IEEE Format Guide: Reference Structure, Rules & Examples

IEEE references follow a strict set of formatting rules. This guide breaks them down element by element — so you can build any IEEE reference from scratch, or quickly check if your formatting is correct.

The IEEE Reference Number

Every IEEE reference starts with its number in square brackets. Numbers are assigned sequentially as sources appear in the text — reference [1] is the first cited, [2] is the second, and so on.

In the reference list [1] J. Smith, "Title of Article," IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 2345–2358, Apr. 2020.

The reference list is NOT alphabetical. It is ordered by citation number — the order each source first appears in your text.

IEEE Author Name Format Rules

Rule	Correct	Incorrect
First/middle names	`J. A. Smith`	`John Andrew Smith`
Two authors	`J. Smith and M. Jones`	`J. Smith, M. Jones`
Three authors	`J. Smith, M. Jones, and C. Lee`	`J. Smith, M. Jones & C. Lee`
More than 6 authors	List first three then `et al.`	Listing all authors
Organisation as author	`IEEE Standards Association`	`I.E.E.E. Std. Assoc.`

IEEE Article Title Rules

Article titles appear in "quotation marks"
Use title case (capitalize main words): "Deep Learning for Image Recognition"
Book titles, journal names, and conference proceedings are italicised
No quotation marks around book or journal titles

IEEE Journal Name Abbreviations

IEEE requires journals to be abbreviated using standard IEEE abbreviations. Using the full journal name is incorrect:

Full Name	IEEE Abbreviation
IEEE Transactions on Communications	IEEE Trans. Commun.
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory	IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory
IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems	IEEE Trans. Neural Netw. Learn. Syst.
Proceedings of the IEEE	Proc. IEEE
IEEE Signal Processing Letters	IEEE Signal Process. Lett.
IEEE Access	IEEE Access (no abbreviation)

Find the correct IEEE journal abbreviation at ieeexplore.ieee.org or in the journal's own style guide.

Volume, Issue, Pages, and Date

Format pattern vol. X, no. Y, pp. 000–000, Mon. Year

Element	Format	Example
Volume	`vol. X`	vol. 68
Issue / Number	`no. Y`	no. 4
Page range	`pp. 000–000`	pp. 2345–2358
Single page	`p. 000`	p. 45
Month abbreviation	Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec	Apr. 2020
Year	4-digit year	2023

DOI Format in IEEE

When a DOI is available, it should always be included at the end of the reference. IEEE uses the compact form:

Correct DOI format doi: 10.1109/TMI.2020.123456.

Not the URL form ✗ https://doi.org/10.1109/TMI.2020.123456

IEEE prefers the compact doi: 10.XXXX form, not the full URL. However, some publishers and professors accept both — confirm with your institution if unsure.

Auto-Format Any IEEE Reference — Free

Our free IEEE citation generator applies all these rules automatically. Enter your source details, and it produces a correctly formatted IEEE reference ready to paste.

Open IEEE Citation Generator →

IEEE Reference Punctuation Rules

Position	Punctuation	Example
After author list	Comma	J. Smith,
After article title	Comma after closing quote	"Article Title,"
After journal name	Comma	IEEE Trans. Commun.,
After vol./no./pp./year	Commas between, period at end	vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1–10, 2023.
After DOI	Period	doi: 10.XXXX.
After book title	Period then edition	Title of Book. 2nd ed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are IEEE references alphabetical or in citation order?▼

IEEE references are listed in citation order — the order each source first appears in the text. Reference [1] is the first cited, [2] is the second. This differs from APA, MLA, and Harvard, which use alphabetical order.

How do I abbreviate month names in IEEE format?▼

IEEE uses 3-letter month abbreviations followed by a period: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May (no period), Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec. Note that "May" is never abbreviated.

What if the journal has no standard IEEE abbreviation?▼

For journals without an official IEEE abbreviation, use the full journal name in italics. IEEE Access, for example, is used without abbreviation. When in doubt, check IEEEXplore or the journal's author guidelines.

How many authors before I use et al. in IEEE?▼

IEEE style typically allows listing all authors for up to 6 authors. When there are 7 or more, list the first three then add "et al." Some IEEE journals allow listing up to 6 before using et al. — check your specific journal's guidelines.

IEEE Format Guide:
Reference Structure & Rules

The IEEE Reference Number

IEEE Author Name Format Rules

IEEE Article Title Rules

IEEE Journal Name Abbreviations

Volume, Issue, Pages, and Date

DOI Format in IEEE

Auto-Format Any IEEE Reference — Free

IEEE Reference Punctuation Rules

Frequently Asked Questions

Need a Perfectly Formatted Technical Paper?

IEEE Format Guide:Reference Structure & Rules

The IEEE Reference Number

IEEE Author Name Format Rules

IEEE Article Title Rules

IEEE Journal Name Abbreviations

Volume, Issue, Pages, and Date

DOI Format in IEEE

Auto-Format Any IEEE Reference — Free

IEEE Reference Punctuation Rules

Frequently Asked Questions

Related IEEE Guides

IEEE Citation Generator Guide

IEEE Journal Article Citations

IEEE Bibliography Guide

Convert References to IEEE

Need a Perfectly Formatted Technical Paper?

IEEE Format Guide:
Reference Structure & Rules