APA in-text citations give the author's surname and the year of publication every time you use a source. They point the reader to the full entry in your reference list.
This page covers the rules in the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual, the version most universities now require. Every rule comes with an example; author names in the examples are illustrative.
The Two Forms of APA in-Text Citation
A parenthetical citation puts the author and year in brackets: (Okafor, 2022). A narrative citation makes the author part of the sentence, with the year in brackets: Okafor (2022) reported...
Add a page number for direct quotations, such as (Okafor, 2022, p. 14). Every in-text citation must match an entry in the reference list, except personal communications.
Parenthetical and Narrative Citations
Parenthetical: Microplastic concentrations were highest near river mouths (Okafor, 2022).
Narrative: Okafor (2022) found the highest microplastic concentrations near river mouths.
Narrative with year in the sentence: In 2022, Okafor found the highest concentrations near river mouths.
Use narrative citations when the researcher matters to the point, and parenthetical ones when the finding matters most. Mixing both keeps the writing varied.
Number of Authors
| Authors | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| One | (Okafor, 2022) | Okafor (2022) |
| Two | (Okafor & Lin, 2022) | Okafor and Lin (2022) |
| Three or more | (Okafor et al., 2022) | Okafor et al. (2022) |
| Group author with abbreviation, first use | (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023) | World Health Organization (WHO, 2023) |
| Group author, later uses | (WHO, 2023) | WHO (2023) |
| No author | (Title of Report, 2023) or ("Title of Article," 2023) | Title of Report (2023) |
| No date | (Okafor, n.d.) | Okafor (n.d.) |
In APA 7th edition, works with three or more authors use "et al." from the very first citation. Use an ampersand (&) inside brackets and the word "and" in running text.
If two different works with three or more authors would both shorten to the same form, such as (Okafor et al., 2022), write out as many surnames as needed to tell them apart.
Direct Quotations and Page Numbers
A direct quotation needs a page number, or another locator when there are no pages. Use "p." for one page and "pp." for a range.
(Okafor, 2022, p. 14)
(Okafor, 2022, pp. 14–15)
(Okafor, 2022, para. 6) for an unpaginated web source
(Okafor, 2022, Table 2) or (Okafor, 2022, Section 3.1) when a table or section is clearer
Quotations of 40 words or more become block quotations: start on a new line, indent the whole block and drop the quotation marks. The parenthetical citation goes after the final punctuation of the block.
In science writing, paraphrase far more often than you quote. Quote only when the exact wording matters, such as a definition.
Repeated Citations in One Paragraph
Once you have cited a source narratively in a paragraph, you may leave out the year in later narrative citations of the same source within that paragraph. Parenthetical citations always keep the year.
Okafor (2022) sampled 14 estuaries. Okafor also found that concentrations rose after heavy rain, a pattern later confirmed at two further sites (Okafor, 2022).
Start each new paragraph with the full citation again, including the year.
Citing Several Works Together
When several sources support the same point, put them in one set of brackets, separated by semicolons. Order them alphabetically by first author's surname, as they appear in the reference list.
(Adeyemi, 2020; Lin & Ortiz, 2023; Okafor et al., 2022)
Same author, different years, oldest first: (Okafor, 2019, 2022)
Same author, same year, with letters matching the reference list: (Okafor, 2022a, 2022b)
Different authors with the same surname, with initials: (J. Lee, 2020; M. Lee, 2021)
Secondary Sources and Personal Communications
Try to read and cite the original. If you cannot, name the original work and cite the source you actually read, which is the only one that goes in your reference list.
Secondary source: (Hartley, 1998, as cited in Okafor, 2022)
Personal communication: (R. Mensah, personal communication, March 4, 2025)
Personal communications, such as private emails, unrecorded conversations and lectures you heard in person, appear only in the text. They are not listed in the reference list because readers cannot retrieve them.
Datasets, Software and Preprints
Datasets, specialized software and preprints are cited like any other work, with the author (person or organization) and year in the text.
Rainfall records came from the national archive (Met Office, 2024).
Models were fitted with the lme4 package (Bates et al., 2015).
Mark preprints as such in the reference list and check whether a peer-reviewed version has since been published.
Common APA in-Text Mistakes
| Mistake | Correct form |
|---|---|
| (Okafor, Lin, and Mensah, 2022) | (Okafor et al., 2022) |
| Okafor & Lin (2022) in running text | Okafor and Lin (2022) |
| (Okafor 2022) with no comma | (Okafor, 2022) |
| Quotation with no page number | (Okafor, 2022, p. 14) |
| First names or initials for unique surnames | Surname only, unless two authors share a surname |
| Citation with no matching reference entry | Add the reference, or remove the citation |
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Frequently Asked Questions
For any work with three or more authors, from the first citation onwards: (Okafor et al., 2022).
APA does not require them for paraphrases, but encourages them when it would help the reader find the passage, especially in long works.
Use "n.d." for no date: (Okafor, n.d.).
Add lowercase letters after the year, in the order the works appear in the reference list: (Okafor, 2022a, 2022b).
Usually at the end of the clause it supports, before the full stop. For block quotations, it goes after the final punctuation.
A lecture you heard in person is a personal communication, cited only in the text. Published lecture slides or recordings are cited with a full reference.
Use the full name the first time with the abbreviation in square brackets, as in (National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], 2024), then (NASA, 2024) afterwards. Introduce an abbreviation only if you cite the group several times.