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How do I make an in-text citation?

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. There should not be a comma between the authors name and the date. Direct quotations require a page number or page numbers. 

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. 

Typical Paraphrase

When paraphrasing content, only the authors name and year are required. 

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

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). 

Typical Quotations

When quoting put the year in parenthesis directly after the authors name, a colon, and then the page number without any spaces.

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

When quoting without using the authors name as a signal phrase, put the authors name, year of publication, a colon, 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 2019:94).

Multiple Authors

When there are two authors include both last names in every citation. Always use the words "and" instead of "&." 

1) Brook and Bruizert (2018:206) 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." 

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 and Bruizert 2018:206).


When there are three authors, use all of the authors last names the first time that you write an in-text citations and only the first authors last name followed by et al. in all subsequent citations. 

1) First Citation: According to Modecki, Uink, and Barber (2018) demographically teenagers are the most likely to find crime rewarding socially and emotionally. 

All Subsequent Citations: Modecki et al. (2018) found that the attitudes surrounding delinquent behaviors in early adolescents change over time for many teenagers as they face the justice system. 


When there are four or more authors, use et al. for all in-text citations. 

1) Inspired by the open source software community, may researchers in the field of synthetic biology openly share data (Federici et al. 2013).

Source Without a Date

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 (n.d.), psychological science is a necessary field of study to ensure justice by providing the courts with a deeper understanding of criminal minds, testimonies, and even evidence.

Corresponding References

References

APA (American Psychology Association). n.d. "Science of Psychology." Accessed May 5, 2020. https://www.apa.org/action/science.

Brook, Edward, and Christo Buizert. 2018. "Antarctic and Global Climate History Viewed from Ice Cores." Nature 558(7709):200-208. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0172-5.

Federici, Fernán, Timothy J. Rudge, Bernardo Pollak, Jim Haseloff, and Rodrigo A. Gutiérrez. 2013. “Synthetic Biology: Opportunities for Chilean Bioindustry and Education.” Biological Research 46(4):383-393. http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-97602013000400010&lng=en&tlng=en.

Gillespie, Andra. 2019. Race and the Obama Administration: Substance, Symbols, and Hope. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Modecki, Katherine Lynn, Bep Uink, and Bonnie L. Barber. 2018. "Antisocial Behaviour During the Teenage Years: Understanding Developmental Risks." Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice (556):1-14. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A568372024/AONE?u=kctcsjcc&sid=AONE&xid=dc35b148.