How to Insert Citations and an Auto-Generated Bibliography
Intermediate
How-To · Word
Add properly formatted citations as you write, then generate a bibliography automatically.
- Go to References > Style and choose your required citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) first — this affects how everything formats going forward.
- Click where you want a citation to appear, then References > Insert Citation > Add New Source, and fill in the source details (author, title, year, etc.).
- For sources you've already added, just click References > Insert Citation and pick from the list instead of re-entering the details.
- Once you've cited everything, go to References > Bibliography and choose a format — Word generates the full list automatically from every source you've cited.
- If you change the citation style later, the bibliography and all in-text citations reformat automatically — you don't need to redo anything manually.
Running into an error instead of just needing the how-to? Check our Word troubleshooting guides or the error lookup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Word support different citation styles like APA and MLA?
Yes — you can select your citation style before adding sources, and Word formats every citation and the bibliography according to that style's specific rules automatically.
What happens to my citations if I switch styles later?
Word reformats all existing citations and the bibliography to match the newly selected style automatically — you don't need to redo them manually.
More Word how-tos
How to Create a Table of Contents That Updates Automatically
Generate a clickable, auto-updating table of contents based on your document's headings.
How to Use Track Changes for Team Reviews
Let multiple people edit a document while keeping every change visible and reversible.
How to Use Styles for Consistent Formatting
Stop manually formatting each heading and paragraph — apply and edit styles once, everywhere.