Skip to Main Content Library Homepage College Homepage
Research Guides

Citing Sources

This guide offers resources to help you document the sources you're citing in your research papers and projects.

ACS Style Overview

The ACS citation style is typically used by scholars in the field of Chemistry.

 

How to Format Your Paper

The ACS Style Guide does not supply specific instructions on how to format an ACS document/report, because in publishing, each journal will have its own requirements for formatting.

However, in 2015 ACS releasted an information document, Preparing a Research Report (linked below) with formatting recommendations that you may use for your research paper.

How to Format In-Text Citations

In ACS, in-text citations can be formatted in one of three ways:

  • Superscripts at the end of the phrase or sentence.1
  • Italic numbers in parentheses in the sentence (2).
  • Author and year in parentheses (author-date format) in the sentence (Lastname et al., 2018).

See pages 287-290 of the ACS Style Guide for more guidance and examples, or the "Creating References" chapter below:

How to Format References

Print Journal Article

Format

Author, A. B.; Author, C. D., Jr.; Author, E. F. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume (Issue), Inclusive Pagination.

Example

Journal Article from a Library Database

Format

Author, A. B.; Author, C. D., Jr.; Author, E. F. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online] Year, Volume (Issue), Inclusive

          Pagination or Article Number. Database Name. URL of database (accessed Month Day, Year).

 * Use the URL of the database rather than of the article.

Example

Maslanka, D. S. Latent Fingerprints on a Nonporous Surface Exposed to Everyday Liquids. J. Forensic Identif.

          [Online]. 2016, 66, 137-154. ProQuest Science Database.

          https://about.proquest.com/products-services/pq_science_journals.html (accessed June 15, 2020).

Journal Article from Elsewhere Online (i.e. publisher's website)

Format

Author, A. B.; Author, C. D., Jr.; Author, E. F. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online] Year, Volume (Issue), Inclusive

          Pagination or Article Number. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Example

Chanteau, S. H.; Tour, J. M. Synthesis of Anthropomorphic Molecules: The NanoPutians. J. Org. Chem [Online]. 2003, 68,

          8750–8766. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jo0349227 (accessed Jan 14, 2019).

Other Notes

  • Title of Article: Article title isn't required, but it's helpful of course for seeing what the article is about.
  • Journal Abbreviation: Use the abbreviation for the journal title and italicize it. Use the CAS Source Index (CASSI) to find the proper abbreviation for the journal you're citing.
  • Volume and Issue: Italicize the volume number. Include the issue number after it in parentheses if each issue starts with page 1 rather than at the page number the last issue left off at.
  • Inclusive Pagination and Article Number: It's acceptable to include just the first page number, but preferable to include the full page range. If it is an online article that doesn't have pagination, include the article number where pagination would be.

See pages 291-299 of the ACS Style Guide for more guidance and examples.

Print News/Magazine Article

Format

Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Title of Article. Title of Periodical, Month Day, Year, Pagination.

Example

Greenwood, V. How Beets Became Beet-Red. New York Times, Oct 31, 2017, p D2.

News/Magazine Article from a Library Database

Format

Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Title of Article. Title of Periodical, Month Day, Year, Pagination. Database Name.

          URL of database (accessed Month Day, Year).

Example

Bastos, E. L. A Blue Dye from Red Beets May Be a Nontoxic Alternative to Colorants with Toxic

          Metals. Washingtonpost.com, April 17, 2020. Gale General OneFile.

          https://www.gale.com/c/general-onefile (accessed June 16, 2020).

News/Magazine Article from Elsewhere Online (i.e. publisher's website)

Format

Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Title of Article. Title of Periodical, Month Day, Year, Pagination. URL (accessed Month

          Day, Year).

Example

Valsler, B. Beetroot Beats Route to Alzheimer's. Chemistry World, May 2, 2018.

          https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/beetroot-beats-route-to-alzheimers/3008967.article

          (accessed June 16, 2020).

Websites

Format

Author, A. B. Title of Webpage. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

At minimum, include:

  • Author, if listed
  • Webpage title
  • URL
  • Date accessed

      *See pages 320-321 of the ACS Style Guide for more guidance and examples.

Example

Nitrile to Acid. http://commonorganicchemistry.com/Rxn_Pages/Nitrile_to_Acid/ Nitrile_to_Acid_Index.htm

          (accessed July 2, 2018).