Tutorial

APA Citations
How to Use In-Text Citations

What Is a Citation?
-A citation is a reference which allows one to acknowledge the sources used in a formal academic paper.
-A citation enables a reader to locate cited sources through information it provides.
-Citations are placed both in the text and in an organized list (reference list) at the end of the text.
-Research material may be found in books, journals articles, speeches, websites, on-line resources and articles, etc.

Texas A&M Libraries (2015) Citing your sources. Retrieved from:

http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/using-materials-services/online-tutorials/citing-sources/index.html

Why are citations necessary?

Citations add credibility to your research by showing support for
your opinions.
Citations demonstrates that you have researched your topic.
Citations enables the reader to verify your source and check its
validity
Citations ensure credit is given to the proper entity.

Failure to use proper citations may be considered

academically dishonest and may lead to charges of
plagiarism.
Texas A&M Libraries (2015) Citing your sources. Retrieved from:
http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/using-materials-services/online-tutorials/citing-sources/index.html

When is Citation necessary?

When an author is quoted, you must communicate to your reader where you found
the information.
Using an author's words exactly as they appear on the page (a direct quote), always
requires a citation.
Resources must also be sited :
- if you re-word an idea, thesis, or opinion given by an author,
- if you re-word an expert's theory or opinion,
- if you use information or facts that are not common knowledge
- if you need to provide an informational or explanatory note.
Restatements of an author's words, thoughts, or ideas will take the form of :
- a summary
- a paraphrase (or indirect quotation).
Texas A&M Libraries (2015) Citing your sources. Retrieved from:

http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/using-materials-services/online-tutorials/citing-sources/index.html

Do I always have to Cite?

Facts that are common knowledge do not have to be cited. For example:
A Democratic President has been elected to office in the last two terms.
Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean is from June 1 st to November 30th.
Statistics and information that can easily be found in several sources and are not
likely to vary from source to source do not have to be cited.
For example, census information the population of the United States is 281
million.
Dictionary definitions that are common knowledge and vary little from source to
source do not have to be cited.
Texas A&M Libraries (2015) Citing your sources. Retrieved from:
http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/using-materials-services/online-tutorials/citing-sources/index.html

Short quotations
When directly quoting from a work, include the author, year of
publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by
"p."). Start the quotation with a phrase that includes the author's
last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
According to Michaels (2001), "Students often struggled to use APA
style" (p. 97).
Michaels (2001) "students often struggled to use APA style" (p. 97);
what implications does this have for teachers?

Paiz, J.,Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A., Keck, R (2013) Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Retrieved from:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/04/

Summary or paraphrase
For a summary or paraphrase of an idea from another resource, you have
to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text
reference, however, APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the
page number (although it is not required.)
According to Michaels (2001), APA style is a often a struggle for first-time
learners.
APA style is often a struggle for first-time learners (Michaels, 2001, p. 97).

Paiz, J.,Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A., Keck, R (2013) Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved
from:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/04/

Citing an Multiple Authors

Work by Two Authors:
Name both authors in the initial phrase or in the parentheses each time you cite the work. Use
the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in the
parentheses.
Research by Levy and Johnson (2010) supports...
A Work by Three to Five Authors:
List the authors in the initial phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source. Use the
word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in the
parentheses.
(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)
In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal
phrase or in parentheses.
(Kernis et al., 1993)
Paiz, J.,Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A., Keck, R (2013) Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Retrieved from:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/04/

References
Paiz, J.,Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A.,
Keck, R (2013) Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/04/
Texas A&M Libraries (2015) Citing your sources. Retrieved from:
http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/using-materials-services/online-tutorials/citingsources/index.html