Most ACS citation errors are formatting mistakes, not missing information. Here are the five issues we see most often in student papers —and how to fix them quickly.
1. Forgetting to bold the year
In journal article references, the publication year must be bold. This is unique to ACS among common undergraduate styles. Check every journal reference before you submit.
2. Using commas instead of semicolons between authors
ACS separates authors with semicolons: Smith, J. A.; Jones, B. C. A comma between authors is APA convention, not ACS.
3. Spelling out full journal names
Use standard abbreviations (J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.). Full titles are incorrect in ACS reference lists unless no abbreviation exists.
4. Omitting the access date for websites
Web pages can change or disappear. ACS style requires an access date: (accessed Month Day, Year). Add it for every website citation.
5. Mixing in-text styles
Pick superscript numbers or bracketed numbers and use one format consistently throughout the paper. Do not switch between (1) and ¹ in the same document.