How to Use APA Style In-Text Citations
An in-text citation is a way that a writer acknowledges the work of others. That means you should “cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work” (American Psychological Association, 2019, p. 253). The information that follows the quote in the previous sentence is an example of an in-text citation.
APA style uses what is known as the for citing author-date citation system for citing references in texts. This means that, at minimum, your citations will have the last name of the author (or authors) and the year the source was published.
If you include a direct quote you will also need to include the page number.
Typically, APA Style only requires you to include page numbers if you are using a direct quote in your writing. However, you should include page numbers where possible, even when paraphrasing. Your instructors likely want you to include page numbers every time you cite a source in your work. That means, whether you use a direct quote, paraphrase, or summary, include the page number. This will allow you more opportunities to practice your in-text citation skills and allows the reader to find the exact location where the original information can be found in the source.
An in-text citation is commonly found in the body of reports. However, they can also be found in tables, appendixes, and figures. They are important because they show the reader where your research information is coming from. If the reader is interested in the source, they can then flip to your references page at the end of your report and learn more about the source.
EXAMPLES
Here are two versions of what an in-text citation can look like using the same information. The first one is known as a parenthetical citation and the second is a narrative citation.
Parenthetical
A concept that will directly impact your relationship with someone is your footing, which is the “foundation upon which your credibility rests in a given interaction” (MacLennan, 2009, p. 10).
Narrative
MacLennan (2009) explains that one concept that will directly impact your relationship with someone is your footing, which is the “foundation which your credibility rests in a given interaction” (p. 10).
The first example, a parenthetical citation, is the one that most people are familiar with. The second one, a narrative citation, is probably unfamiliar, but it is not difficult to apply once you know how. Ideally, you should use a combination of both methods in your writing.
Parenthetical citation
First, let’s start with parenthetical citation because they are the ones most students already know. At it’s core, a parenthetical citation needs the surname of the author (or authors) that wrote the original source material you are using and the year the information is published. It will look like this: (MacLennan, 2009, p. 10).
If the information you are citing goes onto more than one page, the citation will look like this: (MacLennan, 2009, pp. 10-11)
Parenthetical citations are almost always placed at the end of the sentence, but they can sometimes occur before a comma, colon, or semicolon, as well, especially when a different source is being cited later in the same sentence. One point that students often mistake is where to position the period in a parenthetical citation. Notice in example (1) in the previous section that the period goes after the citation. It does not go before the closing quotation mark, which is where most students want to put it. Some students will also try to put a period before the quotation mark and after the citation, but this is wrong. You only need one period, and it goes after the citation.
One important note is that the content of your citation will change depending on the number of authors and if the there is a group author like an organization. The year will also change slightly if you are citing the same author who published multiple papers in the same year. In the event that no date information is provided, an abbreviation of “no date” (n.d.) is listed. This page from Purdue OWL provides guidelines on how to format these situations.
Narrative citation
A narrative citation uses the same author-date citation system as a parenthetical citation. The difference is that instead of the citation occurring at the end of the text, it occurs in the text itself. The author’s name will be in the text and this is immediately followed by the publication year in parenthesis. The page number will come at the end of the sentence:
Bashar (2009) explains…communication (p. 10).
Jones (1994) advocates…theory (p. 41).
Tanaka (2020) agrees… study (pp. 245-246)
Using signal verbs
You probably noticed that a verb followed the three narrative citation examples above. These are known as signal verbs. They are special verbs that help you tell the reader how someone is expressing their ideas. Signal verbs are typically more active and descriptive than other verbs like “says” or “writes” or “discusses.”
Read the three examples below. What do the different verbs indicate about the author?
Smith (2020) challenges…
Smith (2020) illustrates…
Smith (2020) verifies…
Each verb provides different information about the rhetorical purpose of the author. Your job as a writer is to make sure you capture that purpose accurately. When choosing a signal verb, ask yourself: what is the author doing in the passage I’m citing? Is the author describing something? Explaining something? Arguing? Giving examples? Estimating? Recommending? Warning? Urging? Be sure the verb you choose accurately represents the intention of the source text. For example, don’t use “concedes” if the writer isn’t actually conceding a point. Look up any words you don’t know and add ones that you like to use. Table 27.1 below shows different signal verbs you can use in your own writing
Table 27.1: Commonly used signal verbs
| Making a claim | Recommending | Disagreeing or Questioning | Showing | Expressing Agreement | Additional Signal Verbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| argue
assert believe claim emphasize insist remind suggest hypothesize maintains |
advocate
call for demand encourage warn implore plead recommend urge
|
challenge
complicate criticize qualify counter contradict refute reject deny question |
illustrate
convey reveal demonstrate propose point out exemplify indicate |
agree
admire endorse support affirm corroborate verify reaffirm assert posit |
respond
assume speculate debate estimate explain imply use |
How do I choose which citation to use?
One point to keep in mind is that you will never mix parenthetical citations and narrative citations in the same sentence. You will only use one.
But how do you know which one to use? There are several reasons why you would use one of the other, but here are the main two:
- If you want to highlight the author, use a narrative citation. You might do this because the author is well-known in your field and you want to add some authority to your own argument. Alternatively, if you are arguing against something the author is saying, you may want to mention them directly.
- If you want to highlight the information, use a parenthetical citation. You might do this if you are trying make a point about the topic or provide some general information. Also, if you want to focus in on the argument a source is making, and not who made the argument, you would use this form.
References
American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Attribution
This chapter is an adaptation of 29. How to Use APA Style by Sam Schechter and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. You can download this book free at Professional Writing Today Copyright 2021.
