In-Text Citations in APA
In-text citations are used to point your reader to the appropriate source in your works cited list at the end of the paper. Listed below are some common in-text citations and an example of the proper format for each.
If
the author's name is not included in your text...
If you have not included the author's name in your sentence, place the author's
last name (followed by a comma)
and the year of publication for
your information in parentheses at the end of your sentence. For example:
Recent research indicates that the dodo was not originally a flightless bird ( Myauthor , 2000).
If
the author's name is included in your text...
If you have included the author's name in your sentence, you only need the publication
date in parentheses. For example:
Myauthor states clearly that the dodo did not begin its evolutionary journey as a flightless bird (2000).
Do not add a parenthetical citation if all relevant information is included elsewhere in the sentence.
In 2000, Myauthor stated that the dodo did not begin its evolutionary journey as a flightless bird.
If
your source has two authors...
If you are using a source with two authors, you need to either use their names
in your sentence, or include their names in parentheses. For example:
Thisguy and Thatguy argue that dodos might actually have been watergoing birds, based on the close proximity of known dodo nesting sites to large bodies of water (1982).
(or)
Based on the close
proximity of known dodo nesting sites to large bodies of water, it is said that
dodos could in fact have been watergoing birds ( Thisguy and Thatguy 1982).
If
your source has three to five authors...
If you are using a source with more
than two but fewer than six authors, mention all names in the first reference,
and in subsequent references cite the first author followed by "et al."
("et al." means "and others"). Add the year when the reference
appears in later paragraphs. For example:
First Reference:
The conclusions drawn from a comparison of the evolutionary progress of the dodo and the penguin indicate that climate plays a large part in the behavior of flightless birds ( Myauthor , Thisguy , Thatguy , and Thoseguys , 2001).
Subsequent references in the same paragraph: The conclusions drawn from a comparison of the evolutionary progress of the dodo and the penguin indicate that climate plays a large part in the behavior of flightless birds ( Myauthor et al.).
First reference in later paragraphs: The conclusions drawn from a comparison of the evolutionary progress of the dodo and the penguin indicate that climate plays a large part in the behavior of flightless birds ( Myauthor et al. 2001).
If your source has six or more authors... Cite the name of the first author followed by et al . and the year in all references. For example:
( Myauthor et al., 1995)
If
you don't know who the author is...
If you are using a source with an unknown author, substitute a shortened form
of the title for the author's name. For example:
Reasons for the dodo's extinction are still unclear ("Why Are They Extinct?" 1999).
If
your source has a corporate author or is a government document...
If you are using a source which was written by a corporation or government agency,
use the corporation's or agency's name, in place of an author's name. (If the
name is long, abbreviate it after the first citation.) For example:
First reference:
It is difficult to say where, exactly, we went wrong with the dodo (The United Nations Committee For Figuring Out Where We Went Wrong With The Dodo [UNCFFOWWWWWTD], 2002).
Subsequent references:
(UNCFFOWWWWWTD, 2002)
If you are using a personal communication... For letters, memos, telephone conversations, personal interviews, e-mail, and messages from electronic bulletin boards, use this form. (Do not include personal communication in your works cited page.)
(A. Myauthor , personal communication, October 17, 2001)
If
you are using an indirect source...
If you are using a quote that appears in a source that was written by someone
else, you need to begin your citation with "as cited in". For example:
Myauthor feels it necessary to remind us that "despite certain similarities, dodos and penguins are barely related" (as cited in Hisauthor 1999).
If you are using an electronic source... For an electronic source that does not have page numbers, use the paragraph number preceded by a ¶ symbol. For example:
Some believe dodos went extinct because they were very stupid ( Anotherauthor , 2001, ¶ 3).
For an electronic source that does not show either page numbers or paragraph numbers, cite a heading in the source and the paragraph nearest to it, preceded by the abbreviation “ para .” For example:
There is no proof that dodos were that stupid ( Aniceauthor , 2003, Introduction, para . 2).
If
you have two or more sources...
If you are citing more than one work in your parenthetical reference, list your
references alphabetically, separated with a semicolon. For example:
Recent attempts to clone dodos have met with mixed responses from the fundamentalist communities ( Thatguy , 1995; Thisguy , 1997; Yetanotherguy , 2002).
List works by the same author or authors in order of the date of publication. For example:
Many studies are in favor of cloning dodos ( Thatguy , 1995, 1998, 2000).
For works by the same author published in the same year, designate the work whose title comes first alphabetically a , the one whose title comes next b , and so on; repeat the year in each citation. For example:
According to one dodo expert, cloned dodos would make wonderful pets ( Thatguy , 1998 a , 1998 b ).
If you are using a table...
If you use a table from a source, give credit to the author in a note at the bottom of the table. For example:
Note . From “Migration Patterns of the Dodo,” Myauthor , 1996, A Natural History of the Dodo , p.233.
Reference List
Your Reference List is a list of all of the sources you cited in your paper. The list should be arranged alphabetically by the last name of the author.
For your Reference List, start a new page at the end of your paper. Make sure there is a one-inch top margin. Center the heading "Reference List" (or “Bibliography” if you are listing all the works consulted, whether or not you cited them in your paper) at the top of your page (with no underlining or quotation marks) and double-space before your first entry. For every entry on the page, start the first line at the left margin, but indent five spaces or 1/2 inch every other line. Double-space the entire page.
How your Reference List entry is formatted depends on your source. Below are some guidelines for formatting your entries, with examples.
A book
with
one
author...
When writing the publishers name, use a shortened version. Include words like
Book and Press , but do not include terms such as Publishers
, Co. , or Inc.
Myauthor , J. (2003). Dodos of the Sahara . New York : Scholastic.
with
more
than one author...
List all the authors – by last name and initials – regardless of how many there
are.
Myauthor , J., Thisauthor , J., and Thatauthor , J. (1919). Dodos: Gone forever? New York : Generic Books.
with
an
editor...
If your book has an editor (or two!) instead of an author, use the abbreviation
"ed." for for one editor ("ed." stands for "edited
by") and "eds." if there is more than one.
Thiseditor , J., and Thateditor J. ( eds .). (2000). The Problem with Dodos: Case Studies In Attempted Dodo Cloning . New York : Generic Books.
with no listed author or editor... The Dodo Will Rise Again . (4 th ed .). (2000). New York : Generic Books.
with a corporate author... When the author and the publisher are the same, list Author at the end of the citation instead of repeating the publisher’s name.
The Dodo Research Corporation. (1969). Why Are They Calling Me A
Moron ? The Dodo's Story . New York : Author.
with
more
than one volume...
Myauthor ,
J. (1991-1993). A Natural History of Flightless Birds .
(Vol. 4). New York :
Generic Books.
A book that is a government
report... The
Dodo Committee.
(1987). When Dodos Attack: A summary report of research
(Publication No. DODO 91-22187). Washington
,
DC :
U.S.
Government
Printing Office.
One selection from an edited collection of articles... A title of a selection in an anthology is not underlined or enclosed in quotation marks. Use the full citation for each entry from the anthology, giving the page numbers, preceded by pp . (in parentheses) after the title of the anthology.
Myauthor , A. (1984). Dodos in History. In J. Aneditor (Ed.), Dodos of the World: An Integrated Study (pp. 48-72). New York : Generic Books.
An
article from a reference book...
Aneditor , J. (Ed.). (2001). Extinction.
In The Encyclopedia of
Really Important Stuff That Everyone in
the Whole World Should Know .
(Vol. 2, pp. 359-373). New
York : Generic Books.
ARTICLES Capitalize only the first word of the article title and subtitle and give it no italics or quotations marks. Give the periodical title in full, italicized, with normal capitalization for a title. Include the page numbers, using pp . for newspapers, but not for journals and magazines. Volume numbers should be italicized.
An Article in a scholarly journal with continuous pagination through an annual volume... Myauthor , J. (1969). Migration patterns of the Dodo. Journal of Dodo Studies , 14 , 521-534.
An Article in a scholarly journal with separate pagination in each issue... Myauthor , J. and Thatauthor , J. (1985). Dodos in the mist. Dodo Digest , 14 , 7-21.
A Magazine Article... Myauthor , J. (1984, July). The dodo within. Do! Magazine . 19 , 78-88.
A Newspaper Article... If the article appears on consecutive pages, use a hyphen (ex. B8-B10). If the article appears on nonconsecutive pages, use a comma (ex. B1, B13, B15).
Myauthor , J. (1994, December 17). Defending you home against dodo infestation. Daily Dodo , pp. B2, B15.
A Personal Letter... All personal communications should be included only in the text of the paper, not the reference list (No Dodo For You!).
A Letter to the Editor... Myauthor , J. (2001, August 20). Dodos in the workplace [Letter to the editor]. Daily Dodo , p.B23.
ELECTRONIC SOURCES
An Internet Article based on a print source... Myauthor , J. (2001). Rituals of the dodo tribes [Electronic version]. Dodo Digest , 5 , 65-83. Retrieved October 16, 2002 , from http://website.org/dodo.html
An Article in an Internet-only journal... Myauthor , J. (2001). Dodo man of Alcatraz . Dodos Online , 34 , Article 3464c. Retrieved December 22, 2002 , from http://website.org/dodo2.html
An Abstract... Myauthor , J. and Yetanotherauthor , Q. (1996). Dodos of our lives ( Generic University Dodo Research Report No. 32). Abstract retrieved January 5, 2002 from http://www.generic.edu/dodo/dodo-abstract.html
A Message posted to a newsgroup... If the author’s full name is unavailable, use the screen name. After the title, provide information that will help readers access the message in brackets.
Myauthor , J. (2002, May 5). Dodo chat and message boards [Msg. 8]. Message posted to news://www.dodo.chat
A Daily Newspaper... Myauthor , J. (1998, April 24). Dodo sighted off the coast. Daily Dodo . Retrieved May 4, 2000 , from http://dailydodo.news.com/sightings.html
A Searchable Database... Myauthor , J. (1993). Lots of stuff about dodos. Dodo Stuff , 43 , 84-88. Retrieved May 23, 2002 , from the Database of Really Important Stuff Everybody in the Whole World Should Know.
Computer Software... Myauthor , J. (1996). Dodging Dodos Game (Version 2.0) [Computer software]. New York : Generic Software.
An e-mail... All personal communications should be included only in the text of the paper, not the reference list (No Dodo For You!).