When using APA citation style, you must use both in-text citations and references. The Writing Center provides an overview of how to create in-text citations and references for the most commonly used types of sources.
This section provides examples of how to use in-text citations within the body of your essay. Some options for integrating In-Text Citations include:
| CITATION TYPE | SAMPLE CITATION |
| In text, using a signal phrase |
According to Miller (2002), horror movies during the 1950s were preoccupied with the post-WWII world order and the increasingly threatening nature of technology. |
| End of sentence, in a parenthetical |
Horror movies during the 1950s were preoccupied with the post-WWII world order and the increasingly threatening nature of technology (Miller, 2002). |
| With a direct quotation |
Lanning (2007) argues that “our most pressing fears tend to inform the genre of horror movies” (p. 37). Or When reviewing the history of horror as a genre of film, it is worth noting that “our most pressing fears tend to inform the genre of horror movies” (Lanning, 2007, p. 37). |
| Long quotation, 40 words or more |
It is also emphasized that Voltaire took a great deal of inspiration from the life of Sir Isaac Newton: During the time that Voltaire spent in England, the most significant episode for him was almost certainly the death of Sir Isaac Newton. An old man of eighty-four, Newton was President of the Royal Society and held in highest esteem. And it was this that impressed Voltaire, that a man from a modest background, but blessed with great intellectual gifts, could rise so high in society and be so respected by his fellow men, whatever their own background. (Watson, 2005, p. 527) |
| With a direct quotation (no page number) |
Lanning (2007) argues that “our most pressing fears tend to inform the genre of horror movies” (para. 2). Or Lanning (2007) argues that “our most pressing fears tend to inform the genre of horror movies” (Slide 8). Or Lanning (2007) argues that “our most pressing fears tend to inform the genre of horror movies” (Section 2). Or Lanning (2007) argues that “our most pressing fears tend to inform the genre of horror movies” (Introduction). |
| Personal Communication |
Note: If information comes from an unpublished source, such as an interview or email communication, include the author’s first initial and last name as a part of the sentence. Address it as a personal communication and list the date in parenthesis after the idea. T. Jones stated that all ants crawl and snakes slither (personal communication, February 2, 2011). |
*Note: For sources with no page numbers, you can use other information from the source to indicate where the information is located. For example, you can use paragraph numbers, chapter/section numbers or names, slide numbers, etc. Use your best judgment to decide what additional information would be most helpful for the reader to locate the quoted material within the source.
| Number of Authors | In-Text Citation |
| One Author | (Zakaria, 2019) |
| 2 Authors | Parenthetical: (Lunsford & Ede, 2015)
Narrative: Lunsford and Ede (2015) |
| 3 or More Authors | Parenthetical: (Stiglitz et al., 2016)
Narrative: Stiglitz et al. (2016) |
| Group Author with Abbreviation | First Citation: (Colorado State University Global [CSUG], 2020)
Subsequent Citations: (CSUG, 2020) |
| Group Author without Abbreviation | (Harvard University, 2020) |
Even if the month and day are included in the date for your reference, you only need to include the year in the in-text citation.