apa citation of author in text

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), what do i do if there are no page numbers.

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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.

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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 Citation Style, 7th Edition: In-Text Citations & Paraphrasing

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When do I use in-text citations?

When should you add in-text citations in your paper .

There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format. 

• Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation. 
• Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source, which means you need to cite NEW information OR 2) You need to cite a DIRECT quote, which includes a page number, paragraph number or Section title. 
• Important to remember : You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph. 

What do in-text citations look like?

In-text citation styles: .

Let's look at these examples if they were written in text: 

An example with 1 author:

Parenthetical citation:  Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020). 

Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing. 

An example with 2 authors: 

Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019). 

Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method. 

An example with 3 authors: 

Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).

Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions. 

An example with a group/corporate author: 

Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020). 

Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor. 

Tips on Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020).  .

Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing: 

• How do I learn to paraphrase? IF you are thoroughly reading and researching articles or book chapters for a paper, you will start to take notes in your own words . Those notes are the beginning of paraphrased information.
• Read the original information, PUT IT AWAY, then rewrite the ideas in your own words . This is hard to do at first, it takes practice, but this is how you start to paraphrase. 
• It's usually better to paraphrase, than to use too many direct quotes. 
• When you start to paraphrase, cite your source. 
• Make sure not to use language that is TOO close to the original, so that you are not committing plagiarism. 
• Use theasaurus.com to help you come up with like/similar phrases if you are struggling. 
• Paraphrasing (vs. using direct quotes) is important because it shows that YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND the information you are reading. 
• Paraphrasing ALLOWS YOUR VOICE to be prevalent in your writing. 
• The best time to use direct quotes is when you need to give an exact definition, provide specific evidence, or if you need to use the original writer's terminology. 
• BEST PRACTICE PER PARAGRAPH: On your 1st paraphrase of a source, CITE IT. There is no need to add another in-text citation until you use a different source, OR, until you use a direct quote. 

References : 

Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com .   https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g  

Citing Direct Quotes

When should i use a direct quote in my paper .

Direct quotes should only be used occasionally: 

• When you need to share an exact definition 
• When you want to provide specific evidence or information that cannot be paraphrased
• When you want to use the original writer's terminology

From:  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/ 

Definitions of direct quotes: 

• Western Oregon University's APA Guidelines on Direct Quotes This is an excellent quick tutorial on how to format direct quotes in APA 7th edition. Bookmark this page for future reference!

Carrie Forbes, MLS

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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.

Multiple Authors

If you are citing a source that has multiple authors, follow these basic steps.

Two Authors

Always cite both authors' names in-text every time you reference them.

Johnson and Smith (2009) found...

Three or More Authors

If a document has three or more authors, simply provide the last name of the first author with "et al." from the first citation to the last.

Thomas et al. (2007) likened abnormal psychology to...

... distractions (Thomas et al., 2007).

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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 Citation Guide: In-Text/Parenthetical Citations (7E)

• APA 7th Edition
• References, Templates, and Examples for APA 7E
• In-Text/Parenthetical Citations (7E)
• Paper Formatting 7E: Student Paper
• Paper Formatting 7E: Professional Paper
• Annotated Bibliography 7E
• Difference Between 6th & 7th
• Introduction
• Collecting Citations
• Backing-Up/Syncing
• Placing Citations in a Document

Printable PDF Guide to In-Text Citations

• APA 7E In-Text Citations PDF Two-page, printable PDF of this tab.
• APA 7E In-Text Citations Powerpoint Used the the 25-minute workshop.
• APA 7E In-Text Citations video Edited from a live workshop, this video shows you the basics (19m37s).

APA 7E In-Text/Parenthetical Citations

In-text citations, or parenthetical citations, are those that are inside the running text, or narrative of your text, and act as pointers to the more complete reference list at the end of the paper. In-text citations can follow very different rules than citations found in the reference list, so it’s important to place them in separate mental compartments.

The in-text citation needs the author and the year of the document.  The basic template looks like this:

( Author, year )

(Author, year, p. x)

(Author, year, pp. xx-xx)

Research by Garcia (2017) found blah.

Research found blah (Garcia, 2017).

Two Authors 

Garcia and Bartle (2017) found blah.

Research found blah (Garcia & Bartle, 2017).

Three or More Authors 

Et al. is an abbreviation of a latin phrase that means "and others." it stands in for two or more other names you haven't typed..

Garcia  et al.  (2017) found blah .

Research found  blah (Garcia et al. , 2017).

Garcia et al. (2017) found "blah" (p.25). 

No Author (Not Anonymous, Not Corporate Author) 

Research found blah ( “ Title of A rticle in Q uotation M arks and T itle C ase ,”  2017)

Research found blah ( Title of B ook in I talics and T itle C ase , 2017)

In “ Title of  A rticle in  Q uotation  M arks and  T itle  C ase ” (2017)

In  Title of  B ook in  I talics and  T itle  C ase  (2017) the author states "blah" (p. 45).

Multiple Sources

Several studies (Lowe, 2015 ; Mancha, 2007 ; Smith & Jones ; 1993) have found blah.

In a multiple sources, in-text citation order the different citations alphabetically as they appear in the reference list, so the reader can find them easily. Each is separated by a semi-colon.

Same Author/Same Year/Different Works

Research found (Garcia, 1981a)

In your reference list, these would look like:

Garcia, C. (1981a). Article title.   [other article citation information].

Garcia, C. (1981b). Book title .   [other book citation information].

Citing Someone Who is Being Cited by Someone

Petry (as cited in Quarton, 2017) found that

Some research showed blah (Petry, 1975, as cited in Quarton, 2017).

Big Quotations/Small Quotations

If you have a direct quotation that is less than 40 words, blend the quotation smoothly into your writing and use quotation marks.  If the quotation is 40 words or more, place it in a free-standing, indented text block, do not use quotation marks, and do maintain double spacing. End with a period, then place the in-text citation.

Garcia’s (2017) work found that

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Duis dolor nunc, eleifend nec placerat vel, rhoncus et sem. Fusce ullamcorper scelerisque libero, nec eleifend felis tristique vitae. Fusce varius luctus nisi, ut mattis ligula. Nam a tincidunt magna, vitae volutpat mauris. elit . (p. 215)

Direct Quotation or Paraphrase?

APA 7E makes a strong statement about paraphrasing almost everything. Any text that you are quoting exactly from the original should be enclosed in quotation marks, and the in-text citation should include a page number. As a courtesy, you may include a page number for a paraphrase from a long work, such as a book.

If you are making a very general reference to the overall subject of an article/essay, then you do not need quotation marks and you also do not need a page number. Examples of this are common in the introduction to research articles:

There have been several areas of investigation, including measures of disposition (Zhang, 2000; Garcia & Smith, 2009), measures of decision-making (Lejuez et al., 2004; Macapagal & Janssen, 2011), and measures of impulsivity (Lee, 2014). 

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Citation Help for APA, 7th Edition: In-text Citations

• Books & Ebooks
• Book Chapter & Ebook Chapter
• Conference Presentations
• Course Resources (PowerPoint, Handouts, etc.)
• Encyclopedia
• Journal Article
• Legal Materials
• Magazine Article
• Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Capstone Project
• Movies & Streaming Video
• Newspaper Article
• Personal Communication (email, interviews, lectures, course materials, etc.)
• Webpages & Websites
• Formatting Your Paper
• In-text Citations
• Ethically Use Sources

In-text Citation Introduction

What is an in-text citation.

In APA Style, an in-text citation tells the reader where you got any and all information that did not come from inside your own head.  This is more obvious when you are directly quoting from a source, but it is also needed when you have summarized or paraphrased from a source and even if you got an idea from somewhere else.  In order to avoid plagiarism, it is extremely important that you cite all the words and ideas that you got from somewhere else. To learn more about plagiarism and how to avoid it, see Ethically Use Sources   and Plagiarism guidance from APA.

When citing sources in an APA Style paper, APA uses the author-date citation system. In this system, the writer includes the author and date within the body of the paper and includes a corresponding reference in the reference list. This citation system allows the reader to identify sources used in the paper by reviewing the author and date within the text of the paper, and then easily locate the corresponding reference in the alphabetical reference list. 

 There are two types of in-text citations that are used within the body of an APA paper to help the reader locate the corresponding reference in the reference list. T he two types of in-text citations are  parenthetical citations and narrative citations . A narrative citation is a type of citation where the author's name is used within the text of the sentence; whereas, a parenthetical citation is a type of citation where the author and date are in parentheses at the end of the sentence.   

How do I create narrative or parenthetical citations?

In  APA Style, cite your sources by putting the information about the source in parentheses at the end of a sentence or in the text of your paper as opposed to a footnote where the source information is at the bottom of the page or an endnote where it goes at the end of your paper.  There are slight differences depending on which style you are using.

Give the author’s last name and the publication year.

Only use page numbers or paragraph numbers for a direct quote.

Make sure the source information in parentheses matches with your reference in the reference list. 

The punctuation for the sentence goes AFTER the parentheses.

For a quote less than forty words  put quotation marks around the quoted words. For sources with designated page numbers - if the author and date are introduced in the sentence as a narrative citation, then add the page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. If the source does not have designated page numbers, then add the paragraph number, heading, or a combination of both the heading and paragraph number. If the author and date are not introduced as part of the text, then include the author and date with the page or paragraph number. The period should come after the parentheses.

If your quote is more than forty words , set it off in a block text by beginning the block quote on a new line, indent 0.5 inches (one-half), and do not add quotation marks around the block quote.  At the end of the quote put the period after the last word of the sentence followed by the parentheses. For more information, see Block Quote .

Additional Resources

• Basic Principles of Citation Created by APA. This resource provides fundamental information about the basics of citations.
• Appropriate Level of Citations Created by APA - learn about how many references should be used in a paper and how many times to cite the same source in a paragraph.
• Paraphrasing This source provides the basics about paraphrasing, including the use of long paraphrases.
• Quotations Created by APA - learn about creating quotations for short quotes, block quotes, quotes for sources without page number, and more!

More Information

For more information about parenthetical and narrative citations, see pages 253-278 of the APA Manual 7th edition for further explanation and examples.

Basic In-Text Citation Styles

The basic in-text citation style for adding sources to the body of an APA style paper is to add the author and the date. There are a number of ways that can be done to aid in the readability and flow of the paper. However, the basic style for different authors types are listed in the table below.  

Printable version of the basic in-text citation styles are available here:

• Basic In-Text Citation Styles - Google Doc version 
• Basic In-Text Citation Styles - PDF version

 Note.   Adapted from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , by the American Psychological Association, 2020, Table 8.1, p. 266 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.  * Define the abbreviation for a group author only once in the text, choosing either the parenthetical or narrative citation. Once introduced, use only the abbreviation for all mentions of the group author in the text of your paper.

In-text Citation Examples

There are a number of ways that parenthetical and narrative citations can be added to the body of an APA style paper. Using variety helps with the readability and flow of the paper. The following table provides a few examples of common ways parenthetical and narrative citations are used for quotes and paraphrases.

For additional examples, see the following printable handouts:

• In-text Citation Examples - Google Doc version
• In-text Citation Examples - PDF version

Variations in APA References

See the following webpages for variations in your APA references:

• Sources with Multiple Authors
• Group Author
• Date Format
• Periodical Information
• Multiple Sources with the Same Author & Same Date
• Secondary Sources
• Personal Communication
• Missing Information

Variation - Multiple Sources in Same Citation?

Citing multiple works in the same citation.

Several studies report ... (D'Esposito & Gardner, 1999; Griffiths & Brophy, 2005; Kim & Sin, 2007).  

Explanation

Multiple sources within the same parenthetical citation should be listed alphabetically by author. Separate each citation with a semicolon.  

For more information about citing multiple words in the same citation, see Section 8.12 on pages 263-264 fo the APA Manual, 7th edition.

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Penn State University Libraries

Apa quick citation guide.

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

Using In-text Citation

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

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

Example paragraph with in-text citation

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

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

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

Citing Web Pages In Text

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

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

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

Web page with author:

In-text citation

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

Reference entry

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

Web page with organizational author:

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

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

Web page with no date:

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

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

General Guidelines

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

Author's name in parentheses:

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

Author's name part of narrative:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Works by Multiple Authors

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

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

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

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

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• APA Style 6th edition

A complete guide to APA in-text citation (6th edition)

Published on November 4, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on May 19, 2022.

An APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication, for example: (Smith, 2020). When quoting , also include page numbers, for example (Smith, 2020, p.170).

Here’s what an in-text citation looks like in a sentence:

• The author claims that “plagiarism is becoming a bigger problem” (Smith, 2014, p. 170) .
• As Smith (2014) has shown, plagiarism is a serious issue for universities.
• In 2014 , Smith found that plagiarism is becoming increasingly widespread.

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Multiple author names are separated using a comma. Only the final name in the list is preceded by an ampersand (“&”), for example: (Taylor, Johnson, & Parker, 2019) . Use “ et al .” to shorten in-text citations of sources with 6+ authors (first in-text citations) and 3+ authors (subsequent in-text citations), for example: (Taylor et al., 2019) .

Using “et al.” in APA in-text citations

Sources with three, four or five authors are shortened after the first citation. From the second citation onwards, include only the first author name followed by “et al.” (“and others”). Sources with six or more authors are always shortened, including in the first citation.

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• When using the abbreviation “et al . ,” always include a period (“.”).
• Include a comma between “et al.” and the publication date (e.g. Taylor et al., 2018).
• There should be no punctuation between “et al.” and the author’s name preceding it.
• The period ending the sentence always comes after the citation (even when quoting).

Never use an ampersand symbol (“&”) in the running text. Instead, use the full word “and.”

• According to research by Taylor & Kotler … (2018).
• Taylor and Kotler conclude … (2018).

Including the page number(s) in the in-text citation is required when quoting a source in APA . It is encouraged, but not required, when paraphrasing a source . Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole, e.g. “the study shows…”.

If the quote or paraphrase covers just one page, use “ p. 16. ” If it covers two or more pages, use a double ‘p’ followed by a page range (e.g.  pp. 16-18 ).

The in-text citation can be included in three different ways:

• This is also confirmed by the business plan: “creating an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work but many students benefit from it” (Smith, 2014, pp. 14-15) .
• Smith (2014) states: “making an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work but many students benefit from it” (pp. 14-15) .
• In 2014 , Smith wrote: “making an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work but many students benefit from it” (pp. 14-15) .

Sources with no page numbers

When quoting a source that has no pages or page numbers, you can include a chapter or paragraph number instead.

If the source uses headings, cite the heading and the paragraph number following it. Long headings may be shortened, but then they should be enclosed in quotation marks.

• (Johnson, 2019, Chapter 3)
• (McCombes, 2016, para. 4)
• (Smith, 2014, Conclusion, para. 2 )
• (Streefkerk, 2019, “No Page Numbers,” para. 2)

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If the cited list originates from one source, put the in-text citation after the last list item. If the list comes from several different sources, add the in-text citations after each list item.

• Wired lifestyle
• Time pressure
• Risk aversion
• Internet experience
• Social interaction (Johnson, 2016, p. 18) .
• Consumers experience greater risk for online purchases (Writers et al., 2016, p. 47) .
• Young consumers experience no risk for online purchases (Porter, 2016, pp. 63-64) .

The basic APA guidelines are not applicable to every source. Information can be missing, confusing for the reader or simply different. The most common exceptions are listed below.

If the author is unknown, cite the first few words of the reference list entry instead (usually the title). Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, reports and brochures.

• ( “U.S. Flood Risk Could Be Worse Than We Thought,”  2015)
• ( Thinking, Fast and Slow , 2017)

For sources without a year of publication, use “n.d.” (no date) instead: (Johnson, n.d. ).

Multiple sources in the same parentheses

If you’re using multiple sources to support a statement, you can combine the in-text citations and separate them using semicolons. Order the sources alphabetically.

If you’re using multiple sources from the same author, you don’t have to repeat the author. Just add the other years and separate them with a comma.

Multiple publications from the same author(s) in the same year

To differentiate between two publications from the same author published in the same year, add a suffix after the publication year.

Repeated use of the same source

For citing the same source multiple times in a paragraph there are specific APA guidelines. The first mention should include the author and publication year. For subsequent mentions in the running text, you only have to include the author’s last name, not the year. However, citations in parentheses should always include the year.

Different authors with the same last name

To differentiate between two (or more) authors with the same last name, include the initials. This rule applies even if the year of publication is different.

Citing a source within a source (secondary source)

If you want to cite a source that you found in another source, you can do one of two things. First of all, you should try to find the original source ( primary source ). If you’re able to find it you can use regular APA guidelines.

If you are not able to find the primary source, you should cite it through the source that led you to it ( secondary source ). The in-text citation looks like this:

Note that you only need to include the publication year of the source you consulted (here Johnson).

Personal communication

Personal communication such as phone calls, emails and conversations are not cited in the reference list because they can’t be found anywhere. However, you should still cite them using an in-text citation.

Give the initials and the last name of the person you communicated with and provide as exact a date as possible.

Sales are declining in the second quarter  (P. G. Brown, personal communication, June 13, 2018).

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Streefkerk, R. (2022, May 19). A complete guide to APA in-text citation (6th edition). Scribbr. Retrieved July 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/6th-edition/archived-in-text-citation/

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APA in-text citations

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In-text citations are short versions of citations that give a brief indication of the sources used in the paper. They are written in the text and inform the reader that full details are available in the reference list. The information available in the list will help the reader to find and use the sources listed. To write in-text citations, you should know two important components:

Author or organization’s name

Publication date

In-text citations overview

APA uses the author-date system for in-text citations. This means that in-text citations usually include information on the author, then the date published. For example, if Harold King wrote a book in 2021, his in-text citations would look like this:

(King, 2021)

King (2021)

There are two kinds of in-text citations are available in APA style: narrative citations and parenthetical citations. Let’s review them both.

Narrative citation

A narrative citation includes the name of the author or the organization as part of sentence text and includes the year published in parentheses. Here are two examples:

Blanchard (2020) argues that the development of a country depends on the growth of the village in the country.

API (2007) revised the guidelines for oil and natural gas field.

Parenthetical citation

A parenthetical citation includes both the name of the author or the organization and the date of publication inside parentheses. A comma comes between the author and the publication date.

For quotes, parenthetical citations must also include a page number. Use “p.” for a single page and “pp.” for a page range. Here are examples:

With the author

It is argued that the development of a country depends on the growth of the village in the country (Blanchard, 2020).

It is argued that the development of a country depends on the growth of the village in the country (Blanchard, 2020, p. 17).

Organization treated as the author

It was concluded to release the revised guidelines for the oil and natural gas field (AIP, 2007).

In-text citation examples

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication date)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication date)

Narrative: Coleman (2011)

Parenthetical: (Coleman, 2011)

Two authors

In narrative citations, the word “and” separates the surnames of the two authors. In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand between the two authors.

Narrative: First author Surname and Second author Surname (Publication date)

Parenthetical: (First author Surname & Second author Surname, Publication date)

Narrative: Francis and RIchter (2007)

Parenthetical: (Francis & RIchter, 2007)

Three or more authors

If the number of authors is more than two, use “et al.” in both narrative and parenthetical citations.

Narrative: First author Surname et al. (Publication date)

Parenthetical: (First author Surname et al., Publication date)

Narrative: Rolph et al. (2017)

Parenthetical: (Rolph et al., 2017)

Group author

If a source is by a group author, use the group author name in the author’s name field. Abbreviations are allowed in a group author name. If the group name first occurs in citations, you can still abbreviate it in citations. Note that a narrative citation and a parenthetical citation have different formats in using the abbreviation when included.

If the first occurrence of an abbreviation comes in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation inside the parenthesis before the date. If your abbreviation comes first in a parenthetical citation, add the abbreviation in square brackets after the group author name as shown below:

Narrative: Group author (Abbreviation, Publication date)

Parenthetical: (Group author [Abbreviation], Publication date)

Narrative: Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (IACP, 2008)

Parenthetical: (Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists [IACP], 2018)

No author/Anonymous author

For a reference with no author, you need to include the title of the paper for the in-text citations. Usually, they appear as parenthetical citations. The title is written in the same way as it is mentioned in the reference list. For example, if the title is written in italics in the list, you need to italicize it in the in-text citation as well. However, if the title is plain in the list, write using title case, meaning that you must capitalize significant words of the title and enclose it in double quotes.

Parenthetical: (“Title of the Work,” Publication date)

Parenthetical: (“Human Behavior,” 2018)

If the author of a work is given as “Anonymous,” use “Anonymous” in place of the author.

Parenthetical: (Anonymous, 2007)

Other citations

Multiple citations in one sentence.

Multiple citations appearing together are arranged alphabetically within the group. Note that alphabetical arrangement is applicable only for in-text citations. The citations are separated by semicolons. Example:

(Anna, 2021; Blume & Alex, 2012; Robert, 2004)

If you include many references contributed by the same group of authors, arrange them chronologically and separate them by commas. The order of chronological citation for the same author group is (1) n.d., (2) citation with a publication date, and (3) in press. “n.d.” refers to “no date.”

(Allen, 2016a, 2016b; Bennet & Bennet, 2012, in press; Peterson, n.d., 2002)

Same surname, same publication date, different initials

You may have to include initials within in-text citations if multiple entries in the reference list have the same surname of the first author and same publication date, but different initials. This will aid the reader to find out the correct source of the citation. A few examples are listed below for your understanding. “F” and “M” are the first initials of the authors.

Narrative: F. Author Surname (Publication date)

Narrative: M. Author Surname (Publication date)

Parenthetical: (F. Author Surname, Publication date)

Parenthetical: (M. Author Surname, Publication date)

Narrative: G. Beauchamp (2013)

Narrative: L. Beauchamp (2013)

Parenthetical: (G. Beauchamp, 2013)

Parenthetical: (L. Beauchamp, 2013)

Same surname, same initials, same publication date

You may have to include a lowercase letter after the date if you have multiple entries in the reference list with the same surname of the first author, same publication date, and same initials. This will help the reader locate the correct source of a citation. This will help the reader to identify the correct source of the citation. A few examples are listed below for your understanding.

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication date followed by a suffix)

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication date followed by a different suffix)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication date followed by a suffix)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication date followed by a different suffix)

Narrative: Ikehara (2011a)

Narrative: Ikehara (2011b)

Parenthetical: (Ikehara, 2011a)

Parenthetical: (Ikehara, 2011b)

Translated work

Two dates are used for a translated work: publication date of the original work and the publication date of the translated work. Both dates are added to the in-text citations. Add the publication date of the original work first followed by the date of the translated work. Use a slash as a separator between the dates.

Narrative: Author Surname (Original work’s date/Translated work’s date)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Original work’s date/Translated work’s date)

Narrative: Hopkins (1997/1999)

Parenthetical: (Hopkins, 1997/1999)

Personal communication

Works such as telephonic conversation, chat messages, personal interviews, text messages, and emails do not need any source. These are classified under personal communication. It is not possible to get the information again; therefore, they are not included in the reference list. When you want to cite personal communication, use the initials of the authors in the text. Give the exact date of personal communication.

Narrative: Communicator’s name (personal communication, Month Day, Year)

Parenthetical: (Communicator’s name, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

Narrative: T. Kirubakaran (personal communication, May 15, 2005)

Parenthetical: (T. Kirubakaran, personal communication, May 15, 2005)

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• Headings & Headers
• In-text Citations
• Reference Page
• Paper Format
• View APA Formatting Guide

Citation Examples

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🤔 What is an APA Citation Generator?

An APA citation generator is a software tool that will automatically format academic citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) style.

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Formatted citations created by a generator can be copied into the bibliography of an academic paper as a way to give credit to the sources referenced in the main body of the paper.

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College-level and post-graduate students are most likely to use an APA citation generator, because APA style is the most favored style at these learning levels. Before college, in middle and high school, MLA style is more likely to be used. In other parts of the world styles such as Harvard (UK and Australia) and DIN 1505 (Europe) are used more often.

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In academia, bibliographies are graded on their accuracy against the official APA rulebook, so it is important for students to ensure their citations are formatted correctly. Special attention should also be given to ensure the entire document (including main body) is structured according to the APA guidelines. Our complete APA format guide has everything you need know to make sure you get it right (including examples and diagrams).

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MyBib supports the following for APA style:

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Three to Five Authors or Editors

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Book with Three to Five Authors or Editors

The general format below refers to a book with three or more authors.

If you are dealing with a book that has three to five editors instead of authors, you would simply insert the names of the editors into the place where the authors' names are now, followed by "(Eds.)" without the quotation marks (as per the example). The rest of the format would remain the same.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname et al., Year)

NOTE: The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is shortened to the first author's name followed by et al. and the year.

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Author Surname et al., Year, page number)

References:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle . Publisher.

(Johnson et al., 1999)

(Johnson  et al., 1999, p. 72)

Johnson, N. G., Roberts, M. C., & Worell, J. (Eds.). (1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls . American Psychological Association.

Subject Guide

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APA Citation Guidelines (7th Edition): Style & Format

• Style & Format
• Page Formats
• In-text Citations
• Reference Examples
• Sample Paper & Template

About this Page

This page contains information on the style and format of papers according to APA 7th edition using the Concise Guide to APA Style: The Official APA Style for Students .

• APA Style and Grammar Guidelines

APA Style papers should have the same style and size of font throughout the text of the paper (title page to reference page). APA considers the following fonts acceptable: 11- point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern. It is recommended that you check with your instructor to see if they have a preferred font style.

(See section 1.18 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )

The first line of every paragraph in the text of your paper and every reference on your reference page is indented (hit the tab key once). The remaining lines are left flush with the left-hand margin of the paper (this is known as a "hanging indent").

Other Format Guidelines

Page numbers : Title page through reference pages are numbered using Arabic numerals;  place each number in the top right corner of the page.

Running heads: Are NOT required in student papers, but you should still check with your instructor to see if they wish them to be used.

Dashes: APA uses em dashes (long dash) and en dashes (short dash). See section 4.6 of the Concise Guide to APA Style for more information.

Additional Resources

• Heading Levels: Template: Student Papers
• Abbreviations Guide
• Transititions Guide
• Number and Statistics Guide

Other APA Pages

• Style and Format
• In-text citations
• Title and Reference Page Format
• I Want to See A Sample Paper

Lines and Margins

APA Style papers should have double-spaced text throughout the entire paper (including quotations and references). To make your paper double-spaced in Microsoft Word, highlight the text you want double-spaced, and then click Layout . Next, click on the arrow to the right of the word Paragraph (a pop-up appears). From the drop-down menu under Line Spacing , select Double (default choice is Multiple ) and click OK .

APA Style papers use 1 inch margins all around (top to bottom and left to right). Margins in Microsoft Word are set to 1 inch by default. If you are unsure, you can check your margins by clicking Layout, and clicking Margins. Once the drop-down menu appears, make sure Normal is selected to ensure you have 1 inch margins all around your paper.

(See sections 1.20 and 1.21 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )

APA Style recommends ONE space after a period when the period ends a sentence, separates parts of a reference list entry, or follows initials in names (J.B. Jones).

Do NOT put a space after a period when the period is part of an internal abbreviations (U.S. or a.m.)

Do NOT use periods for the abbreviation of state, province, or territory names (AZ; KS; BC); capital letter abbreviations and acronyms (APA, AMA, EPA); for abbreviations of academic degrees (PhD, MD, DO); or for abbreviations of metric and nonmetric measurements (cm, hr, kg,). Note: Use a period when abbreviating "inch" or "inches" (in.) or else it could be misread.

(See sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )

Sentence Case vs. Title Case

Sentence case is where most words in a sentence are going to be lower case.

The EXCEPTIONS are the first word in a title, heading, or sub-title ; proper nouns ; the first word after an em dash, semi-colon, or end punctuation; and any noun followed by a letter or number.

Title case is where major words are capitalized while minor words are lower case.

In APA style, major words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, or any word that is four letters or longer.

Minor words are articles, short prepositions, and conjunctions that are three letters or less.

(See section 5.7 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )

Paraphrasing

Refers to restating someone else's ideas or findings into your own words. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize information from one or more sources, compare and contrast information from multiple sources, and focus on the most important information from each source.

It is BEST to paraphrase information whenever possible rather than using direct quotations.

Paraphrased information must be cited in-text with either a parenthetical or narrative citation.

(See sections 8.23 and 8.24 of the Concise Guide to APA Style)

Reproduce words EXACTLY as written from another work (including your own). Quotations are best used in papers for when you want to reproduce an exact definition, when an author of a work has said something memorable, or when you want to respond to the exact wording (something someone said) from an author in your paper.

When not using a quotation for one of the above reasons, it is best to paraphrase information. Additionally, you should check with your instructor to see if they limit the number of quotations you are allowed to use.

Quotations must be cited in-text with either a parenthetical or narrative citation.

Short quotations consist of 40 words or less and should be incorporated into the text of your paper with quotation marks.

Long quotations consists of 40 words or more and do not use quotations marks. Instead, they should be incorporated into your paper as a block quotation. Block quotations begin on a new line, are double-spaced, and are indented 0.5 inches from the left hand margin of your paper.

(See sections 8.25 - 8.33 of the Concise Guide to APA Style)

Heading Levels

Heading Levels or "headings" are a way to organize information in APA papers and convey it clearly ( think of headings as "sections" and "subsections"). There are five levels of headings in APA Style, although for undergraduates it is rare to need to go past a Level 2 headings. If you are unsure if you need to use headings, check with your instructor.

Note: Do NOT label an introduction as "Introduction" in APA papers. The title of your paper acts as a de facto Level 1 Heading.

(See section 1.26 of the Concise Guide to APA Style)

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APA Reference

• General Information
• Authors/Titles
• Print Articles
• Electronic Articles
• In-Text Citing
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Welcome to the APA section of the Toolkit.  This section of the toolkit was created to help you with your APA questions.  Please use the following  tabs  to navigate different sections of the toolkit.

Basic APA: This tab contains the basic information on setting up your paper.  This includes general guidelines, using the right font style, size, spacing and your title page

Authors/Editors & Titles :  This tab provides information on the rules of APA in regards to using author/editor names and titles.

Books :  This tab will give you APA information on how to create citations for books that you have used.

Print Articles :  This tab will provide APA information  on how to write citations for print articles that you have used.

Electronic Articles :  This tab will provide APA information  on how to write citations for electronic articles that you have used.

In-Text Citations :  This tab was developed to give you information on how to create proper APA in-text citations as well as provide some examples.

Reference List :  This tab will provide you with information on how to properly create a reference citation list.

• Formatting a Word Document Using APA Style Adopted from Lone Star College – University Park Library
• Sample Student Paper Lone Star College
• Changes in APA 7th Ed.
• APA Template in Word

Setting up your paper

Fonts : APA prefers papers to be written in Times New Roman 12 pt.

Margins : Your margins should be set to 1 inch.

Page Numbers : Page numbers are required and should be place in the document header, right side.

Spacing : Your entire document should be double-spaced.

The Title Page

Title : Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page.  APA recommends that your title be no more than 12 words in length and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose.  All text on your title page should be double-spaced.

Author's name :  Beneath your title should be the author's name: first name, middle initial, and last name.  Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD).

Institutional Affiliation :  Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation.

Running head : A running head is a shortened version of the title and should be located in the document header, all in uppercase letters.

Page Numbers :  Page numbers should be located in the document header, flush right.  The title page is considered page 1.

Author & Editor Information

• You should include all authors up to 7 according to APA standards.
• If there are more than 8 authors you list the first 6, then put three ellipses and then add the last author
• Use initials for the first and middle names of authors.
• All named are to be inverted (last name, first initial).
• Separate the authors' names using a comma and use the & symbol before the last author is listed.
• If there is no author listed, the item title moves in front of the publication date and is used.
• Book and journal titles are  italicized.
• Book chapter titles and article titles are plainly written.  They are NOT italicized, underlined or place in quotation marks.
• For journal titles, the entire title (except for a, an, and, etc.) are capitalized. 
• For both book titles, book chapter titles, and article titles only the first word of the title, a sub-title or a proper nounr is to capitalized.

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (book title, American Psychological Association is a proper noun so it is capitalized)

Individualized sleep promotion in acute care hospitals: Identifying factors that affect patient sleep ( article title, Identifying is the first world of a sub-title so it is capitalized)

Applied Nursing Research (journal title)

Journal of Research in Nursing (journal title, notice the common word "of" and "in" are not capitalized)

Print Books

To write a citation for a book you need the following pieces of information:

• Author or editors
• Year of publication
• Book title, including edition information
• Publication information (city, state and publishing company)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication).  Title of book: Subtitle if given 

       (edition of book if given and is not the first edition). Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name.

Book in Print with One Author:

Watson, J. (2012)  Human caring science: A theory of nursing  (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Book in Print with Two to Seven Authors:

Manzo, A. V., Manzo, U.C., & Thomas, M. M. (2005).  Content area literacy  (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Author's Last Name, First Iniital. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given).

           Retrieved from Database Name database.

eBook from a library database with One Author:

Waldau, P. (2010).  Animal Rights: What everyone needs to know.  Retrieved from eBook collection (EBSCOhost)database.

eBook from a library database with Two to Seven Authors

Simpson, M.T., Backman, K., & Corley, J.E. (2012).  Hands-on ethical hacking and network defense.  Retrieved from Safari Books Online database.

Print Journal Articles

To write a citation for a printed journal article you need the following information:

• Article title
• Journal title
• Volume number
• Issue Number
• Page numbers

Author's Last Name, First Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if Given.  Name of Journal, 

      Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number.

Print Article with One Author:

Jungers, W.L. (2010) Biomechanics: Barefoot running strikes back.  Nature (2), 433-435. 

Print Article with Eight or More Authors:

Chan, S.S., Chan., W., Cheng, Y., Fung, O. M., Lai, T.H., Leung, A. K., & ... Pang, S. C. (2010). Development and escalation of an undergraduate

     training course for developing international council of nurses disaster nursing competencies in China.  Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42 (4),

     405-413.

Electronic Journals

Electronic articles are articles that you find the full-text online via our library databases or through other sources like GoogleScholar.  The citations to electronic articles are similar to print article, however you will need additional information in your citation.  This includes adding a url to the end of your citation that is NOT hyperlinked.  You will also NOT add a period at the end of your citation with a DOI.

To write a citation for an electronic journal article you need the following information:

• DOI number or URL of the journal 

​Journal Article From Library Database with DOI - One Author

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if Given.  Name of Journal, Volume Number

           (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. doi: doi number

Bailey, N.W. (2012). Evolutionary models of extended phenotypes.  Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 27 (3),

       561-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2012.05.011

Journal Article From Library Database with No DOI - One Author

           (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. Retrieved from Name of Database.

Carlisle, D. (2012). In the line of fire.  Nursing Standard, 26 (39), 18-19. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.

Writing in-text citations 

In-text citations are citations that you include within the body of the paper you are writing.  APA states that the proper way to do an in-text citation is to use the author-date method.  Your in-text citations must reflect you reference list.  This page of the toolkit was created to cover the very basics of an APA in-text citation.  For more examples and elaborate instructions please refer to chapter 6 of the APA Manual.

There are two main ways of which you can write an in-text citation:

Author's name as part of the sentence followed by the year in parentheses.

According to Neville (2017) medical residents...

Place both the author's information and the publication year in parentheses.

Empowering girls through education can be effective in preventing child marriage and can foster change relatively quickly (Lee-Rife, Malhotra, Warner, & Glinski, 2012).​

Other in-text citation styles

Paraphrased with One or Multiple Authors

When you paraphrase ideas from another author's text you still need to cite it properly.  What is required of you is to cite the author and year of publication.  Your instructor may also require you to list the page number of where the idea originated.  

One Author Example :

An increase in intensity and duration with good glycemic control does play a vital role in regulating glucose and doing so decreases the risk for exercise-induced hypoglycemia (Aljawarneh, 2019).

Two author example:

An increase in intensity and duration with good glycemic control does play a vital role in regulating glucose and doing so decreases the risk for exercise-induced hypoglycemia (Aljawarneh & Wardell, 2019).

Three or more authors example:

An increase in intensity and duration with good glycemic control does play a vital role in regulating glucose and doing so decreases the risk for exercise-induced hypoglycemia (Aljawarneh et al., 2019).

Creating a Reference List

It is required to follow the following instructions in order to make a proper APA reference list:

• Reference list should be double spaced
• Indent the second and subsequent lines of citation
• Arrange the reference list alphabetically by author's last name
• Make sure to list all the authors on a particular citation (do not use et al. on a reference list)
• The & symbol should be used before listing the last author
• Italicize journal, magazine, book titles and the volume number
• Only capitalize the first word of a title, subtitle, or proper noun in book, book chapter, or article titles
• Make sure to properly format the citation if its a print or electronic journal 
• Up to 20 authors can now be included in a reference list entry before needing to omit others with an ellpsis.

Below is a PDF of an example of an APA reference page

• APA References Example
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Article Denmark: Majority of Parties in Parliament Agree to Rules on Deepfake Content

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On June 3, 2024, a majority of parties in the Danish Parliament announced that they had agreed to general terms on artificial intelligence use by parliamentary parties, in particular the use of deepfake photos and sound.

The agreement was signed by the Social Democrats, Liberal, Denmark Democrats, Green Left, Moderate, Conservative People’s, Red-Green Alliance, Danish Social Liberal, and Alternative parties. The Danish People’s Party and the Liberal Alliance Party declined to join the agreement , arguing that it restricts “the ordinary satire and humor that is used in politics.” Members of the Danish People’s Party previously created a video featuring the Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen that became the impetus for negotiating a deepfake agreement.

The agreement states that its purpose is “[t]o protect democratic dialogue while at the same time preserving the right to express oneself and the opportunity to use politically satire,” while ensuring that the voters are not deceived or misinformed.

The parties undertake to inform and hold their entire organizations, including youth organizations tied to the parties, informed of and accountable under the agreement. (¶ 1.)

In accordance with the agreement, the parties undertake to only use deepfakes of politicians from another political party when that politician has given his or her specific consent. Politicians are still allowed to make deepfakes of themselves or members of their own party, provided the political colleague is informed of the deepfake. (¶ 1.)

Moreover, any deepfake media must contain a label stating that the media is a deepfake, for example, by including language stating that “this video is false and created with the help of artificial intelligence.” (¶ 2.)

Per the agreement, any disagreement between the signatory parties on whether the agreement has been violated must first be addressed directly between the disagreeing parties, to ensure continued support for the agreement. (¶ 3.)

The parties also agreed to work to create a general code of conduct on the responsible use of artificial intelligence as part of political activity. The general code will be incorporated into and update the gentleman’s agreement on fake news that all Danish Parliament parties signed as part of the 2019 election.

Elin Hofverberg, Law Library of Congress July 1, 2024

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• Denmark: Majority of Parties in Parliament Agree to Rules on Deepfake Content

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Publications of the Library of Congress are works of the United States Government as defined in the  United States Code 17 U.S.C. §105  and therefore are not subject to copyright and are free to use and reuse.  The Library of Congress has no objection to the international use and reuse of Library U.S. Government works on  loc.gov . These works are also available for worldwide use and reuse under CC0 1.0 Universal. 

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For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Credit Line: Law Library of Congress

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Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Hofverberg, Elin. Denmark: Majority of Parties in Parliament Agree to Rules on Deepfake Content . 2024. Web Page. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2024-06-30/denmark-majority-of-parties-in-parliament-agree-to-rules-on-deepfake-content/.

APA citation style:

Hofverberg, E. (2024) Denmark: Majority of Parties in Parliament Agree to Rules on Deepfake Content . [Web Page] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2024-06-30/denmark-majority-of-parties-in-parliament-agree-to-rules-on-deepfake-content/.

MLA citation style:

Hofverberg, Elin. Denmark: Majority of Parties in Parliament Agree to Rules on Deepfake Content . 2024. Web Page. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2024-06-30/denmark-majority-of-parties-in-parliament-agree-to-rules-on-deepfake-content/>.

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Generation of genetically modified Friedreich's ataxia induced pluripotent stem cell lines and isogenic control lines carrying an inducible neurogenin-2 expression cassette

Affiliations.

• 1 School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
• 2 Department of Neurology, O'Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
• 3 Department of Neurology, O'Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
• 4 School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
• PMID: 38936158
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scr.2024.103477

Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is a rare neurodegenerative disease caused by an expansion of a GAA repeat sequence within the Frataxin (FXN) gene. Prominent regions of neurodegeneration include sensory neurons within the dorsal root ganglia. Here we present a set of genetically modified FRDA induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines that carry an inducible neurogenin-2 (NGN2) expression cassette. Exogenous expression of NGN2 in iPSC derived neural crest progenitors efficiently generates functionally mature sensory neurons. These cell lines will provide a streamlined source of FRDA iPSC sensory neurons for studying both disease mechanism and screening potential therapeutics.

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: M Dottori collaborates with Dmitry A. Ovchinnikov, who is an editor for Stem Cell Research. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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• Generation and characterization of iPSC lines from Friedreich's ataxia patient (FRDA) with GAA.TTC repeat expansion in the Frataxin (FXN) gene's first intron (IGIBi016-A) and a non-FRDA healthy control individual (IGIBi017-A). Ahmad I, Kamai A, Zahra S, Kapoor H, Kumar Srivastava A, Faruq M. Ahmad I, et al. Stem Cell Res. 2024 Jun;77:103382. doi: 10.1016/j.scr.2024.103382. Epub 2024 Mar 11. Stem Cell Res. 2024. PMID: 38484450
• Generation and characterization of two human iPSC lines, IGIBi014-A and IGIBi015-A, from Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) patients with pathogenic (GAA/TTC)n repeat expansion in first intron of the Frataxin (FXN) gene. Ahmad I, Kapoor H, Kumar Srivastava A, Faruq M. Ahmad I, et al. Stem Cell Res. 2024 Feb;74:103289. doi: 10.1016/j.scr.2023.103289. Epub 2023 Dec 16. Stem Cell Res. 2024. PMID: 38141359
• Advantages and Limitations of Gene Therapy and Gene Editing for Friedreich's Ataxia. Sivakumar A, Cherqui S. Sivakumar A, et al. Front Genome Ed. 2022 May 17;4:903139. doi: 10.3389/fgeed.2022.903139. eCollection 2022. Front Genome Ed. 2022. PMID: 35663795 Free PMC article. Review.
• Progress in understanding Friedreich's ataxia using human induced pluripotent stem cells. Schreiber AM, Misiorek JO, Napierala JS, Napierala M. Schreiber AM, et al. Expert Opin Orphan Drugs. 2019;7(2):81-90. doi: 10.1080/21678707.2019.1562334. Epub 2019 Jan 9. Expert Opin Orphan Drugs. 2019. PMID: 30828501 Free PMC article.
• Increasing frataxin gene expression with histone deacetylase inhibitors as a therapeutic approach for Friedreich's ataxia. Gottesfeld JM, Rusche JR, Pandolfo M. Gottesfeld JM, et al. J Neurochem. 2013 Aug;126 Suppl 1(0 1):147-54. doi: 10.1111/jnc.12302. J Neurochem. 2013. PMID: 23859350 Free PMC article. Review.

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In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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

Note:  This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .

APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

Citing an Author or Authors

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

A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Six or More Authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

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

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

Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.

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

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works from the same author, list the years of publication in sequence, with the earliest first. Provide in-press citations last. Only list authors' surnames once for each list of dates. 

Following this pattern, multiple works from multiple authors can be contained within a single parenthetical. Separate authors' sources with a semicolon. Note, however, that the authors' names should be provided in the order they appear in the reference list regardless of when their sources were published.

Authors With the Same Last Name: To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

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

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

(Funk & Kolln, 1992)

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

Citing Indirect Sources

If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses.

Note: When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above. Also, try to locate the original material and cite the original source.

Electronic Sources

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

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

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading. Note that in some electronic sources, like webpages, people can use the "find" function in their browser to locate any passages you cite.

Note: Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination.

Other Sources

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

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

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the APA Manual . In cases like this, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.