APA FORMAT

Referencing Basics: In-Text Citation

Sources: - https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide

- https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/
apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html

APA Citation Basics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound

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

SHORT QUOTATIONS

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

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

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

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199);
what implications does this have for teachers?
If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's
last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the
quotation.

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p.
199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

LONG QUOTATIONS

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of

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

A screenshot of a generic example below.

 Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

QUOTATIONS FROM SOURCES WITHOUT PAGES

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page
number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a
chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like
religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In
short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.
Jones (1998) found a variety of causes for student dissatisfaction with
prevailing citation practices (paras. 4–5).

A meta-analysis of available literature (Jones, 1998) revealed inconsistency

across large-scale studies of student learning (Table 3).

SUMMARY OR PARAPHRASE

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

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-
time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p.
199).

In-text references must be included following the use of a quote or paraphrase taken
from another piece of work.

In-text citations are citations within the main body of the text and refer to a direct quote
or paraphrase. They correspond to a reference in the main reference list. These
citations include the surname of the author and date of publication only. Using an
example author James Mitchell, this takes the form:

Mitchell (2017) states… Or …(Mitchell, 2017).

The structure of this changes depending on whether a direct quote or parenthetical

used:

 Direct Quote: The citation must follow the quote directly and contain a page
number after the date, for example (Mitchell, 2017, p.104). This rule holds for all
the variations listed.
 Parenthetical: The page number is not needed.

Two Authors:

The surname of both authors is stated with either ‘and’ or an ampersand between. For
example:
Mitchell and Smith (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell & Smith, 2017).

Three, Four or Five Authors:

For the first cite, all names should be listed:

Mitchell, Smith, and Thomson (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell, Smith, & Thomson, 2017).

Further cites can be shorted to the first author’s name followed by et al:

Mitchell et al (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell et al, 2017).

Six or More Authors:

Only the first author’s surname should be stated followed by et al, see the above
example.

No Authors:

If the author is unknown, the first few words of the reference should be used. This is
usually the title of the source.

If this is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or report, is should be italicised. For
example:

(A guide to citation, 2017).

If this is the title of an article, chapter, or web page, it should be in quotation marks. For
example:

(“APA Citation”, 2017).

Citing Authors With Multiple Works From One Year:

Works should be cited with a, b, c etc following the date. These letters are assigned
within the reference list, which is sorted alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
For example:

(Mitchell, 2017a) Or (Mitchell, 2017b).

Citing Multiple Works in One Parentheses:

If these works are by the same author, the surname is stated once followed by the dates
in order chronologically. For instance:
Mitchell (2007, 2013, 2017) Or (Mitchell, 2007, 2013, 2017)

If these works are by multiple authors then the references are ordered alphabetically by
the first author separated by a semicolon as follows:

(Mitchell & Smith 2017; Thomson, Coyne, & Davis, 2015).

Citing a Group or Organisation:

For the first cite, the full name of the group must be used. Subsequently this can be
shortened. For example:

First cite: (International Citation Association, 2015)

Further Cites: (Citation Association, 2015)

Citing a Secondary Source:

In this situation the original author and date should be stated first followed by ‘as cited
in’ followed by the author and date of the secondary source. For example:

Lorde (1980) as cited in Mitchell (2017) Or (Lorde, 1980, as cited in Mitchell, 2017)

Authors with the same last name

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

(E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)

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.
(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).

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

1. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA
style (personal communication, November 3, 2002).

Citing indirect sources

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

Johnson argued that... (as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

(Johnson, 1985, as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

Electronic sources

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

Kenneth (2000) explained...

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").

Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students

succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).
Sources without page numbers

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

According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind Over Matter section, para. 6).

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

Other sources

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

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