APA in-text citations use the author-date system: every time you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source, you include the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses. For direct quotes, you also add a page number. These brief citations point readers to the full reference in your reference list.
Basic In-Text Citation Format
| Citation type | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Paraphrase (1 author) | (Last name, Year) | (Smith, 2023) |
| Paraphrase (2 authors) | (Last name & Last name, Year) | (Smith & Jones, 2023) |
| Paraphrase (3+ authors) | (First author et al., Year) | (Smith et al., 2023) |
| Direct quote | (Last name, Year, p. #) | (Smith, 2023, p. 45) |
| Direct quote, no page numbers | (Last name, Year, para. #) or section name | (Smith, 2023, para. 3) |
Source: APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition, Chapter 8.
Parenthetical vs. Narrative Citations
APA allows two ways to incorporate a citation into your writing:
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Parenthetical | Citation at the end of the sentence | Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function (Walker, 2023). |
| Narrative | Author name in the sentence; year in parentheses | Walker (2023) found that sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function. |
Both are correct. Narrative citations work well when you want to emphasize who conducted the research. Parenthetical citations keep the focus on the finding itself. Vary your approach to improve readability.
Number of Authors: Citation Rules
| Number of authors | First citation | All subsequent citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 author | (Smith, 2023) | (Smith, 2023) |
| 2 authors | (Smith & Jones, 2023) | (Smith & Jones, 2023) |
| 3 or more authors | (Smith et al., 2023) | (Smith et al., 2023) |
APA 7 simplified the rule for 3+ authors — you use «et al.» from the very first citation, unlike APA 6 which listed all authors for the first mention.
Direct Quotes: Format and Examples
Short quotations (under 40 words)
Incorporate into your text with quotation marks:
Smith (2023) concluded that «the relationship between sleep and memory consolidation is stronger than previously understood» (p. 112).
Block quotations (40 words or more)
Start on a new line, indented 0.5 inch from the left margin, no quotation marks. The citation goes after the closing punctuation:
Walker (2023) described the mechanism as follows:
During slow-wave sleep, the hippocampus replays newly encoded memories and transfers them to the neocortex for long-term storage. This process, known as memory consolidation, requires uninterrupted sleep cycles of sufficient duration to complete all necessary transfer operations. (p. 198)
Special Cases
No author
Use the first few words of the title in place of the author. Use quotation marks for article titles, italics for book or report titles:
(«Sleep Study Results,» 2023) — for an article
(Annual Sleep Report, 2023) — for a book or report
No date
Use «n.d.» (no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.)
Organization or government as author
Spell out the full name on first use; use the abbreviation thereafter if one exists:
First citation: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023)
Subsequent citations: (WHO, 2023)
Two authors with the same last name
Include first initials to distinguish them, even if the publication years differ:
(J. Smith, 2022) and (R. Smith, 2023)
Two works by the same author in the same year
Add lowercase letters after the year, assigned alphabetically by title:
(Smith, 2023a) and (Smith, 2023b)
Citing multiple sources in one parenthetical
List citations alphabetically, separated by semicolons:
(Brown, 2021; Garcia, 2022; Smith, 2023)
Secondary sources (citing a source you found cited in another source)
Cite only when the original is unavailable. Identify the original work and credit the source where you found it:
Freud (as cited in Smith, 2023)
Only Smith (2023) appears in your reference list — not Freud’s original work.
Common In-Text Citation Mistakes
| Mistake | Correct format |
|---|---|
| (Smith, 2023, p.45) — no space before page number | (Smith, 2023, p. 45) |
| (Smith, Jones, & Brown, 2023) — APA 7 now uses et al. for 3+ | (Smith et al., 2023) |
| (Smith 2023) — missing comma | (Smith, 2023) |
| Using «pp.» for a single page | Use «p.» for one page; «pp.» only for a range (pp. 45–47) |
| Putting the period inside the parenthetical for a sentence-end citation | Period goes after the closing parenthesis: …finding (Smith, 2023). |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a page number for paraphrases?
APA 7 does not require page numbers for paraphrases, but the manual recommends including them when it would help readers locate the specific passage. For long books with many chapters, a page or paragraph number is helpful even for paraphrases.
What if a source has no page numbers (website, e-book)?
Use a paragraph number (para. 4), a heading name, or a section label to help readers locate the passage: (Smith, 2023, «Results» section, para. 2).
Should I cite every sentence when paraphrasing a long passage?
No. When you are clearly paraphrasing a single source across multiple sentences, APA allows you to cite once at the end of the passage rather than after every sentence. Make it clear from context that the entire passage refers to the same source.
For the complete APA reference list format — how to format books, journals, websites, and more at the end of your paper — see the APA References Guide.