How you cite the same source multiple times depends on which citation style you’re using, but every major style has a shortcut so you don’t have to write out the full citation every time. APA lets you drop the year in certain spots, MLA lets you use just the page number once the author is established, and Chicago offers a shortened footnote format. Here’s how each one works.
Repeat Citations in APA Style
APA draws a clear line between two types of in-text citations, and the rule for repeating them differs for each.
A parenthetical citation is the one tucked inside parentheses at the end of a sentence, like (Smith, 2022). Every parenthetical citation must include the author and year, no matter how many times you’ve already cited that source. There’s no shortcut here.
A narrative citation is when you weave the author’s name into your sentence, like “Smith (2022) found that…” For narrative citations, you only need to include the year the first time you mention that author in a given paragraph. After that first mention, you can simply write the author’s name without the year for the rest of the paragraph. When you start a new paragraph, include the year again in the first narrative citation, then drop it for subsequent mentions in that paragraph.
So in practice, a paragraph using a narrative citation might look like this:
- First mention: Smith (2022) argued that early intervention improves outcomes.
- Second mention in the same paragraph: Smith also noted that funding remains insufficient.
One important exception: if you’re citing multiple works by the same author, include the year in every citation so the reader knows which work you mean.
Repeat Citations in MLA Style
MLA uses author and page number rather than author and year, so repeat citations look a little different. The basic in-text format is (Author Page), like (Morrison 47).
Once you’ve established the author’s name in the text of your sentence, you only need to provide the page number in parentheses. If you keep citing the same source across consecutive paragraphs and no other source comes in between, MLA doesn’t require you to restate the author’s name each time. As the MLA Handbook puts it, you can “define a source in the text at the start” of a paragraph, and if you continue pulling from that same source in the next paragraph with no intervening source, you can simply provide page numbers.
The key test is whether ambiguity would result. If you’ve introduced three different sources and then drop the author name, your reader won’t know which source the page number refers to. When in doubt, include the name again.
Repeat Citations in Chicago Style
Chicago’s notes-bibliography system (the one with footnotes or endnotes) has its own approach to repeated sources. The first time you cite a work, you give the full footnote with author, title, publisher, year, and page number. Every citation after that gets a shortened form.
A shortened footnote typically includes just the author’s last name, a short version of the title, and the page number. For example, if footnote 1 was the full citation for a book by Rebecca Solnit called Wanderlust: A History of Walking, footnote 5 might read: Solnit, Wanderlust, 112.
You may have seen “ibid.” used in older papers to mean “same source as the previous footnote.” The 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style now favors shortened citations over “ibid.” because shortened forms are clearer, especially in long papers where the reader might not remember what the previous footnote referenced. You can still use “ibid.” if your instructor or publisher requires it, but the shortened form is the current recommendation.
When You’re Citing Different Pages
Citing the same source multiple times often means you’re pulling from different pages. Each style handles page numbers slightly differently.
In APA, page numbers are required for direct quotations. Use “p.” for a single page (p. 25) and “pp.” for a range (pp. 34–36). If you’re citing from pages that aren’t consecutive, separate them with a comma (pp. 67, 72). For paraphrased material, APA encourages but does not require page numbers.
In MLA, include the page number for both direct quotes and paraphrases whenever the source has page numbers. Simply change the number in your parenthetical each time: (Morrison 47) in one sentence, (Morrison 112) later.
In Chicago footnotes, each new footnote gets its own page number. Your shortened citation just swaps in the new page: Solnit, Wanderlust, 85.
Same Author, Same Year, Different Works
A trickier situation arises when you need to cite two different works by the same author published in the same year. In APA, you distinguish them by adding a lowercase letter after the year: (Johnson, 2023a) for one source and (Johnson, 2023b) for the other. The letters are assigned alphabetically based on the titles in your reference list. Use the letter in both the in-text citation and the reference list entry. If neither work has a publication date, use (Johnson, n.d.-a) and (Johnson, n.d.-b).
In MLA, this problem comes up less often because MLA citations use page numbers rather than years. If two works by the same author appear in your Works Cited list, include a shortened title in the parenthetical to differentiate them: (Morrison, Beloved 47) versus (Morrison, Song 15).
In Chicago footnotes, the shortened citation already includes a title fragment, so the reader can tell which work you mean without any extra formatting.
Quick Reference for All Three Styles
- APA: Always include the year in parenthetical citations. In narrative citations, include the year on first mention per paragraph, then drop it for subsequent mentions in the same paragraph.
- MLA: Once the author is clear from context, provide just the page number. You can carry this across consecutive paragraphs if no other source intervenes.
- Chicago (notes): Give the full footnote on first use, then switch to a shortened form (author, short title, page) for every citation after that.
Whichever style you’re using, the goal is the same: give the reader enough information to find the exact passage you’re referencing, without cluttering your paper with redundant details every time you return to a source.