APA Citations — Format, Sources, and Examples
APA in-text citations
APA in-text citations identify the source of the information included in a social science research paper and are included after a paraphrase, summary, or direct quote. The citation typically contains the author’s last name followed by the source’s year of publication separated with a comma: (Jones, 2015).
Each citation corresponds with an entry on the reference page. Writers can prevent plagiarism by identifying where they accessed the research.
This citation guide follows the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
APA citation format
APA citations are either parenthetical or narrative.
Parenthetical citations include the author’s last name and the publication date placed within parentheses and separated by a comma.
APA reference lists should be in alphabetical order and use hanging indents (Rogers, 2019).
A narrative citation is when the author’s name appears directly in the sentence. Place the publication date in parentheses directly after the reference.
According to Rogers (2019), the APA format provides writers with simple guidelines to follow.
When formatting APA in-text citations, the following guidelines apply:
Insert the author’s last name as the first part of the citation. If there are two authors, separate their names using an ampersand (&). If there are more than three authors, use the first author’s last name followed by et al. (Latin for “and others").
One Author: (Smith, 2020)
Two to Six Authors: (Smith & Williams, 2020); (Smith, Williams, & Johnson, 2020).
More than Six Authors: (Smith et al., 2020)
If the author is unknown, use the first few words of the title identified on the reference list. Italicize longer works; place shorter works (such as web pages, journal articles, or magazine articles) in quotation marks.
Longer Work: (APA Citations, 2020)
Shorter Work: (“How to Format APA Citations,” 2020)
If the source does not provide a date of publication, use the abbreviation n.d. instead.
(Smith, n.d.)
When the information includes a direct quotation from a print source, include the page number in the citation. Place a comma after the publication year followed by p. for a single page or pp. for multiple pages.
Single Page: (Smith, 2020, p. 6)
Multiple Pages: (Smith, 2020, pp. 6-8)
The placement of the citation depends upon how the writer presents the information.
Place the citation at the end of a sentence with a parenthetical citation.
Place the publication year after referencing the author(s) in the narrative.
Place the citation directly after direct quotations.
The placement of punctuation depends on where the citation comes in a sentence.
Place the end punctuation mark after the citation when it comes at the end of a sentence.
When using a direct quote, writers should place the closing quotation mark before the citation.
APA sources
The following table identifies how to format an in-text citation based on the type of source:
| Source | Example |
|---|---|
| Single author | (Miller, 2022) |
| Two to six authors | (Miller & Davis, 2021); (Miller, Davis, & Wilson, 2020) |
| More than six authors | (Miller et al., 2022) |
| Direct quotation | (Miller, 2019, p. 15); (Miller, 2019, pp. 15-20) |
| No author | (APA Style Manual, 2022); (“Citing Research,” 2022) |
| Multiple works; same author; same year | (Miller, 2022a); (Miller, 2022b) |
| Multiple works in one citation | (Miller, 2022; Style Guide, 2022; Davis et al., 2018) |
| Group or organization | (American Psychological Association, 2022) |
APA citation examples
The following citations correspond with the identified source below each citation:
Single Author: (Geoffrey, 2006)
Geoffrey, J. (2006). APA style manual. American Psychological Association.
Two Authors: (Smith & Miller, 2012)
Smith, L. & Miller, K. (2012). Scholarly writing. Academic Press.
More than Six Authors: (Johnson, et.al, 2018)
Johnson, T., et al. (2018). Research-based writing styles. In C. Clarke’s (Ed.), The best writing methods (pp. 57-73). Academic Press.
No Author: (How APA Works, 2006)
Geoffrey J. (2006). How APA works. American Psychological Association.
Multiple Works; Same Author; Same Year: (Trier, 2015a); (Trier, 2015b)
Trier, J. (2015). How to use APA style. Writing Monthly, 2(1) pp. 81–98.
Trier, J. (2015). Writing and literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(7), April 2007, pp. 598-603. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.50
Group or Organization (American Psychological Association, 2019)
American Psychological Association. (2019). Citing sources. In APA online encyclopedia. APA. www.apaencyclopedia.com