In APA/MLA/Chicago, give authors, year, title, and a status note like “manuscript under review”; omit journal and DOI until acceptance.
You found a source that fits your argument, but it sits in a gray zone: the paper is still under peer review. You can cite it, yet you must say so. Editors, instructors, and readers want clear signals about stage and availability. This guide lays out clean patterns for major styles, plus copy-ready lines you can adapt fast.
Core Principle: Be Honest And Precise
Two rules cover almost every case. First, never claim publication before it happens. Second, give enough detail to help a reader trace the work you used. That means author names, a year or year range, the title, and a short status note. List the version you actually read. If you read a preprint with a DOI, cite the preprint. If you only had a private draft, label it as an unpublished manuscript or a work under review. Leave out a journal name until the paper is accepted.
Quick Reference: Styles At A Glance
The table below shows typical in-text signals and reference patterns for a manuscript under review. Match punctuation and case to your style guide.
| Style | In-Text Citation | Reference Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | (Surname, Year) | Surname, A. A., & Surname, B. B. (Year). Title of manuscript. Manuscript under review. |
| MLA 9 | (Surname Page) | Surname, Firstname, and Firstname Surname. “Title of Manuscript.” Manuscript under review, Year. |
| Chicago Notes | 1. Surname, “Short Title,” Year | Surname, Firstname. “Title of Manuscript.” Manuscript under review, Year. |
| Chicago Author-Date | (Surname Year) | Surname, Firstname. Year. “Title of Manuscript.” Manuscript under review. |
| AMA 11 | Superscript number | Surname A, Surname B. Title of manuscript. Manuscript under review. Year. |
| IEEE | [#] | A. A. Surname and B. B. Surname, “Title of manuscript,” manuscript under review, Year. |
APA 7th: Clear Status Labels
APA uses status phrases that reflect the version you saw: “manuscript in preparation,” “manuscript submitted for publication,” “manuscript under review,” “manuscript accepted for publication,” or “advance online publication.” Use sentence case for titles. If a preprint exists, cite that object with its DOI and site name. In the reference, skip the journal name until the article is accepted. See APA’s guidance on unpublished works and the entry for preprint article references.
APA Copy-Ready Lines
Private Draft Under Review
Smith, J. A., & Lee, K. (2024). Measuring coastal heat flux. Manuscript under review.
Submitted, No Public Link
Ali, R. (2025). A fast method for sparse graphs. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Preprint You Read
Okoro, T., & Singh, P. (2023). Nanowire fatigue at scale. Preprint posted to PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/abcd1
MLA 9th: Works Under Review
MLA allows a status note in the final slot. Use title case in quotation marks. Include a year if it helps readers in your field. If a preprint has a DOI, cite that version with the site as the container. MLA’s template logic favors the version you consulted.
MLA Copy-Ready Lines
Private Draft Under Review
Martinez, Lidia. “RNA Editing In Plant Stress.” Manuscript under review, 2025.
Preprint
Devi, Arjun, and Sara Park. “Model-Free Control For Soft Grippers.” bioRxiv, 2024, doi:10.1101/2024.02.10.123456.
Chicago: Notes And Author-Date
Chicago supports a short status phrase. In notes, include a short title on later mentions. In author-date, place the year after the name and add the status at the end. If you have a working paper number or a repository, include it. Leave out a journal name until acceptance.
Chicago Notes Examples
1. Nora Fahmi, “Carbon Budgets In Arid Zones,” manuscript under review, 2025.
2. Fahmi, “Carbon Budgets.”
Chicago Author-Date Example
Fahmi, Nora. 2025. “Carbon Budgets In Arid Zones.” Manuscript under review.
AMA And IEEE: Short, Direct Entries
AMA and IEEE keep entries tight. Use a plain status note and a year. If a preprint DOI exists, prefer that. In IEEE, place the status in lower case after the quoted title. In AMA, use sentence case for the title and end fields with periods.
AMA Copy-Ready Lines
Private Draft
Rao N, Chen Q. Adaptive filters for neural data. Manuscript under review. 2025.
Preprint
Liu H, Ahmed S. T Cell dynamics in early HIV. Preprint. 2024. doi:10.1101/2024.05.22.123456.
IEEE Copy-Ready Lines
Private Draft
N. Rao and Q. Chen, “Adaptive filters for neural data,” manuscript under review, 2025.
Preprint
H. Liu and S. Ahmed, “T Cell dynamics in early HIV,” bioRxiv, 2024, doi:10.1101/2024.05.22.123456.
Citing A Manuscript Under Review: Style Nuances
Small style quirks trip writers up. APA uses sentence case for titles; MLA and Chicago use title case in quotes. Chicago author-date ends with a period after the status phrase. IEEE keeps commas between fields. AMA ends fields with periods. Match the casing and punctuation that your style requires and your entry will read clean from the first pass.
When To Use A Journal Name
Add a journal only when a paper is accepted. Before that point, the destination can change. Listing a tentative journal can mislead readers and can look like padding. If the paper belongs to a working paper series or a report line, include that label and number, since that points to the version you consulted.
Preprints Versus Under Review Drafts
A preprint sits on a public site and often has a DOI. Anyone can read it. A draft under review may be private. If you read a preprint, cite that public object. If you read a private draft sent by the author or shared in a course drive, add a status note and skip a URL. In many fields, a preprint is the better pick because it gives a stable record of the exact text that informed your work.
Status Wording Cheat Sheet
| Stage | Where To Cite | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| In preparation | Reference list | You saw a working draft; include a year if shown on the draft. |
| Submitted | Reference list | Use “manuscript submitted for publication” if your style allows that wording. |
| Under review | Reference list | Use “manuscript under review”; leave the journal unnamed. |
| Accepted | Reference list | Switch to “in press” or “accepted” per style; add journal and DOI if assigned. |
| Preprint | Reference list | Cite the preprint with its DOI and the site (e.g., arXiv, bioRxiv, PsyArXiv). |
| Personal communication | In text only | Private emails or calls belong in the text only for APA and many fields. |
If You Are Citing Your Own Draft
Match the rules of your style and your venue. In double-blind review, replace your name with “Author” only if the venue asks for it, and add a bracketed note in the text that a self-citation was withheld to protect anonymity. In a thesis or a report that is not blind, use your name like any other author. Avoid padding the list with vague entries. List only items you actually used.
What To Do Inside The Text
Keep in-text signals plain. In APA, author and year suffice. In MLA, use author and page if you quoted a paged draft; if the draft had no stable pages, author alone works. In Chicago notes, write a clear sentence that names the author and gives a note number; the note carries the status phrase. In IEEE and AMA, the text uses a number; the list holds the status.
Should You Quote Or Paraphrase?
Quoting a private draft can be touchy. If the draft may change, a tight paraphrase with a page or section hint is safer for readers. If you must quote, get permission when the draft is not public. With a preprint, quoting is easier because the text is public and citable with a DOI.
Common Pitfalls
- Adding a journal name too soon.
- Mixing title case and sentence case within one list.
- Calling a preprint “under review” when it is not.
- Linking to a private file in a cloud drive.
- Leaving out the year, which weakens the trail for readers.
- Using a repository URL without the DOI when the DOI is present.
Reference Examples By Field
Psychology (APA)
Reyes, D. N., & Ortega, M. (2024). Sleep loss and moral choice. Manuscript under review.
Physics (IEEE)
J. Patel, R. Gomez, and L. Cho, “Graphene defects at scale,” manuscript under review, 2025.
Biology (AMA)
Okeke T, Ruiz M. Cell wall repair in gram-positive bacteria. Manuscript under review. 2025.
Humanities (MLA)
Hart, Nina. “Stage Light And Memory.” Manuscript under review, 2024.
History (Chicago Notes)
1. Evan Shah, “Counting Households In Early Census Lists,” manuscript under review, 2025.
When A Draft Moves To “Accepted”
Once a paper is accepted, change the status. Replace the phrase with “in press” or “accepted” per your style and add the journal. If a DOI arrives on acceptance, include it. Keep an access date or a URL only if your style asks for it and your version is still the accepted manuscript in a repository.
Ethics And Courtesy
Tell the truth about what you read. Ask the author before you cite a private draft that was not meant for wide sharing. If you found a public preprint, cite the public record rather than a private copy. If your text leans on a claim that may change, add a short signal in your prose that the claim comes from a work under review. The reader can weigh that signal while reading your argument.
Final Check Before Submission
Scan your list for case, punctuation, and dates. Match every in-text signal to a full entry when your style calls for a list. Place status phrases at the end of titles or at the end of entries per the rules for your style. Confirm that any link you added opens for readers outside your campus or company network. If a link points to a paywalled preprint, include the DOI in full to give a stable path.
Two Handy Patterns To Copy
APA
Surname, A. A., Surname, B. B., & Surname, C. C. (Year). Title in sentence case. Manuscript under review.
MLA
Surname, Firstname, and Firstname Surname. “Title in Title Case.” Manuscript under review, Year.
Chicago Author-Date
Surname, Firstname. Year. “Title in Title Case.” Manuscript under review.
Chicago Notes
1. Firstname Surname, “Title in Title Case,” manuscript under review, Year.
AMA
Surname A, Surname B. Title in sentence case. Manuscript under review. Year.
IEEE
A. A. Surname and B. B. Surname, “Title in Title Case,” manuscript under review, Year.
Why This Care Pays Off
Clear citations help readers follow your trail and keep your integrity intact. You show what you read, where you read it, and how steady that source is. That habit builds trust with graders, peer reviewers, and coauthors. It also saves time when the paper advances, since a small edit to the status line can refresh the entry without a rebuild of your list.