To cite a specific part of a source, provide an author–date citation for the work plus information about the specific part. A part might be a page, chapter, table, or video time stamp. 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.
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.
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.
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 and double space the entire quotation block. Note that for blocks of text, the citation follows the final punctuation of the quoted text.
Even as racism and the destruction of black and brown bodies in the United States is witnessed worldwide on social media platforms, parents continue to warn their black and brown sons and daughters with words like these.
And you know now, if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. It does not matter if the destruction is the result of an unfortunate overreaction. It does not matter if it originates in a misunderstanding. It does not matter if the destruction springs from a foolish policy. Sell cigarettes without the proper authority and your body can be destroyed. Resent the people trying to entrap your body and it can be destroyed. Turn into a dark stairwell and your body can be destroyed. The destroyers will rarely be held accountable. Mostly they will receive pensions. And destruction is merely the superlative form of a dominion whose prerogatives include friskings, detainings, beatings, and humiliations. All of this is common to black people. And all of this is old for black people. No one is held responsible. (Coates, 2015, p. 9)
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. Although it is not required to provide a page or paragraph number in the citation, you may include one (in addition to the author and year) when it would help interested readers locate the relevant passage within a long or complex work (e.g., a book).
According to Ulrich, (2008) many women who made positive impacts on society are overlooked by history. Few of these women have their names remembered.
Many women who made positive impacts on society are overlooked by history. Few of these women have their names remembered (Ulrich, 2008).
Rule: Work with two authors: In the first reference to work, list both authors.
Dalai Lama and Tutu (2016) agree the ultimate source of happiness is simply a healthy body and a warm heart.
The ultimate source of happiness is simply a healthy body and a warm heart (Dalai Lama & Tutu, 2016).
Rule: Work with 3+ authors: Use the first author's name followed by "et al." (note the period after the word "al") for for first and subsequent citations.
The study notes leaders’ who experience more pleasant feelings at work tended to be more committed to their organization. (Jin et al., 2016)
Rule: Work by an association, government agency, or corporation mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source, just as you would an individual person. If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, you may include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations. However, if you cite work from multiple organizations whose abbreviations are the same, do not use abbreviations (to avoid ambiguity).
Examples:
According to the American Psychological Association (2019),...
Organization with a well-known abbreviation examples:
Later citations: (NIMH, 2020)
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.
(Linares, 2018, para. 5)
(Linares, 2018, 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, webpage, 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, 2019). If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").
("Former FBI Agent," 2018)
...as seen in Preparing for the GRE (2020).
Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).