In-text Citations
When you use information you found in your sources, you need to mark that information to show that the ideas are not your ideas. This will help the reader to find the matching entry on the reference page, so they can use that information to go read or listen to the original source if they want to. You need in-text citations in your paragraphs, when you use the ideas or words from another person or organization. In other words, you will need a citation in any of these situations:
- A direct quote
- A summary
- A paraphrase
- Any time you use ideas that aren't general knowledge
Source material is marked in your essay using in-text citations. The exact format of your citation will vary a little depending on the style guide you are using. All of the citations in this book use the APA style guide, but there are other style guides you may need to use in college. Your teacher will usually tell you which style guide they expect you to use.
Three basic types of information are required for an in-text citation:
- The author's last name
- The year that the information was published
- The page number (or for some electronic sources, the paragraph number)
Example: In-Text Citation
(Kamenetz, 2016, para. 1).
The in-text citation is split if you use a phrase to introduce the source material that includes the author's name. The year goes in parentheses directly after the name of the author, and the page number goes in parentheses at the end of the source material. See example below.
Example: In-Text Citation with an Introductory Phrase
According to Kamenetz (2016), "Sleep deprivation affects memory, cognition and motivation, and the effects are compounded when it's long-term." (para. 1).
The way you use ideas or words from the source will also determine how much information you need to give the reader for them to find the source. The main difference is that if you use the exact words from the source, you need to give the page or paragraph number for the reader to be able to find those exact words in the source.
|
Author/Organization |
Year Published |
Page/Paragraph # |
|
|
Quote |
needed |
needed |
needed |
|
Summary |
needed |
needed |
optional |
|
Paraphrase |
needed |
needed |
optional |
|
Other |
needed |
needed |
optional |
Examples
|
Example |
|
|
Quote |
(Kamenetz, 2016, para. 1) |
|
Summary |
(Kamenetz, 2016) |
|
Paraphrase |
(Kamenetz, 2016) |
Variations
You may need to adjust the in-text citation for some of your sources, depending on the information that is available. Some of the more frequent situtations you may encounter are shown below. For more information about these or other situations you encounter while trying to create citations, check out https://edtechbooks.org/-YxHt .
No author?
If there is no author listed because something was written by an organization, include the organization's name. If the organization has a widely-recognized acronym, you can use it after the first in-text citation (e.g., NASA).
Example: In-Text Citation with a Group as the Author
The Food and Drug Administration (2022) asserted that "Dietary Supplements can be beneficial to your health..." (para. 1). People often take these supplements because it is hard to get all of the nutrients they need naturally through diet. However, "...taking supplements can also involve health risks" (FDA, 2022).
If there is no author or organization name, (as is the case with many encyclopedias or dictionaries), you should use the first few important words of the article's title with quotation marks.
Example: In-Text Citation without an Author
He was "...a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era" ("Steve Jobs," 2022, para. 1).
Two authors?
In parentheses, use the ampersand (&) between the names. In an introductory phrase, write the word and.
Example: In-Text Citation with Two Authors
One of the challenges with teaching second language listening skills has to do with its dependence on memory. Research shows that "how much information a listener can hold in working memory will depend on their level of language proficiency. As their level of language proficiency increases, listeners are able to retain and process increasingly larger chunks of meaningful speech." (Vandergrift & Goh, 2012, p. 20).
More than two authors?
You only need to list the first author's last name and et. al. for every citation. This is an update for the 7th edition APA style guide.
Example: In-Text Citation with Three Authors
As explained by Kogon et al., "successful project leaders practice accountability because it reinforces informal authority and ensures project success. Successful leaders hold people accountable because it is the right thing to do, even when it's hard" (Kogon et al., 2016, para 6).
No page number?
The paragraph number should be used with the abbreviation para. If there are headings in the text, use the name of the heading before the paragraph number. Put the name of the heading in quotation marks. (Some headings may be very long. In that case, you can use a shortened version.)
Example: In-Text Citation without Page Number
"The timing and severity of the Great Depression varied substantially across countries" (Romer & Pells, 2021, "Economic History," para. 1).
Example: In-Text Citation without Page Number
Lava provides a unique environment for plant growth, and finding a good observation site is essential. Hawaii is a good place for these observations because "Hawaii's ecosystems are isolated enough—and thus rich enough —that ecologists can recite the typical order of arrival on new lava" (Roach, 2017, para. 10).
No year?
Use the abbreviation n.d. (no date).
Example: In-Text Citation without Year
"Volcano studies can reveal a lot about the earth" (Stephens, n.d., para. 28).
Other variations?
Check a complete APA citation style guide like the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) or the OWL online.
Exercise 1: Create Citations
Create citations for the following sources. While this chapter focuses on using APA format, you are welcome to cite your sources in a different way if you prefer. The important skill here is to give credit to the original author for the ideas and to understand how to avoid plagiarism. You will have plenty of time in a university setting to learn how to correctly use the style guide for your area of study.
- Search for these articles on the BYU Library website or Google Scholar to find any other necessary information.
- Write the citation that would be used in an essay paragraph.
Exercise 2: Create More Citations
Create citations for the following sources. While this chapter focuses on using APA format, you are welcome to cite your sources in a different way if you prefer. The important skill here is to give credit to the original author for the ideas and to understand how to avoid plagiarism. You will have plenty of time in a university setting to learn how to correctly use the style guide for your area of study.
- Open these links to articles to find any other necessary information.
- Write the citation that would be used in an essay paragraph.
References:
Kamenetz, A. (2016, May 2). How college students are sleeping... or not. NPR. https://edtechbooks.org/-Xfq
Food and Drug Administration. (2022, June 2). FDA 101: Dietary Supplements. https://edtechbooks.org/-Ctow
Steve Jobs. (2022, July 19). In Britannica. https://edtechbooks.org/-ngHn
Vandergrift, L. & Goh, C. C. M. (2012). Teaching and learning second language listening: Metacognition in action. Routledge.
Kogon, K., Blakemore, S., & Wood, J. (2015). Project management for the unofficial project manager. BenBella Books.
Romer, C. D. and Pells, . Richard H. (2021, October 11). Great Depression. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://edtechbooks.org/-oBk
Roach, M. (2017). Go with the flow: Lava that spews from a volcano in Hawaii creates startling new ecosystems that grow into islands of evolution. Smithsonian, 48(1).
CC BY-NC: This work is released under a CC BY-NC license, which means that you are free to do with it as you please as long as you (1) properly attribute it and (2) do not use it for commercial gain.