How to Cite a Chemical Abstract in a Paper

In-Text Citation

• 1

  Decide what type of in-text citation you would like to use for your abstract. ACS style gives writers three options: you may number your reference in superscript, number it in italics and parentheses or give the author's name followed by the year he published the abstract.

• 2

  Put the number in superscript either following the name of the author (if you mention it in your sentence) or at the end of your sentence to create a superscript reference.

  Weller¹ makes the opposite claim about sulfuric compounds.

  or

  Weller makes the opposite claim about sulfuric compounds.¹

• 3

  Put the number in italic type and enclose it parentheses at the end of your sentence to create an italics reference.

  Weller (1) makes the opposite claim about sulfuric compounds.

  or

  Weller makes the opposite claim about sulfuric compounds (1).

• 4

  Enclose the author's last name and the date he published the abstract in parentheses at the end of your sentence to create a name and date reference. If the author's name appears in your sentence, give only the date of publication.

  A recent study makes the opposite claim about sulfuric compounds (Weller, 2001).

  or

  Weller makes the opposite claim about sulfuric compounds (2001).

Reference List Entry

• 5

  Begin your reference list entry with the author's last name and first initial followed by a period.

  Weller, K.

• 6

  Next give the title of the article.

  Weller, K. Sulfuric Compounds.

• 7

  Abbreviate the journal's title and place it in italics.

  Weller, K. Sulfuric Compounds. Chem. Ed.

• 8

  Write the year of publication followed by a comma and the volume and page numbers for the journal.

  Weller, K. Sulfuric Compounds. Chem. Ed. 2001, 110, 1000-1034.

• 9

  Complete your citation by showing that you are citing an abstract rather than the article itself. To do this, indicate the name of the index or other source you used to find the abstract, followed by the year the abstract was published and the page number. If you are using an electronic index, give the name of the index, the PMID, which you can find on the page on which the abstract appears, the URL of the index, and the date you accessed it.

  Weller, K. Sulfuric Compounds. Chem. Ed. 2001, 110, 1000-1034.; Chem. Abstr., 2002, 20333

  or

  Weller, K. Sulfuric Compounds. Chem. Ed. 2001, 110, 1000-1034.; PubMed PMID=1122334. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ (accessed June 3, 2011).