APA in-text citations follow a simple author-date system: you include the author’s last name and the year of publication every time you reference a source. How you arrange those two pieces depends on whether you weave the author’s name into your sentence or tuck everything inside parentheses at the end. Here’s how both approaches work, along with the rules for direct quotes, multiple authors, and tricky situations like missing information.
Parenthetical vs. Narrative Citations
Every APA in-text citation falls into one of two formats. Understanding the difference is the foundation for everything else.
A parenthetical citation places the author’s last name and year together inside parentheses, usually at the end of the sentence. The period goes after the closing parenthesis, not before it.
- APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).
A narrative citation uses the author’s name as part of the sentence itself, with only the year in parentheses. This feels more natural when you want to foreground who said something.
- According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
Both formats are correct. You can mix them throughout a paper. Narrative citations work well when you’re discussing a specific researcher’s argument. Parenthetical citations keep the focus on the idea rather than the person behind it.
How Many Authors Changes the Format
The number of authors on a source determines what you write in the citation.
One author: Use the author’s last name in every citation.
- Parenthetical: (Luna, 2020)
- Narrative: Luna (2020)
Two authors: Include both names every time. In a parenthetical citation, join the names with an ampersand (&). In a narrative citation, spell out the word “and.”
- Parenthetical: (Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)
- Narrative: Salas and D’Agostino (2020)
Three or more authors: List only the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” (Latin for “and others”). This shortened form applies from the very first citation onward.
- Parenthetical: (Martin et al., 2020)
- Narrative: Martin et al. (2020)
Note the period after “al.” since it’s an abbreviation, but no period after “et” since that’s a complete word.
Direct Quotes Require Page Numbers
Whenever you quote a source word for word, you need to add a page number so the reader can find the exact passage. Use “p.” for a single page and “pp.” for a range of pages.
- Parenthetical: She stated, “students often had difficulty using APA style” (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not explain why.
- Narrative: According to Jones (1998), “students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time” (p. 199).
Notice how the narrative version places the year right after the author’s name, then puts the page number in a separate set of parentheses at the end of the quote. For a page range, you’d write something like (pp. 34–36). If pages are not consecutive, separate them with a comma: (pp. 67, 72).
If your source doesn’t have page numbers, like a website or an e-book without fixed pagination, provide another locator so the reader can find the passage. A paragraph number (para. 4), a section heading, or even a timestamp for audio and video content all work.
Paraphrasing Is Simpler
When you restate an idea in your own words rather than quoting it directly, you still cite the author and year but can leave out the page number. Including a page number on a paraphrase is optional, though some instructors prefer it.
- According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
- APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).
The same author-date rules for one, two, or three-plus authors apply to paraphrases exactly as they do for direct quotes.
When Author or Date Is Missing
Not every source comes with a clear author name and publication date. APA has a specific substitution for each missing piece.
No author: Move the title of the work into the author position. In a parenthetical citation, italicize a book or report title, or use quotation marks for an article or webpage title. Shorten long titles to the first few words.
- (“Understanding Citation Styles,” 2021)
No date: Replace the year with “n.d.” (short for “no date”).
- (Smith, n.d.)
No author and no date: Combine both substitutions.
- (“Understanding Citation Styles,” n.d.)
One important detail: don’t write “Anonymous” as the author unless the work is literally signed “Anonymous.” If no author is listed, use the title instead.
Personal Communications
Emails, phone calls, text messages, private interviews, and unrecorded lectures count as personal communications. Because a reader can’t look these up, they appear only as in-text citations and never go in your reference list.
Include the person’s initials and last name, the label “personal communication,” and the most specific date you can provide.
- Narrative: E.-M. Paradis (personal communication, August 8, 2019)
- Parenthetical: (T. Nguyen, personal communication, February 24, 2020)
If the information is available through a recoverable source, cite that source instead. For instance, if a professor mentions a finding during a lecture, try to track down and cite the original published research rather than citing the lecture as a personal communication.
Quick Formatting Checklist
A few small details trip up even experienced writers. Keep these in mind as you draft:
- Comma placement: In parenthetical citations, a comma always separates the author from the year: (Jones, 1998). In narrative citations, no comma appears because the year is already in its own parentheses: Jones (1998).
- Ampersand vs. “and”: Use & inside parentheses, spell out “and” in running text.
- Period placement: For a parenthetical citation at the end of a sentence, the period goes after the closing parenthesis. For a block quote (40 words or more, set off from the text), the period goes before the parenthetical citation.
- Repeat citations: If you cite the same source multiple times in one paragraph, include the year in every citation. APA does not have a shortcut for omitting the year after the first mention.
- Multiple sources in one citation: List them alphabetically by the first author’s last name, separated by semicolons: (Jones, 1998; Luna, 2020; Martin et al., 2020).