APA Direct Quote
If a source has multiple authors, follow these guidelines.
Two authors in a parenthetical citation: Use an ampersand (&) between the two last names.
Two authors in the narrative: Use and between the two last names.
Three or more authors: Only cite the first author, followed by et al.
If directly quoting, include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference. Introduce the quote with a phrase like according to or state the author's last name.
- According to Smith (2017), "First-year college students struggle with the lack of sleep, good eating habits, and APA style" (p. 23).
- According to Jones and Brown (2017), "Citing in correct APA style can be challenging" (p. 25).
- Smith (2017) discovered "first-year college students struggle with lack of sleep, good eating habits, and APA style" (p. 23); what does that mean for college health officers, librarians, and teachers?
If you do not name the author in the sentence, list it with the date and page numbers after the quotation.
- She said, "First-year college students struggle with lack of sleep, good eating habits, and APA style" (Roberts, 2017, p. 199), and listed several solutions.
No page numbers. If the work does not have a page number, then provide an "address" to find the quoted text using one of the following methods:
- Supply a heading or section name (this can be abbreviated). "Librarians are the keepers of information" (Johnson & Minchew, 2022, Reference Section)
- Supply a paragraph number (for unnumbered paragraphs count them accordingly). "Reference is not a mute topic" (Johnson & Minchew, 2022, para. 1).
- Supply a heading or section name and a paragraph number. "Research is a complex undertaking. Proper technique wields the best possible results" (Johnson & Minchew, 2022, Research section, para. 3).
Audiovisual work. When providing a quote directly from an audiovisual work ( audioBooks, films, podcast, TV programs, YouTube video ), place a time stamp for the beginning of the quote in lieu of a page number.
"Books open the path to understanding and expanding our minds" (Johnson, 2022, 7:11).
View APA Style guidance for Quotations.
