Trying to cite sources on a paper or project can be tedious and confusing —especially after hours of working on your first big essay of the semester. Luckily, there’s an app that can help: RefMe.

RefMe is an invaluable tool for any college students faced with the task of creating a works cited page, reference list or bibliography. This program is made to eliminate the stress of point deductions for citation mistakes.

RefMe is a free reference generator available on both Android, iPhone and iPad devices. But what sets this app apart from similar online referencing tools is that RefMe can work with you on-the-go, turning your phone or tablet into a barcode scanner.

RefMe utilizes the Android, iPhone or iPad camera to scan the barcodes of textbooks or print journal articles. It creates a properly formatted reference. Once users finish scanning, you can sync references onto RefMe’s own cloud service before copy and pasting them into your document. Or use its own native exporting tool to send your citations to your email address, Evernote account, Word document, or many other online accounts. Once they are on the web, RefMe automatically alphabetizes them for you.

What about those sources that are from websites, CDs, legal documents or other miscellaneous reference types?

RefMe solves these problems by maintaining its own reference database. Users can look up citations in seconds by typing author names, website URLs, ISBN codes or other relevant keywords into the search bar. RefMe then adds these into your reference list.

Another helpful feature is the addition of different citation styles. RefMe supports over 7,500 citation formats, including APA and MLA. The app’s user interface is easy to navigate, so switching between the styles even after you start scanning is not a problem. The app provides instructions on how to properly format in-text citations, depending on your citation style.