In-text citations are required when information from an outside source is included in your APA style essay. These citations always contain the author, then the year of the source. For direct quotes, a page number is mandatory, and included using "p."; for paraphrasing, including a page number is encouraged, but not absolutely necessary.
Jones (2019) ... (p. 5).
(Jones, 2019, p. 5)
This information is usually put in brackets/parentheses ( ), although it can be arranged in different ways following the Author, Year, p. # order within a sentence, as shown in the examples below.
Example 1: If the author's name is mentioned in your sentence, keep the year immediately after the author's name, and put any page/paragraph numbers at the end of the quoted or paraphrased information:
Example 2: If the author's name is not mentioned in your sentence, include all of that information in the same set of brackets at the end of the quoted/paraphrased information:
Example 3: If your directly quoted source does not have page numbers, include a paragraph number using "para." instead:
Example 4: If your cited information is found on a range of pages, "pp." is used, and the start and end page numbers are separated with a dash:
Example 5: If you mention the title of a source in your essay, use title case (regardless of how the title is capitalized in the reference list). Furthermore, if the source is a book, italicize the title, and if the source is an article or chapter, use quotation marks around the title.
In the book A Detailed History of Tea ...
In the article "Tea vs Coffee: The Great Debate" ...
*** Note: Titles used in-text look a little different than their reference list entry.***
*** Note: For more details on using titles in-text, see page 167 of the APA 7th edition manual***
For more general information on in-text citations, see page 174 of the APA 6th edition manual (starting under the heading "Citing References in Text").
For in-text citations with one author, always include the author's last name and the year of the source. No initials for the author's first or middle name are necessary. Page/paragraph numbers are mandatory when directly quoting, and optional when paraphrasing.
Examples
When you mention the author in your sentence and use a direct quote:
As Harper (2019) explains, although they used to form the bedrock of these disciplines, these theories have been described in recent years as "more outdated than Freud" (p. 9).
When you do not mention the author in your sentence and use paraphrasing:
Although many studies have shown a correlation between these two trends, the only study able to prove causation had far too small a sample size to be considered trustworthy (Mihaylova, 2018).
When you have multiple sentences that are cited from the same one-author source, use linking phrases to make it clear that all the information you're using is from the same place. Different page or paragraph numbers can also be used to indicate where in the source the information came from, as shown below:
Throughout his case study, Calvo (2018) expresses the importance of those from different "professional cultures - scientific and engineering" being able to collaborate in developing and successfully promoting new products and innovations (p. 12). The author goes on to describe examples of such innovative developments, including Tegaki AI (p. 13). His conclusion re-emphasizes the importance of cross-training and collaboration in developing advanced technological products in a start-up context (p. 26).
For more information on citing sources with one author, see pages 262-263 of the APA 7th edition manual (Sections 8.10 - 8.11).
For in-text citations with two authors, include the last names of both authors in each in-text citation, separated with the "&" symbol. Include the rest of the information (year, page/paragraph number) the same as you would for any other source.
Note that when the authors' names are mentioned in your sentence, the word "and" is used instead of the "&" symbol, as shown in the examples below:
Examples
When the authors are mentioned in your sentence:
Contrary to popular belief, the literature review conducted by Frith and Loprinzi (2018) found that using Facebook actually improved the participants' impressions of their own well being, and thus their self-esteem; however, the authors also suggest that additional "innovative strategies" are needed to study this link further (p. 1).
When the authors are not mentioned in your sentence:
In the past, healthcare professionals approached patient care on a more case-by-case basis; nowadays, this approach is beginning to transition to a mindset that focuses on population care, prevention, and the improvement of the overall healthcare system in working with different populations (Grimes & Weller, 2012).
For more information on citing sources with multiple authors, see page 266 of the APA 7th edition manual (Section 8.17).
For sources with three or more authors, include only the last name of the first listed author followed by "et al." (which means "and everyone else") for each in-text citation. Include the rest of the information (year, page/paragraph number) the same as you would for any other source.
Examples
When the authors are mentioned in your sentence:
The research conducted by Disney et al. (2019) provides new strategies to further investigate how the ability to visit clients and work outside the office (or the inability to leave one's office) can influence the effectiveness of social services and the personal health of social workers.
When the authors are not mentioned in your sentence:
Although many studies have focused on the stress-reducing effects of music on trained musicians, the authors of this study also suggest that even "those with no previous musical training can have a short-term stress reduction experience by playing music" (Fallon et al., 2019, para. 3).
For more information on citing sources with multiple authors, see page 266 of the APA 7th edition manual (Section 8.17 and Table 8.1).
A corporate author is when an institution, organization, business, or other named group is the credited author of a source. Some common corporate authors include the following:
- Canadian Nurses Association
- World Health Organization
- American Psychological Association
- Alberta Education
- Statistics Canada
Citing a corporate author generally has no difference from other in-text citations; just use the name of the institution/organization as the author. However, as with other abbreviated terms in APA papers (see "Overall Formatting"), if the organization's name can be abbreviated, that abbreviation must be established the first time the name of the organization is mentioned, as shown in the examples below.
Examples
Non-abbreviated corporate author
The number of Employment Insurance beneficiaries in Canada decreased between August 2018 and August 2019; this was accompanied by a 2.5% overall increase in employment across the country, "while the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 5.7%" (Statistics Canada, 2019, para. 2).
Setting up the abbreviation for a corporate author
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) provides resources, information, and advocacy related to and on behalf of registered nurses. According to the CNA (2015), "scope of practice" refers to the authorized activities and responsibilities of both individual nurses and the nursing community as a whole (p. 14).
For more information on citing groups as authors, see page 266 of the APA 7th edition manual (Table 8.1).
If a source does not have an author, the title is used in its place. If the title is long, it can be shortened. For example:
All 33 Chile Miners Freed in Flawless Rescue --> "All 33 Chile Miners Freed"
The titles of shorter, partial works (e.g. journal/newspaper articles, book chapters, website tabs) are included in "quotation marks," whereas the titles of longer, complete works (e.g. full journals, full books, entire websites) are written in italics.
Hazards of Primary Care in Aging Populations --> Hazards of Primary Care
Examples
For a news article with no author:
By October, the rescued miners were finally able to celebrate their survival with their families ("All 33 Chile Miners Freed," 2010).
For a full book/complete document with no author or editor:
In the more recently published materials, it is made clear that students who violate certain rules can face even harsher consequences than in previous years (New York University Code of Conduct, 1985).
If a source has no year or date, use "n.d." in place of the year/date:
The range of course options at the University of Toronto includes two different sections for Applied Statistics (University of Toronto, n.d.).
For more information on citing works with no author, see page 289 of the APA 7th edition manual (Section 9.12).
When the source you are reading has cited its information from another source, you have two choices:
1. Whenever possible, locate the original source, read it, and cite it in your paper, or
2. If the original source is impossible to locate, include the information for the original author in your sentence, then cite the source you read along with the words "as cited in."
For example, if you want to cite this section of an article written by Stacey and Cook in 2019:
This conceptualisation of resilience is reminiscent of definitions found in the field of engineering, where the term resilient is applied to the description of a material which, when placed under pressure, returns to a steady state (Joseph, 2013).
You can mention Joseph (2013) in your sentence, but cite Stacey and Cook, as shown below:
Even though Joseph (2013) defines resilience in the context of engineering, the idea of returning to a steady state even under stress can apply just as much to a person as it does to a material substance (as cited in Stacey & Cook, 2019, p. 2).
For more information on citing secondary sources, see page 258 of the APA 7th edition manual (Section 8.6).
If the same information is expressed in multiple sources, you can cite those sources within the same set of brackets. Separate each source with a semicolon (;) and arrange the sources in alphabetical order by the last name of the first listed author of each source.
Note: Do not rearrange the order of the authors within one source - they chose which order to put themselves in!
Example
Although there was no evidence in either of these studies of the placebo effect when using a different method of assessment, the authors failed to clarify which behaviours were studied (Reed & Barrett, 2014; Smith, 1994).
For more information on citing multiple sources within the same parentheses, see page 263 of the APA 7th edition manual (Section 8.12).
When placing images directly into your assignment, place the full citation immediately below the image. When you discuss the image in your text, give it a name, such as Figure 1, in addition to the full citation immediately beneath the image, and refer to it as Figure 1. If you are discussing a particular work of art, you may refer to it by the artist or title, as it may be well known.
Clip art from Microsoft Word or PowerPoint (pre-2013) does not need citations. Describe the location (for example: image was downloaded from MSWord) in the text when referring to the image.
Remember to cite the source you are using. If you have a book, cite the book. If you are looking at the original work, cite the original work. Do not cite the original work if you have not personally seen it.
Templates
Online Image
Artist, A. B (Role of author). (Copyright year). Title of work [Medium: painting, drawing, sculpture, photograph, etc.]. Retrieved from www.URL.com
In Print
Artist, A. B (Role of author). (year of work). Title of work [Medium]. In A. Author of book, Book title (p. # of image). Place: Publisher.
Examples
Image from a database:
Brodrick, C. (Artist). (1852-58). Plan of Leeds town hall [Drawing]. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/library/secure/ViewImages?id=4jEkdDAtJTczRkY6fjZ1R3lDN3gseV5ydw%3D%3D&userId=hzBHczU%3D&zoomparams=
Image from a website:
Steblovskyy, K. (Photographer). (2015). Swanlike End [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/swan-lake-bled/
Image from a book:
Renoir, P. A. (1987). Young girl and a cow at Saint-Briac [Oil on canvas]. In J. Le Paul, Gaugin and the Impressionists at Pont-Aven (p. 137). New York: Abbevill Press.
*Note: for books you will put the year of the book not the date the art was created or copyrighted so the reader can find the source that you used.
Image from social media:
Khiza Music. (2015, March 5). [Image of a mother holding a child]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/khizamusicfans/photos/a.10152082836223442.1073741
Creative Commons instructions:
Creative commons image citations look different because they are copyrighted differently. By indicating the CC info (e.g. CC BY 2.0) the reader is able to know if the image can be shared, modified, and/or sold.
Template
“Title of work” by Author or screen name is licensed under CC info
Example: “Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San Francisco” by tvol is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Find more information on CC Licenses here.
Information regarding Creative Commons citing came from “Best practices for attribution”. (2014). Creative Commons Wiki. Retrieved from https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Best_practices_for_attribution)
For more information on citing images, see page 346 (Section 10.14) of the APA 7th edition manual.
For quotes with 40 words or more, format your quotation as follows:
Create a freestanding block, separated from the paragraph with the quote starting on a new line, and indent all lines of the paragraph about .5 inches from the left margin. Do no use quotation marks, unless there is a quote within your quote. As a quote should not end a paragraph, continue the paragraph with no indentation.
To illustrate his point, Orwell (2008) describes Winston’s experience:
Whatever was written on the paper, it must have some kind of political meaning. So far as he could see there were two possibilities. One, much the more likely, was that the girl was an agent of the Thought Police, just as he had feared. He did not know why the Thought Police should choose to deliver their message in such a fashion, but perhaps they had their reasons. (p. 113)
Winston’s thoughts about the message from the girl and the Thought Police turned out to be unfounded once he read the girl’s message.
Cite the quotation the same way you would normally cite, and make sure the font, size and spacing are consistent with the rest of your paper. Note that in the case of block quotations, the period at the end of the quote comes before the citation in parentheses at the end, not after, as it does with other quotations.
For more information on formatting block quotations, see pages 64 (example paper) and 272 (Section 8.27) of the APA 7th edition manual.
Formal APA style does not have a format for citing information from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. NorQuest College has developed the following citation style in the spirit of wahkôhtowin and reconciliation, and the staff at the NWP Learning Commons thank them for making it available.
The in-text citation should follow the same guidelines noted for a paraphrase or direct quote:
Name of Elder/Knowledge Keeper with year of communication.
Examples
When you use the name of the Elder/Knowledge Keeper in your sentence:
Delores Cardinal described the nature of the ... (2018).
When you do not use the name of the Elder/Knowledge Keeper in your sentence:
The nature of the place was... (Cardinal, 2018).
Note: if you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, remember to follow protocol or if you are unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time.
Unless otherwise stated, the material in this guide is from NorQuest College Library, created by Lorisia MacLeod and NorQuest College Indigenous Student Centre staff. Their original guide is available at https://libguides.norquest.ca/IndigenousEducation/cite. The content was adapted by the NWP Learning Commons in May 2023 to be consistent with NWP's other citation guides. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
As explained in Section 8.9 (pages 260-261) of the APA 7th edition manual, the protocol for citing Traditional Knowledge, Oral Traditions, Traditional Stories, and/or Oral Histories of Indigenous Peoples depends on the type of source, as explained below:
Other Tips
If you communicate with someone through private letters, private emails, oral conversations or text messages, cite the person's initials, last name, the words "personal communication," and the exact date when the conversation took place. Include this information in text, as shown below:
T. K. Lutes (personal communication, April 18, 2001) states...
OR
"quote" (T. K. Lutes, personal communication, April 18, 2001).
Note that there is no reference entry at the end of your paper for these citations. Personal communications are cited in-text only.
For more information on citing personal communications, see page 260 in the APA 7th edition manual (Section 8.9).
When citing religious and classical works, it is best practice to refer to the sections that are common across editions (e.g. chapters, lines, cantos). Also, if the text is translated or republished, include both the year of the original publication and the year of the publication you are using, separated by a slash ( / ). Note that many religious texts are cited as documents with no author.
Examples
(King James Bible, 1769/2017, Gen. 1:2)
(Shakespeare, 1623/1995, 1.3.34-35)
When you mention the author in your sentence:
The King James Bible (1769/2017) describes the Earth as being originally "without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2).
Shakespeare (1623/1995) comments on authenticity in Much Ado About Nothing with the line, "let me be that I am, and / seek not to alter me" (1.3.34-35).
When you do not mention the author in your sentence:
The book of Genesis claims that " the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (King James Bible, 1769/2017, Gen. 1:2).
In Much Ado About Nothing, Don John says, "In the meantime, let me be that I am, and / seek not to alter me" (Shakespeare, 1623/1995, 1.3.34-35).
For more information on citing religious and classical works in APA, see pages 264 & 274 in the APA 7th edition manual (Sections 8.13 & 8.28).