APA STYLE CITATIONS (7th Edition)

Based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition

There are two components of an APA style citation: the in-text citation (parenthetical or narrative), as well as the full
Reference List entry at the end of the paper. Both components provide the information necessary for the reader to locate
and retrieve the source(s) used to inform a paper. Each cited source in the text of your paper (in-text citation), must also
appear in the Reference List. Below are some examples of both parts of an APA citation.

Source with 1 author

Reference List Shukman, D. (2019, April 2). What does air pollution do to our bodies?. BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47777103
In-Text Citation Parenthetical Narrative Direct Quote
(Shukman, 2019) Shukman (2019) n/a

Source with 2 authors

Reference List Everly, G.S., Jr., & Lating, J. M. (2017). The Johns Hopkins guide to psychological first aid. Johns
Hopkins University Press.
In-Text Citation Parenthetical Narrative Direct Quote
(Everly & Lating, 2017) Everly and Lating (2017) (Everly & Lating, 2017, p.
86)

Source with 3 -20 authors*

*If there are 21 or more authors, consult section 9.8 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition.

Reference List Schwartz, J., Bind, M.-A., & Koutrakis, P. (2017). Estimating causal effects of local air pollution on
daily deaths: Effect of low levels. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(1), 23–29.
https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP232
In-Text Citation Parenthetical Narrative Direct Quote
(Schwartz et al., 2017) Schwartz et al. (2017) (Schwartz et al., 2017, p. 24)

Source with a group author*

*Define the abbreviation for a group author only once in the text. Thereafter, use the abbreviation for all mentions of the group in the text. See section
8.21 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition for more information.

Reference List Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.) About high blood pressure. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm
In-Text Citation(s) Parenthetical Narrative Direct Quote
(Centers for Disease Control Centers for Disease Control and n/a
and Prevention, n.d.) Prevention (n.d.)

Source with no author*

*If there is no author listed, use a shortened version of the title in your in-text citation. If the title is italicized in the reference entry, italicize it in your
in-text citation. If the title is not italicized in the reference entry, place it in quotation marks. See section 8.14 of the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, 7th Edition for more information.

Reference List Charles Hull. (n.d.). National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/charles-hull

Where angels no longer fear to tread. (2008, March 19). The Economist, 386(8572), pp. 89-92.
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2008/03/19/where-angels-no-longer-fear-
to-tread

In-Text Citation(s) Parenthetical Narrative Direct Quote

(Charles Hull, n.d.) Charles Hull (n.d.) n/a
(“Where angels,” 2008) “Where angels” (2008) (“Where angels,” 2008, p. 91)

Questions? Ask a Librarian! http://necc.mass.libanswers.com

978-556-3400 (Haverhill) ∙ 978-738-7400 (Lawrence)
 Questions? Ask a Librarian! http://necc.mass.libanswers.com
978-556-3400 (Haverhill) ∙ 978-738-7400 (Lawrence)

Citing Multiple Works

When citing two or more sources in the same parenthesis, alphabetize the citations, and separate each with a semicolon.

Example: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.; Everly & Lating, 2017; Shukman, 2019)

Short Quotations (Fewer than 40 words)

Include the quotation in the regular text of your paper. Be sure to use quotation marks and add an in-text citation with a
page number (if applicable).

Example: She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not
offer an explanation as to why.

Block Quotations (40 words or more)

If a quote has 40 or more words, treat it as a block quote. Start the block quote on its own line and indent the entire quote
0.5” from the left margin, be sure that it is also double-spaced, with no extra spaces before or after it. Do not use
quotation marks for block quotes.
Use a parenthetical citation after the closing punctuation for the sentence or use the author and year in a narrative
introduction before the quote. If you choose to use a narrative introduction, be sure to include the page number of the
quote after the final punctuation.

Example 1:
There are a variety of barriers to student success when working on research assignments. An example of these
barriers is citation style and formatting. Jones (1998) argues the following based on her experience as an
instructor:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing
sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a
style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Example 2:
There are a variety of barriers to student success when working on research assignments. An example of these
barriers is citation style and formatting. Based on their experiences, some instructors found that:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing
sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a
style manual or to ask their teacher for help (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Remember!

 Each source listed on your reference page should have at least one in-text citation in the body of your paper.
 Each in-text citation should have a corresponding full citation on the references page at the end of your paper.

Additional Resources
Citations: http://necc.mass.libguides.com/citation/APA
Formatting:
http://necc.mass.libguides.com/formatting/APA Updated 9/2020
NoodleTools:
http://necc.mass.libguides.com/noodletools
Librarians: http://necc.mass.libanswers.com