APA IN-TEXT CITATIONS

The APA’s in-text citations provide at least the author’s last name and the date of publication. For direct quotations and some
paraphrases, a page number is given as well.
NOTE:APA style requires the use of the past tense or the present perfect tense in signal phrases introducing cited material: Smith (2
reported, Smith (2005) has argued.

1. BASIC FORMAT FOR A QUOTATIONOrdinarily, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author’s last nam
followed by the year of publication in parentheses. Put the page number (preceded by “p.”) in parentheses after the quotation.
Critser (2003) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight

Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in

ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor

and the young” (p. 5).

If the author is not named in the signal phrase, place the author’s name, the year, and the page number in parentheses after the
quotation: (Critser, 2003, p. 5).
NOTE: APA style requires the year of publication in an in-text citation. Do not include a month, even if the source is listed by month
year.

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2. BASIC FORMAT FOR A SUMMARY OR A PARAPHRASEInclude the author’s last name and the year either in a signal phrase
introducing the material or in parentheses following it. A page number or another locator is not required for a summary or a paraphra
but include one if it would help readers find the passage in a long work.
According to Carmona (2004), the cost of treating obesity is

exceeded only by the cost of treating illnesses from tobacco use

(para. 9).

The cost of treating obesity is exceeded only by the cost of treat-

ing illnesses from tobacco use (Carmona, 2004, para. 9).

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3. A WORK WITH TWO AUTHORSName both authors in the signal phrase or parentheses each time you cite the work. In the
parentheses, use “&” between the authors’ names; in the signal phrase, use “and.”
According to Sothern and Gordon (2003), “Environmental factors

may contribute as much as 80% to the causes of childhood obe-

sity” (p. 104).

Obese children often engage in less physical activity (Sothern &

Gordon, 2003, p. 104).

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4. A WORK WITH THREE TO FIVE AUTHORSIdentify all authors in the signal phrase or parentheses the first time you cite the sou
In 2003, Berkowitz, Wadden, Tershakovec, and Cronquist con-

cluded, “Sibutramine . . . must be carefully monitored in ado-

and pulse rate” (p. 1811).

In subsequent citations, use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in either the signal phrase or the parentheses.
As Berkowitz et al. (2003) advised, “Until more extensive safety

and efficacy data are available, . . . weight-loss medications

should be used only on an experimental basis for adolescents”

(p. 1811).

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5. A WORK WITH SIX OR MORE AUTHORSUse the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in the signal phrase or the parentheses
McDuffie et al. (2002) tested 20 adolescents aged 12-16 over a

three-month period and found that orlistat, combined with behav-

ioral therapy, produced an average weight loss of 4.4 kg, or

9.7 pounds (p. 646).

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6. UNKNOWN AUTHORIf the author is unknown, mention the work’s title in the signal phrase or give the first word or two of the title
parenthetical citation. Titles of articles and chapters are put in quotation marks; titles of books and reports are italicized.
Children struggling to control their weight must also struggle

with the pressures of television advertising that, on the one

hand, encourages the consumption of junk food and, on the

other, celebrates thin celebrities (“Television,” 2002).

NOTE:In the rare case when “Anonymous” is specified as the author, treat it as if it were a real name: (Anonymous, 2001). In the lis
references, also use the name Anonymous as author.

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7. ORGANIZATION AS AUTHORIf the author is a government agency or other organization, name the organization in the signal ph
or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.
Obesity puts children at risk for a number of medical complica-

tions, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea,

and orthopedic problems (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,

2004, p. 1).

If the organization has a familiar abbreviation, you may include it in brackets the first time you cite the source and use the
abbreviation alone in later citations.

(National Institute of Mental Health

2001)
 (NIMH, 2001)
LATER CITATIONS

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8. TWO OR MORE WORKS IN THE SAME PARENTHESESWhen your parenthetical citation names two or more works, put them i
same order that they appear in the reference list, separated by semicolons.
Researchers have indicated that studies of pharmacological treat-

ments for childhood obesity are inconclusive (Berkowitz et al.,

2003; McDuffie et al., 2003).

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9. AUTHORS WITH THE SAME LAST NAMETo avoid confusion, use initials with the last names if your reference list includes two o
more authors with the same last name.
Research by E. Smith (1989) revealed that . . .

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10. PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONInterviews, memos, letters, e-mail, and similar unpublished person-to-person communications s
be cited as follows:
One of Atkinson’s colleagues, who has studied the effect of the

media on children’s eating habits, has contended that advertisers

for snack foods will need to design ads responsibly for their

younger viewers (F. Johnson, personal communication, October 20,

2004).

Do not include personal communications in your reference list.

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11. AN ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTWhen possible, cite an electronic document as you would any other document (using the author
style).
Atkinson (2001) found that children who spent at least four hours

a day watching TV were less likely to engage in adequate

physical activity during the week.

Electronic sources may lack authors’ names or dates. In addition, they may lack page numbers (required in some citations). Here ar
APA’s guidelines for handling sources without authors’ names, dates, or page numbers.

Unknown author

If no author is named, mention the title of the document in a signal phrase or give the first word or two of the title in parentheses (see
item 6). (If an organization serves as the author, see item 7.)
The body’s basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a measure of its at-

rest energy requirement (“Exercise,” 2003).

When the date is unknown, APA recommends using the abbreviation “n.d.” (for “no date”).
Attempts to establish a definitive link between television pro-

gramming and children’s eating habits have been problematic

(Magnus, n.d.).

No page numbers

APA ordinarily requires page numbers for quotations, and it recommends them for summaries or paraphrases from long sources. W
an electronic source lacks stable numbered pages, your citation should include — if possible — information that will help readers loc
the particular passage being cited.
When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the paragraph number preceded by the symbol ¶ or by the
abbreviation “para.”: (Hall, 2001, ¶ 5) or (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If neither a page nor a paragraph number is given and the document
contains headings, cite the appropriate heading and indicate which paragraph under that heading you are referring to.
Hoppin and Taveras (2004) pointed out that several other med-

ications were classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as

having the “potential for abuse” (Weight-Loss Drugs section,

para. 6).

NOTE:Electronic files using portable document format (PDF) often have stable page numbers. For such sources, give the page num
the parenthetical citation.

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12. INDIRECT SOURCEIf you use a source that was cited in another source (a secondary source), name the original source in your
signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include it in your parenthetical citation, preceded by the words “as
in.” In the following example, Critser is the secondary source.
Former surgeon general Dr. David Satcher described “a nation of

young people seriously at risk of starting out obese and dooming

themselves to the difficult task of overcoming a tough illness”

(as cited in Critser, 2003, p. 4).

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13. TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR IN THE SAME YEARWhen your list of references includes more than one
by the same author in the same year, use lowercase letters (“a,” “b,” and so on) with the year to order the entries in the reference lis
(See item 6.) Use those same letters with the year in the in-text citation.
Research by Durgin (2003b) has yielded new findings about the

role of counseling in treating childhood obesity.

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