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APA Citation Style and Other Citation Styles Explained

In academia and other professional fields, much of the work that goes on is strictly intellectual. In such areas, ideas matter, and copying another’s ideas without acknowledging the source can land the practitioner in trouble. This has happened to many unsuspecting academics.
Sometimes, failure to use citations constitutes academic fraud. The consequences of academic fraud are dire, including academic sanctions, penalties, or worse. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Citation systems like the APA one or the Chicago style can help you easily bring your papers or professional writings up to standard.
Below, we explore the APA type of citation and other alternatives that you can use to make your work free of plagiarism.
What is APA Citation Style?
The APA citation style is one of three citation styles which are in wide use in universities and other professional communities. These three are:
- APA Style – A type of citations by the American Psychological Association
- Chicago Manual Style – Citation style from the Chicago University Press
- MLA Style – Citation guidelines by the Modern Language Association
APA Style contains guidelines for references to academic works, as well as stylistic idioms for the composition of academic work. The style began in the 1920s, and has since been adopted by leading academics in the social sciences.
Using APA Citations in the Body of a Text
Proper citation begins with in-text citations. These are references to source materials which you have chosen to include in the body of your paper or text.
In APA Style, you must reference the author’s last name and the source material’s publication year when making reference to a secondary source. Such a secondary source could be, for example, a book, guide, newspaper article, published report, or other publication.
References to earlier research, for example from academic journals, must use the past tense. For example, when referring to a work from 1960 by the psychologist Abraham Maslow, we would write:
Maslow (1960) found that “the highest stage of human psychological health occurs in the state of self-actualization” (p. 330).
As you can see, we also need to include a page number if directly quoting the work, otherwise, the author’s name and the work’s publication year suffice.
APA Reference List
At the end of an academic work, journal writing, or other such professional work, it is necessary to include a list of all works that have been referenced in the body.
The reference list must begin on a separate page from the body of your test. You should title it “References” so that it’s clear that the main arguments have ended and you are now listing references.
In the reference list, you should follow APA Style rules, including the following:
- Arrange author listings in alphabetical order
- Invert the authors’ names so that the last name is read first
- Titles for works cited should be given in full, whether books, journals, or other sources
- Specify the publisher and location where the work was published
Observing these rules, we can list a book by the social scientist Carl Jung as follows:
Jung, C. (1933). Modern Man in Search of a Soul . London: Trubner & Co.
Why APA Is Not Always the Right Citation Type
APA Style works well for the following disciplines:
- Linguistics
Other, related, disciplines also use APA Style.
There are, however, disciplines where alternative citation styles are more appropriate. These include the Chicago Manual Style, and MLA Style. The exact citation style you need to use will depend on the field of study for which you are writing. If in doubt, you can check with the publisher or editor of the journal or other publication for which you are writing.
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Paraphrasing
A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on significant information, and compare and contrast relevant details.
Published authors paraphrase their sources most of the time, rather than directly quoting the sources; student authors should emulate this practice by paraphrasing more than directly quoting.
When you paraphrase, cite the original work using either the narrative or parenthetical citation format .
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).
Webster-Stratton (2016) described a case example of a 4-year-old girl who showed an insecure attachment to her mother; in working with the family dyad, the therapist focused on increasing the mother’s empathy for her child (pp. 152–153).
These guidelines pertain to when you read a primary source and paraphrase it yourself. If you read a paraphrase of a primary source in a published work and want to cite that source, it is best to read and cite the primary source directly if possible; if not, use a secondary source citation .

This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.
Related handout
- Paraphrasing and Citation Activities (PDF, 357KB)
Long paraphrases
A paraphrase may continue for several sentences. In such cases, cite the work being paraphrased on first mention. Once the work has been cited, it is not necessary to repeat the citation as long as the context of the writing makes it clear that the same work continues to be paraphrased.
Velez et al. (2018) found that for women of color, sexism and racism in the workplace were associated with poor work and mental health outcomes, including job-related burnout, turnover intentions, and psychological distress. However, self-esteem, person–organization fit, and perceived organizational support mediated these effects. Additionally, stronger womanist attitudes—which acknowledge the unique challenges faced by women of color in a sexist and racist society—weakened the association of workplace discrimination with psychological distress. These findings underscore the importance of considering multiple forms of workplace discrimination in clinical practice and research with women of color, along with efforts to challenge and reduce such discrimination.
If the paraphrase continues into a new paragraph, reintroduce the citation. If the paraphrase incorporates multiple sources or switches among sources, repeat the citation so the source is clear. Read your sentences carefully to ensure you have cited sources appropriately.
Play therapists can experience many symptoms of impaired wellness, including emotional exhaustion or reduced ability to empathize with others (Elwood et al., 2011; Figley, 2002), disruption in personal relationships (Elwood et al., 2011; Robinson-Keilig, 2014), decreased satisfaction with work (Elwood et al., 2011), avoidance of particular situations (Figley, 2002; O’Halloran & Linton, 2000), and feelings or thoughts of helplessness (Elwood et al., 2011; Figley, 2002; O’Halloran & Linton, 2000).

APA (6/e) Style Guide
- Quotes & Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing
- Brackets vs. Parentheses
- In-Text Citations
- Books & Journals
- Citing a Lecture
- Citing Tables
- Citing Figures
- Citing Visuals
- More examples
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- APA Highlights
APA style prefers you paraphrase information from other sources, and that you keep direct quotations to a minimum.
Paraphrases are restatements of written or spoken language in your own words. Do not add your opinions in the middle of paraphrasing or summarizing unless it is clear your ideas are not the original author’s. Reintroduce the author’s name to clarify any ambiguity to the reader. Paraphrases and summaries do not use quotation marks and require the author’s last name and year of publication . Page number is not required for paraphrases and summaries.
When citing a source, you always have two choices: 1) Write the author’s name as part of your sentence in the text. 2) Write the author’s name in the parentheses. Use only last name in all APA in-text citations and do not include the title of books or articles in the body of your paper. The date must go directly after the author’s name.
One to two authors in text:
Emery’s (2004) case study of a boy with autism found art therapy to be a useful tool to help him relate to others.
Abrams and Kane (2007) report the drop-out rate is double that of other schools.
Authors in parenthetical:
Art therapy was found to be a useful tool to help a young boy with autism relate to others (Emery, 2004).
The drop-out rate is double that of other schools (Abrams & Kane, 2007).
Multiple authors: APA has specific rules for how you write authors’ names when there are more than two authors.
Three – five authors: At first mention in the paper, write all authors’ names. Thereafter, use et al.
Authors in text:
Hurtado, Dey, Gurin, and Gurin (2003) emphasize that to gain the benefits of educational diversity, universities must…..
Hurtado et al. (2003) emphasize that to gain the benefits of educational diversity, universities must . . .
Authors in parenthetical:
To gain the benefits of educational diversity, universities must . . . (Hurtado, Dey, Gurin, & Gurin, 2003).
To gain the benefits of educational diversity, universities must . . . (Hurtado et al., 2003).
Six or more authors: Use only the first author’s name followed by et al.
(Kosslyn et al., 1996)
Multiple references in the same parentheses : Put in alphabetical order by author’s last name and separate with semi-colon.
(Bruffee, 1993; Goodsell, Maher, & Tinto, 1992; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Pike, 1993)
Source with no author : Use abbreviated version of title.
(“Study Finds,” 2007)
…the book College Bound Seniors (2008) describes…
A quotation is a word-for-word repetition of written or spoken language. Quotation marks directly before and after the material tell the reader these are the exact words of the source. Be stingy in your use of direct quotations -- never more than 10% of your paper. Direct quotations must always include the author’s last name, year of publication, and page number . Integrate direct quotations seamlessly into your paper by introducing the author’s last name before the quote. Remember the rule, “Don’t drop quotations!”
Author in text: You could choose this style if you are introducing the author or a study for the first time.
Interpreting these results, Robbins et al. (2003) suggested that the “therapists in dropout cases may have inadvertently validated parental negativity about the adolescent without adequately responding to the adolescent’s need or concerns” (p. 541), contributing to an overall climate of negativity.
Author in parenthetical: You could choose this style if you’ve already mentioned the author in a previous citation.
“The low self-monitoring person is generally more attentive to his/her internal attitudes and dispositions than to externally based information such as others’ reactions and expectations” (Baxter, 1983, p. 29).
Long Quotations
If the source you are quoting is 40 or more words, start it on a new line and indent the entire quotation about a half inch from the margin (same position as a new paragraph). Double space and do not use quotation marks. Note different position of period.
Miele (1993) found the following:
The “placebo effect,” which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner. Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again even when reel [sic] drugs were administered. Earlier studies were clearly premature in attributing the results to a placebo effect. (p. 276)
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APA Citation Guide (7th edition): Quotes vs Paraphrases
- Book Examples
- Article Examples
- Media Examples
- Internet Resources Examples
- Other Examples
- Quotes vs Paraphrases
- Reference Entry Components
- Paper Formatting
What's the Difference?
Quoting vs paraphrasing: what's the difference.
There are two ways to integrate sources into your assignment: quoting directly or paraphrasing.
Quoting is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly as it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks (" ") around the selected passage to show where the quote begins and where it ends. Make sure to include an in-text citation.
Paraphrasing is used to show that you understand what the author wrote. You must reword the passage, expressing the ideas in your own words, and not just change a few words here and there. Make sure to also include an in-text citation.
Quoting Example
There are two basic formats that can be used:
Parenthetical Style:
Narrative Style:
Quoting Tips
- Long Quotes
- Changing Quotes
What Is a Long Quotation?
A quotation of more than 40 words.
Rules for Long Quotations
There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:
- The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
- The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
- There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
- The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after, as it does with regular quotations.
Example of a Long Quotation
At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)
Changing Quotations
Sometimes you may want to make some modifications to the quote to fit your writing. Here are some APA rules when changing quotes:
Incorrect spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Add the word [sic] after the error in the quotation to let your reader know the error was in the original source and is not your error.
Omitting parts of a quotation
If you would like to exclude some words from a quotation, replace the words you are not including with an ellipsis - ...
Adding words to a quote
If you are adding words that are not part of the original quote, enclose the additional words in square brackets - [XYZ]
Secondary Source Quotes
What is a secondary source.
In scholarly work, a primary source reports original content; a secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.
- Cite secondary sources sparingly—for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand.
- If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source.
Rules for Secondary Source Citations
- In the reference list, provide an entry only for the secondary source that you used.
- In the text, identify the primary source and write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used.
- If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the in-text citation.
Example of a Secondary Source Use
Quote & In-Text Citation
Reference List Entry
Paraphrases
Paraphrasing example.
When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:
If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:
NOTE : Although not required, APA encourages including the page number when paraphrasing if it will help the reader locate the information in a long text and distinguish between the information that is coming from you and the source.
Paraphrasing Tips
- Long Paraphrases
Original Source
Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.
Source from:
Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology, 139, 469-480.
Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing
Example: correct paraphrasing.
If your paraphrase is longer than one sentence, provide an in-text citation for the source at the beginning of the paraphrase. As long as it's clear that the paraphrase continues to the following sentences, you don't have to include in-text citations for the following sentences.
If your paraphrase continues to another paragraph and/or you include paraphrases from other sources within the paragraph, repeat the in-text citations for each.
Additional Resource
- Paraphrasing (The Learning Portal)
Tip sheet on paraphrasing information
- << Previous: In-Text Citations
- Next: Reference Entry Components >>
- Last Updated: Jan 9, 2023 3:52 PM
- URL: https://simmons.libguides.com/apa

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FAQ: How do I cite paraphrased information in APA style (in-text)?
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Answered By: Jennifer Harris Last Updated: Aug 19, 2022 Views: 259224
When you paraphrase, you use your own words. This is usually preferable to direct quotes because the information is written in your own style, but you must be careful not to change the meaning. When paraphrasing, you must still acknowledge where you got the idea from by including a parenthetical citation.
When citing paraphrased information, APA requires you to include the author and date. It is also recommended (but not required) that you include the page number. The format of the page number depends on if the information is on a single page or range of pages.
Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information at the Beginning of a Sentence
A review (Selby et al., 2017) identified several laws pertaining to cancer research in the UK that might be affected because of Brexit.
Patafio et al. (2016) investigated the relationship between cancer research funding and cancer research output and found that research output is not well correlated with the public health burden of individual cancers that was measure by mortality rates.
The authors (Lindqvist & Neumann) argue that security and privacy are crucial in the Internet of Things (IoT) because if future attacks are successful they can cause widespread destruction and even cost lives.
Bernard (2011) argues that Henry VIII's Catholicism was more than just Catholicism without the pope.
Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information in the Middle of a Sentence
Surgery is considered a last resort in the treatment of plantar fasciitis Owens (2017) argues.
Strength training as treatment for plantar fasciitis, according to (Huffer et al. 2017) , does not contribute to the improved function and pain relief.
Many physical therapists use ultrasound therapy as treatment; however, numerous studies highlighted in the review published by Sanke and Radwan (2015) show that the therapy does not have any effect on the condition.
Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information at the End of a Sentence
There are multiple types of cyberbullying (El Asam & Samara, 2016) .
A significant amount of youths' social interaction takes place through technology and children as young as 10 have access to mobile devices (Williford & DePaolis, 2016) .
The authors found that undergraduate students are afraid to report cyberbullying (Watts et al., 2017, p. 273) .
Example of how the original quotation might be paraphrased<
Original quotation:.
American commitment to self-government rested on the early experience of colonization. English common law was introduced with the first settlers, and each new colony soon had an elected assembly designed to represent and protect the interests of the settler population, acting like a local equivalent of the Westminster House of Commons. In theory, popular participation in government was balanced by a strong executive, in the person of the governor, supported by an advisory council. Bit in the first years of settlement, when colonies were sponsored by private companies rather than the Crown, governors and councils were often themselves elected, reinforcing the tendency towards local control (Conway, 2013, p. 33) .
The essay incorporating the paraphrasing:
The early settlers in Colonial American may have considered themselves English and loyal to the Crown. However, the local government structure supported a system of relative self-governance (Conway, 2013, p. 33) .
More Information
- APA guide (Shapiro Library)
Further Help
This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students
To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.
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American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7 th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Bernard, G. W. (2011). The dissolution of the monasteries. History , 96 (324), 390-409.
Conway, S. (2013). A short history of the American Revolutionary War . I.B.Tauris.
El Asam, A., & Samara, M. (2016). Cyberbullying and the law: A review of psychological and legal challenges. Computers in human behavior , 65 , 127-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.08.012
Lindqvist, U., & Neumann, P. G. (2017). The future of the internet of things. Communications of the ACM , 60 (2), 26-30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3029589
Owens, J. M. (2017). Diagnosis and management of plantar fasciitis in primary care. Journal for nurse practitioners , 13 (5), 354-359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.12.016
Patafio, F. M., Brooks, S. C., Wei, X., Peng, Y., Biagi, J., & Booth, C. M. (2016). Research output and the public health burden of cancer: Is there any relationship? Current Oncology , 23 (2), 75-80. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2935
Sanke, P. L., & Radwan, T. S. (2015). Ultrasound as an effective treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis. Journal of foot & ankle surgery , 54 (4) 481-487.
Selby, P., Lawler, M., Baird, R., Banks, I., Johnston, P., & Nurse, P. (2017). The potential consequences for cancer care and cancer research of Brexit. Ecancermedicalscience , 11 (752-769), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2017.ed63
Watts, L. K., Wagner, J., Velasquez, B., & Behrens, P. I. (2017). Cyberbullying in higher education: A literature review. Computers in human behavior , 69 , 268-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.038
Williford, A., & Depaolis, K. J. (2016). Predictors of cyberbullying intervention among elementary school staff: The moderating effect of staff status. Psychology in the schools , 53 (10), 1032-1044. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21973
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In-Text Citations: The Basics

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here .
Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.
Note: On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998) finds ).
APA Citation Basics
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.
On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.
Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining
- Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
- If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs: Writing New Media , There Is Nothing Left to Lose .
( Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media .)
- When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: Natural-Born Cyborgs .
- Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo ."
- If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text: The Closing of the American Mind ; The Wizard of Oz ; Friends .
- If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."
Short quotations
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).
You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
Long quotations
Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.
Quotations from sources without pages
Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.
Summary or paraphrase
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work.

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When do I use in-text citations?
When should you add in-text citations in your paper .
There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format.
- Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation.
- Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source, which means you need to cite NEW information OR 2) You need to cite a DIRECT quote, which includes a page number, paragraph number or Section title.
- Important to remember : You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph.
What do in-text citations look like?
In-text citation styles: , let's look at these examples if they were written in text: .
An example with 1 author:
Parenthetical citation: Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020).
Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing.
An example with 2 authors:
Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019).
Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method.
An example with 3 authors:
Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).
Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions.
An example with a group/corporate author:
Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020).
Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor.
Tips on Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020). .
Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing:
- How do I learn to paraphrase? IF you are thoroughly reading and researching articles or book chapters for a paper, you will start to take notes in your own words . Those notes are the beginning of paraphrased information.
- Read the original information, PUT IT AWAY, then rewrite the ideas in your own words . This is hard to do at first, it takes practice, but this is how you start to paraphrase.
- It's usually better to paraphrase, than to use too many direct quotes.
- When you start to paraphrase, cite your source.
- Make sure not to use language that is TOO close to the original, so that you are not committing plagiarism.
- Use theasaurus.com to help you come up with like/similar phrases if you are struggling.
- Paraphrasing (vs. using direct quotes) is important because it shows that YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND the information you are reading.
- Paraphrasing ALLOWS YOUR VOICE to be prevalent in your writing.
- The best time to use direct quotes is when you need to give an exact definition, provide specific evidence, or if you need to use the original writer's terminology.
- BEST PRACTICE PER PARAGRAPH: On your 1st paraphrase of a source, CITE IT. There is no need to add another in-text citation until you use a different source, OR, until you use a direct quote.
References :
Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com . https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g
Citing Direct Quotes
When should i use a direct quote in my paper .
Direct quotes should only be used occasionally:
- When you need to share an exact definition
- When you want to provide specific evidence or information that cannot be paraphrased
- When you want to use the original writer's terminology
From: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/
Definitions of direct quotes:
Carrie forbes, mls.

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APA 7: Quote & Paraphrase
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- Quote & Paraphrase
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Paraphrase or Summarize
When you paraphrase, you restate the ideas of another writer in your own words. A summary shortens information into a more general statement. For the in-text citation, APA requires the name of the author (or the work's title if the author is unknown) and the year of publication.
- Vonnegut (1982) explains that when writers do not structure and organize their information in meaningful ways, the reader will feel neglected.
- When writers do not structure and organize their information in meaningful ways, the reader will feel neglected (Vonnegut, 1982).
APA encourages including a page range for a summary or paraphrase if it will help the reader find the information in a longer work.
- Paraphrasing - APA Style Guide
Use quotations when you directly quote a source word-for-word in your paper. Use direct quotations when you need an exact definition or when an author has said something memorable or succinctly.
Short Quotations
Short quotations have fewer than 40 words. They require the author, year of publication, and page number (preceded by p.). Place quotation marks around the quote.
- "If you scribble your thoughts any which way, your readers will surely feel that you care nothing about them" (Vonnegut, 1982, p. 150).
Or, with the signal phrase:
- According to Vonnegut (1982), "If you scribble your thoughts any which way, your readers will surely feel that you care nothing about them" (p. 150).
Partial Quotes
If you decide to leave out part of a quotation within your paper, you must still let your reader know that you have left out part of the quote. This is where an ellipsis (...) is needed.
- In "How to Write with Style," famed sci-fi writer Kurt Vonnegut (1982) notes that "I myself find that I trust my writing...when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis" (p. 152).
Long Quotations (Block Quotations)
Quotes longer than 40 words need to be block quotations:
- Do not use quotation marks around the quote.
- Start a block quote on a new line and indent the whole block 0.5 inches from the left margin.
- Double-space the quotation and do not add an extra line before or after it.
- Either cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or cite the author and year in your paper before the quotation and place only the page number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation.
- Do not add a period after the closing parenthesis.
Researchers have studied how people talk to themselves:
- Quotations - APA Style Guide
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Apa citation guide (apa 7th edition): quoting vs. paraphrasing.
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Quoting vs Paraphrasing
Quoting vs paraphrasing: what's the difference.
There are two ways to integrate sources into your assignment: quoting directly or paraphrasing.
Quoting is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly as it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks (" ") around the selected passage to show where the quote begins and where it ends. Make sure to include an in-text citation.
Paraphrasing is used to show that you understand what the author wrote. You must reword the passage, expressing the ideas in your own words, and not just change a few words here and there. Make sure to also include an in-text citation.
- Long quotations
- Modifying quotations
Quoting - Examples
There are two basic formats that can be used when quoting a source:
Parenthetical Style
Narrative style, what is a long quotation.
A quotation of more than 40 words. Long quotations are formatted as blocks of texts called block quotations.
Rules for Block Quotations
There are 4 rules that apply to block quotations that are different from regular quotations:
- The line before your block quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
- The block quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
- There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
- The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after , as it does with regular quotations.
Example of a Block Quotation
At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)
Modifying Quotations
Sometimes you may want to make some modifications to the quote to fit your writing. Here are some APA rules when changing quotes:
Incorrect spelling, grammar, and punctuation
- Add the word [sic] after the error in the quotation to let your reader know the error was in the original source and is not your error.
Omitting parts of a quotation
- If you would like to exclude some words from a quotation, replace the words you are not including with an ellipsis - ...
Adding words to a quote
- If you are adding words that are not part of the original quote, enclose the additional words in square brackets - [XYZ]
Additional Resource
Additional resource:.
- Using Quotations (The Learning Portal) Tip sheet on how and when to use quotations
Paraphrasing
- Correct vs. incorrect paraphrasing
- Long paraphrases
Paraphrasing - Examples
When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:
If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following their name:
Note: Although not required, APA encourages including the page number(s) when paraphrasing long or complex sources, such as books, so that the reader can easily refer to the paraphrased information in your source. Always clarify with your instructor about their preference regarding page numbers in paraphrase in-text citations.
Correct vs. Incorrect Paraphrasing
Original Source
Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.
Source from:
Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology , 139, 469-480.
Example of Incorrect Paraphrasing:
Example of Correct Paraphrasing:
Long Paraphrases
If your paraphrase is longer than one sentence, provide an in-text citation for the source at the beginning of the paraphrase. As long as it's clear that the paraphrase continues to the following sentences, you don't have to include in-text citations for the following sentences.
If your paraphrase continues to another paragraph and/or you include paraphrases from other sources within the paragraph, repeat the in-text citations for each.
- Paraphrasing (The Learning Portal) Tip sheet on paraphrasing information
In-text Citation Tips
- Citing after each sentence
- Sources with same author and publication year
- Citing more than one source
Citing only once at the end of the paragraph isn't enough, as it doesn't clearly show where you started using information from another person's work or ideas. When you use a source more than once in a paragraph, you need to cite the source the first time it is mentioned, and then continue to make it clear that the same work is being paraphrased in subsequent sentences.
This can be tricky though - you want your paper or assignment to flow nicely while properly citing your sources. There is a way you can avoid having to write full in-text citations each and every time by adding a lead-in sentence to your paragraph, "narrative" style.
Bad (Do not do this). In this paragraph, the citation occurs only at the end and reader does not know exactly when/where information comes from the source:
Correct but ugly. This paragraph is technically correct for APA, but it is difficult to read in large part because the in-text citations are intrusive and awkward:
Good. These paragraphs are "APA correct" and easy to read. Note the reader knows exactly when/where information from the source is used:
Note: The above examples are adapted from Rasmussen College .
When you are citing two different sources that share the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters after the year of publication (a, b, c, etc.). Assign these letters according to which title comes first alphabetically. Use these letters in both in-text citations and the Reference list.
Example In-Text:
Example Reference List entries:
If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon. List the sources alphabetically by author's last name or first word used from the title if no author is given, in the same order they would appear on the References List.
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APA Citation Guide (7th edition) CGS
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Paraphrasing
- Reference List & Sample Writing
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When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:
Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt, 1993).
Note : If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:
Hunt (1993) noted that mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research after the publication of John Bowlby's studies.
Paraphrasing Examples
Original Source
Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.
Source from:
Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology , 139, 469-480.
Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing
The homeless come from families with problems. Frequently, they have been physically or sexually abused, or have lived in group homes. Usually no one cares for them or knows them intimately (Rokach, 2005).
Note : In this incorrect example the writing is too similar to the original source. The student only changed or removed a few words and has not phrased the ideas in a new way.
Example: Correct Paraphrasing
Many homeless experience isolation in part due to suffering from abuse or neglect during their childhood (Rokach, 2005).
Note : The example keeps the idea of the original writing but phrases it in a new way.
No Author and/or No Date
No Known Author:
Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.
If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.
If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.
Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).
( Cell Biology , 2012, p. 157)
("Nursing," 2011, p. 9)
No Known Date of Publication :
Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".
(Smith, n.d., p. 200)
In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors
In-text citation for group or corporate authors.
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- Last Updated: Jan 13, 2023 3:47 PM
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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Writing an outline in APA style involves formatting the lines properly, using 12-point Times New Roman font and creating detailed headings. Each point of the outline starts with a header, which is marked by a Roman numeral.
In academia and other professional fields, much of the work that goes on is strictly intellectual. In such areas, ideas matter, and copying another’s ideas without acknowledging the source can land the practitioner in trouble. This has happ...
A case study written in APA style should be typed on standard-sized paper with 1-inch margins on every side. The font should be neat and legible, and the entire essay should be double-spaced.
If you translate a passage from one language into another on your own in your paper, your translation is considered a paraphrase, not a direct quotation. APA
APA style prefers you paraphrase information from other sources, and that you keep direct quotations to a minimum. Paraphrases are restatements of written
When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion
When citing paraphrased information, APA requires you to include the author and date. It is also recommended (but not required) that you include
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source
Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source
APA 7 notes that “published authors paraphrase their sources most of the time, rather than directly quoting” (p. 269).
When you paraphrase, you restate the ideas of another writer in your own words. A summary shortens information into a more general statement
This brief video explains the basic structure of the two ways you can cite information in APA 7th edition: quotations and paraphrases.
Quoting is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly as it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks ("
When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased