APA In-Text Citations: The Complete Guide
Every source you use in an APA paper appears twice: once in the reference list, and once (or more) as an in-text citation in your writing. APA's author–date system is simple at its core — name and year — but the details matter. This guide covers every rule you'll actually need.
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Open the Citation GeneratorParenthetical vs narrative citations
There are two equally correct ways to cite in text:
Note the connector changes: "&" inside parentheses, but the word "and" in running text.
When to add page numbers
Page numbers are required for direct quotes and encouraged for paraphrases of specific passages:
Use "p." for one page, "pp." for a range (pp. 690–692). For sources without pages, use a paragraph number (para. 4), a section heading, or a timestamp for video (2:45).
The et al. rule
| Number of authors | First citation | Later citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | (Rasch & Born, 2013) | Same every time |
| 3 or more | (Rosenzweig et al., 2005) | (Rosenzweig et al., 2005) |
APA 7 simplified this: three or more authors are shortened to "et al." from the very first citation (APA 6 required listing up to five authors the first time).
Special cases
No author
Use the first words of the title — in quotation marks for articles and pages, italicized for books: ("The History of Citation," 2022).
No date
Use n.d.: (Smith, n.d.).
Organization as author
Spell it out the first time with the abbreviation in brackets, then abbreviate: first (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023), then (WHO, 2023).
Multiple sources in one citation
Alphabetical order, separated by semicolons: (Kahneman, 2011; Rasch & Born, 2013).
Same author, same year
Add letters to the year, matching the reference list: (Smith, 2020a, 2020b).
Secondary sources (as cited in)
If you read about Piaget's study in Kahneman's book, cite: (Piaget, 1936, as cited in Kahneman, 2011) — and only Kahneman appears in your reference list. Use this sparingly; find the original when you can.
Common mistakes
- Putting the citation after the final period — it belongs inside the sentence: "…consolidation (Rasch & Born, 2013)."
- Including the author's first name or initials in text citations.
- Citing a source in text that's missing from the reference list (or vice versa) — they must match one-to-one.
- Using "et al." for two authors — always name both.
Avoiding over- and under-citation
You don't need a citation after every sentence. When a paragraph paraphrases one source continuously, cite it at the first mention and make clear the discussion still draws on it — repeat the citation only when you return to the source after discussing something else, or in a new paragraph. Under-citation is the bigger risk: any specific claim, statistic, or idea that isn't yours needs a citation, even when paraphrased in your own words.
Block quotes (40+ words)
Quotes of 40 words or more become a freestanding block: start on a new line, indent the whole quote 0.5 inch, drop the quotation marks, and place the citation after the final punctuation — (Kahneman, 2011, p. 24) — with no period after the parenthesis.