CSE citation generator
The Council of Science Editors style from Scientific Style and Format. This generator uses the citation-sequence system most biology courses ask for: numbered in order of first mention.
Watson JD, Crick FHC. Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Nature. 1953 Apr;171(4356):737-738. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0
¹Anatomy of a CSE reference
Pick an example, then tap any part of the reference to see the rule behind it.
. . . ;():.
Choose an element above.
CSE rules at a glance
| Systems | Citation-sequence (numbered by first mention, used here), citation-name (numbered alphabetically), or name-year. |
|---|---|
| In-text | Superscript¹ or bracketed (1) numbers. |
| Authors | Surname Initials; up to 10, then et al. |
| Journal article | Author. Title. Journal Abbr. Year Mon;Vol(Issue):pages. DOI URL |
| Book | Author. Title. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year. |
| Web | Title [Internet]. Publisher; Year [accessed date]. URL |
CSE in-text citations
- Superscript number after the word or phrase: …double helix¹.
- Several sources: ¹,⁴ or ²⁻⁵.
- In citation-name order, numbers follow the alphabetical list instead — ask which your instructor wants.
Ask about CSE
Answers are AI-generated from the published style rules and can be wrong. Check your journal’s or school’s author guidelines for house variations.
CSE examples
Real works, formatted by the generator above.
Journal article
Watson JD, Crick FHC. Molecular structure of nucleic acids: A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature. 1953 Apr;171(4356):737-738. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0
Many authors
Jumper J, Evans R, Pritzel A, Green T, Figurnov M, Ronneberger O. Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold. Nature. 2021 Aug;596(7873):583-589. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2
Book
Atkins P, de Paula J, Keeler J. Atkins' physical chemistry. 11th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2018.
Web page
World Health Organization. Hypertension [Internet]. World Health Organization; 2023 [accessed 2026 Sep 20]. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension
Thesis
Shannon CE. A symbolic analysis of relay and switching circuits [master's thesis]. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1940.
Source types supported here: Journal article, Book, Book chapter, Conference paper, Web page, Report / standard, Thesis.
CSE citation questions
What are the three CSE systems?
Citation-sequence numbers sources in order of first citation; citation-name sorts the list alphabetically and then numbers it; name-year uses (Author Year) in the text. ScholarCite generates citation-sequence, and the entries are identical for citation-name — only the ordering changes.
Is CSE the same as CBE?
Yes. The Council of Biology Editors renamed itself the Council of Science Editors in 2000. Older guides call the style “CBE”.
How many authors do I list in CSE?
The 9th edition lists up to ten authors; with more than ten, list the first ten followed by “et al.”