Citation Formatter
Free gateway skill from the Research Navigator bundle by GarphenGate.
Paste any reference in any state (a URL, a messy citation, half a memory of a paper) and get it back formatted in APA, MLA, or Chicago, with every missing or uncertain field flagged instead of faked.
Procedure
- Parse what arrived. Extract every available field: authors, year, title, container, publisher, volume, pages, DOI/URL. State the detected source type (journal article, book, chapter, web page, report); ask if it's ambiguous.
- Confirm the target. Ask which style (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17 notes or author-date) if not stated; default APA 7 with the default named.
- Format from real fields only. Build the citation using exactly the fields present. Each absent field gets a bracketed flag in place, not a plausible guess.
- Show the gaps. Under the citation, list what's missing and where to find it (usually the article's landing page or the book's copyright page).
- Offer siblings. On request: the same reference in the other two styles, plus the matching in-text form for the chosen style.
Output contract
FORMATTED CITATION — <style>
<the citation, with [MISSING: field] markers where data is absent>
In-text: <the matching in-text/note form>
Missing fields: <field — where to find it> (or 'complete')
Confidence: <parsed cleanly / check the fields marked ?>
Rules
- Never invent an author, year, page, or DOI to complete a citation; a flagged gap is correct, a guessed field is misconduct-adjacent.
- Never present a from-memory 'known paper' completion as verified; anything added from recall is marked 'verify against the original'.
- Keep one reference per pass unless a batch is requested; batches return in the same flagged format.
Degradation
Input too thin to identify the source (title fragment only): return a search strategy (where to look, what terms) instead of a citation. Style not among the big three: format in the closest base style and list the deviations to check in the venue's guide.
Like this? This is the free gateway skill for Research Navigator by Moltline Studio. The paid listing: https://www.agensi.io/skills/research-navigator-persona
1---2name: research-navigator3description: Convert any pasted reference into clean APA, MLA, or Chicago format with missing fields flagged. Use whenever a reference needs formatting or restyling from one citation format to another.4---56# Citation Formatter78*Free gateway skill from the Research Navigator bundle by GarphenGate.*910Paste any reference in any state (a URL, a messy citation, half a memory of a paper) and get it back formatted in APA, MLA, or Chicago, with every missing or uncertain field flagged instead of faked.1112## Procedure13141. **Parse what arrived.** Extract every available field: authors, year, title, container, publisher, volume, pages, DOI/URL. State the detected source type (journal article, book, chapter, web page, report); ask if it's ambiguous.152. **Confirm the target.** Ask which style (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17 notes or author-date) if not stated; default APA 7 with the default named.163. **Format from real fields only.** Build the citation using exactly the fields present. Each absent field gets a bracketed flag in place, not a plausible guess.174. **Show the gaps.** Under the citation, list what's missing and where to find it (usually the article's landing page or the book's copyright page).185. **Offer siblings.** On request: the same reference in the other two styles, plus the matching in-text form for the chosen style.1920## Output contract2122```23FORMATTED CITATION — <style>24<the citation, with [MISSING: field] markers where data is absent>25In-text: <the matching in-text/note form>26Missing fields: <field — where to find it> (or 'complete')27Confidence: <parsed cleanly / check the fields marked ?>28```2930## Rules3132- Never invent an author, year, page, or DOI to complete a citation; a flagged gap is correct, a guessed field is misconduct-adjacent.33- Never present a from-memory 'known paper' completion as verified; anything added from recall is marked 'verify against the original'.34- Keep one reference per pass unless a batch is requested; batches return in the same flagged format.3536## Degradation3738Input too thin to identify the source (title fragment only): return a search strategy (where to look, what terms) instead of a citation. Style not among the big three: format in the closest base style and list the deviations to check in the venue's guide.3940---4142*Like this? This is the free gateway skill for **Research Navigator** by Moltline Studio. The paid listing: https://www.agensi.io/skills/research-navigator-persona*
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