APA 7 In-text Citation Guidelines
USING IN-TEXT CITATION
Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For
every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.
APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005).
For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as
websites and e-books that have no page numbers, use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para.
1).
Example paragraph with in-text citation
A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native
speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training
techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with
exposure to non-native speech. Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be
social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a
similar program.
References
Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented
speech. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 245-259.
Thomas, H. K. (2004). Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented
speech (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.
CITING WEB PAGES IN TEXT
Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that
the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of
an author.
For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.).
Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.
Web page with author:
In-text citation
Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).
Reference entry
Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities,
study says. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html
Web page with organizational author:
In-text citation
More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).
Reference entry
World Health Organization. (2018, March 22). Depression. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/depression
Web page with no date:
In-text citation
Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American
Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).
Reference entry
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaster.
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx
GENERAL GUIDELINES
In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant,
rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede
punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citations.
Author's name in parentheses:
One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with
the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).
Author's name part of narrative:
Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is
familiarity with the topic.
Group as author:
First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015)
Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)
Multiple works: (separate each work with semicolons)
Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general
(Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).
Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)
One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the
interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).
Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates
the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).
Note: For direct quotations of more than 40 words, display the quote as an indented block of text without
quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the
quote. For example:
This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a
variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative
speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis,
1984, p. 77)
WORKS BY MULTIPLE AUTHORS
APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine
how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple
authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation.
Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell
out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetical citation, use &.
One author: (Field, 2005)
Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)
Three or more authors: (Tremblay et al., 2010)
