Library Guides: APA Quick Citation Guide: In-text Citation (2024)

FAQs

How to do a full APA citation to an in text citation? ›

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).

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

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

In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8). If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks.

Try to make it clear in each following sentence if it is still coming from the same source, using phrases like "According to", "They also state...", "That article concludes...". If it is clear, you don't need to repeat the in-text citation for those sentences.

Last name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine/Journal/Newspaper Title, Volume number(Issue number), Page numbers of the entire article.

You should provide an in-text citation whenever you quote, paraphrase or summarize research and ideas that are not your own. This may include theories, best practice guidelines, and of course, statistics. You should also cite whenever you present a fact that is not common knowledge.

Citation template

Author last name, Author first name initial. (Year published). Textbook title (Edition, pages used). Publisher.

Can text citations be in the middle of a sentence APA? ›

A reference or citation can be positioned at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence.

The rule of thumb is to cite the very first sentence, make it clear you are still talking about the same work in your subsequent sentences (for example, "The study noted that..."), and then confirm you are still talking about the work by including another citation at the end (if this has continued for several sentences ...

If you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. For example, (Burnside, 2016, p. 199).

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.

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

Number of Authors to Include in In-text Citations

For a work with one or two authors, include the author name(s) in every citation. For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation, including the first citation, unless doing so would create ambiguity.

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"). Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).