APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (2024)

Published on 18 January 2021 by Raimo Streefkerk. Revised on 22 May 2024.

APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (1)APA Style is widely used by students, researchers, and professionals in the social and behavioural sciences. The Scribbr APA Reference Generator automatically generates accurate references and in-text citations for free.

This citation guide outlines the most important citation guidelines from the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (2020). Scribbr also offers free guides for the older APA 6th edition, MLA Style, and Chicago Style.

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APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (2)

Table of contents

  1. APA in-text citations
  2. APA references
  3. Formatting the APA reference page
  4. Free lecture slides

APA in-text citations

The basics

In-text citations are brief references in the running text that direct readers to the reference entry at the end of the paper. You include them every time you quote or paraphrase someone else’s ideas or words.

An APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). If you’re citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170).

Parenthetical vs. narrative citation

The in-text citation can take two forms: parenthetical and narrative. Both types are generated automatically when citing a source with Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator.

  • Parenthetical citation: According to new research … (Smith, 2020).
  • Narrative citation: Smith (2020) notes that …

Multiple authors and corporate authors

The in-text citation changes slightly when a source has multiple authors or an organization as an author. Pay attention to punctuation and the use of the ampersand (&) symbol.

Author typeParenthetical citationNarrative citation
One author(Smith, 2020)Smith (2020)
Two authors(Smith & Jones, 2020)Smith and Jones (2020)
Three or more authors(Smith et al., 2020)Smith et al. (2020)
Organization(Scribbr, 2020)Scribbr (2020)

Missing information

When the author, publication date or locator is unknown, take the steps outlined below.

Missing elementWhat to doParenthetical citation
AuthorUse the source title.*(Source Title, 2020)
DateWrite “n.d.” for “no date”.(Smith, n.d.)
Page numberEither use an alternative locator or
omit the page number.
(Smith, 2020, Chapter 3) or
(Smith, 2020)
*Format the title in the same way as in the corresponding reference entry (either italicized or, if the title in the reference entry is not italicized, placed in quotation marks). Use title case capitalization.

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APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (3) APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (4)

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APA references

The basics

APA references generally include information about the author, publication date, title, and source. Depending on the type of source, you may have to include extra information that helps your reader locate the source.

Reference examples

Citing a source starts with choosing the correct reference format. Use Scribbr’s Citation Example Generator to learn more about the format for the most common source types. Pay close attention to punctuation, capitalization, and italicization.

Generate APA citations for free

Missing information

It is not uncommon for certain information to be unknown or missing, especially with sources found online. In these cases, the reference is slightly adjusted.

Missing elementWhat to doReference format
AuthorStart the reference entry with the source title.Title. (Date). Source.
DateWrite “n.d.” for “no date”.Author. (n.d.). Title. Source.
TitleDescribe the work in square brackets.Author. (Date). [Description]. Source.

Formatting the APA reference page

The basics

APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (5)On the reference page, you list all the sources that you’ve cited throughout your paper. Place the page, right after the main body and before any appendices.

On the first line of the page, write the section label “References” (in bold and centred). On the second line, start listing your references in alphabetical order.

Apply these formatting guidelines to the APA reference page:

  • Double spacing (within and between references)
  • Hanging indent of ½ inch
  • Legible font (e.g. Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11)
  • Page number in the top-right header

Which sources to include

On the reference page, you only include sources that you have cited in the text (with an in-text citation). You should not include references to personal communications that your reader can’t access (e.g. emails, phone conversations or private online material).

Free lecture slides

Are you a teacher or professor looking to introduce your students to APA Style? Download our free introductory lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, May 22). APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References. Scribbr. Retrieved 12 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/apa-style/

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APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (6)

Raimo Streefkerk

Raimo is an expert in explaining plagiarism and citing sources. He has been writing helpful articles since 2017 and is continuously improving Scribbr's Citation Generators.

APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References (2024)

FAQs

APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References? ›

For APA, you use the authors' surnames only and the year in text. If you are using a direct quote, you will also need to use a page number. Parenthetical citations: If an in-text citation has the authors' names in brackets use "&" between the authors' names : (Jones & Smith, 2020, p. 29).

How to do an APA 7th edition in text citation? ›

An APA in-text citation consists of the author's last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). If you're citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170).

What is APA 7th edition referencing example? ›

If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis. According to Brown (2019), "Direct quote" (p. 1021). Brown (2019) found that "Direct quote" (p. 1021).

What order should in text references be in APA 7? ›

If you need to include multiple sources in a single parenthetical citation, place them in alphabetical order, separating them with semicolons. If you have two or more works by the same author(s), you can list the authors' names only once followed by the publication years in chronological order.

How to in text cite APA example? ›

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).

What does an APA citation look like? ›

Basic Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page range.

How to write references in APA style? ›

Electronic Sources
  1. Author(s): Use authors' full last names plus first and middle initials with periods after each initial. [ ...
  2. Publication Date: Include all information regarding publication date (year, month, day, season, etc.) ...
  3. Source Title: Only capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.

How should APA 7 references look? ›

The reference list is double spaced (between each reference AND within the reference). A reference list is arranged alphabetically by author last name. Each reference appears on a new line. Each item in the reference list is required to have a hanging indent.

What is the difference between APA and APA 7 referencing? ›

In APA 6, when a reference had more than seven authors, only the first seven authors were listed in the references list, followed by et al. In APA 7, list all authors up to 20. When citing a resource, do not include the publisher's city or state.

What are the basic rules for APA in text citation? ›

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

How to intext reference an example? ›

Using in-text references

They can be included within parentheses or brackets (parenthetical) eg. (Thompson, 2018), or part of a sentence (narrative) eg. Thompson (2018) has argued that ".....". In rare cases, the author and date might both appear in the narrative.

What are the two common options for in text citations in APA? ›

There are two types of in-text citations in APA format: parenthetical and narrative.

Do you need page numbers in APA 7 in-text citation? ›

If you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. For example, (Burnside, 2016, p. 199).

How to APA 7 in-text cite a website? ›

If you mention a website in general, do not create a reference list entry or an in-text citation. Instead, include the name of the website in the text and provide the URL in parentheses.

How do you cite in text APA 7th edition mid sentence? ›

When you use a quotation mid-sentence, end the quote with quotation marks and cite the source in parentheses immediately after, and continue the sentence. If the author's name and the date of publication are included before the quotation, then provide only the page numbers immediately after the quotation.

How to do in text citation APA 7th edition multiple authors? ›

For all sources with three to twenty authors, include all of the authors on your References page. For in-text citations, sources with three or more authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

How to in text cite no author in APA 7? ›

Citations are placed in the context of discussion using the author's last name and date of publication. When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the article title using double quotation marks, “headline” style capitalization, and the year.

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