APA Format: In-Text Citations
This handout is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition,
2019.
Writers incorporate researched information into papers in three ways: paraphrase, summary, and quotation.
All three uses require citation to do the following:
• Identify the sources used in the paper.
• Direct the reader to the alphabetical list of References.
• Clearly distinguish the writer’s own ideas from information taken from sources.
For general references to periodicals, common software, or common apps, no in-text citation is needed. When
referencing an entire website, provide its URL in a parenthetical citation.
For Paraphrases and Summaries, cite references in text with (author, year). The page or paragraph is
optional, but can be helpful.
• For references with one or two authors, give the last name(s) and date in the citation. If the citation is in
parentheses, use the ampersand (&) rather than the word and. Keep author and year information together.
One study (Svartvik & Leech, 2006) has suggested that…
Svartvik and Leech (2006) have suggested that…
One study has suggested that ……. (Svartvik & Leech, 2006).
• For three or more authors, give the first author’s last name and then the Latin abbreviation et al., followed by
the date.
The data of Fitzpatrick et al. (2016) supported the argument that…
Data from the most recent research study (Fitzpatrick et al., 2016) also indicated…
• If you cite a work without an author, cite the first few words of the title and the year. Use “quotation marks”
around the title of an article or chapter; italicize the title of a book, brochure, or report.
…free medical care (“Study Finds,” 2004).
The book Breaking Through: College Reading (1999) advised…
• Multiple citations in parentheses are placed alphabetically, separated by a semi-colon and a space.
Several studies (Davidson, 2002; Gardiner, 1998; Matthews, 2006) have indicated…
• If you cite a work referenced within another author’s work, you must distinguish between the two.
Research by Smith (as cited in Jones, 1999) demonstrated…
Note: Only the Jones reference would be included on the References list.
• Previously published works include the date of original publication and as well as your edition.
The rules for treatment for the “Rat Man” included…. (Freud, 1909/1996).