APA 7 In-Text Citations and References – ENG Composition II
Source: APA 7 Professional Sample Paper (Purdue University)
Tags: APA 7 citations, in-text citation, parenthetical citation, narrative citation, et al., reference list, DOI, hanging indent, APA reference format
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate
Prerequisites: Familiarity with APA 7 paper structure (see companion notes). Basic understanding of what a citation is and why academic writing requires them.
Citing sources properly is the backbone of academic credibility. APA 7 has specific rules for how you reference other people's work both within your text and in the reference list at the end. These rules changed in meaningful ways from APA 6, particularly for sources with three or more authors (now always "et al." from the first citation). This set of notes covers in-text citation mechanics and reference list formatting, drawn from the annotated comments in Purdue's APA 7 sample paper.
In-text citations in APA 7 use author-date format: (Author, Year) for parenthetical or Author (Year) for narrative. Sources with three or more authors use "et al." from the very first citation. The reference list at the end is alphabetical, double-spaced, with a hanging indent, and every in-text citation needs a matching reference entry (and vice versa). DOIs or stable URLs are now required for online academic sources whenever available.
Parenthetical citation
A citation where the author name(s) and year appear together inside parentheses at the end of the sentence or clause. Example: (Darwin, 2012).
Think of it as the citation that lives inside brackets, separate from your sentence.
Narrative citation
A citation where the author's name is part of the sentence and only the year appears in parentheses. Example: Darwin (2012) refers to teacher evaluation as an established orthodoxy.
In simple terms, the author's name is woven into your writing rather than tucked away in brackets.
Et al.
A Latin abbreviation meaning "and others." In APA 7, any source with three or more authors is cited as the first author's surname followed by "et al." from the very first citation onward. Note that the full stop goes after "al" (it is an abbreviation of "alii"), not after "et."
Think of it as the shortcut that saves you listing five names every time.
Secondary citation ("as cited in")
Used when you are citing a source that you found referenced inside a different source, rather than reading the original yourself. Format: (Original Author, Year, as cited in Secondary Author, Year). Only the secondary source appears in the reference list.
In simple terms, you did not read Smith's original work, but you found it quoted in Jones's paper, so you credit both but list only Jones.
Hanging indent
The formatting style used for reference list entries: the first line of each entry is flush left, and every subsequent line is indented 0.5 inches.
Think of it as the reverse of a normal paragraph indent.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
A permanent URL-like string assigned to academic articles and other digital publications. APA 7 requires you to include the DOI for any source that has one. Format it as a hyperlink: https://doi.org/xxxxx.
In simple terms, it is the permanent web address for a journal article that will not break even if the journal moves its website.
APA 7 uses the author-date system. Every claim, idea, or finding taken from another source must be cited.
Parenthetical form: (Author, Year). If you include a direct quote, add the page number: (Author, Year, p. 91). For paraphrases, a page number is encouraged but not required.
Narrative form: Author (Year). The author's name is part of the sentence. Example: According to Theall (2017), "Faculty evaluation and development cannot be considered separately" (p. 91).
Parenthetical: (Darwin, 2012)
Narrative: Darwin (2012)
Use an ampersand (&) in parenthetical citations: (Attiyeh & Lumsden, 1972)
Use "and" in narrative citations: Attiyeh and Lumsden (1972)
From the very first citation, use the first author's surname followed by "et al."
Parenthetical: (Boring et al., 2017)
Narrative: Spooren et al. (2017)
Note: the full stop comes after "al," not after "et."
List them alphabetically by first author, separated by semicolons: (Gaff & Simpson, 1994; Lewis, 1996; McKeachie, 1996)
To list a few sources as examples of a larger body of work, use the word "see": (see, e.g., Bloom et al., 1956; Cashin, 1990; Theall, 2017)
List the author once, then the years separated by commas: (Knoch, 2007, 2009)
Or for the same author and same year: (Smith, 2020a, 2020b)
Used when you have not read the original source yourself.
Format: Seldin (1993; as cited in Pounder, 2007)
Only the secondary source (Pounder, 2007, in this case) goes in the reference list.
If a source has no named individual author, cite the organisation: (US Department of Education).
The reference list entry begins with the organisation's name.
Short quotations (under 40 words): incorporate into the text, enclosed in quotation marks. Include the page number.
Long quotations (40+ words): format as a block quotation. Indent the entire passage 0.5 inches. No quotation marks. Page numbers follow the closing punctuation mark.
Quotations from different locations in the same source: each quotation is followed by its own page number.
Starts on a new page. The word "References" is centred and bold at the top.
Entries are in alphabetical order by the first author's surname.
All entries are double-spaced with a hanging indent (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches).
Every source cited in the text must have a reference entry, and every reference entry must be cited in the text.
Journal article (two authors): Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), Page range. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Journal article (three+ authors): Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), Pages. DOI
Organisational author: American Association of University Professors. (2018, October 11). Title. Publication. URL
Print book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher.
Book (2nd edition): Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work (2nd ed.). Publisher.
Chapter in an edited collection: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.
Article with no DOI available: Omit the DOI. If there is a stable URL, include it.
Shortened DOI: Acceptable. Example: http://doi.org/cqcgsr
Italicise journal names and volume numbers (but not issue numbers in parentheses).
Use sentence case for article and book titles (capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns).
Use title case for journal names.
Include DOIs or stable URLs for online academic sources whenever available. Format DOIs as hyperlinks.
Students often list all authors every time for sources with three or more authors. In APA 7, you use "et al." from the very first citation, not just from the second mention onward (that was the APA 6 rule).
Students frequently use "and" instead of "&" in parenthetical citations. The ampersand (&) is used inside parentheses; "and" is used in narrative text. Example: (Gaff & Simpson, 1994) but Gaff and Simpson (1994).
Students sometimes include both the original and secondary source in the reference list for a secondary citation. Only the source you read goes in the reference list. If you found Smith cited in Jones, list only Jones.
Students often forget the hanging indent or format reference entries with a first-line indent instead. The hanging indent is the opposite of a normal paragraph: the first line is flush left, and continuation lines are indented.
⚠️ The "et al." rule is one of the biggest changes from APA 6 to APA 7. Expect exam questions that test whether you know to use it from the first citation for three or more authors.
⚠️ Ampersand (&) vs. "and" is a perennial exam favourite. Know which goes where.
⚠️ Secondary citations ("as cited in") come up frequently in research methods courses. Know the format and which source goes in the reference list.
⚠️ Reference list formatting (alphabetical order, hanging indent, DOI inclusion) is a standard rubric item on any APA-formatted assignment.
True or False: In APA 7, a source with four authors is cited as (First Author et al., Year) from the second mention onward. (False – it is "et al." from the first mention in APA 7.)
Fill in the blank: In a parenthetical citation with two authors, the authors' names are separated by ______. (An ampersand: &)
True or False: When using a secondary citation, both the original and secondary source should appear in the reference list. (False – only the secondary source, the one you read, goes in the reference list.)
Fill in the blank: Reference list entries use a ______ indent, where continuation lines are indented 0.5 inches. (Hanging)
True or False: Multiple citations within the same parenthetical should be separated by commas. (False – they are separated by semicolons.)
Q: You want to cite a 2017 journal article by Spooren, Brockx, and Mortelmans. How do you format the in-text citation?
A: (Spooren et al., 2017) for parenthetical, or Spooren et al. (2017) for narrative. With three or more authors, APA 7 uses "et al." from the first citation.
Q: You found a statistic from Seldin (1993) while reading Pounder (2007). You did not read Seldin's original work. How do you cite this in text, and what goes in the reference list?
A: In text: Seldin (1993; as cited in Pounder, 2007). In the reference list: include only Pounder (2007), the source you read.
Q: Format a reference entry for a journal article by Anderson, K., and Miller, E. D., published in 1997, titled "Gender and student evaluations of teaching," in PS: Political Science and Politics, volume 30, issue 2, pages 216 to 219, with DOI 10.2307/420499.
A: Anderson, K., & Miller, E. D. (1997). Gender and student evaluations of teaching. PS: Political Science and Politics, 30(2), 216–219. https://doi.org/10.2307/420499
Q: You want to cite three different sources in a single parenthetical: Lewis (1996), Gaff and Simpson (1994), and McKeachie (1996). How do you format this?
A: List them alphabetically, separated by semicolons: (Gaff & Simpson, 1994; Lewis, 1996; McKeachie, 1996).
Q: You are citing two different works by Knoch, published in 2007 and 2009. How do you format this in a single parenthetical?
A: (Knoch, 2007, 2009). List the author once, followed by the years separated by commas.
These citation rules connect to the companion notes on APA 7 paper structure (heading levels affect where citations sit, and block quotation formatting is tied to the 40-word rule) and on tables, figures, and appendices (which have their own rules for notes and sourcing).
More broadly, citation skills transfer to any referencing system. Once you understand author-date logic, switching to other styles (Chicago author-date, Harvard) is straightforward because the underlying principles are similar.
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