APA In-Text Citations
In-Text Citations Quick Guide
In-text Citations and References
- One complete reference for each in-text citation should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
- The in-text citation should include the author's last name and the year of publication.
- Example: (Jackson, 2019).
- As Jackson found in their research (2019)
Direct Quotes
- If you are directly quoting from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the in-text citation.
- Use the abbreviation “p.” for one page, or “pp.” for multiple pages before listing the page number(s).
- Example: (Jones, 2014, p. 189)
- Use an en dash for page ranges.
- Page range example: (Jones, 2014, pp. 189–191).
- Quotes of more than 40 words should be indented in block quotation format.
Multiple Authors
- When citing a work by two authors include both authors, using the ampersand (&)
- Example: (Ahn & Zarin, 2012)
- When citing a work by more than two authors, include only the first author in the in-text citation, followed by “et al.”
- Example: (Lillie et al., 2019)
APA References
Reference List Quick Guide
References and In-text Citations
- Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.
- Use a hanging indent-- the first line in a citation is not indented, but all lines after it are.
- In Google Docs, go to Format > Align & Indent > Indentations Options > Special Indent > Hanging
Author Names
- Authors’ names are formatted as last name first, followed by first and middle initials.
- Example: Jane Marie Smith would appear in the reference list as Smith, JM.
- Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors. If there are more than 21 authors, use an ellipses after the 19th author and include the final author’s name.
Titles
- Journal title: capitalize all the major words and italicize
- Journal article title: capitalize only the first word of the article title, as well as the first word after a colon or a dash, and any proper nouns.
DOIs
- DOIs are an attempt to provide stable, long-lasting links for online articles. Include the DOI when it is available. When no DOI is available, include a URL only if the article came from a website (if the article came from a database, no URL is required).
Example
Nguyen, T., Carnevale, J. J., Scholer, A. A., Miele, D. B., & Fujita, K. (2019). Metamotivational knowledge of the role of high-level and low-level construal in goal-relevant task performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(5), 879-899. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000166
Additional Resources
- Excelsior OWL: APA ReferencesExamples of APA Style reference lists and in-text citations.
- Purdue Online Writing LabPurdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA 7th edition resources. Use the links on the left side of the page to find information on different aspects of APA style.
- APA 7th Ed. Student Sample PaperStudent sample paper from the Purdue OWL
Originally created by Claire Sharifi. Updated and maintained by Randy Souther.