APA Style

In-text citations vary slightly depending on how whether the source was paraphrased or quoted. All in-text citations require the authors last name AND the year of publication. Direct quotations require a page number or page numbers as well. 

You use an in-text citation anytime that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize someone else's work. Oftentimes when you reference someone else's work or ideas, you indicate that with a signal phrase. Using the author's name in your writing is the most common type of signal phrase. 

When quoting put the year in parenthesis directly after the authors name and the page number in parenthesis after the quote.

Gillespie (2019) argued that Obama providing "clemency for nearly 2,000 nonviolent drug offenders, is insufficient to address larger structural issues" (p. 94). 

When quoting without using the authors name as a signal phrase, put the authors name, year of publication, and the page number(s) in parenthesis after the quote.

Though he provided "clemency for nearly 2,000 nonviolent drug offenders," Obama's work did not always "address larger structural issues" (Gillespie, 2019, p. 94).

When paraphrasing content, only the authors name and year are required. An optional page number can be provided to help a reader locate the information. 

1) According to Modecki et al. (2018) demographically teenagers are the most likely to find crime rewarding socially and emotionally (p. 3). 

2) Though typically on different sides of the debates surrounding antiquities, academics, law professionals and antiquity traders recently met at the University of Chicago discussing ways to prevent looting at archeological sites (Glazer, 2017, p. 963). 

When quoting or paraphrasing a source with an unknown date, use n.d. in the in-text citation.

1) According to the American Psychology Association, "psychological science contributes to justice by helping the courts understand the minds of criminals, evidence and the limits of certain types of evidence or testimony" (n.d., Science in Action section, para. 3). 

When there are two authors include both last names in every citation. Use an ampersand when in parenthesis. 

1) Brook and Bruizert (2018) claim that "technical expertise required to accomplish challenging field programmes is available in many nations, placing ice core science in an excellent position to improve our understanding of the history of Antarctica and its links to the larger Earth system" (206). 

2) It has been said that "ice core science in an excellent position to improve our understanding of the history of Antarctica and its links to the larger Earth system" (Brook & Bruizert, 2018, p. 206).

When there are three or more authors, use only the first authors last name followed by et al. 

1) According to Modecki et al. (2018) demographically teenagers are the most likely to find crime rewarding socially and emotionally (p. 3). 

2) Teenagers find crime socially and emotionally rewarding at a higher rate than any other age demographic (Modecki et al., 2018). 

When a quote is 40 or more words in length indent the lines by 1/2 inch. Do not use quotation marks. 

1) Despite unemployment, displaced workers are not likely to move in search of work: 

Americans now move across state lines and change jobs at lower rates than at any point in the last several decades. The annual rate of interstate relocation dropped from about 3.5 percent of the population in 1970 to about 1.6 percent in 2015. The surge in regional inequality has coincided with a surge not in people moving, but in people staying put. (Yang, 2018, p. 119)

2) Yang (2018) described the changes in worker relocation: 

Americans now move across state lines and change jobs at lower rates than at any point in the last several decades. The annual rate of interstate relocation dropped from about 3.5 percent of the population in 1970 to about 1.6 percent in 2015. The surge in regional inequality has coincided with a surge not in people moving, but in people staying put. (p. 119)

Note: the indented text should remain double spaced like the paper without extra spaces before or after the quote.

When directly quoting material that does not have page numbers such as a website or eBook, provide an alternative way for readers to find the quote.

In place of a page number you can include: 

• Heading or section name 
• Abbreviated heading or section name when the existing heading or section is too long
• Paragraph number
• Heading or section name with a paragraph name

1) According to the American Psychology Association, "psychological science contributes to justice by helping the courts understand the minds of criminals, evidence and the limits of certain types of evidence or testimony" (American Psychology Association, n.d., Science in Action section, para. 3). 

When quoting an audiovisual source such as an audio-book, YouTube video, TED talk, TV show, etc. provide the author, year, and a timestamp for the beginning of the quote. 

1) The English Channel cost nearly "the modern equivalent of 14 billion pounds, making the tunnel the most expensive infrastructure project to date" (Gendler, 2020, 1:37). 

When the author is unknown, use the title of the work from the reference list following the same style either italicized or in quotations. In-text citations should have all words longer than four letters and verbs capitalized even though the reference list will not. Titles can be shortened for in-text citations. 

When the author is part of a group such as an organization, government agency, or corporation the group name is treated like an author's name and the rest of the citation follows the standard format. Similarly, reference entries without a specified author are treated as a group author.