in text citation apa book direct quote

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In-Text Citations: The Basics

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Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

APA 7th Edition Citation Guide

• APA 7th Edition Home
• Formatting the Paper Itself
• When and What to Cite
• In-Text: Multiple Authors
• In-Text: First and Subsequent Citations
• In-Text: Authors and Dates Matching

In-Text: Direct Quotations

• In-Text: Secondary Sources
• Reference Examples: Print
• Reference Examples: Electronic
• Reference Examples: Audiovisual Media
• Step 1: Author (Names)
• Step 2: Date
• Step 3: Titles
• Step 4: Source
• Help and Training
• Related Guides

This citation guide is based on The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed., 2020). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

Content in this guide was copied with permission from Bethel University (TN) Library .

How to Use This Guide

Citations in APA style include two parts: (1) in-text citations, which are connected to (2) reference list citations.

This guide will help you create in-text citations that correlate with the corresponding reference list citations. Please see Reference Examples  for more details on the reference list.

Note: All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper except for Personal Communications and similar unrecoverable sources.

Direct Quotations

Short quotations.

Short quotes are defined as being fewer than 40 words in length.

If you are quoting word for word from a book, article, or another source, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not explain why.

For more information on formatting quotations, please visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Long Quotations

A long quote is defined as being 40 words or longer in length.

Long quotes must be in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Jones's (1998) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

From the APA Style Blog

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• Next: In-Text: Secondary Sources >>
• Last Updated: Feb 16, 2024 4:01 PM
• URL: https://utsouthwestern.libguides.com/APA7

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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• Next: Block Text >>
• Last Updated: Mar 18, 2024 9:38 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ggc.edu/apastyle_7th

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / APA In-text Citations

APA In-Text Citations

Welcome to our guide on in-text citations! If you’re looking to learn the ins and outs of APA style in-text citations and how to do in-text citations APA, we’ve got you covered in this thorough guide.

The information below follows the 7th edition of the  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association .

Here’s a run through of everything this page includes:

• APA Style overview
• In-text citations and why we use them
• Two types of APA in-text citations
• Corresponding entry in reference list
• In-text citations for direct quotes

Paraphrasing in APA

• In-text citations for sources with one author
• In-text citations for sources with multiple authors
• In-text citations for sources with no author or date
• Additional in-text citation examples

If you’re simply looking for a quick guide, check out our APA parenthetical citation guide, which serves as a lite-version of this page.

Let’s get started!

What is APA?

This is a term that you might hear your teacher, professor, or librarian throw around a lot. This abbreviation stands for

P sychological

A ssociation

This association is kind of a big deal. They do a lot of things related to psychology, but they’re also famous for creating one of the most popular citation styles, APA format . There are other big names on campus, such as MLA format , and Chicago, but this particular style is commonly used by individuals who are writing a science-related paper.

Even if your paper doesn’t necessarily fall into a “science” category, many educators ask their students to cite in this style since it’s so commonly used.

If you’re trying to find information about other commonly used styles, there are more styles on EasyBib.com.

What is an APA In-text Citation?

In plain and simple terms, APA in-text citations are found in the text of a project. Get it? In text. The purpose of an in-text citation in APA is to show the reader, while they’re reading your work, that a piece of information in your project was found elsewhere. They’re placed IN the wording or body of a project, not on the last page; the last page has full references. To learn more about those types of references, check out APA citation .

We’ve all heard about the word plagiarism , and you already know what it means. Simply put, including APA in-text citations are one way to prevent plagiarism.

Here’s what’s included in an APA 7th edition in-text citation:

• Last name(s) of the author(s) or Group name
• Year the source was published
• Page number (if available)

Depending on the number of authors and the source type, some in-text citations look different than others. Read on to learn how to structure an in-text citation for APA. In fact, if you’re looking for an easy route, EasyBib.com has an in-text citation APA generator, which does the work for you. Use our automatic generator to create your full references, and you’ll see an option on the final screen to format your APA in-text citations. An APA in-text citation generator and full reference generator all in one. What could beat that?

Why do we use in-text citations?

When you do a research project, you’re probably going to include facts from websites, databases, books, and other sources. When you add those facts into your project, you must show where those facts came from. It’s the responsible thing to do. It prevents plagiarism. You always give credit to the original author. It’s kind of like thanking them for their contribution to your paper.

Here’s the neat thing about in-text citations. Since they’re IN your project, readers get a quick idea as to where the information you included came from. In-text citations APA are not long and lengthy, like the full references on the APA reference page  or APA bibliography . In-text citations are cute, little, and give us the perfect amount of information we need to understand where a fact came from. If you want to get the full information about the source, then you can flip to the back page of the paper, where the full reference is listed. The in-text citation APA style provides us with a tidbit of information. Just enough to glance at it and keep on going with reading the paper.

To recap, in-text citations are great because:

• They credit the original author of a work or information
• They let readers quickly see where the information is coming from
• Including helps make you an ethical writer

If you’re looking to learn more about footnotes in Chicago format , MLA in-text & parenthetical citations , or want to learn how to cite websites in MLA , EasyBib.com has the information you need to be a citing superstar.

Types of APA In-text Citations

Just like there are two days in the weekend, two types of peanut butter (creamy and nutty), and two types of foods we crave (salty and sweet), there are (you guessed it) two types of in-text citations.

The in-text citation APA option you include in your paper depends on how you craft your sentences.

Narrative In-Text APA Citations:

In-text citation APA format, in narrative form, is one that shows the author’s name in the sentence itself.

Narrative In-text APA Citation Example:

Tyson, Strauss, and Gott (2016) encourage the use of simplified terms when it comes to discussing and defining the universe. For example, a small white star is simply called a white dwarf. Keep it short and sweet because the universe is confusing enough (p. 22).

Parenthetical Citations:

This is a type of APA in-text citation where the author’s name(s) are in parentheses, usually at the end of the fact or quote.

Parenthetical Citation Example

Use simplified terms when discussing and defining the universe. For example, a small white star is simply called a white dwarf. Keep it short and sweet because the universe is confusing enough (Tyson, Strauss, & Gott, 2016, p. 22).

As you can see, the type of APA in-text citation you include, whether it’s a narrative one or one in parentheses, depends on how you decide to structure your sentences. It doesn’t matter if you use all narrative, all parentheses, or a mix of both.

What is important is that you’re a responsible researcher and you properly cite your sources!

Remember, most facts, quotes, stats, and copied and pasted information NEED an APA in-text citation next to it.

What’s the only type of information you don’t need to create an in-text citation APA for? Anything that’s common knowledge. For example, paper is made from trees. You and most people already knew that. That’s an example of common knowledge. It’s a piece of information that everyone already knows.

Now, before you simply include the author’s name(s), the date, and the page number in your project and think you’ve covered all your bases, you’re not quite done yet. In-text citations APA are only part of the puzzle.

The other piece of the puzzle is found on the last page of the project: the reference page. That’s where all of the full references are found in their entirety. In-text citations only include the author’s name, year published, and the page number.

The reference page, on the other hand, includes the title of each source, the publishers, the website addresses, and other information. Continue reading to learn why in-text citations and references on the reference page are the perfect match.

Before we continue, MLA works cited pages are very similar to the ones in this style. EasyBib.com has resources for many styles, to help you learn the ins and outs of referencing your work. We even have full pages on grammar topics too, to keep your paper in tip-top shape. Brush up on your noun , conjunction , and interjection skills with our easy-to-follow, comprehensive guides.

Corresponding entry in APA reference list

Would you ever put on one shoe and walk around without the other? Of course not. The same goes with in-text citations and full references. You must include both in your paper. Where there’s one there has to be the other.

Each and every in-text citation APA must have a matching full reference on the reference page (American Psychological Association, p. 262 ).

If you’re wondering why, it’s to allow the reader to get that sneak peek about the source while reading your paper (the APA in-text citation), and then learn all about it on the final page (the reference page). If the reader wants to get their hands on a copy of the sources you used, all of the information they need can be found on the reference page.

Remember those APA style in-text citation examples found above? Let’s take a peek at them again.

Here’s the one with the authors’ names in parentheses: Use simplified terms when discussing and defining the universe. For example, a small white star is simply called a white dwarf. Keep it short and sweet because the universe is confusing enough (deGrasse, Strauss, & Gott, 2016, p. 22).

Here’s the full reference, which would be found on the final page of the project:

Tyson, N. D., Strauss, M. A., and Gott, J. R. (2016). Welcome to the universe: An astrophysical tour. Princeton University Press.

Notice that in the above in-text citation APA example, the full title of the book, the place the book was published, and the publisher are displayed. If the reader wants to locate the book themselves, all of the information they need is found in the full reference.

One other important thing we’d like to point out is that the same information from the in-text citation APA (Tyson, Strauss, & Gott) matches the first part of the full reference. This is done to allow the reader to easily find the full reference on the final page.

Remember, always include both in-text citations AND full references in your projects.

In the body of projects, in-text citations APA serve an important purpose. They give the reader a snippet of understanding as to the origin of  information. It’s just enough information to allow the reader to continue reading the paper in a natural and fluid manner, without having to trip over long, clunky references. If the reader wants to get a detailed understanding of a source, they can flip to the back page, the reference page, to scope out all of the nitty gritty details.

In the next two sections of this page, we’re going to switch gears and share how to properly format direct quotes and paraphrases.

If you’re looking for specific source types, check out APA citation website and APA book citation . These two resources will explain how to format those specific types of references. If you’re stuck and not sure how to start, check out Chapter 10 of the  Publication manual for some sample citations.

Direct Quotes in APA

As Drake states in his lyrics, “We don’t like to do too much explaining,” so we’re going to keep this one short and to the point.

“Direct quotes” are a fancy term used for any text that has been copied and pasted into your paper. That Drake quote above is a direct quote.

Direct quotes are any words or sentences copied and pasted into your project, but they don’t necessarily have to be a person’s quote. Anytime you copy and paste text into your assignment, you must include an APA in-text citation next to it. This shows the reader that:

• The information came from another source
• You’re being a responsible researcher and clearly documenting the outside source.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to direct quotes:

• Direct quotes are a solid way to show evidence and prove your point, but use them sparingly. Your paper shouldn’t be riddled with copied and pasted text.
• Put quotation marks around the copied and pasted information. (The exception are APA block quotes , which are direct quotes longer than 40 words and are formatted differently.)
• Always include the page number for direct quotes, if one is available. When formatting APA page numbers for an in-text citation, include p. before the number. Use pp. for a page range.

To create a narrative APA in-text citation, include the author’s last name in the sentence like this:

• As Drake (2013) once said “We don’t like to do too much explaining.”
• In the above APA in-text citation example, the Drake quote was taken from the song, “Started From the Bottom,” in 2013. The title of the source would be included in the reference page.

Or, you include the author’s name in parentheses:

• “We don’t like to do too much explaining” (Drake, 2013).

If you are looking for more examples, go to page 272 of the American Psychological Association’s official Publication manual .

We said above that your entire paper shouldn’t have direct quotes everywhere. So, another way to include information from a source is by adding a paraphrase . Simply put, a paraphrase is restated information, but formed using your own words and writing style

APA paraphrases still need an in-text citation since the information was obtained elsewhere. Check out this quote from the song, “For Time,” by Drake:

“I like it when money makes a difference, but don’t make you different.”

To include it in your paper, without using the exact quote, make a paraphrase. Here’s one that would work:

Money has the ability to benefit things in your life, but it’s truly great when it doesn’t cause the person to act differently or change who they are (Drake, 2013).

The above APA in-text citation example is one with Drake’s name in parentheses. If you’d like to include the author’s name narratively, here’s an option:

In Drake’s (2013) lyrics, he shares that money has the ability to benefit things in your life. It’s truly great when it doesn’t cause the person to act differently or change who they are.

It is recommended to include page numbers for paraphrased material, but isn’t required.

Here’s more on paraphrases and direct quotes.

Organizing APA In-text Citations

Ready to learn how to structure your in-text citations? The next section dives deep into developing them and answers “How to do in-text citations APA.” Keep in mind that how each one is formed depends on the number of authors and other factors. All the examples below follow rules laid out in Chapter 8 of the Publication manual.

Even though the structure varies, most in-text citations APA are placed in this manner for narrative in-text citations:

Author’s Last Name (Year) “Quote or Paraphrase” (p. number).

For ones in parentheses, most are placed in this manner:

“Quote” or Paraphrase (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. number).

Notice that whether you choose to include a narrative in-text citation APA or one in parentheses, the author names and the year published are always together. They’re pretty much holding hands. Cute, huh?

Read on to learn the ins and outs of structuring various in-text citations.

Don’t forget, EasyBib.com has an in-text citation APA generator. Wondering what it’s all about? Here’s a quick explanation: We work for you so citing is easy for you. Yep, you read that correctly.

Our tools structure your in-text citations the way they’re supposed to be structured. Use our automatic generator to create your full references, and on the final screen you’ll see the option to create your in-text citations. An APA in-text citation generator that’s easy as pie!

Something else we do for you? We have a plagiarism checker that scans your paper for any instances of accidental copying. We also have tons of grammar pages to keep your page in check. Check out our adverb , preposition , and verb pages.

APA In-Text Citations for Sources with One Author

If your source has one author.

If your source has one author, lucky you! Your in-text citation is pretty simple to structure.

Narrative In-text APA Citation:

Author’s Last Name (Year published) are found in the sentence with a “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

Parenthetical APA Citation:

“Direct quote” or Paraphrase (Author’s Last Name, Year published, p. number).

Citing multiple sources by the same author in the same year

You may have a bunch of case studies, articles, or books that you’re referencing, all by the same author. Let’s say you’re analyzing two works by Sigmund Freud, Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious and also Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria , both of which were published in 1905. Placing (Freud, 1905) in the text would be confusing for the reader. How would the reader determine which source you’re referencing?

If this is the situation you’re in, there’s a pretty simple fix.

Place a lowercase a next to the year in the first source (Freud, 1905a). Place a lowercase b next to the second source (Freud, 1905b). Include those same lowercase letters in the full references on the reference page, like so:

Freud, S. (1905a). Fragment of an analysis of a case of hysteria . https://staferla.free.fr/Freud/Freud%20complete%20Works.pdf

Freud, S. (1905b). Jokes and their relation to the unconscious . https://staferla.free.fr/Freud/Freud%20complete%20Works.pdf

But there’s a catch. When you do this et al. can’t stand for only one author. After all it literally means “and others.” If you have two sources that are identical except for the last author, then you have to write out all the names every time. For example:

Gunderman, Slack, Rausch, and Smith (2017)

Gunderman, Slack, Rausch, and Johnston (2017)

These references are completely the same except for the very last name so you’d have to write all 4 names every time.

If your source has multiple works by the same author

What if you had 2 sources with the same author(s) and same publication year? Lucky for us the solution here is a lot simpler. Just a letter to the publication year!

Gunderman, Slack, and Rausch (2017)

Gunderman, Slack, and Rausch (2017a)

Gunderman, Slack, and Rausch (2017b)

Just remember to also follow this format in your works cited page even if there is an exact publication date available. See page 267 of your Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020) for a further breakdown.

Need to create an APA in-text citation for a source without an author? How about an APA in-text citation for multiple authors? Continue reading to see the other ways to structure an APA style in-text citation.

APA In-Text Citations for Sources with Multiple Authors

Apa in-text citation for sources with two authors.

If your source has two authors, place them in the order they appear on the source. Do not place them in alphabetical order.

Use the word “and” in between the authors’ names.

1st Author’s Last Name and 2nd Author’s Last Name (Year published) are found somewhere in the sentence with a “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

If you choose to include both authors’ names in parentheses, use an ampersand in between their names.

“Here is the direct quote” or Here is the paraphrase (1st Author’s Last Name & 2nd Author’s Last name, Year, p. number).

APA in-text citation for sources three or more authors

Only include the first author’s last name and then add ‘et al.’ Et al. is a fancy way of saying “and others” in Latin.

1st Author’s Last Name et al. (Year published) are found somewhere in the sentence with a “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

“Here is the direct quote” or Paraphrase (1st Author’s Last Name et al., Year published, p. number).

If you have author of multiple works (with multiple authors)

Now here is where things can get a tad bit tricky. Sometimes authors with multiple works can cause some confusion in your citations. Generally when that happens you can tell the difference by the publication year, but when you can’t, that’s when you have to list as many authors as necessary to clear up the confusion.

Say you had the two sources below:

Gunderman, Slack, Rausch, and Maule (2017)

Gunderman, Byrnes, Oxner, Wigginton, and Draeger (2017)

Normally, they’d be written as:

Gunderman et al. (2017)

If you reduced both sources to Gunderman et al. (2017) you wouldn’t be able to tell which source you’re talking about. Instead cite it this way:

Gunderman, Slack, Rausch et al. (2017)

Gunderman, Byrnes, Oxner et al. (2017)

If you’re looking for more information on structuring journal articles, check out our APA journal page.

If you’re looking for a simple solution to referencing multiple authors, EasyBib.com creates in-text citations APA for you! Whether you need to create a reference for one or two authors, or an APA in-text citation for multiple authors, we’ve got you covered!

APA In-text citation no author or date

It’s common to come across sources without any authors. Movies, brochures, website pages often do not have a visible author’s name.

Citing a source with no author

If you find that the source you’re attempting to reference does not have an author, use the first few words from the reference list entry in the APA in-text citation with no author. Most often, it’s the title of the source.

Place the source name in quotation marks if the source is a:

• website page

Simply italicize the source name if the source is a:

• Or the full reference starts with italicized information

Remember, you do not have to use the entire title in your in-text citation APA no author. You can use only the first few words from the reference list.

“First few words of the webpage, article, or chapter Title” (Year) along with the “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number). OR First few words of book, newspaper, report, or brochure (Year) along with the “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

“Here is the direct quote” or paraphrase (“Web page, Article, or Chapter Title,” Year, p. number). OR “Here is the direct quote” or paraphrase ( Book, Newspaper, Report, or Brochure Title , Year, p. number).

Citing source with no date

No date? No problem! An APA in-text citation no date situation is easier to solve than you think. Only include the author’s name and the page number.

APA in-text citation no date example:

(Foster, p. 35).

Additional APA In-Text Citation Examples

Source by a group, organization, company, or government agency.

There are two types of groups: Ones that are abbreviated often and ones that are not abbreviated.

For example, think about these two citation style types: APA and Chicago. One is abbreviated (for the American Psychological Association) and the other is usually written as is (Chicago style).

Abbreviated groups

If the company is often abbreviated, in the first mention in text, display the full name and the abbreviation. In the second and any other subsequent mentions, only use the abbreviation.

1st mention:

Full Company’s Name (Abbreviation, Year) with the “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

2nd mention:

Company Abbrev. (Year) “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

“Direct quote” or paraphrase (Full Company’s Name [Abbreviation], Year, p. number).

“Direct quote” or paraphrase (Abbreviation, Year, p. number).

Non-abbreviated groups

Always include the full group, company, or organization’s name in each and every mention in text.

Full Name of Group (Year) with the “direct quote” or paraphrase (p. number).

“Direct quote” or paraphrase (Full Name of Group, Year, p. number).

Citing sources with different authors with the same last name

We’re not quite sure how the author of The Baby-Sitters Club (Ann M. Martin) could be used in a paper that’s also referencing the author of Game of Thrones (George R. R. Martin), but hey, it could happen! It’s a Martin party! It’s important to show the reader the difference between the two individuals to prevent any confusion. To differentiate between the two authors in the text, include their first initials.

Example of in-text citation APA:

“Here’s a quote” (A. Martin, Year, p. 6). G. Martin (Year) also states “this direct quote” (p. 45).

As always, keep the author names and the dates directly next to each other. They love being together and it’s a best practice.

Citing multiple sources in the same in-text citation

List sources alphabetically and separate with a semicolon.

Be sure to list authors alphabetically.

Johnson (2019), Smith and Adams (2015), and Washington (2017), examined…

“Direct quote” or Paraphrase (Author 1 Last Name, Year published, p. number if needed; Author 2 Last Name, Year published, p. number if needed)

Parenthetical Citation Examples:

(Johnson et al., 2019; Smith & Adams, 2015; Washington, 2017)

(Honda, 2006, p. 107; Sato, 1980)

If you want to emphasize a source because it is particularly important or relevant, add “see also” before the source’s citation. Think of “see also” as synonymous with “for more information see…”

(Johnson et al., 2019; see also Smith & Adams, 2015; Washington, 2017).

Citing a source within a source

Did you stumble upon the perfect quote that’s quoted in another source? It happens all of the time and it can be a little tricky to figure out how to quote a quote.

The American Psychological Association recommends locating the original quote, if possible. Instead of relying on secondary sources, take the time to locate the original source to make sure the quote is accurate. Finding and reading through the original source also provides you with further information on your research topic!

If finding the original source isn’t possible, due to out of print titles, web pages taken down, or other factors, then it’s okay to quote the secondary source. In your writing, use the phrase “as cited in Secondary Author’s Last name, Year.”

On the reference page, include the reference for the secondary source.

As cited in Shapiro’s (2019) article, Carranza stated, “Districts 3 and 15 are showing how we can have the important conversations and take bold action on this issue.”

Carranza stated, “Districts 3 and 15 are showing how we can have the important conversations and take bold action on this issue” (as cited in Shapiro, 2019).

On the reference page, Shapiro’s article would be referenced in its entirety.

Citing audiovisual material

APA in-text citations for YouTube videos , songs, podcasts, television shows, and other audiovisual materials look a bit different than other types of sources. They include an extra piece of information: a time stamp.

Bill Nye (2017) shares that the sun is over four-hundred septillion watts (13:15).

The sun is over four-hundred septillion watts (Bill Nye, 2017, 13:15).

If you’re still scratching your head, and feeling the urge to type “how to do in-text citations APA” into Google, click here for a website that we dig.

If you’re looking for a quick fix to developing your references, EasyBib.com has you covered! Our tools can help you create an APA in-text citation multiple authors, one author, no authors, plus more!

Overview of APA Parenthetical Citations for Websites

Here’s a quick overview of how to create an in-text citation for websites. Notice that since these are for online sources, the in-text citation has no page number.

Once again, if grammar isn’t your thing, and you’re looking for help related to specific parts of speech, check out our adjective , pronoun , and determiner pages, among many, many others!

Follow our EasyBib Twitter feed to find more citing tips, fun grammar facts, and the latest product updates.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) https:doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Published May 21, 2019. Updated October 25, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau . Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and one of the in-house EasyBib librarians. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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An in-text citation is a shortened version of the source being referred to in the paper. As the name implies, it appears in the text of the paper. A reference list entry, on the other hand, details the complete information of the source being cited and is listed at the end of the paper after the main text. An example of an in-text citation and the corresponding reference list entry for a journal article with one author is listed below for your understanding:

In-text citation template and example:

Only the author name and the publication year are used in in-text citations to direct the reader to the corresponding reference list entry.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Elden (2003)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Elden, 2003)

Reference list entry template and example:

Complete information of the reference is used to guide the reader to locate the source for further reference. In the below template, “F” and “M” are first and middle initials, respectively. #–# denotes the page range.

Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the article: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume (Issue), #–#. DOI

Elden, S. (2003). Plague, panopticon, police. Surveillance & Society, 1 (3), 240–253. https://doi:10.24908/ss.v1i3.3339

When you use APA style, all sources need to have in-text citations. In-text citations direct a reader to the reference entry to get more information on the source being cited in the text. If an in-text citation is not provided, your reader doesn’t know whether there is a source available in the reference list for the idea or topic being discussed in the text. Even if all the basic elements to cite a source are not available, try to provide an in-text citation with the information you do have. For example, if a source does not have an author, use a shortened version of the title in place of the author in your in-text citation. An example is given below for a parenthetical citation.

Author name available:

(Author Surname, Publication Year, p.# for direct quote)

Author name not available:

(“Title of the Work,” Publication Year, p.# for direct quote)

Therefore, in-text citations are essential to guide a reader to locate the corresponding sources in the reference list for the topics discussed in the text.

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APA Reference Guide: Direct quotes, paraphrasing and in-text citation

• How to use this guide
• Printable Quick Guide - PDF
• Direct quotes, paraphrasing and in-text citation
• Page numbers
• Reference List
• Multiple references with same author + date
• Books (incl. eBooks)
• Online Journal Articles
• Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
• Magazines and Newspapers
• Film, TV and Video
• Images (including graphs and maps)
• Social Media
• Personal Communication
• Indigenous / Traditional Knowledge
• Information on Canvas / Teacher Notes
• ChatGPT and AI sources

Direct Quotes, Paraphrasing and In-Text Citation

Send the Library Team a Helpdesk ticket and we'll be in touch!

Reference List Example

Click here to go to the Reference List page and see an example of a reference list.

Famous Quotes

What is a direct quote?

To directly   quote  is to write down exactly what someone has said or written, and credit the speaker of the words. A direct quote is identified by using quotation marks, as per the example below from Sir David Attenborough: “But, according to the environmental economists, we must now curb our passion for growth, distribute resources more evenly.”  

What is a paraphrase (or indirect quote)?

A paraphrase is using someone else's quote in your own words. Also known as an indirect quote, it documents what a person has said without using the exact words of the speaker. Quotation marks are not used when paraphrasing. An example of a paraphrase of the direct quote in the previous example from Sir David Attenborough may be: It is important to rethink our propensity for growth and consider distributing resources in a more equitable fashion for the sake of the planet.

In-Text Citation

What is an In-Text Citation? Regardless of whether you are directly quoting someone or paraphrasing their words, an  in-text citation is always required. An in-text citation is acknowledging the person you are quoting within the body of your assignment, and is placed directly after the quote or paraphrase, followed by a full stop.

Examples of in-text

How to Add an In-Text Citation in your Assignment

There are different ways to include an in-text citation, depending on whether you are using a direct quote, or paraphrasing:

Quotes 40+ words

Quotations of 40 or more words Quotes of 40 or more words are set as a block quotation, and indented (shifted) about 1 cm from the left margin. Quotation marks are not used (even if it is a direct quote). The in-text citation is added at the end of the quote, after the full stop. There is no full stop following the in-text citation. Example of quote of 40 or more words in a block: Block quote. (author, year, page number)

Many countries are looking at new ways to measure economic progress to include the effect on the environment.            In 2019, New Zealand made the bold step of formally dropping GDP as its primary measure of economic                        success. It didn't adopt any of the existing alternatives, but instead created its own index based upon its                         most pressing national concerns. All three Ps - profit, people and planet - were represented.                                               (Attenborough, 2020, p. 134)

Citing a Quote Within a Quote

A quote within a quote - secondary source, if an author quotes someone else, and you want to use this quote for your assignment, you are using a secondary source . for example, if david attenborough (original source) quotes jane goodall (secondary source)  in his book, and you want to use jane goodall's quote in your assignment, this is using a secondary source.  example of a secondary source in-text citation:, author of secondary source (year of secondary source, [as cited in] author of original source, year of original source, page of original source), according to jane goodall (2002, as cited in attenborough, 2020, p. 260), the number of gorillas in the wild have fallen dramatically.,   whenever possible, try and find the original source to reference   the reference list will include the source you actually used (for this example, the reference list would include david attenborough's book), omitting content from a quote, omitting a word from an original quote, if a word(s) is removed from a quote, a parenthetical ellipsis (...)  is added in its place.  example:, "we are polluting the earth with far too many fertilisers, distrupting...phosphorus cycles" (attenborough, 2020, p. 111)..

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APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting

Purpose and Overview of In-text Citations

Citations for direct quotes, one work, one author, two or more authors, group authors, etcetera, multiple works by the same author(s) in the same year, citing indirect sources.

• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation
• Audiovisual
• Conference Presentations
• Social Media
• Legal References
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Additional Resources

• Reference Page
• Annotated Sample Student Paper Here's a sample paper provided by APA. For every style rule, there is a comment highlighted in the paper that tells you where to find the discussion of the rule in the APA Style Manual.

APA follows an author and date of publication model for citing sources in your research paper and are presented as either narrative or parenthetical citations.  The formatting does not vary due to format type, however it may deviate from the norm due to factors such as: number of authors, organization instead of individual author, lack of author, or lack of date.  By providing the standard author and date within your paper, the reader will be able to link the information presented easily to the full citation provided in the reference list.

View examples and explanations on this page or visit the In Text Quick View for more examples.

APA encourages paraphrasing over using direct quotes.  Use direct quotes when:

• Reproducing an exact definition
• Author has said something memorably or succinctly
• When you want to respond to exact wording

When creating a citation for a direct quote, provide author, year and page number for both narrative and parenthetical citations.

Ex.  University of Southern California (2020) "direct quote from author" (p. 4)  OR  "direct quote from author" (University of Southern California, 2020, p. 4).

How to cite specific parts of a source:

Author named in text:

Social historian Richard Sennett (1980) names the tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one's place in the world" (p. 11).

Author named in parentheses:

The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is referred to as a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one's place in the world" (Sennett, 1980, p. 11).

These examples © Duke University Libraries http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/within/apa.html

More than one way to cite:

Flynn (1999) stated in her treatise In a recent treatise on services (Flynn, 1999) In a 1999 treatise, Flynn stated

Subsequent references to same study in same paragraph:

In her treatise on services, Flynn (1999) stated her evaluative methods…Flynn also described

One work, multiple authors

When a work has two authors, always cite both authors' names in your text:

        Significant findings in a study of Los Angeles (McCroskey & O'Keefe, 2000)

When a citation has 3 or more authors, include the last name of the first author, followed by et al. (not italicized), and the year.

        (Nishimoto et al., 1998)

For narrative citations, use the word "and" to separate authors, for parenthetical citations, use an ampersand:

         McCroskey and O'Keefe (2000) studied Los Angeles...          (McCroskey & O'Keefe, 2000)

Groups as authors

First narrative citation: National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 1987)

Subsequent narrative citation: NASW (1987)

First text citation: (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 1987)

Subsequent text citation: (NASW, 1987)

Works with no authors

Cite the work in your text using the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title). Put double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure or report:

The policy stated in the article (“Services for Disabled Children,” 1992)

The policy stated in the book Access to Services for Children (1995)

Specific parts of a source

Indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in your text. Give page numbers for quotations, and use the abbreviations for the words page and chapter:

(Aranda & Knight, 1997, p. 344)

(Ell & Castaneda, 1998, chap. 5)

Personal communications

This format applies to emails, messages from nonarchived discussion groups, electronic bulletin boards, personal interviews, telephone conversations, etc. Do not list personal communications in your reference list as they are not recoverable by your reader. In your text, provide initials and surname of communicator and as exact a date as possible.

(M. Flynn, personal communication, September 20, 1999)

Sometimes you'll have multiple works by the same author in the same year. For instance, you may reference a number of tax documents from the same year, which would all be cited with (Internal Revenue Service, 2012).  So how do you differentiate?

In those instances, differentiate sources with a letter after the year. From the example above, the 990 form might be (Internal Revenue Service, 2012a) and the 1040 form would be (Internal Revenue Service, 2012b).  Just make sure the letters stay consistent in your reference list!

Sometimes, you will use a source that you didn't yourself read.  In those cases, the original source came from a secondary source you did read.  APA states that you should use secondary sources sparingly and may occur when "the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand."

When using secondary sources, indicate it by included "as cited in" as part of your in-text citation

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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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APA (7th Edition) Referencing Guide

• Information for EndNote Users
• Authors - Numbers, Rules and Formatting

Everything must match!

Types of citations, in-text citations, quoting, summarising and paraphrasing, example text with in-text referencing, slightly tricky in-text citations, organisation as an author, secondary citation (works referred to in other works).

• Reference List
• Books & eBooks
• Book chapters
• Journal Articles
• Conference Papers
• Newspaper Articles
• Web Pages & Documents
• Specialised Health Databases
• Using Visual Works in Assignments & Class Presentations
• Using Visual Works in Theses and Publications
• Using Tables in Assignments & Class Presentations
• Custom Textbooks & Books of Readings
• ABS AND AIHW
• Videos (YouTube), Podcasts & Webinars
• Blog Posts and Social Media
• First Nations Works
• Dictionary and Encyclopedia Entries
• Personal Communication
• Theses and Dissertations
• Film / TV / DVD
• Miscellaneous (Generic Reference)
• AI software
• APA Format for Assignments
• What If...?
• Other Guides

There are two basic ways to cite someone's work in text.

In narrative citations , the authors are part of the sentence - you are referring to them by name. For example:

Becker (2013) defined gamification as giving the mechanics of principles of a game to other activities.

Cho and Castañeda (2019) noted that game-like activities are frequently used in language classes that adopt mobile and computer technologies.

In parenthetical citations , the authors are not mentioned in the sentence, just the content of their work. Place the citation at the end of the sentence or clause where you have used their information. The author's names are placed in the brackets (parentheses) with the rest of the citation details:

Gamification involves giving the mechanics or principles of a game to another activity (Becker, 2013).

Increasingly, game-like activities are frequently used in language classes that adopt mobile and computer technologies (Cho & Castañeda, 2019).

Using references in text

For APA, you use the authors' surnames only and the year in text. If you are using a direct quote, you will also need to use a page number.

Narrative citations:

If an in-text citation has the authors' names as part of the sentence (that is, outside of brackets) place the year and page numbers in brackets immediately after the name, and use 'and' between the authors' names:  Jones and Smith (2020, p. 29)

Parenthetical citations:

If an in-text citation has the authors' names in brackets use "&" between the authors' names :  (Jones & Smith, 2020, p. 29).

Note: Some lecturers want page numbers for all citations, while some only want page numbers with direct quotes. Check with your lecturer to see what you need to do for your assignment. If the direct quote starts on one page and finishes on another, include the page range (Jones & Smith, 2020, pp. 29-30).

1 author

Smith (2020) found that "the mice disappeared within minutes" (p. 29).

The author stated "the mice disappeared within minutes" (Smith, 2020, p. 29).

Jones and Smith (2020) found that "the mice disappeared within minutes" (p. 29).

The authors stated "the mice disappeared within minutes" (Jones & Smith, 2020, p. 29).

For 3 or more authors , use the first author and "et al." for all in-text citations

Green et al.'s (2019) findings indicated that the intervention was not based on evidence from clinical trials.

It appears the intervention was not based on evidence from clinical trials (Green et al., 2019).

If you cite more than one work in the same set of brackets in text , your citations will go in the same order in which they will appear in your reference list (i.e. alphabetical order, then oldest to newest for works by the same author) and be separated by a semi-colon. E.g.:

• (Corbin, 2015; James & Waterson, 2017; Smith et al., 2016).
• (Corbin, 2015; 2018)
• (Queensland Health, 2017a; 2017b)
• Use only the   surnames   of your authors   in text   (e.g., Smith & Brown, 2014) - however, if you have two authors with the same surname who have published in the same year, then you will need to use their initials to distinguish between the two of them (e.g., K. Smith, 2014; N. Smith, 2014).   Otherwise, do not use initials in text .

If your author isn't an "author".

Whoever is in the "author" position of the refence in the references list is treated like an author in text. So, for example, if you had an edited book and the editors of the book were in the "author" position at the beginning of the reference, you would treat them exactly the same way as you would an author - do not include any other information. The same applies for works where the "author" is an illustrator, producer, composer, etc.

• Summarising
• Paraphrasing

It is always a good idea to keep direct quotes to a minimum. Quoting doesn't showcase your writing ability - all it shows is that you can read (plus, lecturers hate reading assignments with a lot of quotes).

You should only use direct quotes if the exact wording is important , otherwise it is better to paraphrase.

If you feel a direct quote is appropriate, try to keep only the most important part of the quote and avoid letting it take up the entire sentence - always start or end the sentence with your own words to tie the quote back into your assignment. Long quotes (more than 40 words) are called "block quotes" and are rarely used in most subject areas (they mostly belong in Literature, History or similar subjects). Each referencing style has rules for setting out a block quote. Check with your style guide .

It has been observed that "pink fairy armadillos seem to be extremely susceptible to stress" (Superina, 2011, p. 6).

NB! Most referencing styles will require a page number to tell readers where to find the original quote.

It is a type of paraphrasing, and you will be using this frequently in your assignments, but note that summarising another person's work or argument isn't showing how you make connections or understand implications. This is preferred to quoting, but where possible try to go beyond simply summarising another person's information without "adding value".

And, remember, the words must be your own words . If you use the exact wording from the original at any time, those words must be treated as a direct quote.

All information must be cited, even if it is in your own words.

Superina (2011) observed a captive pink fairy armadillo, and noticed any variation in its environment could cause great stress.

NB! Some lecturers and citation styles want page numbers for everything you cite, others only want page numbers for direct quotes. Check with your lecturer.

Paraphrasing often involves commenting about the information at the same time, and this is where you can really show your understanding of the topic. You should try to do this within every paragraph in the body of your assignment.

When paraphrasing, it is important to remember that using a thesaurus to change every other word isn't really paraphrasing. It's patchwriting , and it's a kind of plagiarism (as you are not creating original work).

Use your own voice! You sound like you when you write - you have a distinctive style that is all your own, and when your "tone" suddenly changes for a section of your assignment, it looks highly suspicious. Your lecturer starts to wonder if you really wrote that part yourself. Make sure you have genuinely thought about how *you* would write this information, and that the paraphrasing really is in your own words.

Always cite your sources! Even if you have drawn from three different papers to write this one sentence, which is completely in your own words, you still have to cite your sources for that sentence (oh, and excellent work, by the way).

Captive pink fairy armadillos do not respond well to changes in their environment and can be easily stressed (Superina, 2011).

NB! Some lecturers and citation styles want page numbers for all citations, others only want them for direct quotes. Check with your lecturer.

This example paragraph contains mouse-over text. Run your mouse over the paragraph to see notes on formatting.

Excerpt from "The Big Fake Essay"

You can read the entire Big Fake Essay on the Writing Guide. It includes more details about academic writing and the formatting of essays.

• The Big Fake Essay
• Academic Writing Workshop

When you have multiple authors with the same surname who published in the same year:

If your authors have different initials, then include the initials:

As A. Smith (2016) noted...

...which was confirmed by J.G. Smith's (2016) study.

(A. Smith, 2016; J. G. Smith, 2016).

If your authors have the same initials, then include the name:

As Adam Smith noted...

...which was confirmed by Amy Smith's (2016) study.

(Adam Smith, 2016; Amy Smith, 2016).

Note: In your reference list, you would include the author's first name in [square brackets] after their initials:

Smith, A. [Adam]. (2016)...

Smith, A. [Amy]. (2016)...

When you have multiple works by the same author in the same year:

In your reference list, you will have arranged the works alphabetically by title (see the page on Reference Lists for more information). This decides which reference is "a", "b", "c", and so on. You cite them in text accordingly:

Asthma is the most common disease affecting the Queensland population (Queensland Health, 2017b). However, many people do not know how to manage their asthma symptoms (Queensland Health, 2017a).

When you have multiple works by the same author in different years:

Asthma is the most common disease affecting the Queensland population (Queensland Health, 2017, 2018). 

When you do not have an author, and your reference list entry begins with the title:

Use the title in place of the author's name, and place it in "quotation marks" if it is the title of an article or book chapter, or in italics if the title would go in italics in your reference list:

During the 2017 presidential inauguration, there were some moments of awkwardness ("Mrs. Obama Says ‘Lovely Frame’", 2018).

Note: You do not need to use the entire title, but a reasonable portion so that it does not end too abruptly - "Mrs. Obama Says" would be too abrupt, but the full title "Mrs. Obama Says 'Lovely Frame' in Box During Awkward Handoff" is unecessarily long. You should also use title case for titles when referring to them in the text of your work.

If there are no page numbers, you can include any of the following in the in-text citation:

• "On Australia Day 1938 William Cooper ... joined forces with Jack Patten and William Ferguson ... to hold a Day of Mourning to draw attention to the losses suffered by Aboriginal people at the hands of the whiteman" (National Museum of Australia, n.d., para. 4).
• "in 1957 news of a report by the Western Australian government provided the catalyst for a reform movement" (National Museum of Australia, n.d., The catalyst for change section, para. 1)
• "By the end of this year of intense activity over 100,000 signatures had been collected" (National Museum of Australia, n.d., "petition gathering", para. 1).

When you are citing a classical work, like the Bible or the Quran:

References to works of scripture or other classical works are treated differently to regular citations. See the APA Blog's entry for more details:

Happy Holiday Citing: Citation of Classical Works . (Please note, this document is from the 6th edition of APA).

In text citation:

If the name of the organisation first appears in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation before the year in brackets, separated with a comma. Use the official acronym/abreviation if you can find it. Otherwise check with your lecturer for permission to create your own acronyms.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2013) shows that...

The Queensland Department of Education (DoE, 2020) encourages students to... (please note, Queensland isn't part of the department's name, it is used in the sentence to provide clarity)

If the name of the organisation first appears in a citation in brackets, include the abbreviation in square brackets.

(Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2013)

(Department of Education [DoE], 2020)

In the second and subsequent citations, only include the abbreviation or acronym

ABS  (2013) found that ...

DoE (2020) instructs teachers to...

This is disputed ( ABS , 2013).

Resources are designed to support "emotional learning pedagogy" (DoE, 2020)

In the reference list:

Use the full name of the organisation in the reference list.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017).  Australia's welfare 2017 . https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2017/contents/table-of-contents

Department of Education. (2020, April 22). Respectful relationships education program . Queensland Government. https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/stages-of-schooling/respectful-relationships

Academically, it is better to find the original source and reference that.

If you do have to quote a secondary source:

• In the text you must cite the original author of the quote and the year the original quote was written as well as the source you read it in. If you do not know the year the original citation was written, omit the year.
• In the reference list you only list the source that you actually read.

Wembley (1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999) argues that impending fuel shortages ...

Wembley claimed that "fuel shortages are likely" (1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999, pp. 10-12).

Some have noted that fuel shortages are probable in the future (Wembley, 1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999).

Olsen, M. (1999).  My career.  Gallimard.

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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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Endeavour APA Referencing Guide: In-text Citations

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In-text Citations

• APA Referencing Guide
• Reference Formatting

When writing citations and the reference list, the format of the author element of the in-text citation changes depending on the number of authors and is abbreviated in some cases. The correct order for citations is Author(s) or Organisation, then the year of publication.

One Author: Example

Author (Year) or (Author, Year)

Narrative citation: As Gaby (2011) demonstrated…

Parenthetical citation: …as has been shown (Gabe, 2011).

Other In-text Citation Examples

Author and Author (Year) or (Author & Author, Year)

Narrative citation: Talley and O’Connor (2010) demonstrated…

Parenthetical citation: …as has been shown (Talley & O’Connor, 2010).

Author et al (Year) or (Author and the gang, Year)

Narrative citation: Camfield et al. (2017) found that…

Parenthetical citation: (Chitts et al., 2018)

Organisation without abbreviation

Organisation (Year) or (Organisation, Year)

Narrative citation: As stated in eatforhealth.gov.au (n.d.)…

Parenthetical citation: … is recommended (eatforhealth.gov.au, n.d.).

Organisation with abbreviation

Organisation (Abbreviation, Year) or (Organisation [Abbreviation], Year)

Narrative citation: As Therapeutic Research Center (TRC, 2021) states... [for the first in-text citation]

Parenthetical citation: ... has been shown (Therapeutic Research Center [TRC], 2021). [for the first in-text citation].

When citing a source with no individual authors, check to see if there is a group or organisational author you can use (such as a government agency). Otherwise, use the title in place of the author . If the title is italicised in the reference list, then also italicise the title in your in-text reference. If the title is not italicised in the reference list use quotation marks. Use title case for titles in-text.

Title (Year) or ( Title , Year)

Narrative citation: As Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica (2007) stated…

Parenthetical citation: …has been shown ( Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica , 2007)

For works with no date, use “n.d.” in the in-text citation and reference list. For works that have been accepted for publication but have not yet been published, use “in press.”

Author (n.d.) or (Author, n.d.)

Narrative citation: As Jones (n.d.) stated...

Parenthetical citation: … has been shown (Jones, n.d.).

You can cite more than one resource after a single idea (i.e. using multiple sources to support your point). When citing works parenthetically, separate each citation with a semi-colon and list in alphabetical order.

Author (Year) and Author (Year) or (Author, Year; Author, Year)

Narrative citation: …appeared in Mowell et al. (2010) and Morrison (2011), who examined…

Parenthetical citation: …found in peer reflection activities (Jones, 1992; Smith 1997).

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is used to discuss the content of a source in your own words.

It is used to show you understand the concepts discussed in the source and can explain them yourself. It is not changing a few words in a sentence and adding it to your assignment.

How to practice paraphrasing:

1. Read the passage you are wanting to use.

2. Take a second to think about what the content/ideas discussed means.

3. Write down how you would explain that passage to another student studying the same topic, without looking at the original source again.

Following this practice not only ensures you will not be caught plagiarizing another’s work, but helps you develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and ideas you are studying.

Direct Quotes

A direct quotation should be used to support your analysis or argument. Direct quotations can be used:

- When you want to stress the authority of the author (memorable or succinct wording).

- As an ‘epigraph.’ This is a direct quote found at the beginning of a book or chapter. While it relates to the theme of the material that follows, it is not incorporated within the main text.

- When the author expresses an idea better than you could (such as reproducing an exact definition).

APA guidelines recommend limiting the amount of direct quotations you use in your assignment, suggesting that paraphrasing works is a more efficient way to explore your evidence-based sources (APA, 2022i).

Paraphrasing and Direct Quotation Examples

When paraphrasing, simply substituting synonyms for some of the words is not enough – you need to demonstrate that you understand what the author is saying. You must then acknowledge the author by including the author’s name and the date of publication.

Direct quote of the original source content: “ In conservative heteronormative cultures, it is assumed that gender is unchangeable, binary, and always consistent with anatomical sex… In the reality, however, there is a wide variety of both sex and gender… ” (Lumenello, 2019, p. 153)

A poorly phrased example: In conservative heteronormative cultures, gender is assumed to be unchangeable and directly correlating with anatomical sex, however both sex and gender exist in a wide variety (Lumenello, 2019).

A well paraphrased example: Contrary to ideologies perpetrated by conservative heteronormativity, sex and gender exist outside of binary constraints. Both feminine and masculine presentation are social constructs that have no real meaning beyond that social rule, and in nature the presentation of female and male sex traits often blurs (Lemenello, 2019).

When you have paraphrased an entire paragraph from the same resource (and each piece of information used is taken from that same resource) you are able to reference as per the rules of long paraphrasing . To reference this source effectively, introduce the source as a full narrative in-text citation before making clear links between the authors of that source and any following sentences. It is important to note that it should be obvious that each sentence relates to the single source.

Long paraphrasing example: Hobbs (2020) outlines that, while a familiar staple in home cooking, mushrooms are also a wealth of nutritional resources. They have a high mineral content and contain a large array of vitamins, such as B12. Additionally, as a strong plant-based source of protein they are a popular alternative to meat, with the benefit of added fiber. Alongside traditional cooking methods, Hobbs points out that mushrooms can be consumed in a variety of ways to facilitate daily dietary needs. Used primarily in traditional Chinese medicine, clinical research has shown that mushrooms offer a number of potential health benefits, from regulating blood sugar to assisting in the prevention of cancer (Hobbs, 2020).

The final sentence of this example is an instance where the context of the sentence does not clearly indicate the same source, so a second citation has been added to alleviate ambiguity.

Direct quotes are seldom self-explanatory and usually need an introductory sentence to link them with the idea you want to illustrate. It should be obvious to the reader why a quotation is included. In other words, it should be directly relevant to the point you are trying to make.

Use double quotations marks for quotes less than 40 words .

A quote with up to 40 words:  However, as Gentile (1987) described it, the learner “does have a framework for organizing an effective movement” (p. 119).

Use indentation for quotes involving more than 40 words .

A quote with more than 40 words: According to Greenberg (2011), two different criteria were proposed to determine brain death: the “higherbrain” and the “whole-brain” concepts. He describes the higher-brain formulation as follows:

A brain-dead person is alleged to be dead because his neocortex, the seat of consciousness, has been destroyed. He has thus lost the ability to think and feel – the capacity for personhood – that makes us who we are, and our lives worth living (pp. 37-38).

Direct quotes must have a page number . When indicating a single page use one 'p.', and for a page range use 'pp.'. Any words added by you to explain the quote or to complete its grammatical correctness must be placed in square brackets. Be sure to include the source of your quote in your references list.

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APA 7th Referencing Style Guide

In-text citation.

• Referencing & APA style

Author-Date citation system

Pages or sections, quotations and paraphrasing, secondary citations.

• Elements of a reference
• Format & examples of a reference list
• Conferences
• Reports & grey literature
• Figures (graphs and images)
• Theses and dissertations
• Audio works
• Films, TV & video
• Visual works
• Computer software, games & apps
• Lecture notes & Intranet resources
• Legal resources
• Personal communications
• PowerPoint slides
• Social media
• Specific health examples
• Standards & patents
• Websites & webpages
• Footnotes and appendices
• Frequently asked questions

In-text citations appear in the body of the work (or table, figure etc.). They enable readers to locate the corresponding entry in the reference list. 

In-text citations are usually presented in the following two ways:  

Parenthetical citation

The author and date appear within parentheses:

Narrative citation

The author appears in the text with the date in parentheses:

Find more information in the APA Manual p. 253–278.

Who is responsible for the work?

• If multiple initials, include one space between each initial
• Write the name exactly as it appears on the published work
• Retain the author’s preferred capitalisation

When was the work published?

• Check reference examples in the menu or the APA Manual s9.14 for other formats

Citing specific parts of a source

When you are directly quoting a specific part of a source, your in-text citation should include author, date and information about this specific part.

When paraphrasing an idea from a reading, an author-date citation is usually used. However, you may also provide an additional information for the specific part in the citation. This is particularly used for citing a long or complex work, such as a book. This helps readers locate the relevant passage. 

This could be a page number, page range, paragraph number, section number, table or figure number, or chapter number:

Use an en dash, not a hyphen, for page ranges, e.g. 21–27. An en dash (–) is wider than a hyphen (-). There are no gaps between the page numbers and the en dash.

• To add an en dash in Microsoft Word: if you are using a full PC keyboard, hold the Control key and type the minus sign on the numeric keypad:  Ctrl + - 

• If your keyboard will not produce an en dash, it is acceptable to use a hyphen instead. 
• See the APA Manual   p. 157  for more details on the use of hyphens and dashes in APA style

Direct quotations

When you include a quote in your writing (a sentence or words reproduced from a text, such as a book or article) your in-text citation should include:

• a page number or other indication of the specific part of the work that the quote is from

Short quotes, fewer than 40 words, can be included in the paragraph in quotation marks:

Quotes of more than 40 words need to be in a separate indented paragraph or block quote:

             Note that the bracketed element stating the exact section used is after the full stop, and has no full stop after itself.

Direct quotations must be accurate, the quotation must match the wording, spelling and punctuation of the original source, even if incorrect. Note a spelling error in the original by inserting [ sic ] after a misspelled word ("sic" is italicised, and within square brackets).

Some minor changes are allowable without notification:

• the first letter of the first word of a quotation can be changed to uppercase or lowercase to fit  the context of your sentence
• some punctuation marks at the end of a quotation can be changed to fit your sentence syntax  as long as meaning is not changed
• single quotation marks can be changed to double quotation marks and vice-versa
• footnote or endnote callouts can be omitted

All other changes (eg. italicising words for emphasis, or omitting words) must be explicitly indicated. See sections 8.30 -8.31 (pp. 274-276) in the APA Manual.

Paraphrasing

If you are paraphrasing (restating an idea from a text in your own words) you are   not required to provide a page or paragraph number in the in-text citation, but you may include one when it would help the readers locate the relevant passage. See APA Manual p. 269.

• See our short Introduction to Paraphrasing video for more guidance.  

A secondary citation is where you cite information or quotes that the author of your reference has taken from a source that you have not read. 

• It is preferable to locate and use the original source if possible.
• Name the author of the original work in your text, cite the secondary source in the in-text citation: (as cited in ..., 1993)

Reference list entry

• Give the secondary source in the reference list
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How to Cite Your Sources

• Citation Help
• In-Text Citations
• Books and Periodicals
• Web Sources and AV materials
• Reports, Theses and Disserations
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In-Text Basics

For Paraphrasing: make reference to the author and year of publication, using author-date format.

APA is a great citation style that is commonly used by college students in the sciences (Smith, 2001)

For Direct Quotes: include the author, year of publication, and the page number. Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Smith (2001), "APA is one of the best citation styles" (p. 32). 

All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Quoting Sources

Direct quotes are used when you are repeating another's words verbatim (word for word). You should always use quotation marks before and after the quoted phrases. 

As a rule of thumb, be stingy in your use of direct quotations, paraphrase whenever possible. 

Direct quotes should always include the author's last name. year of publication and the page number. To protect the flow of your paper, introduce the author's name using signal verbs before the quote. 

Short quotes

             Jones (2018) argued that "..." (p. 56).

            She concludes, "..." (Smith, 2015, pp. 10–12).

Quotes in the middle of a sentence​

          Roberts and James (2016) seem to agree with this point “writers should always…” (p. 364), suggesting that ....

Block Quotes

Quotes longer than 40 words should be introduced then start with the quote on a new line 1/2 inch from the left margin  Don’t use quotation marks. Insert the exact page number, in brackets, after the full stop at the end of the quote.

 In 2008, Jamison found the following:

          Many young people can be encouraged to study more by

          introducing specific incentives including . . .  providing caffeine. (pp. 263–264)

Indicating Errors or missing words 

Quotes with misspelled or misused terms

Insert [sic] after the misspelled word (in brackets, italicized).

"Nausea was reported even when reel [sic] drugs were administered" (Marks, 1998).

Indicating a correction 

Use brackets, not parentheses, to enclose material such as an addition or explanation within the quotation.

“They are studying, from an evolutionary perspective, to what extent [children’s] play is a luxury that can be dispensed with when there are too many other competing claims on the growing brain…”

Indicating omitted words

Use the three ellipsis points (…) to indicate that you have omitted material from the original quote. Do not omit words from the beginning or the end of the quotation to avoid any misinterpretation.

Citing in-text

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: J. Doe.

If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are longer than 3 letters within the title of a source: Moving and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing Blog Posts ,  The Time Is Now . ( Note:  in your Bibliography, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: i.e.  Writing new media. )

When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .

Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo."

Italicize the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .

Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles: "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

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APA Style (7th ed.)

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In-Text Citation

• Format Your Paper

Prefer a video tutorial?

Click below to watch: .

When you use others' ideas (paraphrases) and direct quotes, you must cite your source by including:

Author's last name, publication year, (only for direct quotes) page number of the quote.

The purpose of in-text citation is to direct the reader to the full citation on the  References list , which will have the full publication details. 

You are encouraged to write your in-text citations in several ways:

Author's last name and publication year in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Ex. There is not a strong correlation between a high GPA and students who began reading at an early age (Kahneman & Klein, 2009).

Author's name in the text with the publication year in parentheses after it.

Ex. ​Kahneman and Klein (2009) found that there is not a strong correlation between a high GPA and early readers.​

Jump to more specific examples by using the table below: 

One or Two Authors: Direct Quotes 

Include the author's last name(s), with an ampersand if needed between the two; publication date; and page number(s).

Ex. Although businesses collect a lot of information on their customers' buying patterns, "it is not enough to know how customers behave, you also need to know why" (Kahneman & Baudin, 2009, p. 522).

One or Two Authors: Paraphrasing 

Cite the author, publication year, and page numbers if needed.

Ex. Many insects and animals have a larger spectrum of color vision than humans, including ultraviolet and infrared (Gadhavi & Krupin, 2009).

Three or More Authors (see p. 266-267 in Manual)

In every citation, cite only the first author followed by "et al."

Ex. A study by Alloy et al. (2009) examines the relationship between bipolar personality and substance abuse.

No Author (see p. 264-265 in Manual)

Cite the first few words of the source's entry in the Reference list, which is usually the title. The title will be italicized if it's italicized in the References list, or if it's not italicized, put it in "quotation marks" to identify it as the title here. 

Article or Website

Ex. From 2010 to 2022, the U.S. Mint will issue quarters featuring United States National Parks ("Quarter to Feature Smokies," 2009).

Book or Report

Ex. Getting plenty of sleep is essential to academic success ( College Bound Seniors , 2008).

Quoting a Quote (see p. 277 in Manual)

If at all possible, APA tells you to find the  original source  and cite that source directly. 

However, if you cannot find the original source, you can cite the quote as a  secondary source . Cite the quoted author in the text and the author of the article at the end. In this example, Jonsen and Willse are the authors of the source that you cannot retrieve (i.e. the secondary source), and Kosek is the author of the source that you have in-hand.

Ex. Jonsen and Willse concluded "there was no direct correlation between the two factors" (Kosek, 2011).

Authors with Acronym Name (see p. 268+ in Manual)

For short names where the abbreviation would not be readily understandable, write out the name each time. For long names where the abbreviation is familiar, write out the name with the acronym in brackets for the first reference, then use just the acronym.

Ex. In 2012, approximately 1 in 68 children were diagnosed with a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016).

However, the entry in the References list should still spell out the full name. 

Two Citations in One Sentence (see p. 263 in the Manual)

Order the citations alphabetically by the first author's last name. 

Ex. Several studies (Nakano et al., 1999; Gadhavi & Krupin, 2009; Walker et al., 2008) cite the need for more replication studies.

For works by the same author, order them by publication year: give the last name once and then the dates.

Personal Interviews (see p. 259 in Manual)

Only cite interviews in-text, not on the references list.

Ex. Individual researchers are not eligible for many private foundation grants, because often those funds are only given to nonprofit organizations (P. Karga, personal communication, May 3, 2019).

More questions? Check out the authoritative source: APA style blog

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How To - Use the APA Style Guide

• APA Style: Home
• What is new in the 7th Edition?
• Elements of APA Reference Lists
• Formatting & Sample Papers
• Book Reference Examples
• Journal Article Reference Examples
• Magazine Article Reference Examples
• Newspaper Article Reference Examples
• Reference Work Reference Examples
• Websites Reference Examples
• Images/Art Reference Examples
• Video & Film Reference Examples
• Social Media Reference Examples
• Citations for Paraphrased Sources
• Citing Direct Quotations
• Formatting Authors in In-Text Citations
• Citing Secondary Sources
• Video Tutorials: APA Style
• Annotated Bibliography This link opens in a new window
• --- How To - Use Citation Style Guides ---
• Using Zotero This link opens in a new window
• Using Mendeley This link opens in a new window

7th ed Citing Direct Quotations

Citations for direct quotations.

A direct quotation is a verbatim reproduction from another work. The APA recommends paraphrasing when possible. The format of the quotation and the in-text citation depends on the length of the quotation. The in-text citation will include the author, year, and page number(s). The page number format is different for single pages, a page range, and non-consecutive (discontinuous) pages. The APA formats direct quotations into short quotations (fewer than 40 words), and block quotations (40 words or more). 

Page Numbers

No Page Numbers? Check out the APA Style's section on Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers This link opens in a new window . You can use section names, paragraph numbers, time stamps (for audiovisual works), and more. 

Short Quotations

Short quotations contain fewer than 40 words. To incorporate this type of quotation into your work enclose the words in quotation marks. Do not add an ellipsis unless one is used in source. Add a full in-text citation in the same sentence.

Parenthetical Citation

General Format

A parenthetical citation can be either immediately following the quotation or at the end of the sentence.

Text "quote" (Author, Year, Page).

Text "quote" (Author, Year, Page) more text.

For Example

Mental health care for veterans and active duty military needs to be greatly improved. One tool that is used is the Combat Exposure Scale (CES) this is a "seven-item self-report measure that assesses wartime stressors experienced by combatants" (Lawhorne-Scott et al., 2012, p. 36).

Narrative Citation

A narrative citation typically includes the author and year before the quotations and the page number(s) after the quotation.

Author (Year) text "quote" (Page).

However if the quote begins the sentence, the author will follow in a narrative form with the year and date in parentheses afterwards.

"Quote" text Author (Year, Page) more text.

Chen et al. (2019) noted that "an increased patient–nurse ratio would induce nurses’ intention to leave their job" (p. 12).

"Workforce staffing and scheduling for clinical units in healthcare system is a formidable challenge" wrote Sedeh (2018, p. 1) in their review of nurse staffing in emergency room departments.

Block Quotations

Block quotations contain 40 words or more. To incorporate this type of quotation into your work you will need to begin the quotation on a new line, indent the left margin for the entire quotation, and double-space the quotation. Add a full in-text citation either in the narrative while including the page numbers at the end after the quotation's final punctuation, or a parenthetical citation after the last punctuation.

A parenthetical citation is placed after the quote's final punctuation.

The symptoms of anxiety can be debilitating:

A narrative citation typically includes the author and year before the block quotation and the page number(s) immediately after the quotation's last punctuation.

Chen et al. (2019) detail how hospitals are in the business of saving lives and those in charge have a lot to take into account when planning their nurse-patient ratios:

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• Last Updated: Jan 18, 2024 8:33 AM
• URL: https://libguides.shepherd.edu/APA

APA 7th Referencing

• APA 7th referencing
• Author information

In-text citations

• Reference lists
• Journal & newspaper articles
• Books & book chapters
• Websites & social media
• Course materials
• Dictionaries & encyclopedias
• Audio-visual media
• Secondary sources
• Other reference examples
• Education sources
• Health sources
• Indigenous Knowledges
• Legal sources
• Academic Writer & APA style guide
• Referencing tools & training
• More referencing styles This link opens in a new window

Acknowledgement

This guide is based on the University of Queensland's  APA7th Referencing style guide  and is used under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

• Date of publication
• Page numbers
• Can't find it here?
• Parenthetical in-text citations include the author's family name and year of publication within parenthesis (Thompson, 2018).
• Narrative in-text citations include the author's family name in the sentence and the year of publication follows in parenthesis "Thompson (2018) has argued that ......."
• The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper where the information has been referred to – whether that is within the main body of the text or a table, figure, footnote or appendix. This allows readers to find the corresponding entry in the alphabetical reference list at the end of the paper that will contain the full details of the source.
• Each source cited in-text must appear in the reference list, and each source in the reference list must appear in-text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix).

Please refer to  Author information  for detailed advice.

If you have two or more works by different authors

• List works alphabetically (as they appear in the reference list)
• Separate references with a semicolon ;   e.g.  (Noble et al., 2015; Walker, 2011)  OR   Noble et al. (2015) and Walker (2011) stated that ...

If you have two or more works by same author(s)

• Order references by year of publication
• Put n.d. (no date) references first
• Put "in press" references last
• Only use the author family name or groups name once then list the years
• e.g.  (Lewis, n.d., 2012, 2015, 2016, in press) OR  (Education Queensland, 2011, 2013) OR  (Education Queensland, 2011; Lewis, 2012, 2015, 2016, in press)
• E.g. (Cleary, 2019) or "Thompson (2018) argues that ..."
• If the month is provided in the publication details do not include it. 
• E.g. (Harris, n.d.)
• E.g. (Taylor, in press).
• It is sometimes helpful to your reader to be specific about what part of the work contains the relevant information,  e.g. page numbers (Cleary, 2019, p.16) or (Cleary, 2019, pp.16-18).
• When including quotes in-text you should include the specific part of the source that the quote comes from.
• Tables, chapters, paragraphs or figures can also be helpful,  e.g. (Cleary, 2019, Table 3).

For works without a page number , you can add:

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

For a fuller list of examples see  APA Style Citing Specific Parts of a Source

• Academic writer: APA's tool for teaching and learning effective writing This link opens in a new window Academic Writer is produced by APA to help with academic referencing and writing. It provides quick guides, tutorials, self-quizzes, sample papers, sample references, sample tables, and sample figures to help you master the APA style.
• APA Style Blog The APA Style Blog is written by APA Style experts and provides advice on all aspects of the style, including the trickier nuances. Use the search tool for specific queries or browse the Style and Grammar Guidelines from the drop down menu at the top of the page.
• Direct quotes
• Block quotes
• Quoting audiovisual works
• 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 sentences and paragraphs, and enclose it in double quotation marks ( "..." ).
• Include the author, year, and specific page number for that quotation.  Place a comma after the year and use  p.  for single page,  pp.  for multiple pages
• Place the citation directly after the quotation.
• For material without page numbers, give the paragraph number or a time stamp.
• Include a complete reference in the reference list.

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. 1/1998, p. 1).

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

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

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

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. 1/1998, p. 1)

Note that a page number is required. Place a comma after the year and use p. for single page, pp. for multiple pages.

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)

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

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• URL: https://libguides.mq.edu.au/APA7_referencing

• Harold L. Drimmer Library Research Guides
• Research Guides
• APA 7th Edition
• In-text Citation: Direct Quote

APA 7th Edition: In-text Citation: Direct Quote

• Title Page for Students
• Reference List Overview
• Reference List: Citing Periodicals (Journals, Newspapers, Magazines)
• Reference List: Citing Books
• Reference List: Websites
• Reference List: Film or Video
• Reference List: Brightspace File
• Narrative vs Parenthetical Citations
• In-text Citation: Indirect Quote (Paraphrase) Basics
• In-Text Citation Examples
• Additional APA 7th Edition Resources
• Ask a Librarian!

Direct Quote

Direct Quotation  refers to copying word for word from another source and incorporating the passage, unaltered, into your own work. Show the reader that these are not your own words by putting the copied text within quotation marks " " and adding a citation. Direct Quotes should be used sparingly in your paper and should be saved for especially impactful statements or when you will be responding to someone's exact words. 

Direct quotes do not have to be an entire sentence; they can be a partial sentence or just a few words unique to your author or field of research. 

For APA 7th ed format, add the in-text citation either after the direct quote, wherever it appears in the sentence, or at the end of the sentence (APA 7th ed Handbook 8.26): 

“Even smart, educated, emotionally stable adults believe superstitions that they recognize are not rational,” (Risen, 2016, p. 202) as exemplified by the existence of people who knock on wood for good luck.

“Even smart, educated, emotionally stable adults believe superstitions that they recognize are not rational,” as exemplified by the existence of people who knock on wood for good luck (Risen, 2016, p. 202).

To improve the readability of your paper, minor changes to Direct Quotations are permitted. See  Changes to Quotations  (APA Style) about allowable changes to Direct Quotes  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations/changes

Direct Quote: Parenthetical and Narrative Citation : Basic Format

Basic Format:    (Author Last Name, Year, p. page#)   Example: (Bradshaw, 2013, p. 8)  * use pp. for a page range: e.g. pp. 8-9.

Parenthetical Citation

When studying feline behavior, it is more beneficial to study the animal's wild ancestors than to observe the cat in its present day domestic environment because their "species-specific behavior patterns" (Bradshaw, 2013, p. 8)  are largely inherited from wild cats. 

Narrative Citation

Bradshaw (2013) suggests that when studying feline behavior, it is more beneficial to study the animal's wild ancestors than to observe the cat in its present day domestic environment because their "species-specific behavior patterns" (p. 8) are largely inherited from wild cats. 

Direct Quote: Citation for sources with no page numbers

Basic Format:   (Author Last Name, Year, para. paragraph#)   Example:   (Chamberlin, 2014, para. 1)

*see also  Direct Quotes with No Page Numbers  (APA Style):  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations/no-page-numbers

When incorporating quotations from sources with no page numbers (e.g. a web source), provide the paragraph number the quote appears in. Use  para.  (e.g. para. 1) for a single paragraph or  paras.  (paras. 2-3) for a paragraph range.

Parenthetical Citation:

People planning for retirement need more than just money—they also “need to stockpile their emotional reserves” to ensure adequate support from family and friends (Chamberlin, 2014, para. 1).

Narrative Citation:

Chamberlin (2014) notes that people planning for retirement need more than just money—they also “need to stockpile their emotional reserves” to ensure adequate support from family and friends (para. 1).

If the work is divided into sections with headers, include the section name (abbreviate long section names) and use the paragraph number from the beginning of that section: 

Music and language are intertwined in the brain such that “people who are better at rhythmic memory skills tend to excel at language skills as well” (DeAngelis, 2018, Musical Forays section, para. 4).

Use a timestamp when quoting from audio and video sources: 

People make "sweeping inferences and judgements from body language" (Cuddy, 2021, 2:12).

The APA notes that pages, paragraphs, time stamps, slide numbers, tables, parts, chapters, figures, lines etc. are all acceptable parts of works to cite for direct quotes (8.13). E.g. Slide 34; Table 1; Chapter 4.

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• Last Updated: Apr 10, 2023 9:55 AM
• URL: https://library.sunywcc.edu/APA_7

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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.

The post Benefits of Citing Book in APA Form for Reader appeared first on Sunny Sweet Days .

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APA Style: Basics

Citations for Direct Quotations

A direct quotation is a verbatim reproduction from another work. The APA recommends paraphrasing when possible. The format of the quotation and the in-text citation depends on the length of the quotation. The in-text citation will include the author, year, and page number(s). The page number format is different for single pages, a page range, and non-consecutive (discontinuous) pages. The APA formats direct quotations into short quotations (fewer than 40 words), and block quotations (40 words or more). 

Page Numbers

No Page Numbers? Check out the APA Style's section on Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers This link opens in a new window . You can use section names, paragraph numbers, time stamps (for audiovisual works), and more. 

Short Quotations

Short quotations contain fewer than 40 words. To incorporate this type of quotation into your work enclose the words in quotation marks. Do not add an ellipsis unless one is used in source. Add a full in-text citation in the same sentence.

Parenthetical Citation

General Format

A parenthetical citation can be either immediately following the quotation or at the end of the sentence.

Text "quote" (Author, Year, Page).

Text "quote" (Author, Year, Page) more text.

For Example

Mental health care for veterans and active duty military needs to be greatly improved. One tool that is used is the Combat Exposure Scale (CES) this is a "seven-item self-report measure that assesses wartime stressors experienced by combatants" (Lawhorne-Scott et al., 2012, p. 36).

Narrative Citation

A narrative citation typically includes the author and year before the quotations and the page number(s) after the quotation.

Author (Year) text "quote" (Page).

However if the quote begins the sentence, the author will follow in a narrative form with the year and date in parentheses afterwards.

"Quote" text Author (Year, Page) more text.

Chen et al. (2019) noted that "an increased patient–nurse ratio would induce nurses’ intention to leave their job" (p. 12).

"Workforce staffing and scheduling for clinical units in healthcare system is a formidable challenge" wrote Sedeh (2018, p. 1) in their review of nurse staffing in emergency room departments.

Block Quotations

Block quotations contain 40 words or more. To incorporate this type of quotation into your work you will need to begin the quotation on a new line, indent the left margin for the entire quotation, and double-space the quotation. Add a full in-text citation either in the narrative while including the page numbers at the end after the quotation's final punctuation, or a parenthetical citation after the last punctuation.

A parenthetical citation is placed after the quote's final punctuation.

The symptoms of anxiety can be debilitating:

A narrative citation typically includes the author and year before the block quotation and the page number(s) immediately after the quotation's last punctuation.

Chen et al. (2019) detail how hospitals are in the business of saving lives and those in charge have a lot to take into account when planning their nurse-patient ratios:

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