Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another
source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your
reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example:
(Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005,
p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers, use a paragraph
number. More information on citing sources without pagination is given on the APA Style web
page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve
native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing, Rossiter, & Munro, 2002;
Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating
that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech. Derwing et al. (2002)
conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other
professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

References

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to
foreign-accented speech. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 245-
259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004). Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-

accented speech (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages in Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. If the
author is not known, use the title and the date as the in-text citation (for long titles just use the
first few words). Your in-text citation should lead your reader to the corresponding entry in the
reference list. For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.).
Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Role-play can help children learn techniques for coping with bullying (Kraiser, 2011).
Reference entry

Kraizer, S. (2011). Preventing bullying. Retrieved from

http://safechild.org/categoryparents/preventing-bullying/

Web page with no author:

In-text citation

The term Nittany Lion was coined by Penn State football player Joe Mason in 1904 (All things
Nittany, 2006).

Reference entry

All things Nittany. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html

Web page with no date:

In-text citation

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from
trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

Reference entry

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaster. Retrieved

from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly
relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should
always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is
familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native
speech is familiarity with the topic.
Group as author:
First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015)
Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech
in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the
interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly
facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note: For direct quotations of more than 40 words, display the quote as an indented block of
text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in
parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as
important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior
experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading,
facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to
determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text.

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses,
always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three to five authors:

First citation: (Tremblay, Richer, Lachance, & Cote, 2010)
Subsequent citations: (Tremblay et al., 2010)

Six or more authors: (Norris-Shortle et al., 2006)

Comparing MLA and APA: Citing Resources
By David Becker

Last week, we touched on the general differences between MLA and APA styles. Today, I talk
about what is probably the biggest difference between the two styles: how to cite resources.
These divergent rules can make transitioning from one style to the other a frustrating process,
particularly for students. A few style errors can mean the difference between an A and a B on a
paper. As an English major who only used MLA Style in school, learned APA Style for my job,
and then relearned MLA Style for a few online courses, I can personally attest to the difficulty of
mentally juggling two sets of style rules.

Despite their differences, the APA and MLA citation systems have the same overall function in a
research paper—sources are acknowledged via in-text citations, each of which corresponds to an
entry in an alphabetical list of works at the end of the paper, referred to as “Works Cited” in
MLA Style and “References” in APA Style. However, the MLA Handbook also mentions some
variations, such as a “Works Consulted” list, which contains sources not cited within the body of
the paper, and an annotated bibliography, which includes a brief description or evaluation of
each source. APA Style does not use these alternate methods (see our posts about reference lists
vs. bibliographies and some topics the Publication Manual doesn’t cover).

The differences between the two styles become even more apparent when one is creating text
citations. MLA Style includes the author’s last name and the page number, whether citing a
direct quotation or not. However, APA Style text citations also include the publication date,
because the timeliness of research is important in science writing, and the page number is
required only for direct quotations. Below are some hypothetical examples of parenthetical
citations in both styles:

MLA

(Adams 42)
(Lennon and McCartney 999)
(Hexum, Martinez, and Sexton 123)

APA

(Adams, 1979) or (Adams, 1979, p. 42)

(Lennon & McCartney, 1968) or (Lennon & McCartney, 1968, p. 999)
(Hexum, Martinez, & Sexton, 1994) or (Hexum, Martinez, & Sexton, 1994, p.
123)

These citations lead readers to the reference list, which is where the differences between the two
styles are most apparent, a topic I cover in my next post. In the meantime, I hope this overview
has been helpful to those of you transitioning from MLA Style to APA Style. If you’re new to
APA Style, the Publication Manual and this blog are your go-to resources. I also recommend
that you try our free tutorial on the basics of APA Style and visit our FAQ page, as well as our
pages that provide quick answers for citing sources and formatting your research paper. If you
can’t find what you’re looking for after checking those resources, feel free to contact APA Style
directly via e-mail or find us on

How to Tell the Difference Between AMA, APA, Chicago & MLA Citations

This is a breakdown of the differences between 4 citation styles used at Trine that is meant to be
used for quick reference. For more detailed information, consult one of the official resources
listed below. Always be sure to follow your professors’ instructions.

 AMA: The AMA Manual of Style (10th edition)

 APA: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition)
 Chicago: The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition)
 MLA: The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th edition)

AMA APA Chicago MLA

What is most
Data Date Author Author
important?

What do I call
Bibliography or
my Works Cited References References Works Cited
Works Cited
page?

Do I need a Notes page at the

notes page or No No end before the No
foot notes? bibliography

What order do
Order they
sources go on Alphabetical by author’s Alphabetical by Alphabetical by
appear in the
my Works Cited last name author’s last name author’s last name
paper
page?

How do I format Capitalize first

Capitalize first word of Capitalize all major Capitalize all major
book and article word of title and
title and subtitle ONLY words words
titles? subtitle ONLY

How do I
Initials with no Full first and last Full first and last
identify Initials and last names
periods or spaces names names
authors?

Do I use “and” Do not list author Use & with more than 1 Use “and” with more Use “and” with
when there’s names in in-text
more than one
citations author than 1 author more than 1 author
author?

After the author’s name in

the sentence in Superscript number
parentheses after the sentence Authors last name
punctuation and page number in
Author’s Last Name
(2015) sentence text parentheses before
Sentence text here.1 the sentence
here with ”quote” (p.
Superscript
What should my 10). punctuation
numbers after
in-text citation
the sentence OR Sentence text here
look like and For Multiple
punctuation
where should I Sources, references (Author’s Last
Author’s last name and Name 10).
put it? are included
Sentence text date and page numbers
directly after info
here.1 for quotes in OR
from that source
parentheses or before
the sentence Author’s Name in
Source 1 info
punctuation. 1 sentence followed
here, continues
here with info from by text (10).
Sentence text here
second source.2
(Author’s Last Name,
2015, p. 10).
Commas Commas between
between information NO punctuation in
Do I use
numerals when in-text citations
punctuation in
citing more than Sentence text here (Last NO punctuation
my in-text Name, 2015).
1 source Sentence Text
citation? Sentence text here.1
Here (Author’s
Sentence text here with
Sentence text Last Name 10).
“quote” (Author’s Last
here. 1,3,4 Name, 2015, p. 10).
Use p. or pp. (for multiple
Can include page Use page numbers
How do I include pages)
numbers in in parentheses
page numbers in Use page numbers in
parentheses
my in-text Author’s Last Name notes only
Sentence text here
citation? (2015) sentence text
Sentence text (Author’s Last
here with ”quote” (pp.
here. 1(35-42) Name 10).
10-11).

Bibliography vs References
People most of the time do not think that there is any difference between bibliography and
references. They often mistake the two to be the same. However, they are different and used in
different contexts with each essay or article or book.

Bibliography is listing all the materials that have been consulted while writing an essay or a
book. References, on the other hand, are those that have been referenced in your article or book.

You might have consulted a lot of books, essays and websites for writing something. Though
you might have referred to these while preparing a write up, the content of these might not have
been included in the actual text. This is what refers to bibliography. References are those that are
directly included in your actual text.

While references are cited directly in the text, bibliography is not cited directly in the text. While
references can be used to support your statement or argument, a bibliography does not have such
roles. As such references are used for establishing something in a more authoritative way.
Readers could refer your references and evaluate the correctness of your statement. Meanwhile,
bibliography does not support your argument but you only refer them in a personal way.

A bibliography will contain all research materials, including books, magazines, periodicals,
websites and scientific papers, which you have referred. References contain source of material
like quotes or texts, which has been actually used when writing an essay or book.

Both bibliography and references appear at the end of a document. But bibliography comes after
the reference list. A bibliography may contain all those that have appeared in the reference list
but it may also contain additional works.

Both bibliography and references are arranged alphabetically. But a Reference list can also be
arranged in Numeric style, which means arranging the references according to the numbers in the
text.

While writing a bibliography, you should have to include the authors last and first name, year of
publication, name of the book, publication place and name of publishers. Well, a reference page
can be called as a footnote where your just write the book or website and the year of publication
or the date when you looked at the website.

Summary
1.Bibliography is listing all the materials that have been consulted while writing an essay or a
book. References, on the other hand, are those that have been referenced in your article or book.
2.Bibliography is not directly included in the text. References are those that are directly included
in your actual text.
3.Both bibliography and references are arranged alphabetically. But a Reference list can also be
arranged in Numeric style,