APA is one of the most adopted referencing styles across the social sciences, humanities, education, nursing, and psychology fields.
Whether you’re submitting a class assignment, research report, essay, or journal article, the APA 7th Edition provides a structured and consistent format for acknowledging your sources.
Understanding how to cite correctly is essential not only for avoiding plagiarism but also for giving credibility to your work.
In-text citations provide brief information about the source inside your writing. These citations must correspond with full entries on the reference page.
An in-text citation is a concise form of the reference that you used in your work. It provides sufficient background to identify the source in the reference list clearly. In APA, the in-text citation typically includes:
EXAMPLE
(Johns, 2020, p. 199)
If you’re paraphrasing, the page number is optional (Johns, 2020)
There are two main ways to cite sources in APA: parenthetical and narrative. It is important to know the difference between these two forms.
In parenthetical citation, the author’s name and the date of publication should be written within parentheses,
For example, (Johns, 2020).
Use this when you want to emphasise your own ideas rather than the author’s.
Whereas, in Narrative citation, the author’s name should be a part of the sentence rather than written in parentheses.
For example, Johns (2016).
Use narrative citations when you want to highlight the author’s contribution.
When using someone else’s ideas, you can either quote or paraphrase them.
| Direct Quotes | Paraphrasing |
|---|---|
| Definition: Uses the author’s exact words. Requires a page number. Use quotation marks for quotes under 40 words. | Definition: Expresses the author’s ideas in your own words. Page number optional but recommended. |
| Example: “Writing is a powerful thinking tool” (Brown, 2020, p. 15). |
Example: Brown (2020) suggests that writing helps clarify thinking. |
There is a slight difference in the citation format when citing a source with multiple authors or organisations.
NOTE: The correct use of the ampersand symbol and punctuation plays a very important role in it.
| Type of Author | Parenthetical Citation | Narrative Citation |
|---|---|---|
| One Author | (Johns, 2020) | Johns (2020) |
| Two Authors | (Johns & Robert, 2020) | Johns and Robert (2020) |
| Three or More Authors | (Johns et al., 2020) | Johns et al. (2020) |
| Organisation | (Solutions, 2020) | Solutions (2020) |
When referencing more than one source in a single citation, list them alphabetically and separate each with a semicolon. This method organises multiple citations neatly and avoids cluttering your paragraphs.
EXAMPLE
Several studies support early childhood learning (Adams, 2018; Brown & Lee, 2019; Johns, 2020)
Sometimes, a source lacks certain details, such as the author’s name, publication date, or page numbers. Here is how you can solve this problem:
| Missing Info | What to do | Parenthetical Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Add the source title. | (Source title, 2020) |
| Date | Use “n.d.” for “missing date”. | (Johns, n.d.) |
| Page Number | Use an alternative locator or skip the page number. | (Johns, 2020, Chapter 13) or (Johns, 2020) |
NOTE: Use the same title formatting as used in the relevant reference entry (Make it italicised or, if the title is not italicised (in actual reference), then put it in quotation marks). Always use upper and lower case in the title.
Every in-text citation must correspond to a full reference on the reference page. A standard APA reference includes:
Different source types require different formatting.
Digital Media sources have become more common, and the APA 7th Edition provides clear rules for them. Digital media citations help acknowledge non-traditional yet influential online sources.
Blog post example:
Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of blog post. Blog Name. URL
YouTube video example:
Author/Channel Name. (Year, Month, Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL
Twitter/X post example:
Author, A. [@username]. (Year, Month, Day). First 20 words of post [Tweet]. X. URL
Here are some examples of how to format references for common source types:
Reference Entry:
Johns, R. (2020). The citation manual for students: A quick guide. Wiley
In-text Citations:
Parenthetical: (Johns, 2020)
Narrative: Johns (2020)
Journal article reference example
Reference Entry:
Ruxton, C. (2016). Tea: Hydration and other health benefits. Primary Health Care, 26(8), 34-42. https://doi.org/10.7748/phc.2016.e1162
In-text Citations:
Parenthetical: (Ruxton, 2016)
Narrative: Ruxton (2016)
Web page reference example
Reference Entry:
Johnson, A. (2018, May 24). “It doesn’t need to be this way”: The promise of specialised early intervention in psychosis services. IEPA. https://iepa.org.au/network-news/it-doesnt-need-to-be-this-way-the-promise-of-specialised-early-intervention-in-psychosis-services/
In-text Citations:
Parenthetical: (Johnson, 2018)
Narrative: Johnson (2018)
Just like in in-text citations, APA provides rules for incomplete sources in the reference list.
| Missing Info | What to do | Reference format |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Use the exact source title. | Title. (Date). Source. |
| Date | Use “n.d.” for “Missing date”. | Author. (n.d.). Title. Source. |
| Title | Enclosed in square brackets. | Author. (Date). [Description]. Source. |
The reference page consists of all the sources that you have used in your paper. The reference pages fall right under the main body of the paper, just before the appendix.
Here are some reference page formatting rules:
NOTE: Please note that you should only include those references that you have cited in the in-text citation throughout your paper. Do not include any irrelevant references.
If there is no author name, but the source clearly links to a specific website, report, or organisation, then use the name of the website or organisation as the author to cite the work published by them.
The “et al.” means “and others”. It is used to cite a source with three or more authors. This in-text citation format includes (First author’s last name, et.al., 2018).
Only for direct quotations. Page numbers are optional for paraphrasing unless required by your instructor.
Use n.d. In place of the year, such as (Johnson, n.d.).
No. Only include sources you cited in the paper. Background readings or personal communications do not appear in the reference list.
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