ieee-referencing

IEEE Referencing

Build IEEE-style numeric citations: bracketed numbers in the text ordered by first appearance, a references list numbered in that same order (not alphabetical), and the IEEE punctuation conventions that generic tools get wrong.

Steps

1. Read references/ieee-quickref.md, then number citations in order of first appearance: [1], then [2], and so on. Cite multiple works as [1], [3]-[5]. Place the number before punctuation when possible; a sentence ending in a citation reads ... as shown in [2].

2. Match the source type:

   • Journal: A. A. Author, "Title of paper," Journal Name, vol. x, no. x, pp. xx-xx, Month Year, doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxx.
   • Book: A. A. Author, Title of Book, xth ed. Place: Publisher, Year.
   • Chapter: A. A. Author, "Title of chapter," in Book Title, E. Editor (Ed.). Place: Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx.
   • Web: A. A. Author. "Page title." Site Name. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

3. Apply the IEEE signatures:

   • Authors: initials before surname (A. A. Author), all authors listed or et al. for six or more
   • Paper and chapter titles in double quotation marks; journal and book titles in italics
   • Abbreviated units: vol., no., pp., ed.
   • doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxx lowercase prefix, no https wrapper
   • Access date in parentheses for web sources

4. The references list is ordered by citation number, never alphabetical. Each entry begins its bracket number: [1] A. A. Author, ...

5. Verify: numbers run [1]...[n] with no gaps, every bracketed number in the text has an entry, first-appearance ordering holds, and no entry is cited that is not referenced.

Pitfalls

• Alphabetizing the reference list is the classic IEEE failure; order follows first citation.
• Author name order inverts vs APA/MLA: initials first, surname last, no comma between.
• Conference papers use: A. A. Author, "Title," in Proc. Conf. Name, City, Year, pp. xx-xx.
• Standard numbers cite as: IEEE Standard for X, IEEE Std 1234-2024, Year.

Provenance

Clean-room summary of IEEE Editorial Style Manual conventions for agent use, authored 2026-09-03. Part of the referencing skill family with apa-7-referencing, harvard-referencing, oxford-referencing, and mla-referencing.