APA’s in-text citations provide the author’s last name and the year of publication, usually before the cited material, and a page number in parentheses directly after the cited material. In the following models, the elements of the in-text citation are highlighted.
note: APA style requires the use of the past tense or the present perfect tense in signal phrases introducing cited material: Smith (2012) reported, Smith (2012) has argued.
Directory to APA in-text citation models
1. Basic format for a quotation Ordinarily, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author’s last name followed by the year of publication in parentheses. Put the page number (preceded by “p.”) in parentheses after the quotation. For sources from the Web without page numbers, see item 12a.
Critser (2003) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young” (p. 5).
If the author is not named in the signal phrase, place the author’s name, the year, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation: (Critser, 2003, p. 5). (See items 6 and 12 for citing sources that lack authors; item 12 also explains how to handle sources without dates or page numbers.)
note: Do not include a month in an in-text citation, even if the entry in the reference list includes the month.
2. Basic format for a summary or a paraphrase As for a quotation (see item 1), include the author’s last name and the year either in a signal phrase introducing the material or in parentheses following it. Use a page number, if one is available, following the cited material to help your readers find the passage in the work. For sources from the Web without page numbers, see item 12a.
Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) explained that sibutramine suppresses appetite by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain (p. 594).
Sibutramine suppresses appetite by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain (Yanovski& Yanovski, 2002, p. 594).
3. Work with two authors Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. In the parentheses, use “&” between the authors’ names; in the signal phrase, use “and.”
According to Sothern and Gordon (2003), “Environmental factors may contribute as much as 80% to the causes of childhood obesity” (p. 104).
Obese children often engage in limited physical activity (Sothern &Gordon, 2003, p. 104).
4. Work with three to five authors Identify all authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source.
In 2003, Berkowitz, Wadden, Tershakovec, and Cronquist concluded, “Sibutramine . . . must be carefully monitored in adolescents, as in adults, to control increases in [blood pressure] and pulse rate” (p. 1811).
In subsequent citations, use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in either the signal phrase or the parentheses.
As Berkowitz et al. (2003) advised, “Until more extensive safety and efficacy data are available, . . . weight-loss medications should be used only on an experimental basis for adolescents” (p. 1811).
5. Work with six or more authors Use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in the signal phrase or in parentheses.
McDuffie et al. (2002) tested 20 adolescents, aged 12-16, over a three-month period and found that orlistat, combined with behavioral therapy, produced an average weight loss of 4.4 kg, or 9.7 pounds (p. 646).
6. Work with unknown author If the author is unknown, mention the work’s title in the signal phrase or give the first word or two of the title in the parenthetical citation. Titles of short works such as articles are put in quotation marks; titles of long works such as books and reports are italicized.
Children struggling to control their weight must also struggle with the pressures of television advertising that, on the one hand, encourages the consumption of junk food and, on the other, celebrates thin celebrities (“Television,” 2002).
note: In the rare case when “Anonymous” is specified as the author, treat it as if it were a real name: (Anonymous, 2001). In the list of references, also use the name Anonymous as author.
7. Organization as author If the author is an organization or a government agency, name the organization in the signal phrase or in the parentheses the first time you cite the source.
Obesity puts children at risk for a number of medical complications, including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and orthopedic problems (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004, p. 1).
If the organization has a familiar abbreviation, you may include it in brackets the first time you cite the source and use the abbreviation alone in later citations.
| first citation | (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012) |
| later citations | (CDC, 2012) |
8. Authors with the same last name To avoid confusion if your reference list includes two or more authors with the same last name, use initials with the last names in your in-text citations.
Research by E. Smith (1989) revealed that . . .
One 2012 study contradicted . . . (R. Smith, p. 234).
9. Two or more works by the same author in the same year When your list of references includes more than one work by the same author in the same year, you will use lowercase letters (“a,” “b,” and so on) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. (See item 8 on p. 695.) Use those same letters with the year in the in-text citation.
Research by Durgin (2003b) has yielded new findings about the role of counseling in treating childhood obesity.
10. Two or more works in the same parentheses When your parenthetical citation names two or more works, put them in the same order that they appear in the reference list, separated with semicolons.
Researchers have indicated that studies of pharmacological treatments for childhood obesity are inconclusive (Berkowitz et al., 2003; McDuffie et al., 2002).
11. Multiple citations to the same work in one paragraph If you give the author’s name in the text of your paper (not in parentheses) and you mention that source again in the text of the same paragraph, give only the author’s name, not the date, in the later citation. If any subsequent reference in the same paragraph is in parentheses, include both the author and the date in the parentheses.
Principal Jean Patrice said, “You have to be able to reach students where they are instead of making them come to you. If you don’t, you’ll lose them” (personal communication, April 10, 2006). Patrice expressed her desire to see all students get something out of their educational experience. This feeling is common among members of Waverly’s faculty. With such a positive view of student potential, it is no wonder that 97% of Waverly High School graduates go on to a four-year university (Patrice, 2006).
12. Web source When possible, cite sources from the Web as you would cite any other source, giving the author and the year.
Atkinson (2001) found that children who spent at least four hours a day watching TV were less likely to engage in adequate physical activity during the week.
Usually a page number is not available; occasionally a Web source will lack an author or a date (see 12a, 12b, and 12c below).
a. No page numbers When a Web source lacks stable numbered pages, include paragraph numbers or headings to help readers locate the passage being cited.
If the source has numbered paragraphs, use the paragraph number preceded by the abbreviation “para.”: (Hall, 2012, para. 5). If the source has no numbered paragraphs but contains headings, cite the appropriate heading in parentheses; you may also indicate which paragraph under the heading you are referring to, even if the paragraphs are not numbered.
Hoppin and Taveras (2004) pointed out that several other medications were classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as having the “potential for abuse” (Weight-Loss Drugs section, para. 6).
note: For PDF documents that have stable page numbers, give the page number in the parenthetical citation.
b. Unknown author If no author is named in the source, mention the title of the source in a signal phrase or give the first word or two of the title in parentheses (see also item 6). (If an organization serves as the author, see item 7.)
The body’s basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a measure of its at-rest energy requirement (“Exercise,” 2003).
c. Unknown date When the source does not give a date, use the abbreviation “n.d.” (for “no date”).
Attempts to establish a definitive link between television programming and children’s eating habits have been problematic (Magnus, n.d.).
13. An entire Web site If you are citing an entire Web site, not an internal page or a section, give the URL in the text of your paper but do not include it in the reference list.
The U.S. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion website (http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/) provides useful information about diet and nutrition for children and adults.
14. Multivolume work If you have used more than one volume from a multivolume work, add the volume number in parentheses with the page number.
Banford (2009) has demonstrated stable weight loss over time from a combination of psychological counseling, exercise, and nutritional planning (Volume 2, p. 135).
15. Personal communication Interviews that you conduct, memos, letters, e-mail messages, social media posts, and similar communications that would be difficult for your readers to retrieve should be cited in the text only, not in the reference list. (Use the first initial with the last name in parentheses.)
One of Atkinson’s colleagues, who has studied the effect of the media on children’s eating habits, has contended that advertisers for snack foods will need to design ads responsibly for their younger viewers (F. Johnson, personal communication, October 20, 2013).
16. Course materials Cite lecture notes from your instructor or your own class notes as personal communication (see item 15). If your instructor distributes or posts materials that contain publication information, cite as you would the appropriate source (for instance, an article, a section in a Web document, or a video). See also item 65 in 61b.
17. Part of a source (chapter, figure) To cite a specific part of a source, such as a whole chapter or a figure or table, identify the element in parentheses. Don’t abbreviate terms such as “Figure,” “Chapter,” and “Section”; “page” is always abbreviated “p.” (or “pp.” for more than one page).
The data support the finding that weight loss stabilizes with consistent therapy and ongoing monitoring (Hanniman, 2010, Figure 8-3, p. 345).
18. Indirect source When a writer’s or a speaker’s quoted words appear in a source written by someone else, begin the parenthetical citation with the words “as cited in.” In the following example, Critser is the author of the source given in the reference list; that source contains a quotation by Satcher.
Former surgeon general Dr. David Satcher described “a nation of young people seriously at risk of starting out obese and dooming themselves to the difficult task of overcoming a tough illness” (as cited in Critser, 2003, p. 4).
19. Sacred or classical text Identify the text, the version or edition you used, and the relevant part (chapter, verse, line). It is not necessary to include the source in the reference list.
Peace activists have long cited the biblical prophet’s vision of a world without war: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4, Revised Standard Version).
hackerhandbooks.com/bedhandbook