APA In-Text Citation Style

Cite the source you are using rather than the original, but add the phrase “as cited in” before the author’s name. Example:

John Buford wrote, “Language is a living, breathing organism” (as cited in Gee, 2014, p. 136).

If you have two authors, use both authors’ names in all citations. Use the word “and” in your signal phrases, but use the ampersand (&) for in-text citations. Examples:

Buford and Collins (2008) claimed that “the meanings of words constantly change” (p. 36).

We must acknowledge that “the meanings of words constantly change” (Buford & Collins, 2008, p. 36).

If you have three or more authors, use all the authors’ names in the first citation; for subsequent citations, use the first author’s name only and substitute “et al.” (which means “and others”) for the other authors. Example:

Buford, Collins, and Holt (2008) observed that dialects change along with languages (p. 73). Based on their research, Buford et al. (2008) recommended different attitudes toward dialects (p. 82).

Use the title of the source instead. If the title is quite long, use a shortened version of it (e.g., a source titled “Examining the Process of Language Evolution” could be shortened to “Examining the Process”). Do this for both your signal phrases and in-text citations. Examples:

No one knows what English will look like in a thousand years (“Examining the Process,” 2001, para. 13).

According to “Examining the Process” (2001), no one knows what English will look like in a thousand years (para. 13).

Note: Put book titles in italics; put article titles in quotation marks.

Use the name of the organization, company, or group instead of an individual’s name. If the name is quite long, spell it out in the first citation and follow it with an abbreviation in brackets. In later citations, cite the abbreviation instead of the full name. Example:

According to the group’s Policies and Procedures manual, each meeting begins with a song and a dance (League of Linguists [LoL], 2006, p. 18). The manual also stipulated that members must learn a new word every day (LoL, 2006, p. 19).

Use the year of publication to differentiate between the two sources. Example:

Buford (2008) concluded that language is always evolving. Based on his research, Buford (2010) argued for a more descriptive rather than prescriptive approach to teaching language.

If you use more than one source written by the same author in the same year, use lowercase letters after the year of publication to differentiate between the two sources. Example:

Daniels (2006a) observed that infants’ linguistic abilities are more sophisticated than previously thought (p. 113). It appears that more research is needed in this area (Daniels, 2006b, p. 22).

You can also eliminate the confusion by using each source’s title (or a shortened version of it) in your sentence. Example:

In Between the Lines, Daniels (2006) observed that infants’ linguistic abilities are more sophisticated than previously thought (p. 113). Linguists have called for further research in this area, as indicated in “A Call for Action” (Daniels, 2006, p. 22).

Use the abbreviation n.d. (which means “no date”) instead. Example:

Immersion results in a faster rate of fluency than other forms of language acquisition (Collins, n.d., p. 4).

It is generally better to paraphrase than to directly quote a long stretch of text. However, for any quotation 40 words or longer, treat it as a block quotation. Block quotations are not placed in quotation marks. Instead, they are set off from the rest of your text and indented. Unlike with other quotations, the final punctuation mark comes before the in-text citation. Example:

Gee (2014) examined the ongoing debate over the “official English” movement, summarizing each side’s perspective:

In several states in the United States, bilingual education has become controversial. Some people argue that immigrant children should be allowed to learn school content (such as science and math) in their native language while they are also learning English. Others argue that immigrant children should learn English immediately and quickly and then be exposed to school content only in English. (p. 146)

In other words, the debate seems to center on the question of whether immigrants to the United States have a duty to acclimate themselves to the dominant language or the United States has a duty to accommodate the immigrants.

 

If you directly quote from an online video, such as a Ted talk, YouTube video, webinar or recorded presentation, you cite it just like a written citation but add a timestamp. Example:

Lorenzo (2017) discusses whether diversity “can be a real competitive advantage” for innovative companies (02:41). 

If you are simply paraphrasing the video, you can leave the timestamp off. Example:

Lorenzo (2017) discusses whether diversity benefits companies that want to become more innovative. 

If you are citing a conference presentation, you generally site the same way you would a written work. Example:

Barton (2020) discusses the lasting effects of redlining on postwar education and wealth inequality levels.

If you are citing a personal interview, you only cite it parenthetically and do not include it in the reference list because a personal interview does not provide recoverable data. Example:

We spoke of the importance of the university to welcome and support students from the Arkansas Delta and other underrepresented areas (M. Norton, personal communication, July 2, 2020).

If you are citing an artistic work, diagram, or an electronic image or photograph, you generally cite (and paraphrase) the same way you would a written work. Example:

For many observers, the number of IPOs priced above their originally predicted range has been a key indicator of recent stock market euphoria (Levine, 2020).

If you are citing an image, video, or profile from Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, you parenthetically cite in the following manner:

• Image: The tutor spotlights are a great way to get to know your communication tutors (Walton BCL, 2020).
• Video: Bonus episodes of the Walton Biz Talk podcast are often posted on their Instagram feed (Walton Biz Talk, 2020).
• Profile: Episodes of the Be Epic podcast are on Dean Waller’s Twitter profile (Matthew Waller, n.d.).

For more information on other types of social media citations, please visit the APA Style blog directly.