Source: APA Citation Guide, UC Berkeley Library / Publication Manual of the APA
Tags: APA in-text citations, parenthetical references, signal phrases, narrative citation, one author, multiple authors, no author, same last name, direct quotation, paraphrasing, APA format
APA in-text citations are brief parenthetical references that point the reader to the full entry in your reference list. The standard form is (Author, Year), with page numbers added for direct quotes or specific passages. The rules change slightly depending on the number of authors, whether the author is named in your sentence, and whether multiple authors share a surname.
Parenthetical citation
A citation placed in parentheses within the body of your text. Contains the author's surname and the year of publication, and optionally a page number. Example: (Clinton, 2004).
Narrative citation (signal phrase)
A citation style where the author's name appears as part of the sentence, with only the year (and page number if needed) in parentheses. Example: As Clinton (2004) stated, ...
et al.
"And others." Used to shorten in-text citations for works with multiple authors after the first mention (for three to five authors) or from the first mention (for six or more authors).
n.d.
"No date." Replaces the year in an in-text citation when no publication date is available. Example: (NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship, n.d.).
Two options for integrating the citation:
Parenthetical: Your text or quotation here (Clinton, 2004).
Narrative: As Clinton (2004) stated, your text continues.
The key principle is brevity without ambiguity. If you name the author in your sentence, do not repeat the name inside the parentheses. If you mention the year in nearby text, do not repeat it either.
First citation in text: list all authors' surnames.
Subsequent citations: use the first author's surname followed by et al.
In parenthetical form, use & between the last two authors: (Coward & Maguire, 1999, p. 45).
In narrative form, use "and" in running prose: According to Coward and Maguire (1999, p. 45), ...
From the very first citation, use only the first author's surname followed by et al. There is no need to list all names at any point in the text.
Use the first few words of whatever appears first in the reference list entry (usually the title), followed by the date.
Parenthetical: (NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship, n.d.).
Narrative: According to the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct (n.d.), ...
When your reference list contains works by different authors who share a surname, include the authors' initials in every in-text citation to distinguish them.
Parenthetical: (A. Stein, 1997) and (H. F. Stein, 2003).
Narrative: As reported by A. Stein (1997), ...
The initials appear before the surname (normal order), not in inverted order.
When you quote directly or refer to a specific part of a source, add the page number (or section/paragraph identifier) after the year:
(Clinton, 2004, p. 38)
(Coward & Maguire, 1999, pp. 45–46)
Use p. for a single page, pp. for a range. For web sources without page numbers, use para. or sect. to identify the location as precisely as possible.
Replace the year with n.d.:
(Organisation Name, n.d.)
Suffixes such as Jr.
Qualifiers such as Ed.
Months or days, even if they appear in the reference list entry.
Decision tree for in-text citation form:
Is the author named in your sentence?
Yes: put only the year (and page if needed) in parentheses.
No: put author, year (and page if needed) in parentheses.
How many authors?
One: always use the surname.
Two: always use both surnames.
Three to five: all surnames on first mention, then first surname + et al.
Six or more: first surname + et al. from the start.
Same surname as another author in your reference list?
Yes: add initials before the surname.
No author?
Use the first few words of the reference list entry element (typically the title).
⚠️ Use "&" in parenthetical citations but "and" in narrative/running prose. This is one of the most commonly tested distinctions.
⚠️ For three to five authors, you must list all names the first time. Students often jump straight to et al., which is only correct from the second mention onward.
⚠️ Page numbers are required for direct quotes, not optional. Omitting them is a citation error, not a stylistic choice.
⚠️ Do not include months, days, or suffixes (Jr., Ed.) in the in-text citation, even if they appear in the reference list.
⚠️ When two authors in your reference list share a surname, initials are mandatory in every in-text citation for both, not just the less prominent one.
Q: You are citing a work by Smith, Jones, Brown, and Lee for the second time in your paper. What does the in-text citation look like?
A: (Smith et al., year). After the first mention (which listed all four surnames), subsequent citations use only the first author plus et al.
Q: How does the in-text citation differ between parenthetical and narrative form for a two-author work?
A: Parenthetical form uses &: (Coward & Maguire, 1999). Narrative form uses "and": According to Coward and Maguire (1999), ...
Q: Your reference list includes works by A. Stein (1997) and H. F. Stein (2003). How do you cite A. Stein in-text?
A: Include the initial: (A. Stein, 1997). The initial distinguishes this author from H. F. Stein.
Q: You are quoting a specific sentence from a web page that has no page numbers. How do you direct the reader to the passage?
A: Use the paragraph number (para.) or section heading (sect.) to identify the location as specifically as possible, e.g. (Author, year, para. 4).
Q: A source has no named author and no publication date. What appears in the in-text citation?
A: The first few words of the title (or whatever element begins the reference list entry), followed by n.d. Example: ("Title of Work," n.d.) or (Organisation Name, n.d.).
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