ACS Reference and Citation Style
A Brief Overview to Citing in Chemistry
Compiled by J. Sandoe – Elco High School Chemistry Department – March 2012
Updated September 10, 2012
In science research and publication, just like any subject matter, citing sources is extremely
important. By doing this, credit is given to the author whose work has been reviewed and whose
information has been extracted to use in a new work or document. Many disciplines require a
specific format and method for citing sources. In chemistry, the American Chemical Society (ACS)
publishes the common standard for citation methods that is called the ACS Style Guide. What is
below is just a quick reference to the ACS standards. For a complete guide, see the ACS Style
Guide. Be diligent in paying attention to detail when citing sources in order to avoid any possible
cases of plagiarism.
In properly citing sources using the ACS format, there are two different parts to the process. There
are in-text citations that note where a specific piece of information has come from. There is also a
Bibliography at the end of the work that contains a list of full citations of all of the sources that
were used.
In-Text Citations
When using researched information to help draft a new piece of work, in-text citations must be
included. This can be done one of three ways:
1) A superscript outside the punctuation of the sentence or phrase for which the source
applies
Ex: Previous flame tests have also used wooden splints to insert
chemicals into the Bunsen burner flame.1 There has never been a
study with the intent of identifying the effect of the wooden splint on the
flame’s color.2
2) An italicized number in parenthesis inside the punctuation of the sentence or
phrase for which the source applies
Ex: Even though ethanol’s boiling point, 78.1 C, is significantly lower
than water’s boiling point (7), it is difficult to completely separate the two
liquids (8).
3) The last name of the author (as cited in the bibliography) and the year of
publication in parenthesis inside the punctuation of the sentence or phrase for
which the source applies.
Ex: Ernest Rutherford was able to conclude that an atom contains a
small, dense nucleus after analyzing the results of his Gold Foil
Experiment (Sandoe et al., 2009).
Bibliography
The Bibliography is a list of full citations for all the sources that were used in the work. If a source
was not cited in the body of the work, it should not be in the Bibliography. The order of listing for
the sources depends on the method of in-text citation that was chosen:
If superscripts or italicized numbers in parenthesis were used for in-text citation:
* List the sources numerically in the order that they appear in the body of the text
If the author’s last name and date of publication were used for in-text citation:
* List the sources alphabetically by author last name or title if there is no author
Some general notes about the citation forms:
* If there are more than two authors or editors, list the first author or editor followed by a
comma and et al..
* Sometimes small pieces of information like volume number, edition number, or a month
and/or day in the date will not apply or be available for a specific source.
* The goal of a citation is to provide just enough information for someone to find the exact
same source that you used.
Book
General Format:
Author, Initials; Author, Initials. Title; Publisher: Location, Year; Page Numbers.
Ex: Le Couter, P.; Burreson, J. Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules changed
History; Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam: New York, 2003; 32-47.
Without an Author, but With an Editor:
Title; Editor, Initials; Editor, Initials, Ed(s).: Publisher: Location, Year; Page Numbers.
Ex: Advances in Inorganic Chemistry and Radiochemistry; Emeleus, H.J.; Sharpe,
A.G., Eds.: Academic: New York, 2001; 75-79.
Journal Article
General Format:
Author, Initials; Author, Initials. Article Title. Journal Abbreviation. Year, Volume,
Page numbers.
Ex: Sandoe, J. The Influence of Sweater Vests on Teaching Chemistry. J. Chem.
Educ. 2027, 99, 2734-2741.
Journal Accessed Through Online Database:
Author, Initials; Author, Initials. Article Title. Journal Abbreviation. [Online] Year,
Volume, Page #’s. Name of Database. http://url.of.site (accessed Month day, year).
Ex: Zepeda, A., et al. Benzene Transformation in Nitrifying Batch Cultures.
Biotechnol. Prog. [Online] 2003, 35, 789-793. ACS Journals.
http://pubs.acs.org (accessed Feb. 23, 2011).
Nonscientific Magazines or Newspapers
General Format:
Author, Initials; Author, Initials. Title of Article. Title of Periodical, Month Day, Year,
Page Numbers.
Ex: Sandoe, J. The Awesome World of Chemistry. U.S.A. Today. Feb. 23, 2019, A3.
Accessed Online:
Author, Initials; Author, Initials. Title of Article. Title of Periodical [Online] Month Day
Year, Page Numbers. http://url.of.site (accessed Month Day, Year).
Ex: Sandoe, J. The Mole of Chemistry, Lebanon Daily News [Online] February 23, 2025,
A4-A5. http://www.lebanonloveschemistry.com (accessed June 9, 2026).
Website
General Format:
Author, Initials (if any). Title of Document, year. Title of Website. http://url.of.site
(accessed Month day, year).
Ex: The Basic 10 of Chemistry, 2025. Elco High School Home Page.
http://www.elcosd.org/Mr.Sandoeisawesome (accessed Feb. 23, 2029).
Organization’s Website:
Organization’s Website Name. http://url.of.site (accessed Month day, year).
Ex: ACS Publications Division Home Page. http://pubs.acs.org (accessed Feb. 23, 2010).
Patents
General Format:
Patent Owner, Initials. Patent Owner, Initials; Title of Patent. Patent Number, Month day,
year.
Ex: Sheem, S.K. Low-Cost Fiber Optic Pressure Sensor. U.S. Patent 6,738,537, May 18,
2004.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
General Format:
Name of Substance; MSDS Number; Manufacturing Company: Location of Company,
Month day, year.
Ex: Titanium Dioxide; MSDS NO. T3627; Mallinckrodt Baker: Phillipsburg, NJ,
Nov. 12, 2003.
Accessed Online:
Name of Substance; MSDS Number [Online]; Manufacturing Company: Location of
Company, Month day, year. http://url.of.site (accessed Month day, year).
Ex: Acetic Anhydride; MSDS No. A0338 [Online]; Mallinckrodt Baker: Phillipsburg, NJ,
Feb. 18, 2003. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/a0338.htm
(accessed Feb. 23, 2004).
Lecture / Class
General Format:
Speaker, Initials; Speaker, Initials. Presentation Title. Presented at Conference/Lecture
Title, Location, Month day, year.
Ex: Sandoe, J.; Einstein, A. How to be a Really Cool Scientist. Presented at The Cool
Scientist Conference, Boston, MA, Feb 23,2023.
Encyclopedia
General Format:
Title of Entry. Title of Encyclopedia, Edition Number; Publishing Company: Location,
Year; Volume, Page Numbers.
Ex: Diagnostic Reagents. Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 5th Ed; VCH:
Weinheim, Germany, 1985; 17, 432-433.
Handbooks – Print based *This will mainly be used for the Merck Chemical Index
General Format:
Title of Handbook, Edition Number. Editor, Initials; Editor, Initials, Eds.; Publishing
Company: Location, Year; Entry Number
Ex: The Merck Index, 14th Edition. O’Neil, M.J., et al., Eds.; Merck & Co., Inc.:
Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2006; entry 6455.
Sources Used for this Document:
ACS Publications Division Home Page. http://pubs.acs.org/ (accessed March 7, 2012).
ACS Style Guide, 2012. Williams College Libraries. http://library.williams.edu/citing/styles/
acs.php (accessed September 10, 2012).
Butkovich, N.J. A Quick Guide To Reference Citations Using the ACS Style Guide, 2001. Penn
State Chemistry – Chem 431W. http://courses.chem.psu.edu/chem431/ManuscriptFiles/
QuickRefGuide2.pdf (accessed March 7, 2012).
Citation Guides – ACS: American Chemical Society – Quick Summary. California State
University – San Marcos Library. http://lib2.csusm.edu/subject-guide/178-CitationGuides?tab=1854 (accessed March 7, 2012).
Citesource – ACS Style. Trinity College Library. http://citesource.trincoll.edu/acs/index.html
(accessed March 7, 2012).
McVeigh, J. American Chemical Society (ACS) Citation Style, 2006. University of the Sciences
Library. http://www.usciences.edu/library/help/citation-acs.asp (accessed March, 7 2012).
Peoples, D.C. Citing Sources in Chemistry, 2011. Ohio Wesleyan University Library.
http://library.owu.edu/c360cite.htm (accessed March 7, 2012).