APA GENERAL FORMAT: IN-TEXT CITATIONS | FORMAT

An In-Text Citation is basically a short citation that appears in the main body or text of the paper. It helps anyone who reads the paper locate the cited work in the References section at the end of the paper.

In-Text Citations are covered in Sections 8.10–8.36 of the APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition

• APA uses the author-date citation system.
• Each in-text citation must have a corresponding entry in the References section and vice versa, each entry in the References section must be cited in the text of the paper.
• In-text citations can be narrative or parenthetical.
• If paraphrasing, use the narrative or parenthetical citation format to cite the original work.

In-Text Citations

Author–Date Citation System

Paraphrasing

Parenthetical Versus Narrative

Example of a parenthetical in-text citation:

The archetype of the outsider was personified in the Star Trek character of Mr. Spock (Roddenberry, 2001).

Example of a narrative in-text citation:

According to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (2001), the archetype of the outsider was personified in the character of Mr. Spock.

How to Cite a specific part of a source (e.g., page number, chapter, table, figure, paragraphs, etc.)

• Cite the specific part (page number, chapter, etc.) after the date: (Roddenberry, 2001, p. 14) or (APA, 2010, Chapter 6)

Citing Specific Parts of a Source

• If page numbers are not available, provide another way for the reader to locate the cited material.

For example, if paragraph numbers are present, use in place of page numbers. Use the abbreviation: para.

Example: (Roddenberry, para. 17)

• If there are headings but no page or paragraph numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph (you will need to count paragraphs and apply a number).

Example: (Roddenberry, 2001, Introduction, para. 2)

• If there are no page or paragraph numbers and the heading is too long to cite in full, use a shortened version of the heading enclosed in quotation marks for the parenthetical citation.

Example: (Roddenberry, 2001, "Aliens as Humans," para. 5)

The format of in-text citations can change depending on the number of authors being cited.

• Two authors
  • Cite both author names every time the source is mentioned in the text.
  • Use an “and” between the author names when using a narrative citation and use an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation.
    Examples:
    Narrative In-text citation: The study by Jones and Eckle (2008) suggested . . .
    Parenthetical In-text citation: (Jones & Eckle, 2008) 
• Three or more authors
  • In sources with three or more authors, only include the name of the first author followed by “et al.” in every citation (including the first citation).
    Examples:
    Narrative In-text citation: As Franklin et al. (2010) found. . .
    Parenthetical In-text citation: (Franklin et al., 2010)

Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations is covered in Sections 8.17 of the APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition

Number of Authors to Include in In-Text Citations

Parenthetical Versus Narrative

In comparison, note how the author element is formatted in a reference list entry