Table of Contents
The Two In-Text Citation Formats
APA 7 uses an author–date system. Every in-text citation contains the author's last name and the year of publication. You have two ways to present these elements:
| Format | Structure | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Parenthetical | …quoted idea (Author, Year). | Author not named in your sentence |
| Narrative | Author (Year) argued that… | Author named as part of your sentence |
The choice is stylistic — both are equally correct. Many writers mix both formats throughout a paper to vary sentence rhythm.
One Author
Two Authors
Always name both authors every time you cite the work. Use & (ampersand) inside parentheses and "and" in running text.
Three or More Authors
Use only the first author's last name followed by "et al." — from the very first citation. This applies to works with three or more authors.
If two different references with the same first author and year shorten to the same "et al." form, include enough additional author names to distinguish them — e.g., (Kim, Park, et al., 2022) vs. (Kim, Lee, et al., 2022).
Group / Organisation Authors
When the author is an organisation (government agency, association, corporation), write the full name on the first citation. If the name is long and has a common abbreviation, you may introduce it in brackets and use the abbreviation thereafter.
If the organisation name is already short — e.g., UNESCO, WHO, NASA — no abbreviation introduction is needed. Use the short form from the start.
No Author
When a work has no author listed, use the first few words of the title in place of the author. Italicise titles of books and journals; put titles of articles, chapters, and web pages in quotation marks.
No Date
When no publication date is available, use n.d. (no date) in place of the year.
Direct Quotes & Page Numbers
When quoting words verbatim, you must add a page number (or paragraph number for sources without pages) after the year.
Locators for sources without page numbers
| Source type | Locator format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Webpage with numbered paragraphs | para. X | (Jones, 2022, para. 4) |
| Webpage — no paragraphs | Section heading + para. X | (Jones, 2022, Introduction section, para. 2) |
| eBook without page numbers | Chapter X, para. X | (Smith, 2020, Chapter 3, para. 7) |
| Timestamp (video/audio) | HH:MM:SS | (TED, 2018, 4:32) |
Long (Block) Quotations
Quotations of 40 words or more are formatted as block quotes — no quotation marks, indented 0.5 inches from the left margin, double-spaced, with the citation placed after the final punctuation mark.
The relationship between poverty and educational attainment is neither simple nor deterministic. Multiple factors mediate the effect of low socioeconomic status on academic outcomes, including school quality, parental involvement, access to resources, and the child's own resilience and self-efficacy beliefs. (García & Torres, 2021, p. 44)
Citing Multiple Works at Once
When attributing an idea to several sources, list them alphabetically inside one set of parentheses, separated by semicolons.
Secondary Sources (Citing a Source You Found in Another Source)
Whenever possible, locate and cite the original source. If you cannot access it, use the phrase "as cited in" and cite the secondary source you actually read. Only the secondary source appears in the reference list.
Instructors and reviewers may flag over-reliance on secondary sources. Always try to find the original work; most are accessible via your university library or Google Scholar.
Personal Communications
Interviews, emails, phone calls, and direct conversations are cited as personal communications. They do not appear in the reference list because readers cannot retrieve them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Correct approach |
|---|---|
| Using "et al." for a two-author work | Always name both authors: (Smith & Jones, 2022) |
| Putting "&" in running text | Use "and" in narrative: Smith and Jones (2022) |
| Omitting page number on a direct quote | Add p. / para. / timestamp after the year |
| Citing the same author–year twice in one sentence separately | Combine: (Brown, 2020, pp. 14, 22) |
| Listing multiple sources chronologically, not alphabetically | Alphabetical by first author within the parentheses |
| Repeating the year in the same paragraph (narrative) | After first full citation, omit year if same work cited again in same paragraph |
After the first full citation in a paragraph, subsequent citations to the same work in the same paragraph may omit the year — but only for narrative citations and only when no ambiguity would result.
Quick-Reference Cheat Sheet
| Scenario | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 author | (Smith, 2022) | Smith (2022) |
| 2 authors | (Smith & Lee, 2022) | Smith and Lee (2022) |
| 3+ authors | (Smith et al., 2022) | Smith et al. (2022) |
| Group author, long name | (APA, 2022) after intro | APA (2022) after intro |
| No author — book | (Title Fragment, 2022) | Title Fragment (2022) |
| No author — article | ("Title Fragment," 2022) | "Title Fragment" (2022) |
| No date | (Smith, n.d.) | Smith (n.d.) |
| Direct quote | (Smith, 2022, p. 14) | Smith (2022, p. 14) |
| Multiple sources | (Lee, 2020; Smith, 2019) | — |
| Secondary source | (as cited in Jones, 2021) | … as cited in Jones (2021) |