Help:Cite errors/Cite error included ref
 | This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to content. |
| Error Message | A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
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| Category | Pages with incorrect ref formatting |
| System message page | Cite error included ref |
Overview
References are defined within <ref>...</ref> tags.
Issues and resolution
The closing </ref> tag is missing or malformed. Ensure that you are either using a closed pair of tags (<ref>content</ref>), or one single tag with a forward slash at the end to mark it as a single tag (<ref />). The last reference on a page will not show this error and will eat the following content.
<ref>...</ref> tags are nested inside another set of <ref>...</ref> tags. <ref>...</ref> tags cannot be nested; see WP:REFNEST.
Examples
Improperly closed ref tag
In this example, reference 2 is improperly closed with <ref>:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Reference 1</ref> Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.<ref>Reference 2<ref> Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.<ref>Reference 3</ref> Curabitur pretium tincidunt lacus. Nulla gravida orci a odio. Nullam varius, turpis et commodo pharetra, est eros bibendum elit, nec luctus magna felis sollicitudin mauris. Integer in mauris eu nibh euismod gravida.
Note how the content between the reference 2 <ref> and the reference 3 </ref> is missing:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.[1] Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Curabitur pretium tincidunt lacus. Nulla gravida orci a odio. Nullam varius, turpis et commodo pharetra, est eros bibendum elit, nec luctus magna felis sollicitudin mauris. Integer in mauris eu nibh euismod gravida.
- References
- ^ Reference 1
Nesting ref tags
Here, reference 2 is nested inside reference 1:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<ref>Reference 1<ref>Reference 2<ref></ref> Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
- References