West Middle School

Citing Sources within your Text

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica (2008), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Eyewitness to History (2008) found "students often had difficulty using APA style.”

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

"Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Eyewitness to History, 2008).

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. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

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, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required).