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Research Topics:

In Text Citation in APA Style


In text citation is important for three reasons. First, it gives credit to the source you are citingif you do not use in text
citation, you may be guilty of plagiarism. Second, it allows your reader to find your research. Third, it gives you authority,
making it clear your ideas are built on careful research and analysis.

SUMMARY OR PARAPHRASE:
In a summary or paraphrase, you restate another authors ideas in your own words. The year that the article or
book was published goes in parenthesis following the authors name. The page number is listed after the
abbreviation p. for one page or pp. for multiple pages. If the author is not named in the sentence, put the
name and year in the parentheses before the page number.
Sweeny ( 2010) ar gues t hat bot h t eacher s and st udent s can use gui des f r omt he
i nt er net t o hel p wi t h t hei r wr i t i ng ( p. 125) .
Bot h t eacher s and st udent s can use t he i nt er net t o f i nd wr i t i ng assi st ance
( Sweeny, 2010, p. 125) .

DIRECT QUOTE:
In a direct quote, you use the actual language of the author. You put the authors words in quotation marks, the
way you would with any direct quotation. However, the parenthetical citation works the same way as in a
summary or paraphrase. The quotation marks close before the parenthetical citation, and the period comes after
the parenthetical citation.
I n consi der i ng t he use of new medi a f or wr i t i ng i nst r uct i on, Sweeny ( 2002) wr i t es,
One exampl e i s when a t eacher cr eat ed a bl og and sent t ext messages about a
Shakespear e assi gnment t o gr oups of st udent s i n her cl ass ( pp. 127- 8) .

QUOTING A QUOTE (INDIRECT QUOTATION)
If you are using an article or book that quotes another author, it is best to find the original source. If you cannot
find the original source, then you can make it clear that you found the quote in the article by adding as cited
in to the source. In this example, the quote by Mark Bawden was found in the book Bounce by Matthew Syed.
Mar k Bawden expl ai ns t hat i n or der t o make al l t he sacr i f i ces necessar y t o r each
wor l d- cl ass l evel s of per f or mance, an at hl et e has t o bel i eve t hat wi nni ng i s
ever yt hi ng ( as ci t ed i n Syed, 2010, p. 199) .

CITING A SOURCE WITHOUT PAGE NUMBERS OR A NAMED AUTHOR.
If your source does not have page numbers or a named author, it might not be a good source. You should
probably ask your professor before you use it. If there are no page numbers, use the abbreviation para. for
paragraphs and count the paragraphs as you would pages. If there is no named author, put the title of the source
and the year separated by a comma in the parenthetic citation.
Davey ( 2011) r epor t ed t wo st at e senat or s, Mr . Cul l en and Ms. Coggs coul d be seen
cl i mbi ng i nt o t he bui l di ng t hr ough a f i r st - f l oor wi ndow ( par a. 8) .
Accor di ng t o t he Uni on of Concer ned Sci ent i st s, No si ngl e sol ut i on can meet our
soci et y' s f ut ur e ener gy needs ( Cl ean Ener gy, 2010) .

A PROSE QUOTE LONGER THAN FORTY WORDS:
If you have a quotation that is more than forty words long, start a new line for the quotation and indent it
roughly half an inch (it should match the indentations on your paragraphs). Do not use quotation marks. Double
space it as you would normally.
Mat t hew Syed ( 2010) expl ai ns t he i mpor t ance of negat i ve emot i ons:
Anxi et y f aci l i t at es escape f r omdanger ous si t uat i ons and hel ps us t o avoi d
t hemi n t he f ut ur e; mi l d depr essi on enabl es us t o di sengage f r omunat t ai nabl e
goal s; humi l i at i on i s t r i gger ed when we ar e f aced wi t h t he t hr eat of l osi ng
soci al st at us. ( p. 212)

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