Online access to the ACS Style Guide is available via the USC Libraries. Chapter 14 contains the rules for how to cite references in text and create a bibliography. Some examples are provided below.
For print scholarly articles, use one of the following formats:
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.
Evans, D. A.; Fitch, D. M.; Smith, T. E.; Cee, V. J. Application of Complex Aldol Reactions to the Total Synthesis of Phorboxazole B. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 10033-10046.
Note: Journal abbreviation and volume are italicized. However, issue number (if present) is not italicized. Year of publication is bolded. Use CASSI (Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index) to find standard journal abbreviations.
For online scholarly articles found electronically, use the following format:
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online] Year, Issue, Inclusive Pagination. Complete URL (accessed Date).
For articles found through an electronic database, include the database name in the citation. Replace the article's URL with that of the database.
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online], Date, Inclusive Pagination. Database Name. Complete URL of database (accessed Date).
For articles published online in advance of the print issue, use this format:
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online early access]. DOI. Published Online: Date. Complete URL (accessed Date).
Peacock-Lopez, E. Exact Solutions of the Quantum Double Square-Well Potential. Chem. Ed. [Online] 2007, 11, 383-393. https://chemeducator.org/bibs/0011006/11060383ep.htm (accessed Dec 6, 2018).
Begley, S. When Does Your Brain Stop Making New Neurons? Newsweek [Online] July 2, 2007, p 62. Expanded Academic Index. https:/galegroup.com (accessed Aug 23, 2007).
Chung, J.M. and Peacock-Lopez, E. Cross-diffusion in the Templator model of chemical self-replication. Phys. Lett. A [Online early access]. DOI:10.1016/j.physleta.2007.04.114. Published Online: June 12, 2007. https://www.sciencedirect.com (accessed Aug 23, 2007).
Note: Journal abbreviation and volume are italicized. However, issue number (if present) is not italicized. Year of publication is bolded. Use CASSI (Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index) to find standard journal abbreviations.
For specific electronic resources, see the examples corresponding with the same print resources: for instance, for correct formatting of e-books, see the Books examples.
Author, X (if any). Title of Site. URL (accessed Month Day, Year), other identifying information (if any).
National Library of Medicine. Environmental Health & Toxicology. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/index.html (accessed Feb 04, 2020).
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Home Page. https://www.iupac.org/dhtml_home.html (accessed April 24, 2005).
Author 1; Author 2; etc. Title of Document, Year. Title of Site. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
Adrian, B.; Dooley, O.; Huang, C.; Levkowitz, M. Tackling Bed Bugs: A Starter Guide for Local Government, 2016. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site. https://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug/tacklingbbstarterguide.pdf (accessed Nov 19, 2010).
The minimum required information for a book is author or editor, book title, publisher, city of publication, and year of publication. Omit words like “Company,” “Inc.,” “Publisher,” and “Press” in publishers’ names. Some ACS publications include the chapter title in book references, while others do not. Check with the publication itself. Using the word “In” signifies the primary author(s) wrote only part of the book, not the entire book.
Anastas, P. T.; Warner, J. C. Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice; Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1998.
Asmus, K. D. Recent Aspects of Thiyl and Perthiyl Free Radical Chemistry. In Active Oxygens, Lipid Peroxides, and Antioxidants; Yagi K., Ed.; Japan Scientific Societies: Tokyo; CRC: Boca Raton, FL, 1993; pp 57-67.
Articles are only as good as your ability to find the full-text of an article. Without the full-text, you do not get the graphs, tables, references, and supplemental information. Usually the full-text article is not available in the database, but on a different website. USC Libraries has provided the “Find it @ USC” link to directly link to the full-text article, if available. Occasionally, USC Libraries does not have a subscription to the journal the article appears in. When clicking the “Find it @ USC” link, you will be told to request the article via interlibrary loan (ILL).