Formatting In-Text Citation in APA Format

In-Text Citations

Presentation by Kate Cottle

When Do You Need an In-Text Citation?

▪ You need an in-text citation to signal that you are using an outside source in your writing.

▪ You cite the source if you have used a source one of these ways: – As a quote

– As a paraphrase

– As a summary

(American Psychological Association [APA], 2009; Perrin, 2012)

In-Text Citation Rules

▪ What goes into the in-text citation depends on what you are citing and what the original source is.

▪ However, there are some standard rules with in-text citation.

▪ The most important rule is that the short in-text citation matches the longer References page entry.

▪ The second most important rule is that every in-text citation has a matching entry on the References page.

▪ Conversely, every entry on the References page should have at least one in-text citation in the paper.

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

What Is Included in an In-Text Citation?

▪ There are 3-4 basic elements for an in-text citation, but you can place the elements in various places in the sentence. – Parentheses

– Author(s)’ name(s)

– Date of publication

– Page (p.) or paragraph number (para.) (only for quotations)

▪ Grouped all together at the end

Students with greater motivation were more successful (Wolters, 2011).

▪ Spread throughout the sentence

Wolters (2011) asserted that students with greater motivation were more successful.

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

Authors in In-Text Citations

▪ Always cite by author first if an author is listed.

(Wolters, 2011)

▪ If the author is an organization, then cite that.

(Wilmington University, 2013)

▪ If you have a long organization name that you has an abbreviation, you may use it – In the first citation, use the full name directly followed by the acronym in

square brackets.

(American Psychological Association [APA], 2009)

– The next time and every other time, just use the abbreviation

(APA, 2009)

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

Two Authors

▪ If it is two authors, then the citation differs if it is in parentheses or a part of the sentence. – Use the ampersand (&) to indicate “and” in a parenthetical

in-text citation.

(Tom & Jerry, 2009)

– Use the word “and” to connect authors names when the names are a part of the sentence.

Tom and Jerry (2009) contended that violence in cartoons….

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

Multiple Authors

▪ The first time the authors’ names are used, use all author names. – If used in a parenthetical reference, join with an ampersand.

(Jefferson, Washington, Madison, & Adams, 2010)

– If used as a part of a signal phrase, use the word “and.”

Jefferson, Washington, Madison, and Adams (2010)

▪ The next time the authors need to be cited, use “et al.” after the first author’s name.

▪ This is true whether the authors are in parentheses or in the sentence.

Jefferson et al. (2010) or (Jefferson et al., 2010)

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

What If No Author Is Listed?

▪ If no author is listed, then list the source by the title and the date of publication. – Put titles or articles in quotes

(“Literature as a Vehicle for Critical Thinking,” 2008) – Italicize titles of books

(Secrets of the Barrel Maker, 2009)

▪ REMEMBER! – Your in-text citation should match the entry on the References page.

▪ “Literature as a Vehicle for Critical Thinking” will be alphabetized under L

▪ Secrets of the Barrel Maker will be alphabetized under S

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

Multiple Sources in One In-Text Citation

▪ If you have more than one entry in an in-text citation, separate them with a semicolon. – Keep the entries in alphabetical order

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

If you have more than one entry by an author, but they are from different years, then list the multiple dates of publication. – Oldest date first

(Jones, 1991, 2003, 2010)

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

▪ If you have multiple sources from the same author that are from the same year, name them a, b, c, etc. – Again, make sure they match how the articles are ordered

on the References page.

▪ The first entry will be a, the second will be b.

(Dimon, 2009a, 2009b)

Multiple Sources in One In-Text Citation

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

Sources That Get In-Text Citations But Are Not on the References Page

▪ Personal communications – Letters

– Memos

– Emails

– Personal interviews

– Phone conversations

▪ To cite, list who the communication was with, the kind of communication it was, and the date.

(D. Davis, phone interview, May 9, 2012)

J. J. James (personal communication, December 1, 2003) asserted

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

Sources That Get In-Text Citations But Are Not on the References Page

▪ Classical works – Greek – Roman – Biblical

▪ The first time, cite by the location of the information (book, chapter, verse) and the version used.

Esther 1:22 (King James Standard)

▪ All times thereafter, cite by book, chapter, verse, etc.)

Esther 4:1

▪ Whole websites

Luminarium is a great website for anyone wanting background on the major periods in British Literature (www.luminarium.org).

(APA, 2009; Perrin, 2012)

References

American Psychological Association. (2009.) Publication manual of the

American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Perrin, R. (2012). Pocket guide to APA style (4th ed.). Boston, MA:

Wadsworth.

Wolters, C. (2011). Regulation of motivation: Contextual and social aspects.

Teachers College Record 113(2), pp. 265-283.