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

FAQs

How to do APA in text citations? ›

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).

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.

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).

An in-text citation in APA style requires 2-3 parts. The first is the name of the author(s), the second is the year of publication, and the third (required only if directly quoting) is a locator--often a page, page range, or paragraph number.

Include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference. 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. For example, Smith (2019) demonstrated how to "..." (p. 112).

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

For the in-text citation, include the author and year of both the original and secondary sources. Add "as cited in" between the sources in the in-text citation. For example, (Smith, 2015, as cited in Jonson, 2019).

QuillBot's Citation Generator can quickly and easily create references for books, articles, and web pages in APA, MLA, Chicago, and many more styles. Follow the simple steps below to create, edit, and export both in-text and full citations for your source material.

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required).

Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of the publishing company, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object Identifier). A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and how the information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.

How to cite APA for dummies? ›

Basic Formats -

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication).

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

There are two types of in-text citations in APA format: parenthetical and narrative. Parenthetical citations include the author(s) and the date of publication within parentheses. Narrative citations intertwine the author as part of the sentence with the date of publication (in parentheses) following.

An in-text citation is a citation within your writing that shows where you found your information, facts, quotes, and research. All APA in-text citations require the same basic information: Author's last name (no first names or initials) Year of publication (or “n.d.”

An APA in-text citation consists of the author's last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). If you're citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170).

The parenthetical citation should contain the person's name, the phrase “personal communication,” and the date of the communication. Examples of properly formatted in-text citations for personal communications: (T. Smith, personal communication, February 25, 2014).

In Text Citations

Both APA and MLA cite sources within a paper by using parenthetical, in-text references. MLA uses the author's last name and the page number as reference. APA uses the author's last name and the year of publication. If a direct quote is used, APA requires author's name, year, and page number.