An APA in-text citation is a short note in your sentence that names the author and year of a source, like this: (Luna, 2020). When you quote, add the page: (Luna, 2020, p. 14). This guide covers the APA 7th edition rules for the cases students actually meet, from one author to no author, plus quotes without page numbers, secondary sources and emails. The rules below follow the official APA Style guidance.
Quick answer: Use the author-date form. Parenthetical: (Author, year). Narrative: Author (year). Add p. or para. for a direct quote. For three or more authors, write the first author plus et al. from the very first citation.
APA Citation Format: The Basic Form
APA uses an author-date system with two parts: the short in-text citation and a full entry in the reference list. The in-text citation gives only the author and year, and the reader finds the rest in the list at the end of your paper. The spelling of every name and every year must match between the two. For the full picture of the style, see our APA citation guide.
Paraphrases and quotations both need a citation, and our guide on how to paraphrase shows how to restate a source without drifting too close to its wording. For a paraphrase the page is optional, and you may add one when it helps readers find a passage in a long book. For a direct quote the page, paragraph or other locator is required.
What Is the Difference Between a Parenthetical and a Narrative Citation?
There are only two formats, and the difference is where the author name sits. An APA parenthetical citation puts the name and year in parentheses, separated by a comma. An APA narrative citation uses the name as part of your sentence, with the year in parentheses straight after it.
| Format | Example | Rule to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Parenthetical | Falsely balanced coverage can distort public perception (Koehler, 2016). | Name, comma, year. Use & between two authors. |
| Narrative | Koehler (2016) noted the dangers of falsely balanced coverage. | Year follows the name. Write out “and” between two authors. |
| Name and year both in the sentence | In 2016, Koehler noted the dangers of falsely balanced coverage. | No parentheses at all. |
| Citation inside other parenthetical text | (e.g., falsely balanced coverage; Koehler, 2016) | A semicolon separates the text from the citation. Never nest parentheses. |
APA In-Text Citation Rules by Source Type
This table is the quick reference. It shows what to write for each situation in both formats. The sections after it explain the cases that cause the most errors.
| Source situation | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| One author | (Luna, 2020) | Luna (2020) |
| Two authors | (Salas & D’Agostino, 2020) | Salas and D’Agostino (2020) |
| Three or more authors | (Martin et al., 2020) | Martin et al. (2020) |
| Group author with abbreviation, first citation | (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020) | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2020) |
| Same group, later citations | (NIMH, 2020) | NIMH (2020) |
| Group author, no abbreviation | (Stanford University, 2020) | Stanford University (2020) |
| No date | (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.) | U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.) |
| Direct quote with page | (Ervin et al., 2018, p. 470) | Ervin et al. (2018) wrote that “…” (p. 470). |
| Page range | (World Health Organization, 2019, pp. 202–205) | World Health Organization (2019, pp. 202–205) |
| Secondary source | (Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014) | Allport’s diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003) |
| Personal communication | (T. Nguyen, personal communication, February 24, 2020) | E.-M. Paradis (personal communication, August 8, 2019) |
How Do You Cite Multiple Authors in APA In-Text Citations?
The number of authors decides the author part of the citation. One or two authors are named in every citation. For three or more authors, APA 7 uses the first author plus “et al.” from the first citation onward. The older habit of listing everyone the first time and shortening later is the 6th edition rule and no longer applies.
Two authors are joined by & inside parentheses and by the word “and” in running text. A work by Salas and D’Agostino becomes (Salas & D’Agostino, 2020) or Salas and D’Agostino (2020). Cite a group such as a government agency by its full name. If it has a well-known abbreviation, give the full name and abbreviation on the first citation and use the abbreviation after that. Define it only once in the paper, in either the parenthetical or the narrative format.
Handling Identical Author-Year Citations
Sometimes the short form cannot tell two sources apart, for example when one author published two works in the same year. APA fixes each case a different way.
| Problem | Fix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Same author(s) and same year | Add a lowercase letter after the year. The letters follow the order of the reference list, which sorts by title. | (Blondaux & O’Hanrahan, 2018a), Blondaux and O’Hanrahan (2018b) |
| Same author(s), no date | Use n.d. with a letter. | (Dreschke, n.d.-a, n.d.-b) |
| Two works shorten to the same “et al.” form | Spell out as many surnames as needed to tell them apart. | List the first authors until the citations differ |
| First authors share a surname but have different initials | Add initials in every citation, even when the years differ. | (J. M. Taylor & Neimeyer, 2015; T. Taylor, 2014) |
| Authors in one reference share a surname | No initials needed. | (Chen & Chen, 2019) |
Year letters also apply when you cite several works by one author in a single set of parentheses, which the section on multiple works below covers.
What Do You Do When There Is No Author, Date or Page Number?
Missing information changes both the reference entry and the in-text citation. APA’s missing-information table gives the pattern: whatever is missing is replaced by the next element.
| What is missing | What you write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Author | The title takes the author’s place. | (“Why Sleep Matters,” 2019) or Why Sleep Matters (2019) for a standalone work in italics |
| Date | “n.d.” for no date. | (Kaur, n.d.) |
| Author and date | Title plus n.d. | (“Why Sleep Matters,” n.d.) |
| Title | A short description in square brackets in the reference entry. The in-text citation still uses author and year. | (Kaur, 2021) |
Do not write “Anonymous” as an author unless the work is actually signed “Anonymous.” In that case use it like a normal name: (Anonymous, 2017). A title in the author slot follows the title rules: quotation marks for a part of a larger work such as an article or web page, italics for a stand-alone work such as a book or report, and a shortened form if the title is long. Use only the year in the citation, even if the reference entry has a full date. For the reference entry itself, see how to cite a website in an essay.
Quoting a Source Without Page Numbers
Web pages, many ebooks and videos have no page numbers, but a direct quote still needs a locator. The APA guidance on quoting material without page numbers allows several choices, and you pick the one that helps the reader find the passage fastest.
| Source type | Locator to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Web page with headings | Section heading, shortened if long | (Gecht-Silver & Duncombe, 2015, Osteoarthritis section) |
| Text with no headings | Paragraph number, counted by hand if not numbered | (Chamberlin, 2014, para. 1) |
| Long page with headings | Heading plus paragraph | (DeAngelis, 2018, Musical Forays section, para. 4) |
| Video, audiobook, TED Talk | Time stamp where the quote begins | (Cuddy, 2012, 2:12) |
| Play | Act, scene and lines | (Shakespeare, 1623/1995, 1.3.36–37) |
Do not use Kindle location numbers. If the ebook shows print page numbers, use them. Otherwise use one of the locators above. For video sources, see how to cite YouTube videos. The section name need not appear in the reference entry, because the entry is for the whole page.
Page Numbers in APA In-Text Citations for Quotations
A quote always carries the author, the year and the locator in the same sentence. Use “p.” for one page, “pp.” with an en dash for a range, and a comma for separate pages (pp. 67, 72). A quote under 40 words stays in your sentence inside quotation marks. A quote of 40 words or more becomes a block quote with no quotation marks, indented half an inch. In a block quote the citation goes after the final punctuation, with no period after the closing parenthesis. Our guide on how to introduce quotations shows ways to lead into a quote smoothly.
Citing Multiple Works in One Set of Parentheses
When one point rests on several sources, put them in one set of parentheses in alphabetical order by first author, separated by semicolons: (Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Shulman, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017). Two or more works by the same authors share one name and list only the dates, with no-date works first, then dates in order, then in-press works last: (Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d., 2017a, 2017b, 2019).
To highlight the most relevant sources, put them first, add “see also,” and list the rest alphabetically after it: (Sampson & Hughes, 2020; see also Augustine, 2017; Pérez, 2014). APA also advises keeping strings of citations short, since a long string is hard to read with a screen reader.
Citing Indirect Sources With “As Cited In”
A secondary source is a work you read that cites another work you could not read. APA says to cite secondary sources sparingly and to find the original when you can. When you cannot, name the original and write “as cited in” before the source you actually read: (Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014). Only Lyon et al. goes in the reference list. If the year of the original is unknown, leave it out.
APA Citation for a Personal Communication
A personal communication is a source no one can retrieve, such as an email, text message, phone call, personal interview or an unrecorded lecture. Give the initials and surname of the person and as exact a date as you can: (T. Nguyen, personal communication, February 24, 2020). It gets no reference list entry at all. If the information is available elsewhere, cite that source instead. Interviews you conducted as part of your own research are not personal communications, so quote those participants directly.
When Can You Drop the Year in a Repeated Citation?
APA does not use “ibid.” and does not allow a bare page number in place of a citation. For every parenthetical citation, repeat the author and year. For narrative citations, give the year the first time in a paragraph and leave it out in later narrative mentions of that work in the same paragraph. Start the next paragraph with the year again. One exception: if you cite two works by the same authors, include the year every time, even when one of them is repeated within a paragraph.
Common APA In-Text Citation Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Writing out all authors the first time (Martin, Lee, & Cho, 2020) | Use (Martin et al., 2020) from the first citation. The 6th edition rule of naming everyone once no longer applies. |
| Using & in a narrative citation | Write Salas and D’Agostino (2020) in running text. |
| Quoting with no locator | Add p., para., a section name or a time stamp. |
| Citing the original of a work you never read | Use “as cited in” and list only the source you read. |
| Listing an email in the reference list | Cite it in the text only as a personal communication. |
| Spelling or year differs from the reference entry | Match the in-text citation to the entry letter for letter. |
Match Each Citation to a Reference Entry
Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every list entry must be cited in the text, with the exceptions above. When you need the entry for a book, article or web page, a free APA citation generator builds it for you. For articles, our guide to citing an article in an essay shows the pieces to look for. Check the author, date and title the generator returns against the source, because the generator only formats what the source page provides.
Final Check Before You Submit
- Each in-text citation has a matching reference entry, except personal communications.
- Names and years match the reference list exactly.
- Every direct quote has a page, paragraph, heading or time stamp.
- Three or more authors use et al. from the first citation.
- Narrative citations spell out “and”, and parenthetical ones use &.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do you write an APA in-text citation?
Put the author’s surname and the year in parentheses, separated by a comma: (Luna, 2020). If the author is part of your sentence, put only the year in parentheses after the name: Luna (2020). Add p. and the page number for a direct quote.
How do you cite multiple authors in APA in-text citations?
Name both authors for a work with two, joined by & in parentheses and “and” in the sentence. For three or more authors, write the first author’s surname plus et al. every time, starting with the first citation.
Do I need a page number in an APA in-text citation?
For a direct quote, yes. For a paraphrase, no, although you may add one for a long or complex work. If the source has no page numbers, use a heading, a paragraph number or a time stamp.
What is the difference between parenthetical and narrative citations?
In a parenthetical citation, the author and year are both inside parentheses at the end of the idea. In a narrative citation, the author’s name is part of the sentence and only the year follows in parentheses.
What do I write if a source has no author or no date?
With no author, use the title in place of the name. With no date, write n.d. in place of the year, as in (Kaur, n.d.).
Was this article helpful?
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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.