studies often have several authors or come from an organisation rather than a person. In the source form, click + Contributor to add each extra name. Google's form also lets you mark a contributor as an organisation, such as a company, which stops Docs treating a brand name as someone's first and last name. It's a small detail, but it's the difference between a reference that looks right and one an editor sends back.

Check before you send

• Read the in-text citations. Make sure every quote has one and that any # placeholders have been swapped for page numbers.
• Scan the bibliography. Delete any sources you added but didn't use.
• Match the style to the brief. If you change the style in the sidebar later, read the citations and bibliography again.

Writing in another language?

The citations tool works in every language, but Google notes that the parts it generates, such as the Bibliography heading and phrases like 'edited by', only appear in English for now. The titles you type stay in whatever language you entered them. If your document is in Spanish or German, translate those generated words by hand once the bibliography is in place.

Footnotes as an alternative

For a business report, you may not need academic-style citations at all. A simple footnote, added with Insert, Footnote, lets you put a short source note at the bottom of the page. I use footnotes for client reports and the citations tool for anything that needs to follow a named style, such as a guide that might be quoted by students or researchers.

The short version from me

Tools, Citations, pick your style, add sources with an ISBN or URL search, click Cite as you write, and insert the bibliography at the end. Then tidy the list, because it includes every source you added. If you're writing longer pieces for clients, my notes on starting a freelance copywriting business cover how to present research-backed work, and if a simple source note is enough, here's how to add footnotes in Google Docs.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add citations in Google Docs?

Click Tools, Citations, choose a style, add your sources, then place your cursor, hover over a source and click Cite.

Which citation styles does Google Docs support?

MLA 8th edition, APA 7th edition and Chicago Author-Date 17th edition.

How do I add a bibliography in Google Docs?

Place your cursor where the list should go and click Insert bibliography at the bottom of the Citations sidebar.

Why are uncited sources in my Google Docs bibliography?

The bibliography includes every source in the sidebar. Delete the ones you didn't use from the bibliography or the sidebar.

Does deleting a source remove its citations?

No. Deleting a source from the sidebar doesn't change your document, so remove the in-text citations and bibliography entries yourself.