An in-text citation is a short reference placed inside the body of your paper that points the reader to the full source on your references page. In APA style, the most common format in academic writing, it looks like an author’s last name and a year in parentheses: (Smith, 2022). But the exact format shifts depending on how many authors the source has, where you place the citation in your sentence, and whether the source is missing information like an author or date.
The Two Basic Formats
Every in-text citation falls into one of two categories: parenthetical or narrative. The difference is simply where the author’s name appears in the sentence.
A parenthetical citation puts everything inside parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the period:
- Falsely balanced news coverage can distort the public’s perception of expert consensus on an issue (Koehler, 2016).
A narrative citation weaves the author’s name into the sentence itself, with only the year in parentheses. The year goes right after the author’s name:
- Koehler (2016) noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage.
The author’s name can appear anywhere in the sentence that reads naturally. You’re not locked into starting the sentence with it. What matters is that the year in parentheses follows immediately after the name.
How the Number of Authors Changes the Format
The citation looks slightly different depending on whether your source has one, two, or three or more authors.
One author: Use the author’s last name and year every time you cite the source.
- Parenthetical: (Luna, 2020)
- Narrative: Luna (2020)
Two authors: Include both names every time. In a parenthetical citation, connect them 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 time you cite the source.
- 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.
Adding Page Numbers
When you quote someone directly, you need to point readers to the exact location. Add a “p.” for a single page or “pp.” for a range after the year:
- Parenthetical: (Luna, 2020, p. 45)
- Parenthetical with a page range: (Luna, 2020, pp. 45–47)
- Narrative: Luna (2020) argued that “direct quote here” (p. 45).
For narrative citations with a direct quote, the page number goes in its own set of parentheses after the closing quotation mark.
When the Source Is Missing Information
Not every source comes with a clear author and date. Websites, organizational reports, and older documents sometimes lack one or both. Here’s how to handle those gaps.
No Author Listed
Move the title of the work into the author’s spot. Use the first few words of the title if it’s long, and put article or chapter titles in quotation marks:
- (“Understanding Climate Trends,” 2023)
Don’t substitute “Anonymous” unless the work itself is actually signed “Anonymous.” If no author is credited, use the title.
No Date Available
Replace the year with “n.d.” (short for “no date”):
- (Rivera, n.d.)
- Rivera (n.d.)
No Page Number
Many online sources don’t have traditional page numbers. If the source uses paragraph numbers, section headings, or other markers, you can point to those instead when quoting directly. For a paragraph number, use “para.” followed by the number: (Luna, 2020, para. 4).
Citing Inside Parenthetical Text
Sometimes you need a citation inside a sentence that’s already in parentheses, like a clarifying note. In that case, use a semicolon to separate your text from the citation rather than nesting parentheses inside parentheses:
- (e.g., falsely balanced news coverage; Koehler, 2016)
If other explanatory text appears alongside the citation within the same parentheses, place commas around the year: (see Koehler, 2016, for more detail).
Citing Multiple Sources at Once
When a single point draws on several sources, list them all inside one set of parentheses, separated by semicolons. Arrange them alphabetically by the first author’s last name:
- (Johnson, 2019; Luna, 2020; Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)
This keeps your writing cleaner than stacking multiple parenthetical citations back to back.
What In-Text Citations Look Like in MLA
If your class or publication uses MLA style instead of APA, in-text citations look different. MLA uses the author’s last name and a page number, with no comma and no year:
- Parenthetical: (Luna 45)
- Narrative: Luna argues that “direct quote here” (45).
For sources with no page number, the author’s name alone is sufficient. For sources with no author, use a shortened version of the title. The core logic is the same as APA (point the reader to the right entry on your Works Cited page), but the visual format is noticeably different. Always check which style your instructor or publisher requires before formatting your citations.