examples of in text citations in a research paper

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• When neither the author nor the page number is mentioned in the body of the sentence, you should include both the author’s last name and the page number in the parenthetical citation.

Colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (Jack 24).

• When the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence, you should include only the page number in your parenthetical citation.

As Anthony Jack argues, colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (24).

• If the source you are writing about does not have page numbers, or if you consulted an e-book version of the source, you should include only the author’s name in the parenthetical citation:

Colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (Jack).

• If you mention the author in the body of the sentence and there is no page number in the source, you should not include a parenthetical citation.

As Anthony Jack argues, colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students.

• If you are referring to an entire work rather than a specific page, you do not need to include a page number.

In The Privileged Poor, Anthony Jack describes many obstacles that low-income students face at selective colleges and universities.

• If you are referring to a source that has no listed author, you should include the title (or a shortened version of the title) in your parenthetical citation.

Harvard College promises “to educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society” (“Mission, Vision, & History”).

• If you are referring to a source that has two authors, you should include both authors in your parenthetical citation.

The researchers tested whether an intervention during the first year of college could improve student well-being (Walton and Cohen 1448).

• If you refer to a source that has more than two authors, you should include the first author’s name followed by et al. ( Et al. is an abbreviation for et alia which means “and others” in Latin.) When you use et al. in a citation, you should not put it in italics.

The researchers studied more than 12,000 students who were interested in STEM fields (LaCosse et al. 8).

• If you refer to more than one source by the same author in your paper, you should include the title (or a shortened version of the title) in your parenthetical citation so that readers will know which source to look for in your Works Cited list. If you mention the author’s name in the sentence, you only need to include the title and page number. If you mention the author and title in the sentence, you only need to include the page number.

Colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (Jack, Privileged Poor 24).

According to Anthony Jack, colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students ( Privileged Poor 24).

As Anthony Jack writes in Privileged Poor, colleges and universities need to create policies that foster inclusion for low-income students (24).

• If you want to credit multiple authors for making the same point, you can include them all in one parenthetical citation. 

Students who possess cultural capital, measured by proxies like involvement in literature, art, and classical music, tend to perform better in school (Bourdieu and Passeron; Dumais; Orr).

• If you refer to a source that includes line numbers in the margins, numbered paragraphs, numbered chapters, or numbered sections rather than page numbers, you should include the number in your parenthetical citation, along with “line,” “ch./ chs.,” or “sec./secs.”   You can include stable numbering like chapters even when there are no stable page numbers (as in an e-book). You should separate “line” or other designation from the work’s title or author’s name with a comma.  If the source does not include this type of numbering, you should not include it either.

We learn that when he went to the store to buy clothes for his son, “a frantic inspection of the boys’ department revealed no suits to fit the new-born Button” (Fitzgerald, ch.2).

• If you are citing a play, you should include the act and scene along with line numbers (for verse) or page numbers, followed by act and scene, (for prose).

Guildenstern tells Hamlet that “there has been much throwing about of brains” (Shakespeare, 2.2. 381-382).

Chris is in this mindset when he says, “a couple minutes, and your whole life changes, that’s it. It’s gone” (Nottage, 13; act 1, scene1).

• If you are referring to a video or audio recording that contains time stamps, you should include the time in your parenthetical citation to make it easy for your readers to find the part of the recording that you are citing.

In the Stranger Things official trailer, the audience knows that something unusual is going to happen from the moment the boys get on their bicycles to ride off into the night (0:16).

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APA in-text citations

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In-text citations are a brief version of citations that are used to provide information about the sources being referred to by the author. They are used in the text to indicate to the reader that complete information of the citations referred to is available in the reference list, which will enable the reader to locate or access the sources being cited. To provide in-text citations, you must have the following two important elements:

Name of the author or organization

Publication year

Types of in-text citations

APA citation follows the author–date system. Two types of in-text citations are used in APA style. However, it is not necessary to follow the same type of citation throughout the paper. You must choose the appropriate type depending upon how you construct your sentence. There are two types of in-text citations:

Narrative citations

Parenthetical citations

Narrative citation

This type of citation is used when the name of the author or the organization and the year of publication are incorporated into the text and act as a part of the sentence. See the below examples:

With the author

Sivasankar (2007) argues that education for women is important to develop a nation.

Organization functioning as the author

IPIECA (2007) released the oil and natural gas industry guidelines.

Notice that only the publication year is enclosed in parenthesis for narrative citations.

Parenthetical citation

Parenthetical citations are used when both the name of the author or the organization and the year of publication appear inside parenthesis. In parenthetical citations, a comma separates the author from the publication year.

It is argued that education for women is important to develop a nation (Sivasankar, 2007).

It was concluded to release the oil and natural gas industry guidelines (IPIECA, 2007).

If you want to add any additional information in a parenthetical citation, provide the information after the year with a comma as a separator. Phrases or words such as “for more information, see,” “see,” and “e.g.,” can also be used in parenthetical citations. These are illustrated in the below examples:

With author

It is argued that education for women is important to develop a nation (Sivasankar, 2007, p. 7).

It is argued that education for women is important to develop a nation (see Sivasankar, 2007, p. 7).

However, when a citation appears along with some text in parenthesis, use a semicolon as a separator.

It is argued that education for women is important to develop a nation (e.g., the significance of Indian women; Sivasankar, 2007, p. 7).

Examples of in-text citations:

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication Year)

Narrative: Hannula (2006)

Parenthetical: (Hannula, 2006)

Two authors

The surnames of the first author and the second author are separated by “and” in narrative citations. However, use an ampersand symbol in parenthetical citations.

Narrative: Author Surname1 and Author Surname2 (Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname1 & Author Surname2, Publication Year)

Narrative: Kleanthous and Williams (2013)

Parenthetical: (Kleanthous & Williams, 2013)

Three or more authors

If the number of authors is three or more, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” in both narrative and parenthetical citations.

Narrative: Author Surname1 et al. (Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

Narrative: Towers et al. (2018)

Parenthetical: (Towers et al., 2018)

Group author

If the reference has a group author, use it in place of the author’s name. The group author can be abbreviated. Note that there is a difference in using the abbreviation between a narrative and a parenthetical citation.

If the first occurrence appears in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation along with the year in parenthesis. If the first occurrence appears in a parenthetical citation, you need to include the abbreviation inside square brackets, as the citation is already inside parenthesis.

Narrative: Group author (Abbreviation, Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (Group author [Abbreviation], Publication Year)

Narrative: American Psychological Association (APA, 2008)

Parenthetical: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2018)

No author/Anonymous author

If a reference does not have an author, add the title of the work in in-text citations in place of the author’s name. In general, citations for no author reference appear parenthetical. You need to write the title according to how it is listed in the reference list entry. If the title in the reference list entry is italicized, you need to italicize the title in the in-text citation too. If formatting is not used in the list, use double quotes around the title and capitalize significant words.

Parenthetical: (“Title of the Work,” Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (“The Surrogate Mother,” 2018)

If the author of a work is openly mentioned as “Anonymous,” use “Anonymous” as the author.

Parenthetical: (Anonymous, 2004)

Other citations

Multiple citations in one sentence.

If multiple in-text citations appear together, arrange them in alphabetical order in parenthetical citations. Use semicolons to separate citations.

(Anand, 2017; Burner & Amit, 2012; Pitchard, 2004)

If multiple references by the same author group are cited, arrange them chronologically with a comma separator. Note that the chronological citation for the same author group takes the order mentioned in the below example, i.e., n.d., 2006, in press. Here, “n.d.” stands for “no date.”

(Albert, 2012, 2014a, 2014b; Ben & Bell, 2012, in press; Pitchard, n.d., 2004)

Note that the alphabetical arrangement of in-text citations should not be done in narrative citations.

Same surname, same publication year, different initials

If two or more entries in the reference list have the same surname and publication year, but different initials, add initials to the in-text citations to distinguish each author. This will help the reader locate the correct source of the citation. A few examples for your understanding are given below. The letters “F” and “M’ denote the authors’ initials.

Narrative: F. Author Surname (Publication Year)

Narrative: M. Author Surname (Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (F. Author Surname, Publication Year)

Parenthetical: (M. Author Surname, Publication Year)

Narrative: T. Lange (2016)

Narrative: K. Lange (2016)

Parenthetical: (T. Lange, 2016)

Parenthetical: (K. Lange, 2016)

Same surname, same initials, same publication year

If two or more entries in the reference list have the same surname and initials and same publication year, add a lowercase letter after the year to distinguish the citations. This will help the reader locate the correct source of a citation. A few examples for your understanding are given below.

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication Year followed by a suffix)

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication Year followed by a different suffix)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication Year followed by a suffix)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication Year followed by a different suffix)

Narrative: Sullivan (2014a)

Narrative: Sullivan (2014b)

Parenthetical: (Sullivan, 2014a)

Parenthetical: (Sullivan, 2014b)

Translated work

Translated titles contain two publication years (original work publication year and the translated work publication year). Include both years in in-text citations with the original work’s publication year first and the translated work’s publication year next. Separate them with a slash.

Narrative: Author Surname (Publication Year of the original work/Publication Year of the translated work)

Parenthetical: (Author Surname, Publication Year of the original work/Publication Year of the translated work)

Narrative: Herman (1997/2007)

Parenthetical: (Herman, 1997/2007)

Personal communication

Works such as personal interviews, emails, chats, text messages, and conversations on the telephone do not have any source. Such works are cited under personal communication. As the information cannot be retrieved, there will not be a citation for such references in the reference list. When citing personal communication, use initials as well. Try to give the exact date when citing personal communication.

Narrative: Communicator’s name (personal communication, Month Day, Year)

Parenthetical: (Communicator’s name, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

Narrative: K. Sethusankar (personal communication, December 2, 1996)

Parenthetical: (K. Sethusankar, personal communication, December 2, 1996)

For additional information on APA format, select from one of the source types below. For help creating APA citations, check out the BibMe APA citation generator.

Source Types:

• How to cite a Book in APA
• How to cite a Magazine in APA
• How to cite a Newspaper in APA
• How to cite a Website in APA
• How to cite a Journal Article in APA
• How to cite a Film in APA
• How to cite an Interview in APA
• How to cite a Lecture in APA
• How to cite a TV Show / Radio Broadcast in APA
• How to cite an Encyclopedia in APA
• How to cite a Photograph in APA
• APA 7 Updates

APA Format:

• In-Text Citation Basics
• Reference Page

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Apa quick citation guide.

• In-text Citation
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Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers , use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1). More information on direct quotation of sources without pagination is given on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech.   Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development , 23 (4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004).  Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech  (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of an author.

For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). For more information on citations for sources with no date or other missing information see the page on missing reference information on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page. 

Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).

Reference entry

Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html

Web page with organizational author:

More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).

World Health Organization. (2018, March 22).  Depression . https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

Web page with no date:

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaste r. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015) Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note:  For direct quotations of more than 40 words , display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation .

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three or more authors:   (Tremblay et al., 2010)

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APA Style 7th Edition

• Student Paper
• Professional Paper
• In-Text Citations
• Reference Citations
• Additional Resources

See also Authors in References and In-Text Citations for APA Style 7th Edition (Quick Guide) .

Examples by Number of Authors

1 Author • 2 Authors   • 3-20 Authors   • 21+ Authors   • Works with No Author Listed   • Anonymous Works

2 Authors

3 to 20 Authors

21+ Authors

Works with No Listed Author

Anonymous Works

In the world of APA Style, group authors are not several individuals who write and publish together; instead a group authors are organizations - such as corporations, governments, the armed forces, charities, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and more. Below are some examples of organizations.

If a source does not have the name or names of specific people listed as an author or creator, look to see if there is an organizational name taking credit for the information in the source.

University of Northern Colorado Colorado Animal Rescue Anheuser Busch Denver International Airport Colorado Public Radio North Colorado Medical Center Celestial Seasonings King Soopers United Airlines Colorado Department of Higher Education Archdiocese of Denver

Smithsonian Institute American Psychological Association United States Army Exxon Mobile United Nations American Red Cross Museum of Modern Art Centers of Disease Control and Prevention International Olympic Committee World Health Organization Bureau of Land Management

• To document multiple sources giving the same information, one parenthetical citation can include text citations for multiple sources. This can also lend emphasis to certain evidence in your writing.
• Put the text citations in alphabetical order by first author listed, as in the References.
• If one citation has more importance than the others, list that citation first, followed by a semicolon, the words 'see also', and the rest of the citations in alphabetical order by first author listed, as in the References.

Example 21: Multiple Sources Supporting the Same Evidence or Idea

Example 22: One  Important Source and Multiple Other Sources Supporting the Same Evidence

Rules of Text Citations

Corresponding Reference Citation  • Parenthetical or Narrative  • Author(s) & Year of Publication  • Citing an Idea or Concept  • Quoting a Source  • AND versus Ampersand (&)  • et al.

Rule #1: Corresponding Reference Citations For each text citation there must be a corresponding citation in the reference list, and for each reference list citation there must be at least one corresponding text citation. Each corresponding citation must have identical spelling and year.  The purpose of the text citation is to briefly give readers the identity of the information you are citing, and allow them to quickly find full citation information in the References that enables readers to locate the exact piece of literature you used.

The in-text citation must have exact corresponding information to the reference citation.

Rule #2: Parenthetical or Narrative

In-text citations can be given either in the narrative or parenthetical of a paper. It is your choice when to use parenthetical or narrative in-text citations, but you should always consider which makes sense for the structure of your sentence and what you are trying to express and what makes your work flow. Look at the example below and consider which you think sounds better.

Rule #3: Author(s) & Year of Publication

Each text citation must include at least two pieces of information:

• author(s) - If a source has no listed author, the title moves into the place of the author in both the reference and the in-text citations.
• year of publication - If a source has no date listed - either copyright date or date of update or other date indicating date of content creation or publication - list the date as n.d. (for no date) in both the reference and the in-text citations.

Rule #4: Citing a Specific Idea or Concept

If citing an entire work - summarizing the entire idea of book, article, website, or other source - no page number, chapter number, paragraph number, or section header is needed.

If citing a specific idea or concept within a book, article, report, or other source: include the page number(s), chapter number, or section header. To be more precise the paragraph (para.), table, figure, slide number, or time (in the case of audio or visual materials) can be given. It is important to get your reader as closely to the specific place in the source as possible.

(Feinstein, 2022, p. 78 ) - single page example ( Feinstein , 2022, pp. 42-61 ) - multiple page example ( Feinstein , 2022, Chapter 5 ) ( Feinstein , 2022, Methodology ) ( Feinstein , 2022, para. 7 ) - single paragraph example ( Feinstein , 2022, paras. 8-9 ) - multiple paragraphs example ( Feinstein , 2022, Table 4 ) ( Feinstein , 2022, Fig. A ) ( Feinstein , 2022, Slides 21-22 ) ( Feinstein , 2022, 00:42:13 )

Rule #5 Quoting a Source

When including a quotation from a source in your work, always indicate the specific place the quotation comes from, so that readers can find that quotation again easily. Generally, this will mean including the page number(s) in the text citation; however, when a page number is not available, use other place indications (paragraph, chapter, section, slide, time, etc.). See Rule #4.

Short quotation = 40 words or less

• Incorporate the quote into the text
• Enclose quotation in double quotation marks
• Provide author, date, and page number (or other indication of place)
• If using a narrative citation, place the page number (or other indication of place) after the quote within parentheses

Example 27:  Short Quotation 

Example 28:  Long Quotation  Please note that the spaces between the example text and long quotation should not exist.

Long quotation = 41 words or more

• Separate a long quote by placing the quote in a separate block of text
• Do not use quotation marks with a block quote
• Start a block quote on a new line and indent both left and right margins by 0.5 inches
• Like the rest of the paper, double-space the block quotation

Rule #6 AND versus Ampersand (&)

• Use an ampersand (&) when using a parenthetical citation.
• Use the word 'and' when using and narrative citation and the author(s) appear in the text instead of parentheses.

Rule #7 et al.

For any source with three or more authors, only the surname of the first listed author and the abbreviation "et al." will appear in the in-text citation to represent all of the authors, whether there are three authors or 103 authors. The abbreviation "et al." is short for "et alia" which is Latin for "and others."

In the following example, the source (an open letter) has 81 authors, 20 of which will appear in the reference citation (authors 1-19 and the last author), but only one author will appear in the in-text citation along with "et al."

Unique Name Issues

Notable & Famous Mononyms • Notable & Famous Unique Polynyms  • Screennames & User Names  • Suffixes

Notable & Famous Mononyms

A mononym is a person's name that consists of only one word; this is often, but not always, a first name without a surname. For instance, the musician best known to the world as Prince was legally known as Prince Rogers Nelson.

Notable & Famous Unique Polynyms

A polynym is a name consisting of multiple words. Most people in today's world have polynyms, but historically individuals did not have both given names and surnames as most do now and contemporarily famous individuals may brand themselves with unique polynyms that do not act as a normal person's name in APA Style. If an author or creator has a unique polynym such as the examples below, give the full name as used without inverting the last name into first place nor creating initials from first or second words/names.

Examples of Unique Polynyms

Joan of Arc  •  The Weeknd  •  Pliny the Younger  •  Wilhelm II  •   Malcolm X  •  Thales of Miletus  •  El Greco  •  Lady Gaga  • G awain Poet

Screennames & User Names

• If the person's real name is known as well as the screenname/user name, give the person's actual name first with surname first followed by first and middle initials and followed by the screenname/user name in square brackets.
• If the person's actual name is not known and all that is given is the screenname/user name, give the screenname/user name exactly as it appears in author's place within the citation.
• Do NOT include name suffixes that indicate a credential - such as Ph.D. (Philosophy of Doctorate degree), DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice), BCEE (Board Certified Environmental Engineer), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), etc.
• Do include name suffixes that indicate generational designations - such as Sr., Jr., II, III, IV, etc., but only in the reference citation and not within the in-text citation.

If citing  multiple sources by the same author  (or group of authors that are listed in the same order on a number of papers)  with the same publication year , arrange the citations in order of title and place lowercase letters directly after the publication year in the citation.

Beall (2016 d ; see also 2015; 2016 c ; 2016 e ; 2017) expounded the threat of predatory publishers in medical literature and the long-term damage such journals may inflict upon the scientific record. He further asserts that predatory journals may cause significant setbacks to scientific advancement (Beall, 2016 a ), but offers advice and best practices for scholarly authors to follow (Beall, 2016 b ).

Bartholomew, R. E. (2014). Science for sale: The rise of predatory journals. J ournal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 107 (10), 384-385. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076814548526

Beall, J. (2015). The ‘metric’ system: Yet more chaos in scholarly publishing. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 6 (11), 2020-2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.5b00910

Beall, J. (2016 a ). Ban predators from the scientific record. Nature, 534 , 326. https://doi.org/10.1038/534326a

Beall, J. (2016 b ). Best practices for scholarly authors in the age of predatory journals. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 98 (2), 77-79. https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsann.2016.0056

Beall, J. (2016 c ). Dangerous predatory publishers threaten medical research. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 31 (10), 1511-1513. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.10.1511

Beall, J. (2016 d ). Medical publishing and the threat of predatory journals. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, 2 (4), 115-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2016.08.002

Beall, J. (2016 e ). Pharmacy research and predatory journals: Authors beware. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 73 (19), 1548-1550. https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp160150

Beall, J. (2017). Predatory journals threaten the quality of published medical research. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 47 (1), 3-5. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2017.0601

Cobey, K. D., Grudniewicz, A., Lalu, M. M., Rice, D. B., Raffoul, H., & Moher, D. (2019). Knowledge and motivations of researchers publishing in presumed predatory journals: A survey. BMJ Open, 9 (3), e026516. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026516

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Citation Examples

• In-Text / Parenthetical Citations
• Narrative Citation
• Block Quotations
• APA Style Guide to In-Text Citations
• Academic Writer Tutorial: In-Text Citations

Use the author's last name, then a comma followed by the publication date within parentheses. Direct quotes need a page or paragraph number ​​​​​​.

Single author

(Mantel, 2021)

(Mantel, 2021, p. 304)

Two authors

(King & Straub, 2021)

(King & Straub, 2021, p. 99)

Multiple authors (more than two)

(Griliches et al., 2021) 

Paragraph number: (Griliches et al., 2021, para. 23) 

No author – Use organization or first noun from work cited

("Tell-tale") or (U.S. Senate)

Paragraph number: ("Tell-tale," 2021, para. 2) 

(OpenAI, 2023)

If two authors have the same name - Use initials

(T. Taylor, 2016)

If the work has no date - Use the author's last name and n.d.

(Smith, n.d.)

A narrative citation is when the author's name is used in the written text, attributing the idea to the author with a citation.

King & Straub (2021) advocate for more intervention when working with young adults in the public school system.

For quotations  longer than 40 words,  place them in a free-standing block.

• Introduce with your own words followed by a colon 
• Begin on a new line
• Indented 0.5
• Do not use quotation marks
• Do not add a space before or after
• Double-space 
• If the author is introduced in the narrative, only use the page number
• If the author is not introduced in the narrative, use author and year

A. A. Milne introduces his main character called Edward Bear, only to change the name shortly afterward to Winnie-the-Pooh:

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh. (1926)

Because the introductory sentence included the author's name in the text, the only citation needed is the page number.

Milne, A A. (1926).  Winnie-the-Pooh . E.H. Shepard, Illus.) McClelland & Stewart, Ltd. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/67098/67098-h/67098-h.htm.

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APA In-Text Citations for Research Writing

Why Use In-Text Citations?

When writing a journal article, literature review, convention paper, or any other academic document, authors must include in-text citations whenever they refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. In addition, every time a work is cited within a paper (in APA style, a parenthetical citation), a corresponding entry must be included in the reference list.

How to Cite a Research Paper Using In-Text Citations

The rationale behind citing other people’s publications in your own manuscript is that you want to avoid intellectual dishonesty by giving credit to whoever reported a finding first or invented a specific technique. This is not only an ethical question, as being “sloppy” with your sources can easily be considered plagiarism (and even self-plagiarism , if you fail to refer to your own work), which can have legal consequences and damage your reputation.

General rules for what information should be provided when citing sources in a research paper vary across fields and depend on the type of source (e.g., books, journal articles, patents, conference proceedings, websites, etc.). We are not going into such differences here but will focus on the correct way of referencing other people’s research in your own paper according to one of the most common styles used to cite sources within the social sciences and in several other academic disciplines , that is, APA (American Psychological Association) style .

In research papers, in-text citations are most commonly used in the Introduction and Discussion Results sections. The following guidelines and examples are taken from the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition, 2nd printing , which details rules and application of APA style in research papers, including in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and references. For more information, consult the APA Style Manual website .

This resource provides detailed guidelines for citing sources in your paper and includes examples of in-text citations for reference by research authors. Before submitting your manuscript to a journal or publisher, be sure to use our free APA citation generator for your references and in-text citations.

APA Citation Rules: The Basics

Order and structure of in-text citation content.

When using APA format, follow the “author-date” method of in-text citation. Write the author’s last name and publication year for the source in parentheses and separate these pieces of information with a comma.

When referring to external work or referencing an entire work but not directly quoting the material, you only need to make a reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your citation.

The results of the first enzyme study (Chen et al., 2014) revealed several relationships.

If you mention the name of the author of the work in the sentence or earlier in the paragraph, you only need to include the year of publication in the citation.

Chen (2014) discusses several relationships revealed in this study.

Verb tense used in referring to other works

APA style requires authors to use past tense or present perfect tense (NOT present tense) when using signal phrases to refer to or discuss previous research (have a look at this article for more details on the correct tenses for different parts of a research paper ).

Radnitz (1995) found… / Radnitz (1995) has found…

Placement of in-text citations in the sentence (no quotation)

When referring to a specific work or works, place the citation (publication date only) directly after the author of the study referenced.

Klinge and Rogers (2010) found that mirroring is instrumental in developments of performative gender roles.

When giving information that reflects the results or implications of previous work, place the citation (author and publication date) at the end of the sentence.

Mirroring has been found to be instrumental in the development of performative gender roles (Klinge and Rogers, 2010).

Capitalization

Always capitalize author names and initials in in-text citations.

(r. kazinsky, 2014)    (R. Kazinsky, 2014)

In-Text Citation Rules for Short Quotations

When quoting directly from a work, include the author, publication year, and page number of the reference (preceded by “p.”).

Method 1 : Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author’s last name; the publication year will follow in parentheses. Include the page number in parentheses at the end of the quoted text. Note that the quotation marks surround the text only, and not the parenthetical citation.

According to Khan (1976), “Graduate students tend to apply more diverse methods during their first two years of research” (p. 45). Khan (1976) noted that “graduate students tend to apply more diverse methods during their first two years of research” (p. 45), a fact that has profound implications for research departments.

Method 2 : If the author is absent in the signal phrase, include the author’s last name, the publication year, and the page number together in parentheses after the quoted text.

Researchers noted that “graduate students tend to apply more diverse methods during their first two years of research” (Khan, 1976, p. 45), but they did not offer a suggestion as to the cause.

In-text Citation Rules for Long Quotations

Long direct quotations are those with at least 40 words of quoted text in a row. Long quotes should be placed in a separate block of lines without quotation marks, similar to creating a new paragraph. Begin the quotation on a new line and indent 0.5in/1.27cm from the left margin. Type the entire quotation within these new margins using double-spacing. Include the parenthetical citation after the final punctuation mark.

Khan’s (1976) study found the following: Graduate students tend to apply more diverse methods during their first two years of research, especially when conducting research in teams of three or fewer with no senior researchers    present. This tendency could be attributed to either a misunderstanding of correct methodology or to a feeling of freedom to explore different approaches that the researchers have yet to employ. (p. 45)

Summarizing and Paraphrasing Other Works

When  paraphrasing another work , you only need to cite the author and year of publication in your in-text citation. It may be a good idea to include the page number as well if the paraphrased information is located on a specific page of the original text. APA guidelines encourage this inclusion but do not require it.

According to Khan (1976), new researchers tend to use more diverse methodologies. New researchers tend to use more diverse methodologies (Khan, 1976, p. 45).

Common Signal Phrases for Introducing External Works

• According to Johnson (publication year)…
• As Johnson (publication year) has noted…
• Johnson and Smith (publication year) contend that…
• As Johnson’s (2011) study revealed…

Citing Works by Multiple Authors/Editors

When making an in-text citation of works by multiple authors, there are specific rules to follow depending on the number of authors of a publication and the number of times you cite the same works.

Citing Multiple Works in One In-text Citation

When citing more than one source in the same in-text citation, list all sources in the standard way and separate them with a semi-colon. List the sources alphabetically (by author’s last name or by title if no author is given) in the order they appear in the reference list.

(Marsh, 1997; Johnson, 2002). (Kazinsky, 2017; “Three Different Roads,”  2013).

Citing Works by the Same Author with the Same Publication Year

When citing two or more sources with the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters directly after the year of publication (a, b, c) according to the alphabetical order of titles. You will use the same alphabetical designations in your in-text citations that you do in your reference list.

The incidence of West Nile virus in Florida increased between 2002 and 2004 (Dickens, 2014a). According to Dickens (2014b), “these viral infections were precipitated by record levels of rainfall around the peninsula” (p. 150).

Citing a Work Quoted in another Source

Work quoted or paraphrased in another text is called a “secondary source.” While in your reference list you must cite the primary source as well, in your in-text citation you will add the words “as cited in” followed by the secondary source. For example, if a review article by Franklin you are citing includes a useful quote by Adams that supports your paper, your in-text citation would look like this:

According to a study by Adams (as cited in Franklin, 2016), 25% of all US federal prisoners have been diagnosed with some form of social disorder. Adams (as cited in Franklin) contends that this statistic “reflects the dehumanizing conditions of most federal institutions” (p. 76).

Citing Web Pages

Entire website.

When citing an entire website (with no specific webpage or article given), simply provide the title and web address within the text of your paper. No citation is needed in the References.

The American Psychological Association includes detailed information on how to apply APA citation (http://www.apa.org).

Webpage with author(s)

A webpage with an individual author or authors should be cited in the same way as other texts, with the name or names written first, followed by the publication year.

There were 523 new cases reported in 2011 alone (Kristoff, 2012).

Webpage with a group author

Treat group authors as individual authors in in-text citations, but instead of the author’s last name, include the name of the group.

Claustrophobia afflicts one in five Britons (The Surrey Group, 2003).

Webpage with missing information

Even when some central information is missing from a website (e.g., no author, date, or webpage title), you may still cite it as a source if you use the correct formatting. For information on how to cite a website with missing information, visit the APA Style Blog post on  Missing Pieces .

Citing social media sources

For a more comprehensive explanation of social media citation guidelines, visit the APA Style Blog post on  How to Cite Social Media in APA Style .

And when submitting your finished AP document to journals or for a class assignment, be sure to get professional English editing services , including academic editing , manuscript editing , and research paper editing services . Professional editors with experience in APA, AMA, MLA, and other popular style guides will make sure that your document’s citations and references conform to the journal of your choice.

Wordvice Resources

Wordvice provides a variety of other articles on topics such as the number of references your manuscript should contain , different citation styles if your target style does not use APA, and how to paraphrase correctly when citing sources in your paper, as well as more general advice on how to write research papers on the Wordvice academic resources website .

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In-Text Citations

Citing information: in-text citations.

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APA: In-Text Citations

For all in-text citations except for those following block quotations (see below), the reference is placed immediately before the final punctuation mark of the sentence that refers to that source. In all citations, elements (such as author, publication year, and page number) are separated from each other by commas.

For Exact Quotations:

In the examples below, the citations indicate page number (using the abbreviation "p."). One may also use chapter numbers ("Chapter 6"), paragraph numbers ("para. 4"),section numbers, equation numbers, table numbers, or any other organizational numbering that exists in the source to indicate the reference for a citation.

Rule: Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. Put the page number in parentheses at the end of the quotation before the ending punctuation mark.

As Davis (1978) reported, "If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists" (p. 26).

Rule: When the author's name does not appear in the signal phrase, place the author's name, the date, and the page number in parentheses at the end of the quotation. Use commas between items in the parentheses.

"If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists" (Davis, 1978, p. 26).

Rule: When the quotation is more than 40 words in text, do not use quotation marks, but indent the quotation into its own block of text. Note that for blocks of text, the citation follows the final punctuation of the quoted text.

Students having a hard time finding databases isn't a new phenomenon. At the University of Washington, they have problems too.

With the addition of so many new databases to the campus online system, many students were having difficulty locating the database they needed. At the same time, the role of Session Manager had evolved. The increased importance of the Session Manager as a selection tool made it a part of the navigation process itself. (Eliasen, 1997, p. 510)

For Paraphrased Ideas:

In general, no quotation marks are required when paraphrasing ideas. Likewise, page numbers or other indication of specific parts of a source are not necessary unless a specific part of the text is being referenced.

According to Davis (1978), when they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise.

When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise (Davis, 1978).

Additional Circumstances:

Rule: Work with two authors: In the first reference to work, list both authors.

Patterson and Linden (1981) agreed that the gorilla Koko acquired language more slowly than a normal speaking child.

Koko acquired language more slowly than a normal speaking child (Patterson & Linden, 1981).

Rule: Work with 3-5 authors: In the first reference to such a work, list all authors.

The study noted a fluctuating divorce rate in Middletown between the 1920s and the 1970s (Caplow, Bahr, Chadwick, Hill, & Williamson, 1982).

In subsequent citations, use the first author's name followed by "et al." (note the period after the word "al").

While the incidence of wife abuse may not be higher than in the past, the researchers found that women were more willing to report it (Caplow et al., 1982).

Rule: Work with 6+ authors (for first and subsequent citations).

Communes in the late 1960s functioned like extended families, with child-rearing responsibilities shared by all adult members (Berger et al., 1971).

Rule: Work by an association, government agency, or corporation.

First citation: (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1996)

Later citations: (NIMH, 1996)

Rule: When citing from a source that does not provide page numbers (such as an electronic source), use paragraph numbers if available, or the name of the section followed by the number of the paragraph within that section.

(Myers, 2000, para. 5)

(Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1)

Rule: When citing from a source with no author given, or when citing from legal materials, use the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year as your citation. Place article, web page, chapter, and section titles in double quotation marks, and italicize the titles of books, periodicals, reports, and websites. When a work's author is designated as "Anonymous," cite in text the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date: (Anonymous, 1998).

("Former FBI Agent," 2007)

...as seen in Preparing for the GRE (2003).

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MLA Citation Style

• The MLA Handbook
• Additional Resources

What is a Citation?

In-text citations.

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A citation gives credit to the source where you found the information you use to support your argument or analysis. That way, people can check the information you used to double-check your resources or to use for their own research.

Citations are composed of these parts of a resource: Author, Title, Publication Information, and Date. The elements of a citation can vary from format to format and how the resource was accessed.

In your paper, you will add a brief citation that will lead to a page of the resources you used at the end of your paper where the full citation goes into more detail. That way, your paper flows and can be easily verified.

Nowadays, most library databases have a "cite" function that will generate a full citation in the style you need. You can use that as a starting point and re-format or correct it as you need. 

Other resources don't generate a citation, but they have the information for you to create one, you simply need to look through the resource. 

An in-text citation is a part of the full citation that is at the end of your work that guides the reader to the specific source you used. Where the full citation is of the whole resource, an in-text citation will be part of the full citation (either author or title) and maybe a specific section such as specific pages.

There are two ways to have an in-text citation in a paper: parenthetical and narrative.

A parenthetical is the citation at the end of the sentence in parenthesis (). 

A narrative citation has the information written into the sentence.

Sometimes you might do a combination of the two — it depends on your writing style, the resource, and your professor. 

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APA Citation Style

Citation examples.

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Parenthetical citations:  (Grady et al., 2019; Jerrentrup et al., 2018)

Narrative citations:  Grady et al. (2019) and Jerrentrup et al. (2018)

• If a journal article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference.
• If the journal article does not have a DOI and is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range (for an explanation of why, see the  database information  page). The reference in this case is the same as for a print journal article.
• Do not include database information in the reference unless the journal article comes from a database that publishes original, proprietary content, such as UpToDate (see an example on the  database information  page).
• If the journal article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online journal that is not part of a database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• If the journal article has an article number instead of a page range, include the article number instead of the page range (as shown in the Jerrentrup et al. example).

Parenthetical citations:  (Rabinowitz, 2019; Sapolsky, 2017)

Narrative citations:  Rabinowitz (2019) and Sapolsky (2017)

• If the book includes a DOI, include the DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
• Do not include the publisher location.
• If the book does not have a DOI and comes from an academic research database, end the book reference after the publisher name. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print book.

Parenthetical citations:  (Schaefer & Shapiro, 2019; Schulman, 2019)

Narrative citations:  Schaefer and Shapiro (2019) and Schulman (2019)

• If a magazine article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference.
• If the magazine article does not have a DOI and is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print magazine article.
• If the magazine article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online magazine that is not part of a database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• If the magazine article does not have volume, issue, and/or page numbers (e.g., because it is from an online magazine), omit the missing elements from the reference (as in the Schulman example).

Parenthetical citation:  (Carey, 2019)

Narrative citation:  Carey (2019)

• If the newspaper article is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print newspaper article.
• If the newspaper article has a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online newspaper), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• If the newspaper article does not have volume, issue, and/or page numbers (e.g., because it is from an online newspaper), omit the missing elements from the reference, as shown in the example.
• If the article is from a news website (e.g., CNN, HuffPost)—one that does not have an associated daily or weekly newspaper—use the format for a  webpage on a website  instead.

Parenthetical citation:  (Aron et al., 2019)

Narrative citation:  Aron et al. (2019)

• If the edited book chapter includes a DOI, include the chapter DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
• If the edited book chapter does not have a DOI and comes from an academic research database, end the edited book chapter reference after the publisher name. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print edited book chapter.
• Do not create references for chapters of authored books. Instead, write a reference for the whole book and cite the chapter in the text if desired (e.g., Kumar, 2017, Chapter 2).

Parenthetical citation:  (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Narrative citation:  Merriam-Webster (n.d.)

• Because entries in  Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary  are updated over time and are not archived, include a  retrieval date  in the reference.
• Merriam-Webster is both the author and the publisher, so the name appears in the author element only to avoid repetition.
• To quote a dictionary definition, view the pages on quotations and  how to quote works without page numbers  for guidance. Additionally, here is an example:  Culture  refers to the “customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., Definition 1a).

Parenthetical citation:  (National Cancer Institute, 2019)

Narrative citation:  National Cancer Institute (2019)

The specific agency responsible for the report appears as the author. The names of parent agencies not present in the  group author name  appear in the source element as the publisher. This creates concise in-text citations and complete reference list entries.

Parenthetical citation:  (Harvard University, 2019)

Narrative citation:  Harvard University (2019)

• Use the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author.
• If the account did not actually create the work, explain this in the text if it is important for readers to know. However, if that would mean citing a source that appears unauthoritative, you might also look for the author’s YouTube channel, official website, or other social media to see whether the same video is available elsewhere.

Parenthetical citations:  (APA Databases, 2019; Gates, 2019)

Narrative citations:  APA Databases (2019) and Gates (2019)

• Present the name of the individual or group author the same as you would for any other reference. Then provide the Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period.
• Provide the first 20 words of the tweet as the title. Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words.
• If the tweet includes an image, a video, a poll, or a thumbnail image with a link, indicate that in brackets after the title: [Image attached], [Video attached], [Thumbnail with link attached].
• The same format used for Twitter is also used for Instagram.  

Parenthetical citation:  (News From Science, 2019)

Narrative citation:  News From Science (2019)

• Provide the first 20 words of the Facebook post as the title. Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. 
• If a status update includes images, videos, thumbnail links to outside sources, or content from another Facebook post (such as when sharing a link), indicate that in square brackets.

Parenthetical citations:  (Fagan, 2019; National Institute of Mental Health, 2018; Woodyatt, 2019; World Health Organization, 2018)

Narrative citations:  Fagan (2019), National Institute of Mental Health (2018), Woodyatt (2019), and World Health Organization (2018)

• Provide as specific a  date  as is available on the webpage. This might be a year only; a year and month; or a year, month, and day.
• Italicize the title of a webpage.
• When the author of the webpage and the publisher of the website are the same, omit the publisher name to avoid repetition (as in the World Health Organization example).
• When contents of a page are meant to be updated over time but are not archived, include a  retrieval date  in the reference (as in the Fagan example).
• Use the webpage on a website format for articles from news websites such as CNN and HuffPost (these sites do not have associated daily or weekly newspapers). Use the  newspaper article category  for articles from newspaper websites such as  The New York Times  or  The Washington Post .
• Create a reference to an open educational resources (OER) page only when the materials are available for download directly (i.e., the materials are on the page and/or can be downloaded as PDFs or other files). If you are directed to another website, create a reference to the specific webpage on that website where the materials can be retrieved. Use this format for material in any OER repository, such as OER Commons, OASIS, or MERLOT.
• Do not create a reference or in-text citation for a whole website. To mention a website in general, and not any particular information on that site, provide the name of the website in the text and include the URL in parentheses. For example, you might mention that you used a website to create a survey.

The following supplemental example references are mention in the  Publication Manual:

• retracted journal or magazine article
• edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
• edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)
• religious work
• annotated religious work

Archival document and collections are not presented in the  APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition . This content is available only on the APA Style website .  This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.

Archival sources include letters, unpublished manuscripts, limited-circulation brochures and pamphlets, in-house institutional and corporate documents, clippings, and other documents, as well as such nontextual materials as photographs and apparatus, that are in the personal possession of an author, form part of an institutional collection, or are stored in an archive such as the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron or the APA Archives. For any documents like these that are available on the open web or via a database (subscription or nonsubscription), follow the reference templates shown in Chapter 10 of the Publication Manual.

The general format for the reference for an archival work includes the author, date, title, and source. The reference examples shown on this page may be modified for collections requiring more or less specific information to locate materials, for different types of collections, or for additional descriptive information (e.g., a translation of a letter). Authors may choose to list correspondence from their own personal collections, but correspondence from other private collections should be listed only with the permission of the collector.

Keep in mind the following principles when creating references to archival documents and collections:

• As with any reference, the purpose is to direct readers to the source, despite the fact that only a single copy of the document may be available and readers may have some difficulty actually seeing a copy.
• Include as much information as is needed to help locate the item with reasonable ease within the repository. For items from collections with detailed finding aids, the name of the collection may be sufficient; for items from collections without finding aids, more information (e.g., call number, box number, file name or number) may be necessary to help locate the item.
• If several letters are cited from the same collection, list the collection as a reference and provide specific identifying information (author, recipient, and date) for each letter in the in-text citations (see Example 3).
• Use square brackets to indicate information that does not appear on the document.
• Use “ca.” (circa) to indicate an estimated date (see Example 5).
• Use italics for titles of archival documents and collections; if the work does not have a title, provide a description in square brackets without italics.
• Separate elements of the source (e.g., the name of a repository, library, university or archive, and the location of the university or archive) with commas. End the source with a period.
• If a publication of limited circulation is available in libraries, the reference may be formatted as usual for published material, without the archival source.
• Note that private letters (vs. those in an archive or repository) are considered personal communications and cited in the text only.

1. Letter from a repository

Frank, L. K. (1935, February 4). [Letter to Robert M. Ogden]. Rockefeller Archive Center (GEB Series 1.3, Box 371, Folder 3877), Tarrytown, NY, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Frank, 1935)
• Narrative citation: Frank (1935)
• Because the letter does not have a title, provide a description in square brackets.

2. Letter from a private collection

Zacharius, G. P. (1953, August 15). [Letter to William Rickel (W. Rickel, Trans.)]. Copy in possession of Hendrika Vande Kemp.

• Parenthetical citation: (Zacharius, 1953)
• Narrative citation: Zacharius (1953)
• In this example, Hendrika Vande Kemp is either the author of the paper or the author of the paper has received permission from Hendrika Vande Kemp to cite a letter in Vande Kemp’s private collection in this way. Otherwise, cite a private letter as a  personal communication .

3. Collection of letters from an archive

Allport, G. W. (1930–1967). Correspondence. Gordon W. Allport Papers (HUG 4118.10), Harvard University Archives, Cambridge, MA, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Allport, 1930–1967)
• Narrative citation: Allport (1930–1967)

To cite specific letters in the text, provide the author and range of years as shown in the reference list entry, plus details about who wrote the specific letter to whom and when the specific letter was written.

• Parenthetical citation: (Allport, 1930–1967, G. Boring to Allport, December 26, 1937)
• Narrative citation: Allport (1930–1967, Allport to G. Boring, March 1, 1939)
• Use the parenthetical citation format to cite a letter that E. G. Boring wrote to Allport because Allport is the author in the reference. Use either the parenthetical or narrative citation format to cite letters that Allport wrote.

4. Unpublished papers, lectures from an archive or personal collection

Berliner, A. (1959). Notes for a lecture on reminiscences of Wundt and Leipzig. Anna Berliner Memoirs (Box M50), Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Berliner, 1959)
• Narrative citation: Berliner (1959)

5. Archival/historical source for which the author and/or date is known or is reasonably certain but not stated on the document

Allport, A. (presumed). (ca. 1937). Marion Taylor today—by the biographer [Unpublished manuscript]. Marion Taylor Papers, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Allport, ca. 1937)
• Narrative citation: Allport (ca. 1937)
• Because the author is reasonably certain but not stated on the document, place the word “presumed” in parentheses after the name, followed by a period.
• Because the date is reasonably certain but not stated on the document, the abbreviation “ca.” (which stands for “circa”) appears before the year in parentheses.

6. Archival source with group author

Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs. (1949, November 5–6). Meeting of Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs. David Shakow Papers (M1360), Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs, 1949)
• Narrative citation: Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs (1949)

7. Interview recorded and available in an archive

Smith, M. B. (1989, August 12). Interview by C. A. Kiesler [Tape recording]. President’s Oral History Project, American Psychological Association, APA Archives, Washington, DC, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Smith, 1989)
• Narrative citation: Smith (1989)
• For interviews and oral histories recorded in an archive, list the interviewee as the author. Include the interviewer’s name in the description.

8. Transcription of a recorded interview, no recording available

Sparkman, C. F. (1973). An oral history with Dr. Colley F. Sparkman/Interviewer: Orley B. Caudill. Mississippi Oral History Program (Vol. 289), University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Sparkman, 1973)
• Narrative citation: Sparkman (1973)

9. Newspaper article clipping, historical, in personal collection

Psychoanalysis institute to open. (1948, September 18). [Clipping from an unidentified Dayton, OH, United States, newspaper]. Copy in possession of author.

• Parenthetical citation: (“Psychoanalysis Institute to Open,” 1948)
• Narrative citation: “Psychoanalysis Institute to Open” (1948)
• Use this format only if you are the person who is in possession of the newspaper clipping.

10. Historical publication of limited circulation

Sci-Art Publishers. (1935). Sci-Art publications [Brochure]. Roback Papers (HUGFP 104.50, Box 2, Folder “Miscellaneous Psychological Materials”), Harvard University Archives, Cambridge, MA, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Sci-Art Publishers, 1935)
• Narrative citation: Sci-Art Publishers (1935)

11. Archived photographs, no author and no title

[Photographs of Robert M. Yerkes]. (ca. 1917–1954). Robert Mearns Yerkes Papers (Box 137, Folder 2292), Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, New Haven, CT, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: ([Photographs of Robert M. Yerkes], ca. 1917–1954)
• Narrative citation: [Photographs of Robert M. Yerkes] (ca. 1917–1954)
• Because the archived photographs do not have a title, provide a bracketed description instead.
• Because the archived photographs do not have an author, move the bracketed description to the author position of the reference.

12. Microfilm

U.S. Census Bureau. (1880). 1880 U.S. census: Defective, dependent, and delinquent classes schedule: Virginia [Microfilm]. NARA Microfilm Publication T1132 (Rolls 33–34), National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Census Bureau, 1880)
• Narrative citation: U.S. Census Bureau (1880)

Read the full APA guidelines on citing ChatGPT 

OpenAI. (2023).  ChatGPT  (Mar 14 version) [Large language model].  https://chat.openai.com/chat

• Parenthetical citation:  (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation:  OpenAI (2023)

Author:  The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date:  The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title:  The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text  is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source:  When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is  https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

What to include and what to exclude

Works included in a reference list.

The reference list provides a reliable way for readers to identify and locate the works cited in a paper. APA Style papers generally include reference lists, not  bibliographies.

In general, each work cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text. Check your work carefully before submitting your manuscript or course assignment to ensure no works cited in the text are missing from the reference list and vice versa, with only the following exceptions.

Works Excluded From a Reference List

There are a few kinds of works that are not included in a reference list. Usually a work is not included because readers cannot recover it or because the mention is so broad that readers do not need a reference list entry to understand the use.

Information on works included in a reference list is covered in Sections 2.12 and 8.4 of the  APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition

*This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.*

• Personal communications  such as emails, phone calls, or text messages are cited in the text only, not in the reference list, because readers cannot retrieve personal communications.
• General mentions of whole websites, whole periodicals, and common software and apps in the text do not require in-text citations or reference list entries because the use is broad and the source is familiar.
• The source of an epigraph does not usually appear in the reference list unless the work is a scholarly book or journal. For example, if you open the paper with an inspirational quotation by a famous person, the source of the quotation does not appear in the reference list because the quotation is meant to set the stage for the work, not substantiate a key point.   
• Quotations from research participants in a study you conducted can be presented and discussed in the text but do not need citations or reference list entries. Citations and reference list entries are not necessary because the quotations are part of your original research. They could also compromise participants’ confidentiality, which is an ethical violation.
• References included in a meta-analysis, which are marked with an asterisk in the reference list, may be cited in the text (or not) at the author’s discretion. This exception is relevant only to authors who are conducting a meta-analysis.

DOIs and URLs

The DOI or URL is the final component of a reference list entry. Because so much scholarship is available and/or retrieved online, most reference list entries end with either a DOI or a URL.

• A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published works.
• A URL specifies the location of digital information on the internet and can be found in the address bar of your internet browser. URLs in references should link directly to the cited work when possible.

Follow these guidelines for including DOIs and URLs in references:

• Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
• If a print work does not have a DOI, do not include any DOI or URL in the reference.
• If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI.
• For works without DOIs from websites (not including academic research databases), provide a URL in the reference (as long as the URL will work for readers).
• For works without DOIs from most  academic research databases , do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available. The reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work.
• For works from databases that publish original, proprietary material available only in that database (such as the UpToDate database) or for works of limited circulation in databases (such as monographs in the ERIC database), include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session-specific (meaning it will not resolve for readers), provide the URL of the database or archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work. See the page on including  database information in references  for more information. 
• If the URL is no longer working or no longer provides readers access to the content you intend to cite, follow the guidance for works with  no source .
• Other alphanumeric identifiers such as the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) are not included in APA Style references.

Follow these guidelines to format DOIs and URLs:

• Present both DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks (i.e., beginning with “http:” or “https:”).
• Because a hyperlink leads readers directly to the content, it is not necessary to include the words “Retrieved from” or “Accessed from” before a DOI or URL.
• It is acceptable to use either the default display settings for hyperlinks in your word-processing program (e.g., usually blue font, underlined) or plain text that is not underlined.
• Leave links live if the work is to be published or read online.
• Follow the current recommendations of the International DOI Foundation to format DOIs in the reference list, which as of this publication is as follows:

https://doi.org/ xxxxx

• The string “https://doi.org/” is a way of presenting a DOI as a link, and “xxxxx” refers to the DOI number.
• The preferred format of the DOI has changed over time. Although older works use previous formats (e.g., “http:/dx.doi.org/” or “doi:” or “DOI:” before the DOI number), in your reference list, standardize DOIs into the current preferred format for all entries. For example, use  https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251  in your reference even though that article, published in 2016, presented the number in an older format.
• Copy and paste the DOI or URL from your web browser directly into your reference list to avoid transcription errors. Do not change the capitalization or punctuation of the DOI or URL. Do not add line breaks manually to the hyperlink; it is acceptable if your word-processing program automatically adds a break or moves the hyperlink to its own line.
• Do not add a period after the DOI or URL because this may interfere with link functionality.

When a DOI or URL is long or complex, you may use shortDOIs or shortened URLs if desired.

• Use the  shortDOI service  provided by the International DOI Foundation to create shortDOIs. A work can have only one DOI and only one shortDOI; the shortDOI service will either produce a new shortDOI for a work that has never had one or retrieve an existing shortDOI.
• Some websites provide their own branded shortened URLs, and independent URL shortening services are available as well. Any shortened URL is acceptable in a reference as long as you check the link to ensure that it takes you to the correct location.
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A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples

Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 15 September 2023.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It tells your readers what sources you’ve used and how to find them.

Harvard is the most common referencing style used in UK universities. In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list .

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Table of contents

Harvard in-text citation, creating a harvard reference list, harvard referencing examples, referencing sources with no author or date, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:

Note that ‘p.’ is used for a single page, ‘pp.’ for multiple pages (e.g. ‘pp. 1–5’).

An in-text citation usually appears immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in question. It may also appear at the end of the relevant sentence, as long as it’s clear what it refers to.

When your sentence already mentions the name of the author, it should not be repeated in the citation:

Sources with multiple authors

When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors’ names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sources with no page numbers

Some sources, such as websites , often don’t have page numbers. If the source is a short text, you can simply leave out the page number. With longer sources, you can use an alternate locator such as a subheading or paragraph number if you need to specify where to find the quote:

Multiple citations at the same point

When you need multiple citations to appear at the same point in your text – for example, when you refer to several sources with one phrase – you can present them in the same set of brackets, separated by semicolons. List them in order of publication date:

Multiple sources with the same author and date

If you cite multiple sources by the same author which were published in the same year, it’s important to distinguish between them in your citations. To do this, insert an ‘a’ after the year in the first one you reference, a ‘b’ in the second, and so on:

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A bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your text. It lists all your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, giving complete information so that the reader can look them up if necessary.

The reference entry starts with the author’s last name followed by initial(s). Only the first word of the title is capitalised (as well as any proper nouns).

Sources with multiple authors in the reference list

As with in-text citations, up to three authors should be listed; when there are four or more, list only the first author followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Reference list entries vary according to source type, since different information is relevant for different sources. Formats and examples for the most commonly used source types are given below.

• Entire book
• Book chapter
• Translated book
• Edition of a book

Journal articles

• Print journal
• Online-only journal with DOI
• Online-only journal with no DOI
• General web page
• Online article or blog
• Social media post

Sometimes you won’t have all the information you need for a reference. This section covers what to do when a source lacks a publication date or named author.

No publication date

When a source doesn’t have a clear publication date – for example, a constantly updated reference source like Wikipedia or an obscure historical document which can’t be accurately dated – you can replace it with the words ‘no date’:

Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.

When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.

When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

• A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
• A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/

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Home / MLA Sample Paper

MLA Sample Paper

Mla sample paper #1.

If you’ve been wondering how to produce a research paper that is strong in both formatting and writing, you’ve come to the right place.

Check out our first sample paper below. It is a helpful and clearly labeled visual aid to refer to. Note that while these sample papers do not include MLA abstracts , you should check with your instructor to see if an abstract should be included.

Visual Sample Paper

The example research paper below is one that was written in college for a course on the Inklings. The Inklings were a group of writers in England before WWII, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

The abbreviated MLA paper below (linked here without annotations) is about J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and how the author used myth, story, and song to link all of his works together. Tolkien is famous for creating a fantasy universe called Middle-earth, which readers can’t truly understand until they read all of the books about Middle-earth ( The Silmarillian, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings ).

Since we’re here to learn how to format an essay, we’ve pointed out some important things about the paper to help you write a correctly formatted essay.

For starters, the essay is in MLA format. That means it follows the style manual of the Modern Language Association, which tells you how to format the paper itself and every source you cite. You’ll also see notes like how long a paragraph should be, how to use commas properly, and how to correctly punctuate a title. Some of these guidelines are different from those in APA format , so be sure to confirm you are using the correct style in your paper.

Pay special attention to the MLA format works cited. We only used one type of source (books), but both citations are correct according to the 9th edition of MLA, published in 2021. When you’re writing your own paper, you need to make sure you always use the most recent edition of the style manual. You’ll also want to check with your instructor to see if you need to include an MLA annotated bibliography with your paper, which contains additional information summarizing and evaluating each source after the regular citation.

Whether you need MLA, APA citations , or Chicago style notes, look up the latest edition before turning in a paper.

MLA Sample Paper #2

See below for an example paper or click below to download it as a Word Document.

The MLA header should be one inch from the top and left margins. The heading and the entire paper should be double spaced.

Eli YaffarabeProfessor Rapheor

28 August 2018

Privatization of Prisons in Texas

              The privatization of governmental services has increased dramatically in the past decade as local, state, and federal agencies have searched for ways to cut costs while still meeting their mandated responsibility to provide various public services. This privatizing trend has particularly affected the criminal justice system. Since the early 1990s, privatized correctional facilities have increased significantly, nationally and statewide. This policy has far-ranging consequences not only within the criminal justice system, but as an instructive example for government officials when considering the costs and benefits of privatization as a public policy option. By 2001, thirty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had privately-operated correctional facilities (Austin and Coventry 4). This movement has incited considerable debate and controversy, mainly because prison privatization calls for giving the private sector direct control over the lives of a captive human population.

Surprisingly, there has been little objective and concrete analysis of the privatization of prisons in the United States. This is probably for two reasons: first, ideological arguments on the matter have pushed out substantive research, and second, because this trend has only recently accelerated in the U.S. and mainly on a state level. However, case studies and statistics at the state level are more accessible. With capacity for over 30,000 prisoners in 43 facilities, the state of Texas has privatized more of its prison system than any state in the nation (McDonald and Patten Jr. iv).

Yaffarabe 2

              Public policy concerning the criminal justice system has become more daunting and important in the last decade. The problems in the system are twofold: an overcrowding prison population, mainly due to “three strikes” legislation and reducing early parole; and the costs of operating prisons with this growing population (Austin and Coventry). According to the most recent U.S. Department of Justice survey, slightly over 2.2 million people were incarcerated in correctional facilities in this country in 2003. In comparison, in 1993, 1.37 million people were imprisoned in this country (Beck and Harrison 1).

At the same time, the growth of privately operated correctional facilities has increased significantly in this country. Private prisons now hold 95,522 inmates in this country, which is 6.5 percent of total prisoners (Beck and Harrison 5). In Texas, 16,570 inmates (10 percent of its prison population) are held in private facilities, about 10,000 more than the next highest state. Furthermore, six states had at least 25 percent of their prison population housed in private prisons, led by New Mexico (44%), Alaska (31%), and Montana (29%). These current statistics show that while state governments have been forced to manage and operate overcrowded and over-capacity prisons at considerable costs, many have turned to the private sector to operate prisons (McDonald and Patten Jr.). According to the General Accounting Office, prison operating costs have grown steadily since 1980, increasing almost 550 percent since 1980 based on inflation-adjusted dollars (Austin and Coventry 1).

Prison privatization started in the early 1980s, ostensibly to ease the burden on taxpayers by offering financial relief to private companies to run state prisons. Thomas Beasley founded Corrections Corporation of America in 1983, “the nation’s leader in the construction and management of private prisons” (Darling). That year, Corrections Corporation of America set up the first privately-operated prison in Tennessee. Since then, the number of private

Yaffarabe 3

correctional facility firms has grown to 14 (Austin and Coventry 3). The privatization of prisons occurs in two ways. First, state government can contract out (or outsource) specific services in a correctional facility to a private company after a bidding process. Second, and more radically, private companies build their own privately-managed prisons and contract with state governments to house their inmates. This latter approach, giving private correctional facility firms wide latitude over inmates, is taken in the Texas criminal justice system. In fact, many of these privately operated facilities “have no relationship at all with the state governments in these states, other than an obligation to pay corporate income taxes” (McDonald and Patten Jr. v).

(Due to its length, the remainder of this sample paper is omitted).

Yaffarabe 4

Works Cited Page

Austin, James, and Garry Coventry. Emerging Issues on Privatized Prisons . Bureau of Justice Assistance, Feb. 2001, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/181249.pdf.

Beck, Allen J., and Paige Harrison. Prisoners in 2003 . Bureau of Justice Statistics, Nov. 2004, www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p03.pdf.

McDonald, Douglas, and Carl Patten Jr. Governments’ Management of Private Prisons . Abt Associates, 15 Sept. 2003, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/203968.pdf.

Darling, Michael. “Pitt News: University of Pittsburgh Shouldn’t Lend Its Name to Prison Privatization.” CorpWatch , 15 Nov. 2004, corpwatch.org/article/pitt-news-univeristy-pittsburgh-shouldnt-lend-its-name-prison-privatization.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the text being cited. The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s name . The publication year is not required in in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when text is quoted from the source being cited. In-text citations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation.

Citation in prose

Citations in prose are incorporated into the text and act as a part of the sentence. Usually, citations in prose use the author’s full name when cited the first time in the text. Thereafter, only the surname is used. Avoid including the middle initial even if it is present in the works-cited-list entry. An example of the first citation in prose for a source with one author is given below:

Doug Barry explains the status of the UK.

Parenthetical

Parenthetical citations add only the author’s surname at the end of the sentence in parentheses. An example of a parenthetical citation is given below:

The status of the UK is explained (Barry).

Examples of in-text citations

Here are a few examples of in-text citations for works with various numbers and types of authors:

Use both the first name and surname of the author if you are mentioning the author for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the author’s surname. Always use only the author’s surname in parenthetical citations.

Citation in prose:

First mention: Stephen George asserts …. (17).

Subsequent occurrences: George argues …. (17).

Parenthetical:

…. (George 17).

Two authors

Use the first name and surname of both authors if you are mentioning the work for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the surnames of the two authors. Always use only the authors’ surnames in parenthetical citations. Use “and” to separate the two authors in parenthetical citations.

First mention: Kane Williams and Clark Ronald ….

Subsequent occurrences: Williams and Ronald ….

…. (Williams and Ronald).

Three or more authors

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues.” For parenthetical citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”

Krishnan Sethu and colleagues…. or Krishnan Sethu and others ….

…. (Sethu et al.).

Corporate author

For citations in prose, treat the corporate author like you would treat the author’s name. For parenthetical citations, shorten the organization name to the shortest noun phrase. For example, shorten the Modern Language Association of America to Modern Language Association.

The Language Literary Association of Canada….

…. (Language Literary Association).

If there is no author for the source, use the source’s title in place of the author’s name for both citations in prose and parenthetical citations.

When you add such in-text citations, italicize the text of the title. If the source title is longer than a noun phrase, use a shortened version of the title. For example, shorten the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to Fantastic Beasts .

Endgame explains …. (121).

…. ( Endgame 121).

In MLA style, two types of citations are used to cite a source: a short citation used within the text (called the in-text citation) and a full citation (called the works cited list entry) within the works cited list, which appears at the end of a paper.

The works cited list entry provides the complete details of a source. An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the text being cited. The in-text citation lets the reader know that the information is derived from the cited source, and helps the reader find the full citation within the works cited list.

In order to properly cite a source in MLA style, you must have both citation types in your paper. Every in-text citation has a works cited list entry. Every works cited list entry has at least one (maybe more) corresponding in-text citation.

In-text citations

The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s surname . The publication year is not required in in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when text is quoted from the source being cited.

First mention: Sian Anderson studies ….

Subsequent occurrences: Anderson analyzes ….

….(Anderson)

or if quoting directly:

…(Anderson 9)

First mention: Paul Fin and Anna Gabriel ….

Subsequent occurrences: Fin and Gabriel ….

….(Fin and Gabriel)

…(Fin and Gabriel 27)

Paul Hill and colleagues…. or Paul Hill and others ….

….(Hill et al.)

…(Hill et al. 138)

Examples of works cited list entries

Below are a few examples of different types of works cited list entries. The examples given are for one author.

Steinman, Louise. The Knowing Body: Elements of Contemporary Performance and Dance . Shambhala Publications, 1986.

Journal article                                      

Barad, K. “Nature’s Queer Performativity.” Qui Parle , vol. 19, no. 2, 2011, pp. 121–58.

Webpage of a website

Midgelow, Vida L. “Experiences and Perceptions of the Artistic Doctorate: A Survey Report.” Artistic Doctorates in Europe,  5 Feb. 2018, www.artisticdoctorates.com/2017/12/28/experiences-and-perceptions-of-the-artistic-doctorate-survey-report/ .

YouTube video

“Behind the Scenes Chili’s Baby Back Ribs Spot.” YouTube , uploaded by Alvin Chea, 11 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTDLh7gNRYA .

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How To Do In-Text Citations in MLA Format: A Quick Guide for Students

An in-text citation is a reference to information originating from another source. In-text citations must be used when you summarize, quote, paraphrase or refer to another source within a written document, such as academic literature. 

In-text citations are essential in academic writing. Without them, how would readers verify the information is reliable and accurate? Trustworthy authors include their sources for verifiable information rather than opinions so readers know where the evidence for claims can be explored further.

The Modern Language Association manages MLA style standards with the purpose to “strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature” and standardize how information sources are credited in scholarly writing. Not only does the MLA recommend proper citation format, but it also suggests proper general formatting, including document spacing, margins and font size.

As you begin authoring scholarly works, you’ll find the need to credit sources. Use this quick guide to learn how to do in-text citations in MLA format.

What is MLA format?

How to do in-text citations in mla, how to do a works cited page in mla, common challenges and solutions, tips for effective in-text citations.

MLA citation style is a system for crediting sources in scholarly writing and has been widely used in classrooms, journals and the press since 1931. What began with a three-page style sheet for the MLA’s scholarly journal became a uniform writing style preferred by academics and the editorial media everywhere.

Since its inception, the in-text citation style has changed from a recommended combination of footnotes and in-text citations in MLA format. The 1951 style guide suggested : “If the reference is brief, insert it, within parentheses, in the text itself . . . ; if it is lengthy, put it in a [foot]note.” As technology and society changed, so did the MLA style. In 1995, the document added recommendations for citing CD-ROMs and online databases. In 2016, the MLA published one of the most modern versions of the MLA Handbook , wherein in-text citations in MLA style should now be written according to a template of core elements.

The modern-day components of an in-text citation in MLA format, as of the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook , include:

• Author’s name
• Page numbers (if applicable)

These short in-text citations serve as references to a Works Cited list, which should follow a written piece of work and list all sources used in detail.

Authors who correctly use in-text citations in MLA style will prove their credibility, integrity and responsibility to share accurate and reliable information and simultaneously protect themselves from stealing sources and ideas from other writers, also known as plagiarism. Plagiarism is a severe offense , and many institutions have strict rules against the practice .

Now that you understand the importance of citations let’s review how to use in-text citations in MLA style. When referring to another author’s work in your own written text, you must use parenthetical citations, including the source in parentheses within the sentence that refers to the work. 

If a source does not have page numbers, use another numbering system, such as chapters, sections, scenes or articles that are explicitly numbered. If there are no numbered divisions within the work, simply cite the author’s name.

The basic format for in-text citations in MLA writings is as follows:

• The pail of water was at the top of the hill, which Jack and Jill decided to climb (Mother Goose 1) .

If including a direct quote from a source, enclose the entire quote within quotation marks to avoid confusing the reader. The in-text citation should fall outside the quotation marks at the end of the sentence before the sentence’s period. Paraphrased information does not need quotation marks but does need proper in-text citation.

It should be noted that any information included in your in-text citations must refer to the source information on the Works Cited page listed at the end of your document.

If you’re wondering how to list the references on the Works Cited page, the format varies depending on the type, such as a book or a website.

How to cite a book in MLA

• Author last name, first name. Title. Publisher, year.

How to cite an article in MLA

• Author last name, first name. “Article title.” Publication, volume/issue, publication month. Year, page numbers. Database, reference URL.

How to cite a website in MLA

• Author last name, first name. “Title.” Publication, publication month. Year, web page URL.

While constructing your paper, you may encounter a few citation challenges, such as a source with multiple authors or no known author. Though this can be confusing, this is how to use in-text citations in MLA style for challenging situations.

How to cite multiple authors in MLA

To write an in-text citation in MLA format for a source with multiple authors , simply list each author’s last name before the page number. Sources with more than two authors should cite the first author, followed by “et al.” For example:

• 2 authors: (Hall and Oates 1)
• 3+ authors: (Hall et al. 1)

How to cite sources with no author in MLA

Sources with no author must match the first listed element within its Works Cited entry. For example:

• In-text citation: (Baa, Baa, Black Sheep 0:15)
• Works Cited entry: “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.” Spotify . https://open.spotify.com/track/1Zpe8ef70Wx20Bu2mLdXc1?si=7TlgCyj1SYmP6K-uy4isuQ

How to cite indirect or secondary sources in MLA

A secondary source is a publication that provides second-hand information from other researchers. You may use secondary sources in your research, though it’s best practice to search for the primary source that supplied the first-hand information, so cite it directly.

If you don’t have access to the original source, include the original author and the author of the secondary source , with the abbreviation “qtd. in” indicating where you accessed the secondary quote. “Qtd. in” stands for “quoted in.” For example:

• (qtd. in Baa, Baa, Black Sheep 0:15)

Using et al. in MLA citations

As described above, et al. is used instead of listing all names of three or more authors, editors or contributors within your citations. It can also cite collections of essays, stories or poems with three or more contributors. When using et al., you should always use the last name of the first writer listed on the source. For example:

• (Earth et al. “September” 0:15)
• Contributors: Earth, Wind and Fire

The most crucial part of in-text citations in MLA style is to keep a consistent and accurate format within the entire body of work. Always use the same punctuation within the in-text citations and the same formatting for sources of the same type. Ensure that double-checking citations is part of your overall proofreading process. All citations, like the written work, should be precise and error-free.

Various tools exist to help you collect and manage your sources and citations. Popular tools include Zotero , EndNote and RefWorks . These tools can create citations for you and keep track of your research documents so you can reference them again if needed. It’s wise to track your sources as they’re included in your writing rather than compiling and citing them when finished.

More resources for writing in MLA format

For the most up-to-date in-text citation information, refer to the MLA Handbook , which can be found online, in bookstores and libraries. The most recent edition of the MLA Handbook is the 9th edition, published in spring 2021.

The MLA also operates the MLA Handbook Plus , a subscription-based digital platform that offers all of the content included in the print edition, plus annual updates and valuable resources, and can be accessed anywhere, whether you’re traveling, at home or in the classroom.

The MLA Style Center offers free online sources on the official MLA style, including templates, questions and answers and advice.

Furman University offers trained consultants for students on campus to provide one-on-one or small-group assistance for writing projects at the Writing & Media Lab (WML). You can make an appointment with a WML Consultant or stop by the James B. Duke Library in the Center for Academic Success (room 002) for on-demand help (subject to scheduling).

The Writing & Media Lab can help with many tasks related to student writing and multimedia projects, including:

• Brainstorming a paper or project
• Outlining your ideas
• Reading through your writing
• Creating a presentation or poster
• Helping you practice your presentation
• Planning a video or podcast
• Revising, proofreading, or editing

Mastering the art of in-text citations in MLA format will ensure that you, as an academic author, will portray yourself as a serious, responsible and factual writer who uses accurate and reliable sources.

The perspectives and thoughts shared in the Furman Blog belong solely to the author and may not align with the official stance or policies of Furman University. All referenced sources were accurate as of the date of publication.

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Reference List: Textual Sources

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Basic Format for Books

Edited book, no author, edited book with an author or authors, a translation.

Note : When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

Edition Other Than the First

Article or chapter in an edited book.

Note : When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

Multivolume Work

Articles in periodicals.

APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.

Article in Print Journal

Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.

Article in Electronic Journal

Note :  This content also appears on Reference List: Online Media .

As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated with the article.

DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.

Article in a Magazine

Article in a newspaper.