Finally,
How to cite in text APA?
Remember these two words: author and date.
That’s all about in-text references in APA.
It means that the surname of the author (without suffixes such as Dr. or Jr.) appear in the text followed by the year of publication.
Direct quotations require page number as well.
For the sources not mentioned, follow general rules unless otherwise specified.
Example:
In our citation examples we use the following color coding:
- Red – Author
- Blue – Title of book/article/charter/webpage
- Pink – Date
- Sienna – Pages
Author named in a signal phrase
APA format requires the use of the word “and” instead of the ampersand between the authors’ names of the book.
Example:
Author not named in a phrase
Example:
A work by two authors
Example:
A work by three to five authors
List all authors for the first time. However, in subsequent citations, place only the name of the first author followed by et al. as well as the year of publication.
Example:
Six or more authors
Include only the name of the first author followed by et al. as well as the year of publication.
Example:
Unknown author
When the source does not identify an author, cite it by the first few words of its title. The titles of books and periodicals have to be italicized, whereas titles of book chapters and articles have to be placed inside quotation marks.
Example:
Authors with the same last name
Include first initials followed by the last names in order to distinguish between authors with the same last name.
Example:
More than one work by the same author in the same year
In case you have a few works with the same author written in the same years, just use a,b,c letters to differentiate them.
Example:
Indirect sources
Provide the author of the original source in a signal phrase and include a citation of the secondary source in parenthesis. Note that only the secondary source has to be included in the reference list.
Example:
Sources without page numbers
If the source does not have page numbers, include a short version of a chapter’s title enclosed in quotation marks followed by the abbreviation para. Always use only the abbreviation para. for electronic sources.
Example: