In-Text Citations: The Basics
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual ( i.e., APA 7 ), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here .
citation citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.
Note: On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or show arrant tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature recapitulation and routine descriptions ( for exemplar, Jones ( 1998 ) found or Jones ( 1998 ) has found … ). Contexts early than traditionally-structured research write may permit the simple present tense ( for exemplar, Jones ( 1998 ) finds ) .
APA Citation Basics
When using APA format, follow the author-date method acting of in-text citation. This means that the generator ‘s death name and the class of publication for the generator should appear in the text, like, for model, ( Jones, 1998 ). One complete address for each generator should appear in the address list at the end of the paper .
If you are referring to an idea from another ferment but NOT immediately quoting the material, or making character to an entire record, article or other sour, you only have to make reference to the generator and year of issue and not the page count in your in-text reference .
On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another knead, you should include the page act at the end of the parenthetical expression citation. Use the abbreviation “ p. ” ( for one page ) or “ pp. ” ( for multiple pages ) before listing the page act ( south ). 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 .
careless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference book tilt 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 style will be capitalized : Writing newfangled 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 immediately quoting from a make, you will need to include the writer, year of publication, and page act 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 writer ‘s survive name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
Read more: How To Do a Smokey Eye
According to Jones ( 1998 ), “ students much had difficulty using APA style, specially when it was their first clock ” ( p. 199 ) .
Jones ( 1998 ) found “ students much had difficulty using APA style ” ( p. 199 ) ; what implications does this have for teachers ?
If you do not include the writer ’ s list in the text of the sentence, invest the generator ‘s last name, the year of publication, and the page count 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 blocking of type lines and neglect quotation marks. Start the quotation on a modern line, indented 1/2 edge from the leave margin, i.e., in the lapp place you would begin a newly paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the newfangled allowance, and indent the first telephone line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 edge from the raw margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an excess blank line before or after it. The parenthetical expression citation should come after the close punctuation target .
Because block quotation format is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL ‘s subject management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic model below .
Quotations from sources without pages
lead quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. alternatively, you may reference another legitimate identify component : a paragraph, a chapter total, a part numeral, a table number, or something else. Older works ( like religious texts ) can besides incorporate limited placement identifiers like verse numbers. In short : pick a substitute for page numbers that makes common sense for your beginning .
Jones ( 1998 ) found a assortment of causes for scholar dissatisfaction with prevail citation practices ( paras. 4–5 ) .
A meta-analysis of available literature ( Jones, 1998 ) revealed incompatibility across large-scale studies of student eruditeness ( postpone 3 ).
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Summary or paraphrase
If you are paraphrasing an mind from another shape, you only have to make reference to the author and year of issue in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page compass for a compendious or paraphrase when it will help the lector find the data in a longer exploit .
According to Jones ( 1998 ), APA style is a unmanageable citation format for first-time learners .
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners ( Jones, 1998, p. 199 ) .