This style is frequently used in Biology, Ecology, Zoology, and Medical sciences. Most courses at Cal State LA use the name-year system, but some may use citation-sequence and citation-name systems. If you are not sure of which system to use, double-check with your professor.

Basic Format

Author AA, Author BB. YEAR. Article title. Journal Title Abbreviated. Volume(issue):pages. URL.​

*Reminder: while not shown here, CSE uses hanging indent (each line starting with the second line is indented). See the formatting page on how to use a hanging indent.

Single Author

Last name first, followed by initials.

Ford TL. 2021. Article title. Journal Title. Volume(issue): pages. DOI.

Two Authors

Separate author names with a comma. Do not use “and.”

Ford TL, Audi AB. 2021. Article title. Journal Title. Volume(issue): pages. URL.

Three to Ten Authors

Separate author names with a comma. Do not use “and.”

Cevik M, Bamforrd CGG, Ho A. 2020. COVID-19 pandemic - a focused review for clinicians. Clin Microbiol Infect. 266(7):842-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.04.023.​

Ten or More Authors

List the first ten authors followed by et al.

Pizzi C, Caraglia M, Cianciulli M, Fabbrocini A, Libroia A, Matano E, Contegiacomo A, Del Prete S, Abbruzzese A, Martignetti A, et al. 2002. Low-dose recombinant IL-2 induces psychological changes: monitoring by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Anticancer Res. 22(2A):727–732. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12014643/.

• One Author: (Ford 2021)
• Two Authors: (Ford and Audi 2018)
• Three or more Authors: (Cevik et al. 2003)

• Include the DOI at the end of your citation for online journals.
• There is no space between journal, volume, and page numbers.
• You want to abbreviate your journal title. You can look up the journal abbreviations on the CAS Source Index.
• Your reference list (bibliography) will be organized alphabetically by the author and then year.