how to cite quotes in apa

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How to Cite Quotes in APA

Last Updated: February 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 16 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 67,287 times.

Whether you have a big paper due for class or are about to publish a study, making sure your quotes are properly cited is important. APA style is the standard citation format for most social sciences, medical sciences, and public health papers. A quote in APA style includes a signal phrase before the quote and a citation in parentheses after the quote. A basic citation is easy to master, but there are some slight variations for use in special circumstances. Just remember, if your quote is over 40 words long, some special formatting is required.

Writing a Signal Phrase

• Include both the author and the year in the text. The page number will be in parentheses.
• Include only the author's name in the text. The year and page number will be in parentheses.
• Do not write the author's name or year of publication in the text. The name, year, and page number will be included in parentheses at the end.

• Smith’s 2002 study found that “owning a pet absolutely reduced stress” (p. 48).

• Smith (2002) found that “owning a pet absolutely reduced stress” (p. 48).

• One study found that “owning a pet absolutely reduced stress” (Smith, 2002, p. 48).

Forming a Parenthetical Citation

• Smith (2008) found that “owning a pet absolutely reduced stress” (p. 48).
• Smith (2008) found that “owning a pet absolutely reduced stress.” (p. 48)

• If there is only one author, write their last name followed by a comma. For example: (Smith, 2008, p. 101).
• If there are 2 authors, write both last names separated by a “&.” Follow the second name with a comma. For example: (Smith & Jones, 2008, p. 101).
• If there are 3-5 authors, cite all names the first time you use the citation. Then use the first author’s last name and “et. al” in following citations. The first citation might look like (Smith, Jones, & Wu, 2008, p. 101). The following citations might look like (Smith et. al 2008, p. 103).
• If there are more than 6 authors, use the first author’s last name and follow it with “et. al”. For example: (Smith et. al 2008, p. 101).

• If you mentioned the author’s name in a signal phrase, follow it immediately with the year in parentheses. You might write: “Jenkins (1990) stated that…”
• If you did not mention the author’s name in a signal phrase, include the year after the author’s name in the parentheses. There should be a comma after the year. This might look like: (Jenkins, 1990, p. 1).

• You must always include the page or paragraph number in the parentheses at the end. You cannot state it in the signal phrase at the beginning.
• The page number always comes last. Write “p.” before the page number.” If there is more than one page, use “pp.” For example: (Wu, 2002, pp. 101-110).
• If you are using the paragraph number, write “para.” before the number. For example: (Wu, 2010, para. 3).

• Author’s last name and first initials
• Title of article
• Title of journal or book
• Year of publication
• Page range of cited article or chapter
• URL (if it is a website) or DOI number (if it is a peer-reviewed journal article)

Formatting a Long Quote

• When discussing the effect of pet ownership on humans, Smith asserts:
• The American Red Cross uses their annual report to call for more donations. In 2016, they said:

• Keep the spacing the same as the rest of the essay. If the rest of the essay is double-spaced, your quote should be double-spaced.
• APA papers typically have margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm). This means that your block quote will be indented a total of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) from the edge of the page.

• If the signal phrase includes the author’s name and year of publication, you only need to cite the page number at the end of the quote.
• If the signal phrase does not include this information, you must cite it at all in the parenthetical citation.

Learning Special Rules

• The American Red Cross (2016) estimates that it responds to 66,000 disasters per year, “including single-family or apartment home fires, severe weather, floods and wildfires” (p. 2).
• In 2016, the American Red Cross estimated that it responds to 66,000 disasters per year, “including single-family or apartment home fires, severe weather, floods and wildfires” (p. 2).
• One organization estimated that it responds to 66,000 disasters per year, “including single-family or apartment home fires, severe weather, floods and wildfires” (American Red Cross, 2016, p. 2).

• Huntington’s disease is a “neurological disorder that causes uncontrolled or jerking movements, difficulties with cognition, and emotional issues” (“Huntington’s Disease,” 2011, para. 1).

• (J. Smith, 2002, p. 27)
• (K. Smith, 1995, p. 205)
• K. Smith (1995) states that “the global economy will only continue to grow” (p. 205).

• William Shakespeare once stated that “we know what we are, but know not what we may be” (as cited in Rodriguez, 2005, p. 6).

Community Q&A

• Footnotes are not used in APA style to cite quotes. You should only use them to add interesting additional content or to acknowledge the copyright of a particular item. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://butlercc.libguides.com/c.php?g=220263&p=1458165
• ↑ https://libguides.asu.edu/c.php?g=263988&p=1765718
• ↑ https://www.antioch.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/APA-Signal-Phrases-for-Quotes-and-Paraphrases.pdf
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/apa-7-in-text-citations
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
• ↑ http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/same-year-author
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/03/

About This Article

To cite quotes in APA, include the author and publication year in a signal phrase before the quote, such as, “As Nichols (2003) mentions:” Then, include the page number in parentheses after the quotation, but before the period. If you don’t want to include the author or year in a signal phrase, include that information in the parentheses after the quote, separating them with a comma. For example, write, “The study showed cats are more mischievous (Smith, 2008, p. 101).” For tips from our English co-author on how to format long quotes in APA, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in Harvard & APA

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in Harvard & APA

Published on 15 April 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on 3 September 2022.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks (usually single quotation marks in UK English, though double is acceptable as long as you’re consistent) or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism , which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

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Table of contents

How to cite a quote in harvard and apa style, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using.

Citing a quote in Harvard style

When you include a quote in Harvard style, you must add a Harvard in-text citation giving the author’s last name, the year of publication, and a page number if available. Any full stop or comma appears after the citation, not within the quotation marks.

Citations can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in brackets after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

• Evolution is a gradual process that ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) . Darwin (1859) explains that evolution ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (p. 510) .

Complete guide to Harvard style

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas. If the quote appears on a single page, use ‘p.’; if it spans a page range, use ‘pp.’

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as full stops and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks.

• Evolution is a gradual process that ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution ‘can act only by very short and slow steps’ (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

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Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs, such as “states’, ‘argues’, ‘explains’, ‘writes’, or ‘reports’, to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, ‘A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation.

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership ‘would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership ‘would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters’ in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in double (instead of single) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use single quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: ‘ ‘ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ‘ he told me, ‘ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ‘ ‘ (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: ‘”Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had “  (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: ‘“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”’ (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to ‘remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’ (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term ‘ sic ‘ is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicise part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase ’emphasis added’ to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalisation made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a full stop, the citation appears after the full stop.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage into your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quotes are more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: ‘This is a quote’ (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarises other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA  recommends retaining the citations as part of the quote:

• Smith states that ‘the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus’ (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase ‘as cited in’ in your citation.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate ‘block’ of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

APA uses block quotes for quotes that are 40 words or longer.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. & Caulfield, J. (2022, September 03). How to Quote | Citing Quotes in Harvard & APA. Scribbr. Retrieved 2 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/working-sources/quoting/

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APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Quoting

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Quotations should be very rare in APA-style papers. Most/all of your sources should be paraphrased and put into your own words. If you do need to use a direct quotation, follow these guidelines:

When you quote directly (i.e. use the exact words) from a source, enclose the words in quotation marks and add the page number to the in-text citation. There are two basic formats which can be used :

The homeless were typically neglected growing up since they "commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony" (Rokach, 2005, p. 477).

As Rokach (2005) notes, the homeless "often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately" (p. 477).

Option one is the standard APA in-text citation format for quoting.   The second option is used when the author's name for the work being cited  is written in the lead-in sentence before the quote.

Note that the period goes outside the quotation marks and after the parentheses.

Long Quotations

What Is a Long Quotation?

If your quotation contains more than forty words, it is considered a long quotation. This can also be referred to as a block quotation.

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

• Place a colon at the end of the line that you write to introduce your long quotation.
• Indent the long quotation 0.5 inches from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
• Do not put quotation marks around the quotation.
• Place the period at the end of the quotation before your in-text citation instead of after , as with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)

When you quote from electronic sources that do not provide page numbers (like Web pages), provide another way to locate the quoted passage. You can use any of the following approaches:

Option 1 : Provide a heading or section name

Bowlby described "three phases of the separation response: protest, despair, and detachment" (Garelli, 2001, Bowlby's Initial Stance section).

Option 2 : Provide an abbreviated heading or section name, in quotation marks (use this if the heading or section title is very long)         note: full section title is: Get a Litter Box and Take Care of Sleeping Arrangements

Unpleasant odors can be minimized "with scrupulous maintenance of your cat's litter box" (Syufy, 2019, "Get a Litter Box" section).

Option 3 : Provide a paragraph number (count manually if they are not numbered):

It is important to remember that "study habits are very personal and what works for one student may not work for another" (Bennett, 2017, para. 3).

Option 4 : Provide a heading or section name in combination with a paragraph number:

It has been shown that "moods can vary depending on weather conditions" (Stark, 2015, Mood and Weather section, para. 2).

If a source has no page numbers and there is only one paragraph, skip that part of the in-text citation. The in-text citation would have the author(s) last name(s) and the year, e.g. (Garellio, 2001).

No Known Author:

Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.

If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.

If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.

Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).

( Cell Biology , 2012, p. 157)

("Nursing," 2011, p. 9)

No Known Date of Publication :

Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".

(Smith, n.d., p. 200)

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

In-text citation for group or corporate authors.

• << Previous: In-Text Citation
• Next: Paraphrasing >>
• Last Updated: Mar 6, 2024 11:18 AM
• URL: https://libguides.brenau.edu/APA7

APA Citation Guide (7th edition): Quotes vs Paraphrases

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What's the Difference?

Quoting vs paraphrasing: what's the difference.

There are two ways to integrate sources into your assignment: quoting directly or paraphrasing.

Quoting  is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly as it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks (" ") around the selected passage to show where the quote begins and where it ends. Make sure to include an in-text citation. 

Paraphrasing  is used to show that you understand what the author wrote. You must reword the passage, expressing the ideas in your own words, and not just change a few words here and there. Make sure to also include an in-text citation. 

Quoting Example

There are two basic formats that can be used:

Parenthetical Style:

Narrative Style:

Quoting Tips

• Long Quotes
• Changing Quotes

What Is a Long Quotation?

A quotation of more than 40 words. 

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

• The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
• The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
• There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
• The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after, as it does with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)

Changing Quotations

Sometimes you may want to make some modifications to the quote to fit your writing. Here are some APA rules when changing quotes:

Incorrect spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Add the word [sic] after the error in the quotation to let your reader know the error was in the original source and is not your error.

Omitting parts of a quotation

If you would like to exclude some words from a quotation, replace the words you are not including with an ellipsis - ...

Adding words to a quote

If you are adding words that are not part of the original quote, enclose the additional words in square brackets - [XYZ]

Secondary Source Quotes

What is a secondary source.

In scholarly work, a primary source reports original content; a secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.

• Cite secondary sources sparingly—for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand.
• If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source.

Rules for Secondary Source Citations

• In the reference list, provide an entry only for the secondary source that you used.
• In the text, identify the primary source and write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used. 
• If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the in-text citation.

Example of a Secondary Source Use

Quote & In-Text Citation

Reference List Entry

Paraphrases

Paraphrasing example.

When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:

If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:

NOTE : Although not required, APA encourages including the page number when paraphrasing if it will help the reader locate the information in a long text and distinguish between the information that is coming from you and the source.

Paraphrasing Tips

• Long Paraphrases

Original Source

Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.

Source from: 

Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology, 139, 469-480. 

Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing

Example: correct paraphrasing.

If your paraphrase is longer than one sentence, provide an in-text citation for the source at the beginning of the paraphrase. As long as it's clear that the paraphrase continues to the following sentences, you don't have to include in-text citations for the following sentences.

If your paraphrase continues to another paragraph and/or you include paraphrases from other sources within the paragraph, repeat the in-text citations for each.

Additional Resource

• Paraphrasing (The Learning Portal)

Tip sheet on paraphrasing information

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Penn State University Libraries

Apa quick citation guide.

• In-text Citation
• Citing Generative AI
• Citing Web Pages and Social Media
• Citing Articles
• Citing Books
• Citing Business Reports
• Other Formats
• APA Style Quiz

Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers , use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1). More information on direct quotation of sources without pagination is given on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech.   Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development , 23 (4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004).  Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech  (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of an author.

For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). For more information on citations for sources with no date or other missing information see the page on missing reference information on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page. 

Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).

Reference entry

Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html

Web page with organizational author:

More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).

World Health Organization. (2018, March 22).  Depression . https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

Web page with no date:

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaste r. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015) Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note:  For direct quotations of more than 40 words , display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation .

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three or more authors:   (Tremblay et al., 2010)

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APA 7th referencing style

• About APA 7th
• Printing this guide
• In-text references

What is a direct quotation?

Format of a direct quotation in-text reference, placement of a direct quotation in-text reference, quoting audiovisual works, works without a page number.

• Reference list
• Author information
• Additional referencing information
• Using headings
• Book chapter
• Brochure and pamphlets
• ChatGPT and other generative AI tools
• Conferences
• Dictionary or encyclopaedia
• Government legislation
• Journal article
• Lecture notes and slides
• Legal sources
• Newspaper or magazine article
• Other web sources
• Patents and standards
• Personal communication
• Press (media) release
• Secondary source (indirect citation)
• Social media
• Software and mobile apps
• Specialised health information
• Television program
• Works in non-English languages
• Works in non-English scripts, such as Arabic or Chinese

A direct quotation reproduces word-for-word material taken directly from another author’s work, or from your own previously published work.

If the quotation is fewer than 40 words , incorporate it into your paragraph and enclose it in double quotation marks. 

David Copperfield starts with "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show" (Dickens, 1869, p. 1).

If the quotation comprises 40 or more words , include it in an indented, freestanding block of text, without quotation marks. Make it double spaced .

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To beginmy life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously. (Dickens, 1896, p. 1)

• Include the author, year, and specific page number for that quotation.
• For material without page numbers, give the paragraph number or a time stamp.
• Include a complete reference in the reference list.

(Smith, 2003, p. 105)

(Brown, 1999, pp. 49-50)

Smith (2003) has argued that "......" (p. 105)

As Brown (1999) found "......" (pp. 49-50) 

(Anderson, 2019, 2:17)

Anderson (2019) noted that "...." (2:17)

Direct quotes that are less than 40 words

Parenthetical reference.

• Can be added either directly after the quote or at the end of the sentence.
• Ensure it is the same sentence as the quote.

Mindfulness has a range of meanings as it "has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (Crane, 2017, p. 586).

Mindfulness has a range of meanings as it "has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (Crane, 2017, p. 586) and can encompass...

Narrative reference

• Add the author in the sentence, followed by the year in brackets. Include the page number in brackets after the quote.

As Crane (2017) said, "Mindfulness has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (p. 586).

As Crane (2017) said, "Mindfulness has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (p. 586) and can encompass....

Quotes with more than 40 words (block quotes)

• Include at the end of the quote.

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously. (Dickens, 1896, p. 1)

• Include the author last name in the sentence, followed by the year in brackets before the block quote.
• Add the page number in brackets at the end of the block quote.

As Dickens (1896) famously began "David Copperfield":

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously. (p. 1)

• Add a time stamp in place of a page number when quoting from audiovisual works such as videos, songs, TV shows.

(Yates, 2019, 1:14)

(Henderson, 2017, 2:30:14)

For works without a page number, you can add:-

• paragraph number (manually count if not listed) eg. (Kennedy, 2019, para.8)
• heading or section name eg. (Harris, 2018, Behaviour Therapy section)
• act, scene and line(s) for plays eg. (Wilde, 1895/1997, 1.1.6-8) (means Act 1.Scene 1.Line(s) 6-8)
• canonically numbered sections for religious or classical works eg. (Genesis 15:6) (include book, chapter, verse, line or canto in place of page number)
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Writing Center@AEC Citation Help

APA 7th Direct Quotes

APA Direct Quote

If a source has multiple authors, follow these guidelines.

Two  authors in a parenthetical citation:  Use an ampersand (&) between the two last names. ​ 

Two authors in the narrative:   Use  and  between the two last names. ​ 

Three or more authors:  Only cite the first author, followed by  et al.

If directly quoting, include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference. Introduce the quote with a phrase like  according to  or state the author's last name.

• According to Smith (2017), "First-year college students struggle with the lack of sleep, good eating habits, and APA style" (p. 23).
• According to Jones and Brown (2017), "Citing in correct APA style can be challenging" (p. 25).
• Smith (2017) discovered "first-year college students struggle with lack of sleep, good eating habits, and APA style" (p. 23); what does that mean for college health officers, librarians, and teachers?

If you do not name the author in the sentence, list it with the date and page numbers after the quotation.

• She said, "First-year college students struggle with lack of sleep, good eating habits, and APA style" (Roberts, 2017, p. 199), and listed several solutions.

No page numbers . If the work does not have a page number, then provide an "address" to find the quoted text using one of the following methods:

• Supply a heading or section name (this can be abbreviated).                                                                    "Librarians are the keepers of information" (Johnson & Minchew, 2022, Reference Section)
• Supply a paragraph number (for unnumbered paragraphs count them accordingly).                                  "Reference is not a mute topic" (Johnson & Minchew, 2022, para. 1).
• Supply a heading or section name and a paragraph number.                                                                      "Research is a complex undertaking. Proper technique wields the best possible results" (Johnson & Minchew, 2022, Research section, para. 3).

Audiovisual work . When providing a quote directly from an audiovisual work ( audioBooks, films, podcast, TV programs, YouTube video ), place a time stamp for the beginning of the quote in lieu of a page number.

     "Books open the path to understanding and expanding our minds" (Johnson, 2022, 7:11). 

View APA Style guidance for Quotations . 

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APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes

About Block Quotes

Block quote example.

• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation
• Audiovisual
• Conference Presentations
• Social Media
• Legal References
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Additional Resources
• Reference Page
• Any quotation containing 40 or more words should be formatted as a Block Quote
• Do not use quotation marks to enclose block quotations.  Do use double quotation marks to enclose any quoted material within a block quotation
• Place period at the end of the quote rather than after the citation
• Block quotes should start on a new line and indent the block about ½ inch from the left margin
• If there are additional paragraphs within the block quote, indent the first line of each an additional half inch.

For further information and examples, consult pages 92 and 171 of the APA Manual.

Accord to Siegel and Hartzell (2004)            

trauma and loss requires an understanding of the low road and its connection to patterns of experiences from the past. The passing of unresolved issues from generation to generation produces and perpetuates unnecessary emotional suffering. If our own issues remain unresolved, there is a strong possibility that the disorganization within our minds can createdisorganization in our children’s minds. (p. 183)

During gestation, the numerous genes in the nucleus of each cell become expressed and the genes determine what proteins become produced and when and how to shape the body’s structure.  In utero brain development enables neurons to grow and move to their proper locations in the skull and begin to set up the interconnections that create the circuitry of this complex organ of the nervous system.  (Siegel & Hartzell, 2004)

***Disclaimer- screen size may distort orientation of block quote view

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Though the APA's author-date system for citations is fairly straightforward, author categories can vary significantly from the standard "one author, one source" configuration. There are also additional rules for citing authors of indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

A Work by One Author 

The APA manual recommends the use of the author-date citation structure for in-text citation references. This structure requires that any in-text citation (i.e., within the body of the text) be accompanied by a corresponding reference list entry. In the in-text citation provide the surname of the author but do not include suffixes such as "Jr.". 

Citing Non-Standard Author Categories

A work by two authors.

Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

A Work by Three or More Authors

List only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources.

In  et al. , et  should not be followed by a period. Only "al" should be followed by a period.

If you’re citing multiple works with similar groups of authors, and the shortened “et al” citation form of each source would be the same, you’ll need to avoid ambiguity by writing out more names. If you cited works with these authors:

They would be cited in-text as follows to avoid ambiguity:

Since et al. is plural, it should always be a substitute for more than one name. In the case that et al. would stand in for just one author, write the author’s name instead.

Unknown Author

If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks. APA style calls for capitalizing important words in titles when they are written in the text (but not when they are written in reference lists).

Note : In the rare case that "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author

If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source, just as you would an individual person.

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, you may include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations. However, if you cite work from multiple organizations whose abbreviations are the same, do not use abbreviations (to avoid ambiguity).

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses

When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon.

If you cite multiple works by the same author in the same parenthetical citation, give the author’s name only once and follow with dates. No date citations go first, then years, then in-press citations.

Authors with the Same Last Name

To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords

When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

Personal Communication

For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

If using a footnote to reference personal communication, handle citations the same way.

Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples

When citing information you learned from a conversation with an Indigenous person who was not your research participant, use a variation of the personal communication citation above. Include the person’s full name, nation or Indigenous group, location, and any other relevant details before the “personal communication, date” part of the citation.

Citing Indirect Sources

Generally, writers should endeavor to read primary sources (original sources) and cite those rather than secondary sources (works that report on original sources). Sometimes, however, this is impossible. If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses. If you know the year of the original source, include it in the citation.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Unknown Author and Unknown Date

If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. Use the heading or section name, an abbreviated heading or section name, a paragraph number (para. 1), or a combination of these.

Note:  Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination. Do not use Kindle location numbers; instead, use the page number (available in many Kindle books) or the method above. 

Other Sources

The  APA Publication Manual  describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the manual does not describe, making the best way to proceed unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of APA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard APA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite. For example, a sensible way to cite a virtual reality program would be to mimic the APA's guidelines for computer software.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source.

APA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Works Quoted in Another Source

• Journal Articles
• Books, eBooks & Pamphlets
• Class Notes, Lectures, and Presentations
• Government Documents
• Codes of Ethics (Online)
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Newspaper Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Personal Communication (Interviews, Emails)
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries (Reference Works)
• When Information Is Missing
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• Works Quoted in Another Source
• Paraphrasing
• Informal Citations
• Citation Tools
• Conscious Language
• Reference List & Paper Formatting
• Annotated Bibliography

Work Quoted in Another Source

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person’s work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. ( This may be called a secondary source.)  For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay.

• If it is possible to retrieve the original source of the quotation (in this case, Smith), verify the quote and cite the original source.
• You will add the words “as cited in” to your in-text citation. Examples below.

Examples of in-text citations:

According to a study by Smith (as cited in Kirkey, 2013) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

Smith (as cited in Kirkey, 2013) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (p. 34).

Example of Reference list citation:

Kirkey, S. (2013, Feb 9). Euthanasia.   The Montreal Gazette , p A10. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies database.

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Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• How to cite a website in APA Style

How to Cite a Website in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on November 5, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

APA website citations usually include the author, the publication date, the title of the page or article, the website name, and the URL. If there is no author, start the citation with the title of the article. If the page is likely to change over time, add a retrieval date.

If you are citing an online version of a print publication (e.g. a newspaper , magazine , or dictionary ), use the same format as you would for print, with a URL added at the end. Formats differ for online videos (e.g. TED Talks ), images , and dissertations .

Use the buttons below to explore the format, or use our free APA Citation Generator to automatically create citations.

Cite a website in APA Style now:

Table of contents, citing an entire website, how to cite online articles, websites with no author, websites with no date, how to cite from social media, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

When you refer to a website in your text without quoting or paraphrasing from a specific part of it, you don’t need a formal citation. Instead, you can just include the URL in parentheses after the name of the site:

One of the most popular social media sites, Instagram (http://instagram.com), allows users to share images and videos.

For this kind of citation, you don’t need to include the website on the reference page . However, if you’re citing a specific page or article from a website, you will need a formal in-text citation and reference list entry.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Various kinds of articles appear online, and how you cite them depends on where the article appears.

Online articles from newspapers, magazines, and blogs

Articles appearing in online versions of print publications (e.g. newspapers and magazines) are cited like their print versions, but with an added URL.

The same format is used for blog posts. Just include the blog name where you would usually put the name of the magazine or newspaper.

Articles from online-only news sites

For articles from news sites without print equivalents (e.g. BBC News, Reuters), italicize the name of the article and  not  the name of the site.

When a web page does not list an individual author, it can usually be attributed to an organization or government . If this results in the author name being identical to the site name, omit the site name, as in the example below.

If you can’t identify any author at all, replace the author name with the title of the page or article.

In the in-text citation , put the title in quotation marks if it is in plain text in the reference list, or in italics if it is in italics in the reference list. Note that title case is used for the title here, unlike in the reference list. Shorten the title to the first few words if necessary.

When a web page or article does not list a publication or revision date, replace the date with “n.d.” (“no date”) in all citations.

If an online source is likely to change over time, it is recommended to include the date on which you accessed it.

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

As social media posts are usually untitled, use the first 20 words of the post, in italics, as a title. Also include any relevant information about the type of post and any multimedia aspects (e.g. videos, images, sound, links) in square brackets.

On some social media sites (such as Twitter ), users go by usernames instead of or in addition to their real names. Where the author’s real name is known, include it, along with their username in square brackets:

In some cases, you’ll want to cite a whole social media profile instead of a specific post. In these cases, include an access date, because a profile will obviously change over time:

When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).

If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:

• Paragraph number: (Smith, 2018, para. 15).
• Heading or section name: ( CDC, 2020, Flu Season section)
• Abbreviated heading:  ( CDC, 2020, “Key Facts” section)

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your APA in-text citation . If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website ) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:

(Caulfield, 2019, Linking section, para. 1).

Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations , as they are unreliable.

If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.

When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g., a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website—use the organization’s name as the author in the reference entry and APA in-text citations .

When no author at all can be determined—e.g. a collaboratively edited wiki or an online article published anonymously—use the title in place of the author. In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks if it appears in plain text in the reference list, and in italics if it appears in italics in the reference list. Shorten it if necessary.

APA Style usually does not require an access date. You never need to include one when citing journal articles , e-books , or other stable online sources.

However, if you are citing a website or online article that’s designed to change over time, it’s a good idea to include an access date. In this case, write it in the following format at the end of the reference: Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva/about-the-university/about-the-university.html

Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.

No publication date

If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).

Cite this Scribbr article

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Benefits of Citing Book in APA Form for Reader

A PA format stands for the American Psychological Association form, a guideline for formatting academic documents such as research papers, essays, and theses. It is to cite social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education.

APA format specifies guidelines for various elements of an academic paper, including the title page, abstract, body, and reference page. The APA form intends to provide consistency in academic writing, making it easier for readers to understand the analysis presented in a paper. It also helps authors ensure that their work meets the standards of their field. 

How to Use the APA Citation Format

If you’re curious about how to cite a book in APA, this is the right section. Although many college students find it hard to cite books, there are several ways to get this done. We’ll list helpful tips below.

Paraphrasing and Reference List 

When writing data, the author’s last name and year of publication are still included in brackets, without including the page number. Example: (Smith, 2019) or Smith (2019) argued that…

A reference list is a separate page at the end of the paper that lists all data cited within. It is organized alphabetically by the author’s last name, year of publishing, the title of the work, plus publication information.

Use Proper Formatting 

APA citation needs a specific form for the referencing list, including double spacing, hanging indentation, and italicizing book and journal titles. When citing electronic sources, the author’s name, publication year, or title must be there, followed by a URL.

Outsource Your APA Style Papers 

Some find it hard to cite books in APA, especially if they are new or are unfamiliar with the guidelines. Suppose you’re a student like this who wants to get your paper written in APA format , or you need just a quality essay. In that case, you can always outsource it to academic platforms where you have an opportunity to hire a writer to help you get this done in record time. 

On these platforms, students choose writers who have years of experience. They have skills in all types of citations, like APA, so you’ll get proper value for the service. 

Use In-text Citations and Direct Quotes 

When listing ideas from a source within the text, the author’s last name and the year of publication are in brackets. For example, (Smith, 2019).

Direct quotes must be enclosed in quotation marks. Also, include the page number where quotes are found. For example, “This is a direct quote” (Smith, 2019, p. 10).

The Benefits of Citing Your Books With APA 

The APA form is essential to academic research and publication, as it promotes consistency, accuracy, and professionalism. Here are some of the benefits of using this citation for your books.

• Clear and Consistent: It provides clear guidelines for citing data that promote reference consistency.
• Avoid Plagiarism: It helps writers to avoid plagiarism by referencing their data accurately.
• Easy to Follow: It provides specific guidelines for in-text citations, reference lists, and other formatting requirements that are easy to follow.
• Widely Accepted: It is accepted across disciplines, including social sciences, education, nursing, psychology, and other fields.
• Boost Reliability: By citing sources according to APA guidelines, writers prove their professionalism by showing that they have conducted thorough probing and are well-versed in the relevant literature.
• Allows Replication: It allows other researchers to replicate the study by providing clear guidelines on how to cite the data.
• Provides a Standard Form: It provides a standard form for referencing data, which makes it easy for readers to locate the data cited in a particular work.

Why APA Citation is Used in Books Across Several Disciplines 

Writing has different citation forms, but the APA form is widely accepted because it cuts across various disciplines. Here are reasons why it is so popular in the academic sector.

Standardization

APA form provides a standard way of referencing data recognized by many disciplines. Using a common format helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding referencing data.

Clarity and Accuracy

APA form aims to promote clarity in reference data. This is important in all aspects, ensuring readers can verify the data cited in a given work. It certifies that they can easily understand the information presented. This clearness ensures correctness since the readers know exactly what they’re reading.

Range 

One can use the APA form for different data varieties, which include books, journals, articles, and websites. APA has a range wide enough to cut across several disciplines for any type of research. One of the reasons why the APA form is so broad is that it provides specific guidelines for referencing different types of data. For example, when referencing a college book , the author’s name, publication date, book title, and publisher information when referencing a college book.

Historical Use

APA form has been used for over 80 years, making it a well-established citation form. Due to how long it has existed in academic publishing, APA is now a standard in the educational sector. The APA created the guidelines to address the need for consistency and standardization.

The first APA Publication Manual aired in 1952, with the latest being the 7th, published in 2019. Over the years, the APA form has improved to show changes in academic publishing.

Flexibility 

While APA form has specific guidelines for referencing data, it also allows variation. This means researchers can adapt it to suit the requirements of their discipline.

Conclusion 

There are many benefits to citing books in APA form for readers. The use of APA promotes accuracy across disciplines. By referencing data in APA form, readers verify the data cited in a given work, ensuring that the data is correct. This is important in a study where accuracy is crucial.

APA helps to boost clarity in analysis, making it easier for others to build upon previous work. The APA form’s uniformity also helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding citing data. It is crucial that everyone learns how this works to ensure smooth reading.

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