Source: Purdue OWL APA Style Guidelines Overview (APA 7th Edition)
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate | Prerequisites: Familiarity with APA formatting basics (paper setup, title page).
Every time you use someone else's idea, data or words in an APA paper, you need an in-text citation. These short references in the body of your paper point the reader to the full entry on your References page. Getting citations wrong is one of the fastest ways to lose marks, or worse, be flagged for plagiarism. This section covers the mechanics: when to cite, how to format the citation, and how the rules change depending on the number of authors or the type of source.
APA uses the author-date system: put the author's surname and the year of publication in parentheses wherever you use their work. Add a page number when you quote directly. For three or more authors, use "et al." from the first citation onwards.
Author-date method
The citation system APA uses, where the author's surname and the publication year appear together in the text, either in a signal phrase or in parentheses.
Think of it as: the two pieces of information a reader needs to locate the source on the References page.
Signal phrase
A phrase that introduces a citation by naming the author in the sentence itself, with the year in parentheses immediately after. For example: "Jones (2020) found that..."
In simple terms, you weave the author's name into your own sentence instead of putting everything in brackets.
Parenthetical citation
A citation where both the author and year appear together inside parentheses at the end of the relevant clause or sentence. For example: (Jones, 2020).
Think of it as: the quick, tucked-away version of a citation, used when you do not need to name the author in your sentence.
Et al.
Latin abbreviation meaning "and others." Used in APA when a work has three or more authors: cite the first author's surname followed by "et al." in every citation.
In simple terms, it is the shortcut that saves you from listing a long string of names every time.
Block quotation
A direct quotation of 40 words or more, set apart from the main text. It starts on a new line, is indented 0.5 inch from the left margin, is double-spaced, and does not use quotation marks. The parenthetical citation goes after the closing punctuation.
Think of it as: a quoted passage that is long enough to earn its own indented paragraph.
Use the author-date format: (Author, Year)
Direct quote: include the page number: (Jones, 1998, p. 42). Use "p." for one page, "pp." for multiple pages.
Paraphrase or general reference: author and year only, no page number required
Use past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases in literature reviews: "Jones (1998) found" or "Jones (1998) has found"
Two authors: name both every time. Spell out "and" in the text; use "&" inside parentheses.
Signal phrase: "Fan and Okoye (2020) found that..."
Parenthetical: (Fan & Okoye, 2020)
Three or more authors: first author's surname + "et al." in every citation, including the first.
Signal phrase: "Gutierrez et al. (2019) argued that..."
Parenthetical: (Gutierrez et al., 2019)
Unknown author: cite the title in place of the author. Italicise book and report titles; use quotation marks for article and chapter titles.
Example: ("Using APA," 2001)
Organisation as author: spell out the full organisation name the first time, with its abbreviation in brackets if you will cite it again.
First use: According to the American Psychological Association (APA) (2020), ...
Subsequent: (APA, 2020)
Multiple works in one citation: list alphabetically by first author, separated by semicolons.
(Chen, 2020; Ruiz, 2019)
Start on a new line
Indent every line 0.5 inch from the left margin
Double-space throughout
Do not use quotation marks
If the quotation has additional paragraphs, indent the first line of each an extra 0.5 inch
Place the parenthetical citation after the closing punctuation mark (not before, as with shorter quotes)
"You need page numbers for every citation." Page numbers are required only when quoting directly. Paraphrases and general references need only the author and year.
"List all authors every time, no matter how many there are." For works with three or more authors, use the first author + "et al." from the very first citation.
"Use 'and' inside parentheses." Inside parentheses, use the ampersand (&), not the word "and." Spell out "and" only in running text.
"Block quotations use quotation marks." They do not. The indentation signals the quote; quotation marks are omitted entirely.
⚠️ The "and" vs "&" rule (text vs parentheses) is a perennial exam question. Know it cold.
⚠️ The et al. threshold changed in APA 7: it is now three or more authors (previously five). If your professor tests on edition differences, this is a likely target.
⚠️ Block quotation formatting (40+ words, indented, no quotation marks, citation after closing punctuation) is commonly tested.
⚠️ Signal phrase verb tense (past or present perfect) comes up in literature review assignments.
True or false: A paraphrased idea requires a page number in the citation.
False. Only direct quotes require page numbers.
Fill in the blank: Inside parentheses, two authors are joined by ______, not "and."
The ampersand (&)
True or false: For a work with four authors, you list all four names in the first citation.
False. In APA 7, use the first author + et al. from the first citation onwards for three or more authors.
Fill in the blank: Block quotations are used for direct quotes of ______ words or more.
40
True or false: The parenthetical citation in a block quotation goes before the closing punctuation.
False. It goes after the closing punctuation.
Q: Write a correct parenthetical citation for a 2021 article by three authors: Lee, Patel and Singh.
A: (Lee et al., 2021)
Q: How does a signal phrase citation differ from a parenthetical citation? Give an example of each for an author named Brooks (2019).
A: A signal phrase names the author in the sentence: "Brooks (2019) argued that..." A parenthetical citation places both author and year in brackets at the end: "The findings were significant (Brooks, 2019)."
Q: You are quoting a passage of 50 words from page 112 of a book by Torres (2018). Describe how this quotation should be formatted.
A: Because the quotation is over 40 words, format it as a block quotation: start on a new line, indent all lines 0.5 inch, double-space, omit quotation marks, and place the citation after the final period: (Torres, 2018, p. 112).
Q: How do you cite a work with no named author in APA?
A: Use the title of the work in place of the author. Italicise book and report titles. Use quotation marks for article and chapter titles. Example: ("Using APA," 2001).
Q: You want to cite two sources in a single parenthetical reference: a 2020 work by Chen and a 2019 work by Ruiz. How do you format it?
A: List them alphabetically by first author, separated by a semicolon: (Chen, 2020; Ruiz, 2019).
In-text citations are inseparable from the References page: every in-text citation must have a matching full reference, and every reference must be cited at least once in the text. The formatting rules here also connect to academic integrity and plagiarism policies, which most composition courses cover separately.
If you are writing a literature review, the signal phrase conventions (past tense, present perfect) become particularly important for demonstrating how sources relate to each other.
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