Welcome to the world of engineering, computer science, and technology! It’s a world built on innovation, where every new idea stands on the shoulders of previous discoveries. When you write a technical paper or a lab report, you need a way to show whose shoulders you’re standing on. That’s where IEEE citation comes in.

If your professor has asked you to use "IEEE style," you might be a little confused. What are all those brackets and numbers for?

Think of it like this: an engineering project needs a clear blueprint, and your research paper is no different. IEEE citation is the blueprint for your sources. Each number is like a label on a component, pointing to a detailed description in your "parts list"—the reference list at the end. It’s a clean, efficient system designed for technical experts.

This guide will break down all the rules for you in a simple, step-by-step way so you can cite your sources accurately and professionally.

What Is IEEE Style and Who Uses It?

IEEE (pronounced “I-triple-E”) stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This huge organization is a global leader in technology, and their citation style is the standard for almost all technical fields. If you’re writing a paper for a class in:

• Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, Computer)

• Computer Science

• Information Technology (IT)

• Robotics

...then you will almost certainly need to use IEEE style.

In technical fields, your work is often judged on its precision and clarity. Using proper IEEE style shows that you are a careful and detail-oriented researcher. It’s also a critical way to avoid plagiarism while incorporating research in your writing.

The Two Parts of IEEE Citation

The IEEE system is a numbered system that has two parts that work together:

1. In-Text Citations: These are numbers enclosed in square brackets that you put inside your sentences. Example: [1].

2. The Reference List: This is a numbered list at the end of your paper that provides the full details for every source you cited.

The in-text citation [1] is a signpost that points your reader to the full source details at number 1 in your reference list.

Part 1: How to Use In-Text Citations in IEEE

This part is very straightforward. Here are the simple rules for placing the bracketed numbers in your paper.

• Numbering Order: The sources are numbered in the order you cite them. The first source you mention is [1], the second is [2], the third is [3], and so on.

• Reusing a Source: If you want to talk about source [1] again later in your paper, you just reuse the number [1]. You don’t create a new number for it.

• Placement: The bracketed number goes before the punctuation mark (like a period or comma).

Here’s what it looks like:

• Citing one source:

  • The new algorithm was shown to be more efficient [1].

• Citing multiple sources at once: You can group them together in one set of brackets.

  • Several studies confirmed these results [2], [5], [7].

  • For a range of sources, use a hyphen: Previous work laid the foundation for this discovery [2]-[5].

• Citing a specific part of a source: If you are referring to a specific page, figure, or equation, you can add it inside the brackets.

  • As shown in [3, p. 45], the voltage remained stable.

  • The diagram in [4, Fig. 2] illustrates this process.

Part 2: How to Build Your IEEE Reference List

Your reference list comes at the very end of your paper under the title "References." It is a numbered list (not alphabetized) that matches the order of your in-text citations.

Here are the templates for the most common types of sources in engineering and computer science.

Example 1: Citing a Journal Article

• Template: [1] J. K. Author, "Title of article in quotation marks," Abbreviated Journal Title, vol. #, no. #, pp. xxx-xxx, Month Year.

• Real Example: [1] T. C. Chen, "A new method for data compression," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 112-119, Feb. 2024.

• Key Tips:

  • Author: Initials come first (J. K. for John Kenneth).

  • Article Title: It's in quotation marks and uses sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized).

  • Journal Title: It's in italics and uses title case. IEEE uses standard abbreviations for journals (e.g., Transactions on Communications becomes Trans. Commun.).

Example 2: Citing a Conference Paper (Very Common!)

In tech fields, a lot of new research is presented at conferences.

• Template: [2] J. K. Author, "Title of paper," in Abbreviated Name of Conference, City of Conference, State/Country, Year, pp. xxx-xxx.

• Real Example: [2] R. Patel and S. Gupta, "Advances in machine learning," in Proc. 2023 Int. Conf. on Artif. Intell., San Francisco, CA, 2023, pp. 56-61.

Example 3: Citing a Book

• Template: [3] J. K. Author, Title of Book. City, State/Country: Publisher, Year.

• Real Example: [3] W. Stallings, Computer Organization and Architecture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2022.

• Key Tips:

  • Unlike journal articles, book titles are not in quotation marks, but they are in italics.

Example 4: Citing a Website

• Template: [4] Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of Webpage [Online]. Available: URL

• Real Example: [4] B. Marr. (2024, Jan 15). The 10 Best Examples Of Artificial Intelligence In Practice [Online]. Available: https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2024/01/15/the-10-best-examples-of-artificial-intelligence-in-practice/

Final Tips for IEEE Perfection

• The Square Brackets [ ]: This is the signature of IEEE style. Never use parentheses ( ) for your in-text citation numbers.

• Author Names: The format is always Initials first, then Last Name (e.g., A. B. Smith).

• Capitalization Rules: Remember the difference: article titles are in "sentence case," but book and journal titles are in "Title Case."

• Check Every Detail: Technical writing is all about precision. Even small mistakes can make your work look unprofessional. Knowing why citation errors lower your grade and how to avoid them is a key part of getting a good result.

You Can Cite Like an Engineer!

IEEE citation might seem very strict at first, but it is a highly efficient system designed for clarity. Once you get the hang of the bracketed numbers and the reference list format, you’ll see how clean and organized it makes your paper look.

Mastering this style is a mark of a professional in any technical field. Use this guide, pay close attention to the templates, and you'll be able to present your research with the accuracy and authority that IEEE style demands.