inline-citation

name	inline-citation
version	1.0
description	Formats hyperlinked inline citations as Author (Year) anchors placed immediately after the claim they support. Use when writing blog posts, technical documentation, internal knowledge bases, or web-published research summaries that require visible attribution and directly accessible sources.

Inline Linked Citation (APA-inspired)

When Not to Use

• When the output is a formal academic submission requiring strict APA, MLA, Chicago, or other institutional style compliance — use a dedicated reference manager and citation style instead
• When the medium does not support hyperlinks (print documents, plain-text exports, PDF without link annotations)
• When the content is purely creative or fictional and factual attribution is not required

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Interaction Protocol

Before starting, ask if not already clear:

1. Is an optional reference list required at the end, or inline citations only?
2. Are primary sources already identified, or must sources be located during writing?

Output style:

• Every factual claim carries an inline citation in the canonical form: <a href="URL">Author (Year)</a>
• Flag any claim that cannot be sourced with [SOURCE NEEDED]
• Do not silently omit citations for hard-to-source claims — surface them

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Inputs and Outputs

Input: Draft text with factual claims plus any source materials provided
Output: Revised text with inline linked citations; optional reference list appended if requested; list of flagged unsourced claims
Composability: Use alongside citation-discipline for full epistemic rigour; apply after research or strategy-author; run speculation-control in parallel to ensure non-factual content is labeled

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Citation Format

Canonical form

<a href="URL">Author (Year)</a>

Examples

<a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31161">Brynjolfsson (2023)</a>
<a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-march-2024">IEA (2024)</a>

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Placement

• Insert the citation immediately after the claim it supports.
• Place the citation before terminal punctuation where possible.

Correct:

AI adoption improves productivity Brynjolfsson (2023).

Incorrect:

AI adoption improves productivity. Brynjolfsson (2023)

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Author Naming

• Use the surname for individual authors: Smith (2022)
• Use the organisation name when no clear individual author is identified: IEA (2024)
• Use et al. for three or more authors: Smith et al. (2021)
• Never use generic labels such as "Source" or "Reference"

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Year

• Use the publication year of the cited work.
• If the year is unknown or unavailable, use n.d. (no date): WHO (n.d.)

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Multiple Citations

Do not bundle multiple sources into a single hyperlink or a single anchor element.

Avoid:

<a href="…">Smith (2022); IEA (2024)</a>

Do instead:

<a href="…">Smith (2022)</a>; <a href="…">IEA (2024)</a>

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Reuse

• Repeat the full citation each time a claim requires support.
• Do not rely on an earlier citation implicitly — each claim must be independently traceable.

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Link Requirements

• The URL must resolve directly to the cited content — not to a homepage, category page, or search result.
• Prefer primary sources over secondary commentary or summaries.
• Do not use URL shorteners.
• Use HTTPS where available.

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Optional Reference List

An alphabetically ordered reference list at the end of the document is permitted but not required.

If included:

• Format each entry in APA-like style: Author (Year). Title. Publisher/URL.
• Inline citations must still be present regardless — the reference list does not replace them.

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Edge Cases

Situation	Form
No named author	<a href="…">World Bank (2023)</a>
No date available	<a href="…">UNESCO (n.d.)</a>
Three or more authors	<a href="…">Smith et al. (2021)</a>
Organisation as author	<a href="…">IEA (2024)</a>

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Anti-patterns

• Raw URLs embedded in body text instead of attached to an author–year anchor
• "Click here", "this source", or other non-descriptive link text
• Citations missing an author name or year
• Linking to secondary commentary when the primary source is accessible
• Bundling multiple sources into a single <a> element
• Using a homepage URL instead of a direct link to the cited content

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Mandatory Pre-Output Checklist

Run these checks before marking output complete:

1. Author + year present: Every inline citation contains an identifiable author or organisation name and a year (or n.d.).
2. Hyperlink attached: Every inline citation is wrapped in an <a href="…"> element with a non-empty href.
3. Source resolves directly: Each URL points to the specific cited content, not a homepage or summary page.
4. Citation at point of claim: Each citation immediately follows the claim it supports; no orphaned citations placed at paragraph or section ends without a corresponding specific claim.
5. No bundled citations: No single <a> element contains more than one author–year pair.
6. Unsourced claims flagged: Any claim without a locatable source is marked [SOURCE NEEDED] rather than left bare.

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Failure Modes

• Factual claims without any attached citation
• Generic link text ("click here", "source") instead of Author (Year)
• A single hyperlink covering multiple sources
• Linking to a homepage or aggregator rather than the primary document
• Placing the citation at the end of a paragraph rather than at the point of the specific claim
• Using a URL shortener that obscures the destination
• Omitting the citation on second or later use of the same claim