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Citing Sources: In-text and parenthetical citations

A guide to citing sources in MLA, APA, and Chicago format.

In-Text Citations examples

Note: if the entire paragraph has information from the same source, cite the source in (or at the end of ) the first sentence, but not every subsequent sentence. Your text should make it obvious that the information is all from this same source.

One or two authors:

(Jones, 1997)

(Dunn & Diaz, 2008)

Three or more authors:

(Phipps et al., 2018)

 

Organization as author:

First citation

(National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2016)

Subsequent citations

(NIH, 2016)

No author (for an article):

Use the first word of the article in quotes.

(“Economy”, 2011, pp. 3-4)    

No author (for a website where the content isn't in article format):

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018)    

If two authors have the same surname (use first name inital in addition to last name):

This example is for a presentation.

(N. Smith, 2007, Slide 7)

If the same information comes from multiple sources:

(Smith, 2007; Jones, 2008) or 

Smith (2007) and Jones (2009) concluded that…

If you use different information from multiple sources in the same sentence:

Smith (2007) presented data that supported the committee's opinion but Rudolfo's study (2008) came to a different conclusion.

If you want to present one source as your main source, but also mention another source:

(Smith, 2007; see also LeBlanc (2009)

If you used more than one source from the same author:

(Smith, 2007; Smith, 2009)

If you have more than one source from the same author in the same year):

(Smith, 2007a) or (Smith, 2007b)

 

No date:

(Jones, n.d.)

For republished books (not for editions):

(Adler 1947/2008)  

For YouTube videos:

If the producer of the film did not upload the film, you can use the  YouTube channel as author and use upload date.

(Crafty Student, 2018, 2:15)

For films and videos:

Use director and/or producer as author.

(Bruckheimer & Scott, 1986)

For artworks:

(Picasso, 1926-1927)

For personal communication (emails, classroom lectures, face to face interviews, online bulletin board, live speeches):

(J. Wright, personal communication, February 14, 2020)

 Do not include a citation in the References list  - simply cite in-text.

Overview

In-text citations (or parenthetical citations) point your reader to specific entries on the References page.

  • In-text citations are placed throughout the body of your paper, whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize information from a source.
  • Page numbers are necessary if you are using a direct quote, but are also recommended if you paraphrase.
  • In-text citations include:
    • Last name(s) of the author(s)
    • Year of publication
    • Page number(s), especially for quotations.
  • You can cite references either within the text, or at the end of a sentence.
    • ​​​​Within the text, with the author name as part of a narrative.

      • Smith and Jones (2004) disputed the Committee’s conclusion that "funding the project was impractical" (p. 10).

    • At the end of a sentence using the author name and page number in parentheses.

      • Some researchers strongly dispute the Committee’s conclusion that "the situation improved" (Smith & Jones, 2004, p. 10).

    • On occasion, you may wish to cite a source within another source you are using. In this case, use the as cited in before the indirect source, and mention the source in the text:
      • Clark’s 1999 study (as cited in Smith & Jones, 1997, 10), indicates that…
      • In this situation, do not cite both articles. Instead, your References page will contain the article by Smith & Jones only. Clark is merely credited in the text of your paper. APA recommends using the original source when possible.