Citing sources correctly in your text is an important part of academic writing and research. In-text citations help you give credit to the authors whose work you have used in your own paper. This comprehensive guide will explain how to properly use in-text citations for APA style citations, as well as provide examples of what proper in-text citation looks like. Whether you are a student, professor, or researcher, it is essential to understand the rules for citing sources in your work. From correctly citing quotes and paraphrased material to citing images and other visuals, this guide will help you ensure that all of your sources are correctly credited. It's also important to recognize that in-text citations must be used for all sources, including websites, books, journals, and more.
This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of how and when to use in-text citations for APA style citations. The American Psychological Association (APA) style is one of the most common citation styles used in academic writing.
In-text citations
are an important part of APA style, as they provide evidence of the sources used in your paper and help readers to find further information. In-text citations should be used whenever you quote or paraphrase material from a source. The basic format for an in-text citation is as follows: (Author’s Last Name, Year).For example, if you were citing a book by John Smith published in 2020, your citation would look like this: (Smith, 2020). If you are citing a direct quote, you should also include the page number in your citation: (Smith, 2020, p. 10). It is important to note that if you are citing multiple authors, the author names should be separated by an ampersand (&): (Smith, Jones & Brown, 2020).
If there are more than three authors, only the first author's name should be given followed by et al. (Smith et al., 2020). Additionally, if there are multiple sources with the same author and year of publication, they should be distinguished by adding a lowercase letter after the year (Smith, 2020a).When citing sources within the body of your paper, it is important to make sure that they are properly formatted and that they appear in the correct order. The basic elements of an in-text citation should appear in the following order:
- Author’s Last Name
- Year of Publication
- Page Number (if applicable)
This section should contain all of the sources that you have cited within the body of your paper and should be formatted according to APA style guidelines. Additionally, it is important to remember that each source listed in your References section should correspond to an in-text citation in your paper.
Examples of In-Text Citations
In-text citations provide evidence of the sources used in your paper and are an essential component of academic writing. The examples below show how to properly cite sources within the text of your paper using APA style citations.Book Citation:
If you were citing a book by John Smith published in 2020, your in-text citation would look like this: (Smith, 2020).Journal Article Citation:
If you were citing a journal article by Jane Doe published in 2019, your in-text citation would look like this: (Doe, 2019).Website Citation:
If you were citing a website by ABC Corporation published in 2018, your in-text citation would look like this: (ABC Corporation, 2018).In conclusion, it is important to remember that proper use of in-text citations is essential for academic writing. In-text citations provide evidence of the sources used in your paper and help readers to find further information.When using APA style citations, it is important to make sure that all sources cited in your paper are also listed in the References section at the end of your paper. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your paper is properly formatted and that all sources are correctly credited.
