APA’s in-text citations provide the author’s last name and the year of publication, usually before the cited material, and a page number in parentheses directly after the cited material. In the following models, the elements of the in-text citation are highlighted.
NOTE: APA style requires the use of the past tense or the present perfect tense in signal phrases introducing cited material: Smith (2020) reported; Smith (2020) has argued.
Ordinarily, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author’s last name followed by the year of publication in parentheses. Put the page number (preceded by “p.,” or “pp.” for more than one page) in parentheses after the quotation. For sources from the web without page numbers, see item 11a.
Çubukçu (2012) argued that for a student-centered approach to work, students must maintain “ownership for their goals and activities” (p. 64).
If the author is not named in the signal phrase, place the author’s name, the year, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation: (Çubukçu, 2012, p. 64). (See items 5 and 11 for citing sources that lack authors; item 11 also explains how to handle sources without dates or page numbers.)
NOTE: Do not include a month in an in-text citation, even if the entry in the reference list includes the month.
As for a quotation (see item 1), include the author’s last name and the year either in a signal phrase introducing the material or in parentheses following it. A page number is not required for a summary or a paraphrase, but include one if it would help readers locate the information. For sources from the web without page numbers, see item 11a.
Watson (2008) offered a case study of the Cincinnati Public Schools Virtual High School, in which students were able to engage in highly individualized instruction according to their own needs, strengths, and learning styles, using 10 teachers as support (p. 7).
The Cincinnati Public Schools Virtual High School brought students together to engage in highly individualized instruction according to their own needs, strengths, and learning styles, using 10 teachers as support (Watson, 2008, p. 7).
Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. In the parentheses, use “&” between the authors’ names; in the signal phrase, use “and.”
According to Donitsa-Schmidt and Zuzovsky (2014), “demographic growth in the school population” can lead to teacher shortages (p. 426).
In the United States, most public school systems are struggling with teacher shortages, which are projected to worsen as the number of applicants to education schools decreases (Donitsa-Schmidt & Zuzovsky, 2014, p. 420).
Use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” (Latin for “and others”) in either a signal phrase or a parenthetical citation.
In 2013, Harper et al. studied teachers’ perceptions of project-based learning (PBL) before and after participating in a PBL pilot program.
Researchers studied teachers’ perceptions of project-based learning (PBL) before and after participating in a PBL pilot program (Harper et al., 2013).
If the author is unknown, include the work’s title (shortened if more than a few words) in the in-text citation.
Collaboration increases significantly among students who own or have regular access to a laptop (“Tech Seeds,” 2015).
In in-text citations, capitalize the first and last words of a title and subtitle, all significant words, and any words of four letters or more. For books and most stand-alone works (except websites), italicize the title; for most articles and other parts of larger works, set the title in quotation marks. In the rare case when “Anonymous” is specified as the author, treat it as if it were a real name: (Anonymous, 2011). In the list of references, also use the name Anonymous as author.
If the author is an organization or a government agency, name the organization in the signal phrase or in the parentheses the first time you cite the source.
According to the International Society for Technology in Education (2016), “student-centered learning moves students from passive receivers of information to active participants in their own discovery process” (What Is It? section).
For an organization with a long name, you may abbreviate the name of the organization in citations after the first.
FIRST CITATION
(Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board [THECB], 2012)
LATER CITATIONS
(THECB, 2012)
To avoid confusion, use initials with the last names in your in-text citations. If authors share the same initials, spell out each author’s first name.
Research by E. Smith (2019) revealed that . . .
One 2012 study contradicted . . . (R. Smith, p. 234).
In your reference list, you will use lowercase letters (“a,” “b,” and so on) with the year to order the entries (see item 8 in 52b). Use those same letters with the year in the in-text citation.
Research by Durgin (2013b) has yielded new findings about the role of smartphones in the classroom.
Put the works in the order in which they appear in the reference list, separated with semicolons: (Nazer, 2015; Serrao et al., 2014).
If you give an author’s name in the text of your paper (not in parentheses) and you mention that source again in the text of the same paragraph, give only the author’s name, not the date, in the later citation. If any subsequent reference in the same paragraph is in parentheses, include both the author and the date in the parentheses.
Bell (2010) has argued that the chief benefit of student-centered learning is that it can connect students with “real-world tasks,” thus making learning more engaging as well as more comprehensive (p. 42). For example, Bell observed a group of middle-school students who wanted to build a social justice monument for their school. Students engaged in this kind of learning performed better on both project-based assessments and standardized tests (Bell, 2010).
Cite sources from the web as you would cite any other source, giving the author and the year when they are available.
Atkinson (2011) found that children who spent at least four hours a day engaged in online activities in an academic environment were less likely to want to play video games or watch TV after school.
Usually a page number is not available; occasionally a web source will lack an author or a date (see 11a, 11b, and 11c).
When a web source lacks stable numbered pages, include a paragraph number, section heading, or both to help readers locate the passage being cited. If a heading is long, use a shortened version of the heading in quotation marks.
If a source lacks numbered paragraphs or headings, count the paragraphs manually. When quoting audio and video sources, use a time stamp to indicate the start of the quotation.
Crush and Jayasingh (2015) pointed out that several other school districts in low-income areas had “jump-started their distance learning initiatives with available grant funds” (Funding Change section, para. 6).
If no author is named in the source, mention the title of the source in a signal phrase or give the first word or two of the title in parentheses (see also item 5). (If an organization serves as the author, see item 6.)
A student’s IEP may, in fact, recommend the use of mobile technology (“Considerations,” 2012).
When the source does not give a date, use the abbreviation “n.d.” (for “no date”).
Administrators believe 1-to-1 programs boost learner engagement (Magnus, n.d.).
If you mention an entire website from which you did not pull specific information, give the URL in the text of your paper but do not include it in the reference list.
The Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning website (https://teaching.berkeley.edu/) shares ideas for using mobile technology in the classroom.
Interviews that you conduct, letters, email messages, and similar communications that would be difficult for your readers to retrieve should be cited in the text only, not in the reference list. (Use the first initial with the last name either in your text sentence or in parentheses.)
One of Yim’s colleagues has contended that the benefits of this technology for children under 12 years old are few (F. Johnson, personal communication, October 20, 2013).
Cite lecture notes from your instructor or your own class notes as personal communication (see item 13). If your instructor’s material contains publication information, cite it as you would the appropriate source. See also item 52 in section 52b.
To cite a specific part of a source, such as a whole chapter or a figure or table, identify the element in parentheses. Don’t abbreviate terms such as “Figure,” “Chapter,” and “Section.”
The data support the finding that peer relationships are difficult to replicate in a completely online environment (Hanniman, 2010, Figure 8–3).
When a published source is quoted in a source written by someone else, cite the original source first; include “as cited in” before the author and date of the source you read. In the following example, Chow is the author of the source in the reference list; that source contains a quotation by Brailsford.
Brailsford (1990) commended the writer and educator’s “sure understanding of the thoughts of young people” (as cited in Chow, 2019, para. 9).
Identify the book (specifying the version or edition you used), the publication date(s), and the relevant part (chapter, verse, line). It is not necessary to include the source in the reference list.
Peace activists have long cited the biblical prophet’s vision of a world without war: “And … nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Holy Bible Revised Standard Edition, 1952/2004, Isaiah 2:4).
If your source does not include page numbers, include a locator—other information from the source, such as a section heading, paragraph number, figure or table number, slide number, or time stamp—to help readers find the cited passage:
Lopez (2020) has noted that “. . .” (Symptoms section).
Myers (2019) explained the benefits of humility (para. 5).
The American Immigration Council has recommended that “. . .” (Slide 5).
In a recent TED Talk, Gould (2019) argued that “. . .” (13:27).
If you shorten a long heading, place it in quotation marks: (“How to Apply” section).