Here is how to cite an article in an essay. In APA, you put the author’s last name, the year and the page number in parentheses, as in (Smith, 2021, p. 26). In MLA, you put the author’s last name and the page number, as in (Smith 26). Both styles then point to a full entry at the end of your paper. This guide covers journal, magazine, newspaper and online articles.
Note: The authors and articles in the examples below are made up for illustration, so swap in the details of your own source. To build the full entry for your reference list, try our free Citation Generator.
How to Cite an Article in an Essay: APA and MLA at a Glance
Your assignment guidelines normally specify the required style, and when they are silent, a single word from your tutor settles the matter. APA predominates in the social and health sciences, whereas MLA is the convention throughout the humanities. Both styles place an abbreviated reference inside the running text and connect it to a complete entry in the list at the end, so the comparison below concentrates only on what differs between them.
| Element | APA 7 | MLA 9 |
|---|---|---|
| What the citation holds | Surname, year, page | Surname, page |
| Parenthetical form | (Smith, 2021, p. 26) | (Smith 26) |
| Three or more authors | (Hanks et al., 2021) | (Hanks et al. 43) |
Whichever system your instructor requires, the process follows five steps:
- While reading, record the author, the date of publication, the title of the piece and the title of the journal or website.
- Confirm which of the two systems your instructor requires, because they differ in almost every typographical detail.
- Insert a brief reference after each borrowed idea, whether it is quoted or paraphrased, using the surname and the locator.
- Compile the complete entry for the end of the paper, copying every detail exactly from the original source.
- Verify that each in-text citation has a matching entry and that no entry remains uncited.
This page deals only with articles, so if your source is an essay or a chapter in an edited collection, our guide on how to cite an essay is the better place to start.
How Do You Write an MLA In-Text Citation for an Article?
MLA relies on an author-page format, so the surname of the writer and the page number appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence, without any comma between them and without the abbreviation “p.” before the digits. When your prose already names the writer, only the number is required, while the full publication information belongs in the Works Cited list. The Purdue OWL guide to MLA in-text citations documents further variations, and our MLA style guide covers the remaining conventions.
| Situation | Example | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Direct quotation, writer named | Smith states, “Citing an article in your essay correctly is fundamental if you want to avoid plagiarism” (26). | Only the digits follow the quote. |
| Direct quotation, writer not named | The report states, “There are two ways of in-text citation” (Smith 26). | The surname and the digits appear together, without any comma. |
| Paraphrase | According to Smith, you must learn how to cite a source in your essay so as not to plagiarize (26). | Skip the quotation marks but keep the page number. |
| Two or more authors | (Moisson and Zakher 127) or (Moisson et al. 127) | Use “and” between two surnames and “et al.” for three or more. |
| Same last name | (H. Black 22) and (T. Black 35) | Add the initials, or the full first names when the initials also coincide. |
A quotation that runs to four or more lines becomes a block quotation, which requires the writer to remove the quotation marks, to indent the entire passage half an inch from the left margin, and to place the reference after the final period.
If you are uncertain where legitimate paraphrasing ends and direct quoting begins, read our guide on how to paraphrase a source before you start drafting.
How Do You Write an APA In-Text Citation for an Article?
APA follows an author-date format, so every citation combines the surname of the writer with the year of publication and, for a direct quotation, a locator written as p. 26. A parenthetical citation places all of this inside round brackets at the close of the clause, whereas a narrative citation names the writer in the prose itself, with the name followed by the year. The Purdue OWL guide to APA in-text citations lists every variation, and our APA style guide adds the formatting rules.
| Situation | Example | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Direct quotation, narrative | Smith (2021) states, “Citing an article in your essay properly is essential to avoid plagiarism” (p. 26). | The year follows the surname, and the locator closes the entry. |
| Direct quotation, parenthetical | The manual states, “There are two ways of in-text citation” (Smith, 2021, p. 26). | Commas separate the surname, the year and the locator. |
| Two or more authors | (Crompton & Gibson, 2021) or (Hanks et al., 2021) | An ampersand joins two names, and “et al.” covers three or more from the first mention. |
Choose the parenthetical citation when the idea matters more than the person who stated it, and prefer the narrative citation when the reputation of the writer strengthens your argument, because using multiple forms in one essay is perfectly acceptable.
What Does the Reference Entry for an Article Look Like?
Every in-text citation points to a single entry in the list at the end of your essay, which APA calls References and MLA calls Works Cited. The pattern is the same for each type of article: the name of the writer, the date of publication, the title of the piece, and then the title of the publication in which it appeared. The Purdue OWL guide to periodical articles shows the full APA formula.
| Article type | APA 7 | MLA 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Journal article | Watt, A. (2021). Three paradigms in psychology. The Art of Psychology, 9(7), 24-31. | Watt, Alan. “Three Paradigms in Psychology.” The Art of Psychology, vol. 9, no. 7, 2021, pp. 24-31. |
| Magazine article | Iles, V. (2021, September 30). Greta Thunberg’s stolen childhood. Generation Today, 127(234), 17-19. | Iles, Victoria. “Greta Thunberg’s Stolen Childhood.” Generation Today, 30 Sept. 2021, pp. 17-19. |
| Newspaper article | Smith, T. (2019, October 1). Hanoi wrapped in clouds. The Morning Sun, 7. | Smith, Thomas. “Hanoi Wrapped in Clouds.” The Morning Sun [Houston, TX], 1 Oct. 2019, p. 7. |
| Online article | Lee, J. (2021, May 4). How to read a research paper. Study Skills Daily. https://www.example.com/read-a-paper | Lee, Jordan. “How to Read a Research Paper.” Study Skills Daily, 4 May 2021, www.example.com/read-a-paper. |
Italicize only the titles of the journal, magazine or newspaper, plus the volume in APA, and format the article title in sentence case in APA but in title case inside double quotes in MLA. Add the DOI whenever the source has one, sort the entries alphabetically by surname, and place the list of your sources on a separate sheet after the conclusion of your essay.
What if the Article Has No Author, Date or Page Number?
Online and newspaper pieces frequently omit one or more essential details, and the correct response is never to invent the missing information. Use the closest substitute that your style allows, and keep the note short enough that a reader can still locate the matching entry among your sources without any guesswork.
| What is missing | APA 7 | MLA 9 |
|---|---|---|
| No author | Use the first word or phrase of the title: (“Citation Guide,” 2021) | Use a shortened title: (“Citation Guide” 3) |
| No publication date | Write n.d.: (Smith, n.d.) | Nothing replaces it, because MLA omits the date. |
| No page numbers | For a direct quote, use a paragraph number: (Smith, 2021, para. 4) | Name only the writer: (Smith) |
| Multiple articles by one writer | Add letters to the year: (Smith, 2021a) | Add a short title: (Smith, “Hanoi” 7) |
| A quote taken from another source | (Smith, as cited in Lee, 2021) | (qtd. in Lee 45) |
The last row applies when you read a quote in one piece that was originally stated in another, and our guide on citing a quote within a quote explains the rule in more detail.
Common Mistakes When Citing an Article in an Essay
Most deductions originate from the same handful of avoidable slips, and each one is quick to correct, so check your draft against this table before you submit it.
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| No page numbers on direct quotes | Add them, because readers need them to locate the exact passage. |
| “p.” inside an MLA citation | MLA drops it, so write (Smith 26) rather than (Smith, p. 26). |
| Citing the database instead of the journal | Name the journal or magazine, not the platform where you found the source. |
Frequently Asked Questions About Citing an Article
These answers follow the current APA 7 and MLA 9 rules and cover what students ask most about citing sources and in-text citations.
How do you cite an article in APA in an essay?
In the text, give the last name of the author and the year, followed by a page number for a direct quote, as in (Smith, 2021, p. 26). At the end of the essay, add a References entry that records the author, the date of publication, the article title, the journal name, the volume, the issue and the pages.
How do you cite an article in MLA in an essay?
Give the surname and the page number without a comma, as in (Smith 26). If the article is available only online and carries no page numbers, name just the writer. Then list the full publication details of the source on your Works Cited page, where the complete bibliographic information appears.
What is the in-text citation for an article?
An in-text citation for an article is a short note inside your sentence that points to the full entry in your list and gives the reader the information needed to locate the source. In APA it holds the author, the year and the locator, whereas MLA requires only the author and the locator.
How do you cite a journal article in an essay?
The in-text citation looks the same as for any other article, and the difference lies in the reference entry, which adds the volume, issue and page range of the publication, plus the DOI when one exists. Review the Purdue OWL for the exact sequence of elements in each style.
Where to Check the Rules
Style manuals change, so check any unusual case against the official guidelines. The Purdue OWL has free pages for both styles, and the Columbia College guide to MLA 9 in-text citations adds more examples. For the complete rules, the two official manuals below remain the most reliable sources.
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Written by
Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.