cytado blog
How to cite properly, find real sources and avoid AI-hallucinated references.
AI & sources2026-09-06· 6 minAnnotated bibliography checker: verify every source before you annotate it
Check that every entry on your annotated bibliography resolves to a real publication before you spend 150 words annotating it, and learn why reference managers and self-checking AI will not catch fabricated references.
Citing & styles2026-09-05· 6 minAnnotated Bibliography Examples: One Real Source in Three Styles
Three fully written annotated bibliography entries for the same real article in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 17, plus copy-ready templates and the fields you should never guess.
Citing & styles2026-09-04· 6 minHow to Write an Annotated Bibliography in APA, MLA and Chicago
The exact format for an annotated bibliography in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago, with worked examples and the difference between an annotation that describes a source and one that assesses it.
Citing & styles2026-09-03· 6 minAnnotated Bibliography Generator: Real Sources, Real Summaries
A generator can find, verify and format your entries, but the annotation itself is the graded part, and here is how to write one that proves you read the source.
Thesis guide2026-09-02· 6 minHow Many Sources Should a Thesis Have?
No rule fixes the number, but bibliometric counts of real accepted theses give you a band to calibrate against, and a documented search gives you a number you can defend.
Citing & styles2026-09-01· 6 minHow to Cite a Website Correctly
A website citation needs five pieces of information, a stable identifier where one exists, and a date that records what the page said on the day you read it.
Citing & styles2026-08-31· 5 minBibliography, References or Works Cited: Which List Your Style Wants
All three headings name the list at the end of your paper, but only a Bibliography may hold works you read without citing, and your style picks the heading for you.
Citing & styles2026-08-23· 7 minAPA 7 Citations: How to Cite a Book, an Article and a Web Page
The four slots behind every APA 7 reference, with worked examples for a book, a journal article and a web page, plus the in-text citation for each.
Citing & styles2026-08-22· 5 minOnline Citation Generator: How to Get a Correct Citation in 30 Seconds
A citation generator formats a reference in seconds, but only a real identifier makes it correct: what to paste, which three fields to check, and why AI-typed metadata fails.
Tools & workflow2026-08-21· 8 minWriting a term paper or thesis with ChatGPT: where it helps and where it invents sources
ChatGPT is genuinely good at structuring a chapter and tightening your prose, but asked for references it will produce a publication that does not exist. What it does well, why it fails specifically on sources, and how to give it real publications with printed page numbers.
Citing & styles2026-08-20· 7 minMLA Citation Style: In-Text Citations, Works Cited and Where Footnotes Fit
MLA documents a source with a parenthetical citation plus a Works Cited entry, while footnotes carry commentary rather than the citation itself, and here is how to build each part.
AI & sources2026-08-19· 7 minHow to Use AI for Finding Sources Without Getting Burned
AI is safe for mapping a field and unsafe for writing your reference list; here is the line between the two and the checks that turn an AI-assisted search into a bibliography you can defend.
AI & sources2026-08-18· 6 minWill Your Supervisor Spot AI-Generated Sources?
AI writing detectors are unreliable, but a fabricated reference either resolves in a database or it does not, which is exactly why fake sources are the part of AI-assisted work that gets caught.
Citing & styles2026-08-17· 7 minWhere to Get the Page Number for a Citation from a PDF or Ebook
The page number in a citation is the one printed on the page of the edition you read, not your PDF viewer's counter, and here is how to find it in a scan, a journal article or an ebook with no pages.
AI & sources2026-08-16· 6 minHow to Check Whether a Source Really Exists (DOI, Crossref)
Resolve the DOI, search Crossref by author and title, and read the reference for the tells that give away a fabricated citation.
Thesis guide2026-08-15· 6 minHow to Find a Source That Actually Supports Your Paragraph
Work backwards from the sentence you wrote: isolate the claim, query it in the literature's vocabulary, then check the passage supports that exact sentence.
AI & sources2026-07-31· 5 minHow to Spot AI-Fabricated Sources in Student Work
A practical guide for supervisors: how to recognize AI-hallucinated citations, verify them by hand, and why 30 theses demand batch verification.
AI & sources2026-07-31· 4 minDoes AI Invent Sources? How to Verify a Citation
AI chatbots can fabricate an author, title and page number. Learn how to spot a hallucination and verify whether a citation really exists before you submit.
Thesis guide2026-07-31· 4 minWhere to Find Reliable Sources for Your Thesis
A practical guide to finding trustworthy academic sources for your bachelor's or master's thesis, judging their credibility, and avoiding AI-fabricated references.
Citing & styles2026-07-31· 4 minFootnotes, APA, MLA or Chicago: Which Style to Use
A practical guide to how citation styles differ, which field uses which, and how the same source looks written in each of them.
AI & sources2026-07-31· 5 minHow to Use AI for Research Safely (Without Fake Sources)
One rule: the model may search, but it must never retype your metadata. A five-step workflow grounded in measured citation fabrication rates.
AI & sources2026-07-31· 5 minCan Professors Tell Your Sources Came From AI? (And How They Catch It)
Markers do not detect an AI writing style — they check whether your references exist. Here are the measured hallucination rates and the five signals that give a fabricated bibliography away.
AI & sources2026-07-31· 5 minHow to Check if a Source Really Exists (DOI, Crossref, Catalogues)
A three-step procedure for verifying any reference — resolve the DOI, search Crossref, check a catalogue — plus the patterns that give fabricated citations away.