Compare Citation Styles From Your Own Guide Excerpts

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Paste three things into an ordinary AI chat that accepts text: (1) the citation rules you copied from one or more style guides, with the style name for each; (2) the bibliographic details of the item you want to cite (author, title, container, year, publisher, URL, access date); (3) the source type, such as journal article or webpage. Optionally add a use case note. Then paste the prompt itself.

If the reply asks you for a missing piece, supply exactly that. Check the output by confirming each table row points to one excerpt you supplied, that unknown fields appear as bracketed placeholders such as [publisher unknown], and that any disagreement between two excerpts is shown with both quoted phrases rather than silently resolved.

What this prompt does

The prompt compares styles for one source type and builds:

• a table with style name, a one-sentence paraphrase of what the rule requires, the word order as slot labels, stated punctuation and typographic details, the missing element for your source, and a verification check against that excerpt;
• one "Formatted example" block per style, with unknowns left as bracketed placeholders;
• a conflict and gap pass that shows disagreements side by side and writes "not stated in supplied excerpt" where an excerpt is silent.

Inputs and boundaries

It works only from what you paste. It does not browse, does not apply rules from memory, and does not add requirements you did not supply. It is a preparation aid: it will not submit, publish or format anything outside its own reply. It does not declare a style rule official, current or preferred beyond your excerpts.

Because your excerpts and source details are the whole basis, mistakes in what you paste carry through. Remove personal or confidential material before pasting, and keep the excerpts short enough to check by eye.

Checks before reuse

The reply should end with a numbered check list tied to your excerpts and a short "What I did not verify" section. Run those checks yourself before quoting anything in real work.

FAQ

Is it a problem if I only have one style guide? No. The table still works with a single style; the conflict section simply has nothing to compare.

What if some details are unknown? Say so, or mark the fields unknown. The example keeps them as bracketed placeholders instead of inventing values.

Verification note

Documented setup only; source reviewed; runtime not tested. The worked example inside the prompt is fictional and shows the expected shape, not real output.

Complete reusable prompt

You are helping me compare citation formats from style-guide excerpts I provide. Work only from what I paste. Do not browse, do not assume rules from memory, and do not add requirements I did not supply.

INPUT I WILL PROVIDE

1. STYLE EXCERPTS: pasted text from one or more style guides covering how to cite a source type (book, journal article, webpage, report, interview, etc.). Include the style name for each excerpt.
2. SOURCE DETAILS: the bibliographic facts of the item I want cited, in whatever form I have them (for example: author, title, container, year, publisher, URL, access date). I may mark some fields as unknown.
3. SOURCE TYPE: the kind of source (for example, journal article or webpage).
4. USE CASE: optional note on context, such as a student paper, internal report or grant application.

If any of STYLE EXCERPTS, SOURCE DETAILS or SOURCE TYPE is missing, ask me for exactly that before continuing, and stop. Do not guess the missing material.

TASK Build one Markdown table comparing the styles I supplied for the single SOURCE TYPE I named. Then produce one formatted example per style using my SOURCE DETAILS only.

TABLE COLUMNS

• Style name
• What the rule requires, paraphrased in one sentence from the excerpt
• Word order of the citation, shown as a pattern using slot labels (for example: Author, Year, Title, Container)
• Required punctuation and typographic details, only if the excerpt states them
• Element my source is missing, if any
• Verification check I should run against that style's excerpt

After the table, add one short block per style, labelled with the style name and titled "Formatted example." Place the filled-in citation on its own line, then list any slot I left unknown as a bracketed placeholder, such as [publisher unknown], instead of inventing it.

CONFLICTS AND GAPS

• If two excerpts disagree on the same point, show both versions side by side and label the disagreement. Do not silently pick a winner.
• If an excerpt is silent on a detail, write "not stated in supplied excerpt" and do not fill it from memory.
• If the excerpt itself is ambiguous, quote only the short phrase that is ambiguous and explain the two readings.

OUTPUT FORMAT

1. One line stating which styles and which source type you are comparing.
2. The comparison table.
3. One "Formatted example" block per style.
4. A short section titled "Checks before I reuse these" with a numbered list of concrete checks tied to my excerpts and my source details.
5. A short section titled "What I did not verify" naming anything outside the supplied material.

REVIEW CHECKS I EXPECT The checks must test the actual table, not general advice. Examples of acceptable checks: confirm each table row cites one supplied excerpt; confirm no column contains a rule not present in that excerpt; confirm every unknown field appears as a bracketed placeholder in every example; confirm the disagreement row matches the two quoted phrases exactly.

BOUNDARIES

• This is a preparation aid. Do not submit, publish or format anything outside this reply on my behalf.
• Do not claim a style rule is official, current or preferred beyond what my excerpts say.
• Do not invent an entry type, field or example that my source details cannot support.
• Keep the language plain, so I can paste the table into my own notes.

WORKED EXAMPLE (fictional, for shape only) Input I might paste: STYLE EXCERPTS: "Example style A: author last name, year in parentheses, title in sentence case, container in italics. Example style B: author last name, title in quotes, container, year." SOURCE DETAILS: author = Rivera; title = coastal erosion survey; container = Field Notes Quarterly; year = 2019; publisher unknown. SOURCE TYPE: journal article. Illustrative output shape: one row for style A and one for style B; one "Formatted example" block per style; the unknown publisher appears as [publisher unknown] in any style that requires it; a checks list that includes "confirm the italic step appears only if that excerpt stated it." A worked example is not a test of your output; it only shows the shape I want.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes · Reviewed 2026-10-04

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.