How to list publications on an academic CV
How to format and order the publications section of an academic CV: citation style, grouping by type, author order, highlighting your own name, preprints and under-review work, and what to avoid.
For most academic roles the publications section is the part of your CV that committees read most closely, so how you present it matters almost as much as what's in it. This guide covers citation style, ordering and grouping, making your own contribution clear, how to handle preprints and under-review work, and the mistakes that undermine an otherwise strong list.
Choose one citation style — and keep it
Pick a citation style appropriate to your field (for example APA, Vancouver, Chicago, or IEEE) and apply it to every entry. The single most common failure is mixing styles or formatting references by hand so that no two look quite alike. Formatting the whole list through one engine — the Citation Style Language (CSL), the standard behind reference managers like Zotero — guarantees consistency across your PDF, Word, and LaTeX CVs.
Order and group your publications
- List works in reverse-chronological order (newest first).
- Group by type when the list is long: peer-reviewed journal articles, preprints, book chapters, conference papers, datasets and software.
- Keep the groups clearly labelled and separated so a reader can find peer-reviewed work instantly.
- Be consistent about numbering — number every entry or none.
Make your own contribution clear
- Highlight your own name (e.g. in bold) in every author list.
- Mark first-author, corresponding-author, and equal-contribution roles with a clear, explained notation.
- Remember that author-order conventions differ by field — add a one-line note if your field's convention isn't obvious.
Preprints, under review, and in press
List work honestly with its status. Preprints are increasingly accepted on CVs but should be labelled as preprints, and "under review" or "in press" items should say so. Never present non-peer-reviewed work as peer-reviewed, and don't list the same paper twice (e.g. as both a preprint and the published version) without making the relationship clear.
Include identifiers and links
Add a DOI (and a link) to each work so readers can find it, and put your ORCID iD in your header. Identifiers also let tools verify your authorship reliably — by identifier rather than by name, which matters for common and non-Latin-script names.
What to avoid
- Mixing citation styles within one document.
- Padding the list with minor or unrelated items.
- Inconsistent forms of your own name across entries.
- Broken or missing DOIs — check that every link resolves.
Generate a formatted publication list automatically
SigmaCV pulls your publications from ORCID and OpenAlex (matched by identifier, not name), formats them in any CSL style with your own name highlighted, and exports the list to PDF, Word, LaTeX, Markdown or BibTeX — so every version of your CV is consistent and correct.
Generate your publication list free
Frequently asked questions
What citation style should I use for my CV's publications?
Use the style normal for your field (e.g. APA, Vancouver, Chicago, IEEE). What matters most is applying one style consistently across the whole list and every format of your CV.
Should I include preprints on my CV?
Yes — preprints are increasingly accepted — but label them clearly as preprints and keep them separate from peer-reviewed articles.
How do I show co-first or equal authorship?
Mark the relevant authors with a symbol and explain it in a short legend (e.g. "* equal contribution"). Be consistent throughout the list.