APA In-Text Citation Guide 

BEFORE EVERY CITATION: Introduce every citation with the author name(s) and the year published: 

 One author: “As Smith (2010) relates,”  Two authors: “Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports . . .”  Three to five authors: “Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, and Harlow (1993) argue . . .”  Organization as author: “According to the American Psychological Association (2000), . . . ”  NO AUTHOR: Use the source title instead, using quotation marks (short work) or italics (long work) around the title, depending on the source: “The Problem with People (2009) explains this problem…” 

AFTER EVERY CITATION: A parenthetical reference with the page number—ALWAYS. 

Are there embedded page numbers in the source? 

 One page number: end words of quotation” (p. 359).  Two or more page numbers: end words of quotation” (pp. 359-365). 

Are you using an online source with no embedded page numbers? 

 ARE THE PARAGRAPHS NUMBERED IN THE SOURCE? If so, use the paragraph number: end words of quotation” (para. 5).  In every other case, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading:  end words of quotation” (Mind over Matter section, para. 6). 

If you are using a heading that is also the article title, use appropriate punctuation (quotation marks). 

REMEMBER: Never use the page numbers of Web pages you print out; different computers print Web pages with different pagination. 


WHAT IF… 

1. You use a source that was cited in another source? a. Name the original source in your signal phrase.  b. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses. c. “Johnson argued that . . . (as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102). 2. You use a source with no publication date? a. Use “n. d.”: “Johnson and Clark (n. d.) assert . . .”