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In-Text Citations, APA Style: Just the Basics

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APA style does in-text citations a little differently from other styles (e.g., Chicago) you may be more familiar with. This post covers only the very basics. For more details, see the APA Publication Manual Sections 6.11–6.21 and Table 6.1.

In general, if the source’s author is named in the sentence, just place the publication date within parentheses following the name. If the author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence, place both the name and the date of publication within parentheses. In the examples below, the first entry shows how to handle the citation if the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence; the second entry shows the form to use when the name is not mentioned in the sentence.

To cite a source with 1 author:

Corker (2002) found that…

(Corker, 2002)

To cite a source with 2 authors:

Smith and Woods (2011) concluded…

(Smith & Woods, 2011)

To cite a source with 3, 4, or 5 authors:

First citation in text:

Ross, Carmichael, and Wilson (2000) studied…

(Ross, Carmichael, & Wilson, 2000)

Subsequent citations in text:

Ross et al. (2000) concluded…

(Ross et al., 2000)

To cite a source with 6 or more authors:

Mitchell et al. (2003) found that…

(Mitchell et al., 2003)

Details worth remembering:

  • In parenthetical citations, always use a comma to separate the author’s name from the publication date.
  • In parenthetical citations with two or more authors, use an asterisk in place of the word and between authors’ names.
  • In citations of three or more authors, place a comma after each author’s name. It’s “Ross, Carmichael, & Wilson,” not “Ross, Carmichael & Wilson.”
  • Do not italicize “et al.” Note that there is never a period after “et,” but always a period after “al.”
  • When using “et al.,” do not place a comma after the first author’s name. Do place a comma between “et al.” and the date.
  • When citing two or more sources within the same parentheses, place the sources in the order in which they appear in the reference list. In other words, the sources should be listed alphabetically, not by publication date. (For more on the order of reference lists, see Section 6.25 of the Publication Manual.)

 


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