Wikipedia:Citation templates

"WP:CT" redirects here. For special procedures on contentious topics, see WP:CTOP. For WikiProject Connecticut, see WP:CONN. For the capitalisation style of compositions, see MOS:CT. For cleanup template messages, see WP:TC. For the colon trick, see WP:COLON.

See also: Wikipedia:Citation tools and Wikipedia:Template index/Sources of articles/Citation quick reference

Citation templates are used to format citations in a consistent way, as an alternative to formatting the citations by hand. The use of citation templates is neither encouraged nor discouraged. Templates may be used or removed at the discretion of individual editors, subject to agreement with other editors on the article. Because templates can be contentious, editors should not add citation templates, or change an article with a consistent citation format to another, without gaining consensus; see WP:CITECONSENSUS and WP:CITEVAR. The various citation templates may be freely mixed, since they all produce a similar format. WP:DUPLINK and WP:OVERLINK do not apply to citations. It is expected that a reference citation includes wikilinks to the relevant article for the source, such as The New York Times, rather than The New York Times.

Use in footnotes

Further information: Help:Footnotes

Instructions on this page may not work with VisualEditor. If you have opted in, you can use either VisualEditor or classic editing through wiki markup (wikitext) to edit most pages. The directions on this page, especially about what codes to type to produce formatting effects, are predominantly geared toward wikitext editing. For instructions on editing with VisualEditor, see Wikipedia:VisualEditor/User guide.

For a citation to appear in a footnote, it needs to be enclosed in "ref" tags. You can add these by typing <ref> at the front of the citation and </ref> at the end. Alternatively you may notice above the edit box there is a row of "markup" formatting buttons which include a <ref></ref> button to the right—if you highlight your whole citation and then click this markup button, it will automatically enclose your citation in ref tags (i.e. <ref>citation</ref>).

Note, if this is a new page or if there are not already references previously cited, it is necessary to create a section usually named "Notes" or "References" near the end of the page; see WP:FNNR and MOS:APPENDIX for more information on section names:

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

or

==Notes==
<references />

Using the same footnote multiple times

Further information: WP:REFNAME

Add a name attribute when creating a footnote <ref name="name">citation text</ref>. Thereafter, the footnote may be referenced by just using the following expression <ref name="name" />.

Using multiple pages from the same source

Further information: Help:References and page numbers

When an article cites many different pages from the same source, there are two main methods of unifying them instead of copying a completely new citation. One method is Shortened footnotes, which automatically displays an entirely new reference listing in the References section per unique page citation. Another method is to use the template {{rp}}, which appends any type of positional information (such as page numbers, chapter numbers, or audiovisual time code) directly to each given citation in the article body, which would result in text such as appearing after a superscripted footnote number.

Creating links to citations

Wikilinks to citation templates can be created using the templates {{harv}}, {{harvnb}}, {{harvtxt}}, {{sfn}}, etc. For example, this "Mumford 1999" links to a citation template below. This is of particular interest when using shortened footnotes. (See the examples below or wikilinks to full references.)

Using commas rather than periods

{{Citation}} creates a citation in the same format as most of the Citation Style 1 templates, except that the periods (or full stops) are replaced with commas, and there is no final period or full stop. A complete list of templates that are mimicked by {{citation}} can be found at {{citation/core}}. The parameter |mode= can be used to alter the punctuation.

Examples

See also: Category:Citation templates

Below are examples of how to use various templates to cite a book, encyclopedia, journal, website, comic strip, video, editorial comics, etc.

• For full description of a template and the parameters which can be used with it—click the template name (e.g. {{Citation}} or {{cite xxx}}) in the "template" column of the table below.
• Required field(s) are indicated in bold
• Copy and paste the text under "common usage" to use the template.
• Following each example is the resulting article text.

For a list of tools that can help create some of the templates below, see: Wikipedia:Citation tools.

Citations are commonly embedded in reference templates. For more information, see: Wikipedia:Footnotes.

Source	Template	Common usage	Examples
book	{{cite book}} title	{{cite book | last = | first = | author-link = | title = | publisher = | series = | volume = | edition = | date = | location = | pages = | language = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = | mr = | zbl = | jfm =}}	{{cite book | last = Mumford | first = David | author-link = David Mumford | title = The Red Book of Varieties and Schemes | publisher = [[Springer-Verlag]] | series = Lecture Notes in Mathematics | volume = 1358 | edition = 2nd expanded | location = Berlin | date = 1899 | page = 198 | doi = 10.1007/b62130 | isbn = 354063293X | mr = 1748380 | zbl = 0945.14001}} Mumford, David (1999). The Red Book of Varieties and Schemes. Lecture Notes in Mathematics. Vol. 1358 (2nd expanded ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. p. 198. doi:10.1007/b62130. ISBN 354063293X. MR 1748380. Zbl 0945.14001. {{cite book | last1 = Cordell | first1 = Bruce R. | first2 = Jeff | last2 = Grubb | first3 =David | last3 = Noonan | title = [[Manual of the Planes]] | location = Berlin | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | pages = 198–203 | date = September 2001 | isbn = 0-786918-50-0}} Cordell, Bruce R.; Grubb, Jeff; Noonan, David (September 2001). Manual of the Planes. Berlin: Wizards of the Coast. pp. 198–203. ISBN 0-786918-50-0.
	{{Citation}}	{{Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author-link2 = | title = | place = | publisher = | series = | volume = | orig-date = | year = | edition = | chapter = | chapter-url = | page = | pages = | language = | url = | archive-url = | archive-date = | doi = | id = | isbn = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = }}	{{Citation | last = Mumford | first = David | author-link = David Mumford | title = The Red Book of Varieties and Schemes | place = Berlin | publisher = [[Springer-Verlag]] | series = Lecture Notes in Mathematics | volume = 1358 | edition = 2nd expanded | date = 1989 | page = 198 | doi = 10.1007/b62130 | isbn = 354063293X | mr = 1748380 | zbl = 0945.14001}} Mumford, David (1998), The Red Book of Varieties and Schemes, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol. 1358 (2nd expanded ed.), Berlin: Springer-Verlag, p. 198, doi:10.1007/b62130, ISBN 354063293X, MR 1748380, Zbl 0945.14001 {{Citation | last1 = Cordell | first1 = Bruce R. | last2 = Grubb | first2 = Jeff | last3 = Noonan | first3 = David | title = [[Manual of the Planes]] | place = Berlin | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | pages = 198–203 | date = September 2001 | isbn = 0-786918-50-0}} Cordell, Bruce R.; Grubb, Jeff; Noonan, David (September 2001), Manual of the Planes, Berlin: Wizards of the Coast, pp. 198–203, ISBN 0-786918-50-0
journal paper thesis dissertation See also {{cite thesis}}	{{cite journal}} title	{{cite journal | last = | first = | author-link = | title = | journal = | volume = | issue = | pages = | publisher = | location = | date = | language = | url = | jstor = | issn = | doi = | id = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = | access-date = }}	{{cite journal | author-link = Stephen Brey... | title = Copyright: A Rejo... | journal = UCLA Law Review | volume = 20 | pages = 75–83 | date = October 1972}} Breyer, Stephen (October 1972). "Copyright: A Rejoinder". UCLA Law Review. 20: 75–83. {{cite journal | last1 = Bailey | first1 = David H. | author-link1 = David H. Bailey (mathematician) | last2 = Borwein | first2 = Peter | author-link2 = Peter Borwein | last3 = Borwein | first3 = Jonathan M. | author-link3 = Jonathan Borwein | title = The Quest for Pi | journal = Mathematical Intelligencer | volume = 19 | issue = 1 | pages = 50–57 | publisher = Springer-Verlag | location = Berlin | date = 25 June 1997 | url = https://www.davidhbailey.com... | issn =0343-6993 | doi = 10.1007/BF03024340 | mr = 1439159 | zbl = 0878.11002}} Bailey, David H.; Borwein, Peter; Borwein, Jonathan M. (25 June 1997). "The Quest for Pi" (PDF). Mathematical Intelligencer. 19 (1). Berlin: Springer-Verlag: 50–57. doi:10.1007/BF03024340. ISSN 0343-6993. MR 1439159. Zbl 0878.11002.
	{{Citation}} journal (or periodical)	{{Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author-link2 = | title = | journal = | volume = | issue = | pages = | date = | orig-date = | year = | language = | url = | jstor = | archive-url = | archive-date = | doi = | id = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = }}	{{Citation | last = Breyer | first = Stephen | author-link = Stephen Bre... | title = Copyright: A Rejo... | journal = UCLA Law Review | volume = 20 | pages = 75–83 | date = October 1972}} Breyer, Stephen (October 1972), "Copyright: A Rejoinder", UCLA Law Review, 20: 75–83 {{Citation | last1 = Bailey | first1 = David H. | author-link1 = David H. Bailey (mathematician) | last2 = Borwein | first2 = Peter | author-link2 = Peter Borwein | last3 = Borwein | first3 = Jonathan M. | author-link3 = Jonathan Borwein | title = The Quest for Pi | journal = Mathematical Intelligencer | volume = 19 | issue = 1 | pages = 50–57 | publisher = Springer-Verlag | location = Berlin | date = 25 June 1997 | url = https://www.davidhbailey.com... | issn =0343-6993 | doi = 10.1007/BF03024340 | mr = 1439159 | zbl = 0878.11002}} Bailey, David H.; Borwein, Peter; Borwein, Jonathan M. (25 June 1997), "The Quest for Pi" (PDF), Mathematical Intelligencer, 19 (1), Berlin: Springer-Verlag: 50–57, doi:10.1007/BF03024340, ISSN 0343-6993, MR 1439159, Zbl 0878.11002
website	{{cite web}} title url	{{cite web | url = | title = | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = | access-date = | quote = }}	{{cite web | last = Spiegel | first = Rachel | title = Research: Thalido... | url = http://science-educat... | access-date = 30 April 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url = http://web.archive... | archive-date = 3 March 2006}} Spiegel, Rachel. "Research in the News: Thalidomide". Archived from the original on 3 March 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2006. {{cite web | title = | url = | website = | date = | access-date = }} (Write date as one of the formats shown at MOS:DATE; e.g. |date=22 July 2009 or |date=July 22, 2009.) {{cite web | last = Hansen | first = James E. | author-link = James E. Hansen | last2 = Ruedy | first2 = R. | last3 = Sato | first3 = M. | last4 = Lo | first4 = K. | title = GISS Surface Temperature An... | website = NASA.gov | publisher = [[Goddard Institute for... | date = December 15, 2005 | url = http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gis... | access-date = September 28, 2006}} Hansen, James E.; Ruedy, R.; Sato, M.; Lo, K. (December 15, 2005). "GISS Surface Temperature Analysis Global Temperature Trends: 2005 Summation". NASA.gov. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
	{{Citation}} title url	{{Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author2-link = | title = | publisher = | date = | year = | url = | access-date = }}	{{Citation | last = Spiegel | first = Rachel | title = Research: Thalido... | url=http://science-educat... | access-date = 30 April 2006}} Spiegel, Rachel, Research in the News: Thalidomide, retrieved 30 April 2006 {{Citation | last1 = Hansen | first1 = James E. | author1-link = James Hansen | last2 = Ruedy | first2 = R. | last3 = Sato | first3 = M. | last4 = Lo | first4 = K. | title = GISS Surface Temperature An... | publisher = [[Goddard Institute for ... | date = December 15, 2005 | url = http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gis... | access-date = September 28, 2006}} Hansen, James E.; Ruedy, R.; Sato, M.; Lo, K. (December 15, 2005), GISS Surface Temperature Analysis Global Temperature Trends: 2005 Summation, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, retrieved September 28, 2006
comic book	{{cite comic}}	{{cite comic | writer= | penciller= | inker= | story= | title= | volume= | issue= | date= | publisher= | page= | panel= }}	{{cite comic | writer=[[Stan Lee|Lee, Stan]] | penciller=[[Jack Kirby|Kirby, Jack]] | inker=[[Christopher Rule|Rule, Christopher]] | story=The Fantastic Four! | title=[[Fantastic Four|The Fantastic Four]] | volume=1 | issue=1 | date=November 1961 | publisher=[[Marvel Comics]] | page=3 | panel=2}} Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Rule, Christopher (i). "The Fantastic Four!" The Fantastic Four, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 3/2 (November 1961). Marvel Comics.
comic strip	{{cite comic}}	{{cite comic | cartoonist= | strip= | paper= | location= | date= | supplement= | syndicate= | page= }}	{{cite comic | cartoonist=[[Milton Caniff|Caniff, Milton]] | strip=[[Steve Canyon]] | paper=Journal Herald | location=Dayton, OH | date=July 15, 1967 | supplement=Color Comics Supplement | syndicate=Newspaper Syndicate | page=1}} Caniff, Milton (w, a). Steve Canyon. Journal Herald (Dayton, OH). July 15, 1967 [Color Comics Supplement], Newspaper Syndicate, p. 1.
conference report or paper	{{cite conference}} title book-title	{{cite conference | last = | first = | author-link = | title = | book-title = | pages = | publisher = | date = | location = | url = | doi = | id = | access-date = }}	{{cite conference | last = Turk | first = M. | first2 = A. | last2 = Pentland | title = Face recognition ... | book-title = Proc IEEE Con... | place = Maui, Hawaii | pages = 586–591 | date = 1991}} Turk, M.; Pentland, A. (1991). "Face recognition using eigenfaces". Proc. IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. Maui, Hawaii. pp. 586–591. {{cite conference | last1 = Evans | first1 = N. R. | last2 = Schaefer | first2 = G. | last3 = Bond | first3 = H. | last4 = Karovska | first4 = M. | last5 = Nelan | first5 = E. | last6 = Sasselov | first6 = D. | title = Direct detection of the ... | book-title = American Astronomical Society 207th ... | publisher = AAS | date = January 9, 2006 | url = http://www.aas.org/ ... 30.htm}} Evans, N. R.; Schaefer, G.; Bond, H.; Karovska, M.; Nelan, E.; Sasselov, D. (January 9, 2006). "Direct detection of the close companion of Polaris with the Hubble Space Telescope". American Astronomical Society 207th Meeting. AAS.
	{{Citation}} contribution title	{{Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | first2 = | last2 = | author-link2 = | editor-last = | editor-first = | editor-last2 = | editor-first2 = | contribution = | contribution-url = | series = | date = | pages = | place = | publisher = | url = | doi = | id = }}	{{Citation | last1 = Turk | first1 = M. | last2 = Pet... | first2 = A. | contribution = Face recog... | title = Proc IEEE Confere... | place = Maui, Hawaii | pages = 586–591 | date = 1991}} Turk, M.; Petland, A. (1991), "Face recognition using eigenfaces", Proc. IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Maui, Hawaii, pp. 586–591{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) {{Citation | last1 = Evans | first1 = N. R. | last2 = Schaefer | first2 = G. | last3 = Bond | first3 = H. | last4 = Karovska | first4 = M. | last5 = Nelan | first5 = E. | last6 = Sasselov | first6 = D. | contribution = Direct detection of ... | title = American Astronomical... | publisher = AAS | date = January 9, 2006 | contribution-url = http://...30.htm}} Evans, N. R.; Schaefer, G.; Bond, H.; Karovska, M.; Nelan, E.; Sasselov, D. (January 9, 2006), "Direct detection of the close companion of Polaris with the Hubble Space Telescope", American Astronomical Society 207th Meeting, AAS
court case (legal decision)	{{Cite court}}	{{cite court | litigants = | vol = | reporter = | opinion = | pinpoint = | court = | date = | url= }}	{{cite court | litigants=Roe v. Wade | vol=410 | reporter=U.S. | opinion=113 | date=1973 | url=https://www.law.corn...}} Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
dictionary, encyclopedia, other edited collection	{{cite dictionary}} title dictionary	{{cite dictionary | title = | dictionary = | volume = | page = | publisher = | date = | id = | url = | access-date = }}	{{cite dictionary | title = word, ''n''. ... | dictionary = American Dictionary ... | editor-last = Webst... | editor-first = Noah | editor-link = Noah Webst... | publisher = [[Meriam-Webster]] | date = 1890 }} Webster, Noah, ed. (1890). "word, n.". American Dictionary of the English Language. Meriam-Webster.
	{{cite encyclopedia}} title encyclopedia	{{cite encyclopedia | title = | encyclopedia = | volume = | pages = | publisher = | date = | id = | url = | access-date =}}	{{cite encyclopedia | title = Kirkegaard... | encyclopedia = Grote Winkler Pri... | editor-last = Winkler Pri... | editor-first = Anthony | editor-link = Anthony Win... | volume = 9 | publisher = Elsevier | date = 1882}} Winkler Prins, Anthony, ed. (1882). "Kirkegaard, Ole Lund". Grote Winkler Prins. Vol. 9. Elsevier. {{cite encyclopedia | last = Kramer | first = Martin | author-link = Martin Kramer | editor-last = Boyd | editor-first = Kelley | title = Bernard Lewis | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Hist... | volume = 1 | pages = 719–720 | publisher = Fitzroy Dearborn | location = London | date = 1999 | url = }} Kramer, Martin (1999). "Bernard Lewis". In Boyd, Kelley (ed.). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing. Vol. 1. London: Fitzroy Dearborn. pp. 719–720.
	{{Citation}} contribution=name of article	{{Citation | last = | first = | contribution = | date = | title = | editor-last = | editor-first = | volume = | pages = | place = | publisher = | id = }}	{{Citation | contribution = Kirkegaard... | title = Grote Winkler Pri... | editor-last = Winkler Pri... | editor-first = Anthony | editor-link = Anthony Win... | volume = 9 | publisher = Elsevier | date = 1882}} Winkler Prins, Anthony, ed. (1882), "Kirkegaard, Ole Lund", Grote Winkler Prins, vol. 9, Elsevier {{Citation | last = Kramer | first = Martin | author-link = Martin Kramer | contribution = Bernard Lewis | editor-last = Boyd | editor-first = Kelley | title = Encyclopedia of Historians ... | volume = 1 | pages = 719–720 | publisher = Fitzroy Dearborn | place = London | date = 1999 | contribution-url = http://...is.htm}} Kramer, Martin (1999), "Bernard Lewis", in Boyd, Kelley (ed.), Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, vol. 1, London: Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 719–720
episode (television or radio)	{{cite episode}} title	{{cite episode | title = | episode-link = | url = | series = | series-link = | credits = | network = | station = | air-date = | began = | ended = | season = | seriesno = | number = | minutes = | transcript = | transcript-url= }}	{{cite episode | title = BBC-TV Presents: ... | episode-link = BBC Snooker World ... | series = Wide World of Snooker | series-link = Wide World of Snooker ... | credits = Presenters: [[Dennis ... | network = [[BBC]] | station = [[BBC Two]] | city = [[Sheffield]], ... | air-date = 2008-04-27 | minutes = 2:34}} Presenters: Dennis Taylor and Clive Everton (2008-04-27). "BBC-TV Presents: The 2008 World Snooker Championship Live at The Crucible". Wide World of Snooker. Sheffield, England. 2:34 minutes in. BBC. BBC Two. {{cite episode | title = Duet | episode-link = Duet (Stargate Atlant... | series = Stargate Atlantis | series-link = Stargate Atlantis | air-date = August 5, 2005 | season = 2 | number = 4}} "Duet". Stargate Atlantis. Season 2. Episode 4. August 5, 2005.
mailing list	{{cite mailing list}} title url	{{cite mailing list | last = | first = | author-link = | title = | mailing-list = | date = | url = | access-date = }}	{{cite mailing list | last=Murdock | first=Ian | author-link=Ian Murdock | title=Debian GNU/Linux 0.9... | mailing-list=debian-announce | date=26 October 1995 | url=https://lists.debian.or... | access-date =20 April 2007}} Murdock, Ian (26 October 1995). "Debian GNU/Linux 0.93 Release 6 now available". debian-announce (Mailing list). Retrieved 20 April 2007.
map	{{cite map}} author date (or year) title publisher	{{cite map | author = | date = | title = | url = | publisher = | section = | access-date = }}	{{cite map | author=Kansas Departmen... | date=2005 | title=Official State Trans... | url=http://www.ksdot.org/b... | edition=2005–2006 | location=Topeka | publisher=Kansas Departmen... | section=F9 | access-date=March 30, 2007}} Kansas Department of Transportation (2005). Official State Transportation Map (PDF) (Map) (2005–2006 ed.). Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. § F9. Retrieved March 30, 2007. {{cite map | author1=Skelly Oil Company | author2=Diversified Map Co | date=1966 | title=Highway Map of Oklahoma | scale=[1:1,500,000] | location=St. Louis | publisher=Diversified Map Co | section=11C | oclc=67708775}} Skelly Oil Company; Diversified Map Co (1966). Highway Map of Oklahoma (Map). [1:1,500,000]. St. Louis: Diversified Map Co. § 11C. OCLC 67708775.
news article	{{cite news}} title	{{cite news | last = | first = | title = | newspaper = | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = | url = | access-date = }}	{{cite news | last = Finn | first = Gary | title = What a growing lad needs is ... | pages = | newspaper = The Independent | location = London | date = 31 August 1998 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk ...}} Finn, Gary (31 August 1998). "What a growing lad needs is a naughty book, says Blair". The Independent. London. {{cite news | last = Andersen | first = David | last2 = Witter | first2 = Lameen | title = Former Marine, Go Daddy CEO... | work = Marine Corps News | date = 17 February 2006 | url = https://www.military.com/vet... | access-date = 6 June 2006}} Andersen, David; Witter, Lameen (17 February 2006). "Former Marine, Go Daddy CEO Talks About His Rise to Success". Marine Corps News. Retrieved 6 June 2006.
	{{Citation}} newspaper (or magazine, journal, periodical)	{{Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | last2 = | first2 = | author-link2 = | title = | newspaper = | pages = | date = | year = | url = | archive-url = | archive-date = | access-date = }}	{{Citation | last = Finn | first = Gary | title = What a growing lad needs is ... | pages = | newspaper = The Independent | location = London | date = 31 August 1998 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk ... | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web ... | archive-date = 2010-03-06}} Finn, Gary (31 August 1998), "What a growing lad needs is a naughty book, says Blair", The Independent, London, archived from the original on 2010-03-06 {{Citation | last1 = Andersen | first1 = David | last2 = Witter | first2 = Lameen | title = Former Marine, Go Daddy CEO... | newspaper = Marine Corps News | date = 17 February 2006 | url = https://www.military.com/vet... | access-date = 2 June 2006}} Andersen, David; Witter, Lameen (17 February 2006), "Former Marine, Go Daddy CEO Talks About His Rise to Success", Marine Corps News, retrieved 2 June 2006
newsgroup posting (DO NOT USE TO VERIFY)	{{cite newsgroup}} title	{{cite newsgroup | title = | author = | date = | newsgroup = | id = | url = | access-date = }}	{{cite newsgroup | author = Gary S. Terhune | title = Lost Ctrl-Alt-Del... | date = January 11, 2004 | newsgroup = microsoft.pub... | id = uAIVMjC2DHA.2336@TK2... | url = https://groups.googl... | access-date = May 16, 2006}} Gary S. Terhune (January 11, 2004). "Lost Ctrl-Alt-Del function on W98, 2nd". Newsgroup: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion. uAIVMjC2DHA.2336@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl. Retrieved May 16, 2006. {{cite newsgroup | title = How can helping "Kids in Af... | author = Trodel | date = June 10, 2006 | newsgroup= humanities.philosophy.ob... | id = 1149950890.204481.35810@h76g20... | url = https://groups.google.com/g... | access-date = July 3, 2006}} Trodel (June 10, 2006). "How can helping "Kids in Africa" be in my self interest". Newsgroup: humanities.philosophy.objectivism. 1149950890.204481.35810@h76g2000cwa.googlegroups.com. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
patent	{{Cite patent}} inventor-last	{{cite patent | inventor-last = | inventor-first = | inventor-link = | inventor-last2 = | inventor-first2 = | inventor-link2 = | publication-date = | issue-date = | title = | country-code = | description = | patent-number = }}	{{cite patent | inventor-last1 = Degermark | inventor-first1 = Mikael | inventor-last2 = Brodnik | inventor-first2 = Andrej | inventor-last3 = Carlsson | inventor-first3 = Svante | inventor-last4 = Pink | inventor-first4 = Stephen | title = Fast routing lookup system using complete prefix tree, bit vector, and pointers in a routing table for determining where to route IP datagrams | issue-date = 2001 | patent-number = 6266706 | country-code = US}} US 6266706, Degermark, Mikael; Brodnik, Andrej & Carlsson, Svante et al., "Fast routing lookup system using complete prefix tree, bit vector, and pointers in a routing table for determining where to route IP datagrams", issued 2001
press release	{{cite press release}} title	{{cite press release |last= |first= |date= |title= |url= |location= |publisher= |agency= |access-date=}}	{{cite press release |last=Roithmayr |first=Mark |date=February 5, 2007 |title=Autism Speaks ... |url=http://autismspeaks.org... |location=New York |publisher=[[Autism Speaks]] |access-date=November 19, 2007}} Roithmayr, Mark (February 5, 2007). "Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now Complete Merger" (Press release). New York: Autism Speaks. Retrieved November 19, 2007. {{cite press release |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Sprint 4G LTE Lights Up... |url=http://newsroom.sprint.com... |location=Overland Park, Kansas |publisher=[[Sprint Nextel]] |date=November 26, 2012 |access-date=November 28, 2012}} "Sprint 4G LTE Lights Up in 11 New Cities and Counties in Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia" (Press release). Overland Park, Kansas: Sprint Nextel. November 26, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
video (movie, television production, documentary, etc.)	{{cite AV media}} people title	{{cite AV media | people = | title = | medium = | publisher = | location = | date = | url = }}	{{cite AV media | people = Al-Issawi, Omar (Director) | title = Harab libnan | medium = Television production | publisher = Al-Issawi, Om... | location = Lebanon | date = 2001}} Al-Issawi, Omar (Director) (2001). Harab libnan (Television production). Lebanon: Al-Issawi, Omar. {{cite AV media | people = Dick Cavett | title = The Dick Cavett Show — Rock... | medium = DVD | publisher = Shout Factory | date = 2005}} Dick Cavett (2005). The Dick Cavett Show — Rock Icons (1969) (DVD). Shout Factory.
video game	{{cite video game}} title developer	{{cite video game | title = | developer = | publisher = | date = | platform = | version = | level = | language = | isolang = | quote = }}	{{cite video game | title=[[Halo 3]] | developer= [[Bungie]] | publisher=[[Microsoft Game Studios]] | date=September 25, 2007 | platform=[[Xbox 360]] | version=1.0 | level=The Storm | language=English | isolang= | quote='''Arbiter''': More Brutes? /...}} Bungie (September 25, 2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360) (1.0 ed.). Microsoft Game Studios. Level/area: The Storm. Arbiter: More Brutes? / Master Chief: Worse.
Wikidata	{{Cite Q}} QID (Q number)	{{cite Q | QID}}	{{cite Q|Q29396757}} Albert Einstein (1905). "Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig?". Annalen der Physik (in German). 323 (13): 639–641. doi:10.1002/ANDP.19053231314. ISSN 0003-3804. Wikidata Q29396757.

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• {{cite album-notes}}
• {{cite thesis}}

Harvard reference and shortened footnote examples

See also: Template:Harvard citation documentation

These templates automatically create a one-directional link to the first matching citation template on the same page. All of the following templates are supported: {{citation}} · {{cite book}} · {{cite journal}} · {{cite web}} · {{cite conference}} · {{cite encyclopedia}} · {{cite mailing list}} · {{cite news}} · {{cite press release}} · {{cite arXiv}} · {{cite AV media}} (an up-to-date list is at Help:Citation Style 1). To use the links, the template must define |surname= (or |last=) and |date= (or |year=).

What to type	What it makes
Article text.{{sfn|Turner|1851|pp=10–11}} (Shortened footnote template) Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1979|p=289}} ==Notes== {{reflist}}	Article text. Article text. Notes ^Turner 1851, pp. 10–11 ^Smith 1979, p. 289
Templates used within <ref>...</ref> tags or within the {{efn}} family of templates: {{Harvard citation|Turner|1851|pp=10–11}} {{Harv|Smith|1879|p=289}} (default to parentheses around whole citation, for inline) {{Harvnb|Johnson|1772|p=176}} (no brackets) {{Harvp|Jones|1951|p=334}} (parentheses around date) {{Harv|Lincoln|Washington|Adams|Johnson|2007|pp=88–89}} (multi-author) {{Harvtxt|Turner|1851}} asserts that ... (author's name part of text)	(Turner 1851, pp. 10–11) (Smith 1879, p. 289) Johnson 1772, p. 176 Jones (1951), p. 334 (Lincoln et al. 2007, pp. 88–89) Turner (1851) asserts that ...
Three Harvcol templates are altered to use colons to indicate page numbers. These are also used within <ref>...</ref> tags or within the {{efn}} family of templates: {{Harvcol|Turner|1851|pp=10–11}} {{Harvcol|Smith|1874|p=173}} {{Harvcolnb|Smith|1879|p=289}} {{Harvcolnb|Lincoln|Washington|Adams|Johnson|2007|pp=88–89}} {{Harvcoltxt|Blust|1999|p=40}} asserts that ... </nowiki>	Harvcol templates (Turner 1851:10–11) (Smith 1874:173) Smith 1879:289 Lincoln et al. 2007:88–89 Blust (1999:40) asserts that ...

Variations

Wikipedia does not dictate a particular way to insert citations into an article. As a result, there are multiple ways to structure citations in an article; multiple ways to insert individual citations; and multiple ways to link a short citation (e.g. Turner 1851) with the full citation in the bibliography, when using a style that calls for short citations.

There are three primary ways to format individual full citations:

1. By hand. These are simply typed directly; however, when using shortened footnotes, each individual full citation can be surrounded with {{wikicite}} to ensure that the appropriate shortened references are linked to the full references below.
2. Using the Citation Style 1 templates, such as {{cite book}}, {{cite web}}, {{cite journal}}, or {{cite news}}.
3. Using the generic {{Citation}} template.

The main differences between the generic {{Citation}} template and the specific Citation Style 1 templates are:

1. The Citation Style 1 templates produce citations with individual sections (e.g. title, author, publisher, etc.) separated by periods, with a trailing period, while {{Citation}} separates sections with a comma and has no trailing punctuation. (However, this can be changed using the |separator= and |postscript= parameters.)
2. Not all Citation Style 1 templates can easily be replaced by the {{Citation}} template. Generally, any Citation Style 1 template of a general nature (e.g. book; web site; journal or newspaper article; article in an edited collection or encyclopedia; etc.) can be replaced, but specialized templates (court cases, comic books, video games, etc.) cannot very easily.
3. Some of the parameter names differ. For example, citing an article in an edited collection uses the misnamed {{cite encyclopedia}} template, with |title= for the article name and |encyclopedia= for the collection name; the equivalent parameters in {{Citation}} are named contribution and title, respectively.

There are three ways to structure citations as a whole in an article (see Help:Citations quick reference for a tabular comparison of these three ways):

1. Footnotes. These simply place the citation inside of a <ref>...</ref> reference, which inserts a small bracketed, superscripted number. When clicked on, it links to a correspondingly-numbered footnote (more properly an endnote) placed elsewhere in the article. The footnotes themselves are inserted using {{reflist}}, which is typically placed by itself in a Notes (or References) section near the end of the article. When there are multiple references to the same citation, typing can be saved by using <ref name="foo">...</ref> the first time, and just <ref name="foo"/> elsewhere. When there are citations that differ only in page number, there are two alternatives: write all the citations out in full, including the page number, or use one citation without page numbers along with the {{rp}} template to add an inline page number after the small bracketed footnote number.
2. Footnotes with list-defined references. All inline citations take the form <ref name="foo"/>. The reference list at the end of the article is a list of full citations, each of which takes the form <ref name="foo">...</ref>, all of which are surrounded by <references>...</references>.
3. Shortened footnotes. Instead of the full citation appearing in the footnote, a short form appears (e.g. Turner 1851), giving only the author and year (or in some styles, a shortened version of the article or book title), and page number if appropriate. The full citation appears later on, in a bibliography section. This usually follows directly after the footnotes, is titled "References" or "Bibliography", and contains all relevant citations, listed in (typically) alphabetical order. This style is especially appropriate when there are large numbers of references overall and frequent cases of multiple references to the same work, especially in the presence of differing page numbers.

When using shortened footnotes, there are three ways to link the short and full references:

1. Insert manual links. These look like e.g. <ref>[[#CITEREFPereira2006|Pereira 2006, p. 25]]</ref>. If a citation template is used for the full reference, the anchor (e.g. #CITEREFPereira2006) is automatically attached to the full reference; if the full reference is typed by hand, surround the reference with {{wikicite}} to attach the anchor to it.
2. Insert links using a Harvard citation template, e.g. <ref>See, for example: {{Harvnb|Pereira|2006|p=25}}</ref>. This will insert a footnote into the text and link it to the citation with the corresponding last name and year. Other variations of the Harvard citation templates format the short citation differently.
3. Use the {{sfn}} template for the whole of the footnote. The {{sfn}} template creates its own named <ref>...</ref> tags: {{sfn|Pereira|2006|p=25}} is exactly equivalent to <ref name=FOOTNOTEPereira200625>[[#CITEREFPereira2006|Pereira 2006]], p. 25.</ref> which is itself equivalent to <ref name=FOOTNOTEPereira200625>{{Harvnb|Pereira|2006|p=25}}</ref>.

See also WP:Footnotes and WP:Citing sources for general information, and WP:CITEX for specific examples of exactly how to write the code for various combinations of the above styles.

Discussing citations on talk pages

When citations are brought to talk pages, noticeboards and other discussions, follow the group of citations, or the text you have added, with {{Reflist-talk}}.

{{Reflist-talk}}

This template places the citations in their own box under the bold header References at the position where the template was inserted; otherwise the citations (and any others in the talk page) will be listed at the end of the talk page, below all sections. The resulting reference box does not appear in the table of contents.

See also

• Wikipedia:Template index/Sources of articles for templates about citation-related problems in articles
• Help:Citation merging for bundling multiple citations into a single footnote
• Wikipedia:How to avoid duplicated citations