IEEE style
How to cite a preprint article in IEEE style
Preprints carry DOIs but lack journal volumes and page numbers; styles require explicit repository names (arXiv, bioRxiv) and clear preprint designation.
THE FORMAT
A preprint article in IEEE, at a glance
[#] A. B. Author and C. D. Author, “Title of the article,” preprint, Year. Available: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
[4] R. Kumar and S. Gupta, “Low-latency hardware acceleration for graph neural networks,” TechRxiv preprint, 2024. Available: https://doi.org/10.36227/techrxiv.248101.v1
A hardware acceleration scheme is presented in [4].
In prose: Kumar and Gupta [4] proposed a low-latency GNN accelerator.
Copyeditor formats APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE automatically — cite a source once and the references builds itself. See how citations work .
BEFORE YOU FORMAT
What IEEE needs from a preprint article
Elements to collect
- Author or authors
- Year and month of posting
- Article title
- Preprint repository name (e.g. arXiv, bioRxiv)
- DOI or persistent repository URL
Rules specific to this entry
- The IEEE Reference Guide specifies that un-peer-reviewed papers deposit repositories take the uncapitalized descriptor “preprint” after the title or server name.
- Always provide the persistent DOI link or direct repository URL under “Available:”.
- IEEE uses numbered bracketed citations in appearance order — [1], [2] — regardless of author names or preprint status.
- If the preprint is later published in an IEEE Transaction or conference proceeding, update the reference to cite the official published paper.
Building the entry, step by step
Collect the details
Before you format anything, gather every element IEEE needs for a preprint article: Author or authors; Year and month of posting; Article title; Preprint repository name (e.g. arXiv, bioRxiv).
Build the references entry
Arrange those details in the IEEE order: [#] A. B. Author and C. D. Author, “Title of the article,” preprint, Year. Available: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Add the in-text citation
In the body of your paper, cite it as A hardware acceleration scheme is presented in [4]. — or work the same reference into your sentence as Kumar and Gupta [4] proposed a low-latency GNN accelerator..
Check it against the exceptions
The IEEE Reference Guide specifies that un-peer-reviewed papers deposit repositories take the uncapitalized descriptor “preprint” after the title or server name.
IEEE RULES
The conventions behind every IEEE entry
IEEE Reference Guide is the authority. Where a journal or department publishes its own house rules, those win — check your submission guidelines before the references is final.
The rules that apply across every source — author order, capitalization, how the references is sorted, and where IEEE entries most often go wrong — are collected on the IEEE style guide.
The same preprint article in another style
Switching styles late in a draft is normal. Here is the same source formatted five other ways.
Questions about IEEE and preprints
What if the preprint article has no author?
Start the entry with the title and keep the number you already assigned it. A numeric references never re-sorts for a missing author, so the entry stays exactly where it is.
What do I need before I can cite a preprint article?
Author or authors, Year and month of posting, Article title, and the rest of the elements listed above. Preprints carry DOIs but lack journal volumes and page numbers; styles require explicit repository names (arXiv, bioRxiv) and clear preprint designation.
Is there anything unusual about a preprint article in IEEE?
The IEEE Reference Guide specifies that un-peer-reviewed papers deposit repositories take the uncapitalized descriptor “preprint” after the title or server name.
What else catches people out here?
Always provide the persistent DOI link or direct repository URL under “Available:”.
Can I reformat this preprint article in another style later?
By hand, you would retype the entry — the element order, punctuation and italics all differ between styles. In Copyeditor, sources are stored as structured data, so switching between APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE reformats every citation and the whole reference list at once.
Cite it once
and never reformat it again
Copyeditor keeps sources as structured data, so switching between APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE reformats every citation and the whole references at once.
Deterministic Verification in Modern Academic Writing
Copyeditor eliminates fragmented tab-switching by unifying structured drafting, multi-style citation generation, academic tone refinement, and cryptographic process verification in one workspace.
The author approves every single sentence. Intelligent scaffolding assists with section outlines and literature integration without ghostwriting.
