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Citation Guide (APA, MLA and More): In-Text & Quotes (APA 7th)

MLA 8th and APA 7th

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Trained professional and peer tutors provide one-on-one or group tutoring sessions:

  • Answering your writing and citation questions
  • Providing feedback on your drafts
  • Showing you strategies for brainstorming, organizing, drafting and revising

APA (7th) In-Text Citations, Direct Quotes, Block Quotes

 

The basics of APA style in-text citations

APA in-text citations must be used when:

  • Quoting directly from the source.
  • Summarizing content from the source.
  • Paraphrasing content or sentences from the source.

If it is not your original thought, you MUST cite it.

Basic parenthetical citation formatting: (Author, year, p. page number). One space after a comma and period.

 

Examples of APA style in-text citations for summarizing and paraphrasing: 

 

One work, one author:

  • APA style uses the author-date format of in-text citation (Smith, 2010, p. 45).

When  authors' names are in narratives, use this format:

  • In 2010, Smith (45) stated that APA requires that references are listed alphabetically on the reference page.

 

One work, multiple authors:

If a work has two authors, use an ampersand (&) between the two last names.

  • Writing in APA style takes practice (Jones & Smith, 2007, p. 59).

When the authors names are in your narrative, use the word and between the authors' last names.

  • Jones and Smith (2007, p. 59) found...

If a work has three, or more authors, cite the first author, plus et al.

  • Citing in APA Style takes patience but you can do it (Jones et al., 2007, p. 59).  

In the narrative, use this format:

  • Jones et al. (2007, p. 59) also stated that in addition to patience, citing in APA Style takes attention to detail. 

 

​If you have additional questions, please refer to the APA style manuals or the following sources:

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.

 

APA Block Text

 

For quotations that are more than 40 words, use a block text format and no quotation marks. Be sure to use double spacing and to begin the block text with the author and then a colon. At the end of the block text, place the appropriate punctuation mark then the page number. (p. page number)

 

Block quotation with parenthetical citation:

When students have multiple writing assignments, one way to become better in academic writing is to utilize the free sources that are available to them:  

Librarians and writing tutors enjoy helping students thrive. Librarians connect students with information,

and writing tutors help students become excellent written communicators. Not only is reading important

to obtaining information to use in the writing process, it also helps the writer know what sounds right.

People who read a lot recognize oddities in sentence structure and paper layout. They notice when

a paragraph or paper is missing something and needs more information. They also notice when a

paragraph or paper adequately communicates the writers' intention. Simply stated, after reading a

piece, the reader either has an, "AHA! YES!" moment or either a "Ehhhhh yuck" moment. (Shierling,

2018, p. 21)

 

Block quotation with a narrative citation:

Shierling (2018) found the following:

Librarians and writing tutors enjoy helping students thrive. Librarians connect students with information,

and writing tutors help students become excellent written communicators.  Research shows that good

readers make good writers. Not only is reading important to obtaining information to use in the writing

process, it also helps the writer know what sounds right. People who read a lot recognize oddities in

sentence structure and paper layout. They notice when a paragraph or paper is missing something and

needs more information. They also notice when a paragraph or paper adequately communicates the

writers' intention. Simply stated, after reading a piece, the reader either has an, "AHA! YES!" moment or

either a "Ehhhhh yuck" moment. (p. 21)