In-text citations give credit to the sources you use in your work and help readers locate the original information. In this guide, we explain what in-text citations are, how to format them, and provide examples of different types of in-text citations in APA style.
What are in-text citations?
In-text citations are brief references to the sources that you use in your writing. They are typically located within the body of your text, next to the information that you’re citing. In-text citations serve two main purposes:
- To give credit to the original author(s) of the information you are using
- To help readers locate the original source(s) of the information you are using
In-text citations in APA are also known as parenthetical citations, since they provide the abbreviated citation information in parenthesis. This is different from other citation formats that may use numbers in brackets or superscripted numbers.
In-text citations refer back to the full bibliographic information provided in the APA reference list. Importantly, you should provide an in-text citation for any borrowed material that you use in your paper or project. When in doubt, cite it!
How to format in-text citations in APA
Parenthetical citations
There are a few ways to format in-text citations in APA, depending on the source type. What you include in the parenthesis also depends on whether your are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing the source:
- Generally, include the author's last name and the year of publication in parentheses (e.g. Smith, 2010).
- If you are quoting directly from the source, include the page number(s) as well (e.g. Smith, 2010, p. 25).
- If there are multiple authors, list all of their last names separated by commas (e.g. Smith, Jones, & Lee, 2015).
Narrative citations
APA style also has rules for narrative citations. In narrative citations, the name and publication date are incorporated into the text as part of the sentence. The author’s name appears in running text and the date appears in parentheses immediately after the author's name:
Rode (2012) claims that productive activities have been part of human civilization since ancient times.
In some cases, the author’s name and date might both appear in the narrative. In this case, no parentheses are needed:
In 2012, Rode wrote about the productive activities...
Examples of in-text citations in APA
Here are some examples of different types of in-text citations in APA:
- Single author: (Smith, 2010)
- Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2015)
- Three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2018)
- Direct quote with page number: (Smith, 2010, p. 25)
- No author: ("Title of Article," 2013)
For more examples of APA citations, take a look at our APA citation guides.
How to easily create in-text citations in APA
The easiest way to create APA in-text citations is to use an accurate and reliable citation generator like BibGuru. This app allows you to create correct APA in-text citations for books, articles, websites, and more than 60 other source types.
The bottom line
By following the guidelines for formatting in-text citations, you can ensure that you give proper credit for borrowed material. This will ultimately help you avoid plagiarism.
Frequently Asked Questions about citing sources for group projects
🛍 What is an example of an in-text citation in APA 7?
For an in-text citation in APA 7, you will generally include the author's last name and the year of publication in parentheses (e.g. Smith, 2010).
🚂 How do you cite in-text with page numbers?
If you are quoting directly from the source, include the page number(s) as well (e.g. Smith, 2010, p. 25).
🪗 How do you in-text cite with multiple authors?
If there are multiple authors (up to 3), list all of their last names separated by commas (e.g. Smith, Jones, & Lee, 2015). For more than three authors, use this format: (Smith et al., 2018).
🛼 Does APA require in-text citations?
Yes, APA requires in-text citations for all borrowed material, even if you are not quoting a source directly.
🥦 What's the easiest way to create APA in-text citations?
The easiest way to create APA in-text citations is to use an accurate and reliable citation generator like BibGuru. This app allows you to create correct APA in-text citations for books, articles, websites, and more than 60 other source types.
