To do an in-text citation, you generally include the author's last name and the year of publication of the source you are citing. If you are directly quoting, you should also include the page number or paragraph number if no page numbers exist. Here are the key points and examples for the most common styles, especially APA:
How to Do an In-Text Citation (APA Style)
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Basic format: (Author's Last Name, Year)
Example: (Field, 2005) -
Direct quote: Include page number
Example: (Field, 2005, p. 14) -
No page numbers (e.g., websites): Use paragraph number
Example: (Field, 2005, para. 1) -
Narrative citation: Author's name in text, year in parentheses
Example: Field (2005) argues that... -
Two authors: Use "&" in parentheses, "and" in narrative
Example (parenthetical): (Case & Daristotle, 2011)
Example (narrative): Case and Daristotle (2011) state... -
Three or more authors: Use first author + et al.
Example: (Case et al., 2011) -
Multiple citations in one parentheses: Separate by semicolons
Example: (Jones, 2015; Smith, 2014) -
When to cite: Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize another source to credit the original author and avoid plagiarism
MLA Style (Author-Page)
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Include author's last name and page number without a comma
Example: (Wordsworth 263) -
Author's name may appear in text or parentheses, but page number is always in parentheses
Example: Wordsworth describes the emotion as a "spontaneous overflow" (263)
Summary
Citation Type| Format Example| Notes
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APA Parenthetical| (Smith, 2018, p. 11)| Author, year, page for quotes
APA Narrative| Smith (2018) found... (p. 11)| Author in text, year and page in
paren
MLA Parenthetical| (Smith 11)| Author and page only
MLA Narrative| Smith states... (11)| Author in text, page in parentheses
Use in-text citations to clearly attribute ideas, quotes, or paraphrased content to the original source, linking to a full reference list entry
