CITING SOURCES

In-Text Citation Styles

Purpose for Citing Sources

It is important not only to get information from credible sources but also to The table below shows several examples of parenthetical and narrative citations.
properly document all borrowed ideas, information, concepts, arguments, or information
and attribute them to their authors or creators. This is done by citing sources. This Author Type Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
procedure, which is an integral part of academic and professional writing, serves the
following purposes: One Author (Case, 2011) Case (2011)

 TO GIVE CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF A WORK Two Authors (Case & Daristotle, 2011) Case and Daristotle (2011)
Plagiarism is a serious offense in which someone takes and uses the
ideas, information, concepts, arguments, or information of someone else, Three or More Authors (Case et al., 2011) Case et al. (2011)
intentionally or unintentionally, without proper citations.
Group Author with
 TO PROMOTE SCHOLARLY WRITING Abbreviation
Scholarly writing means that you are able to exhaustively use related and
existing ideas, information, concepts, or arguments of an expert and to (World Health Organization World Health Organization
properly attribute these to the original source. First Citation [WHO], 2020) (WHO, 2020)

 TO HELP YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IDENTIFY YOUR ORIGINAL Subsequent Citations (WHO, 2020) WHO (2020)
SOURCE
More often than not, your target audience or readers want to either verify Group Author Without (Yale University, 2020) Yale University (2020)
information or learn more information from the original source. With Abbreviation
proper citations, your target audience can easily identify the location of
the original source used in your paper.

Forms of Citation
Signal Phrases
1. In-text Citation requires the writer to cite the details of the reference used in a
certain part of his/her work within the work itself. The format of in-text citations
varies per style. If you refer to the author's name in a sentence, you do not have to include the
- Create an in-text citation whenever you quote another work, or whenever name again as part of your in-text citation; instead, include the date after the
you paraphrase another work in your own words. name and the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or the
paraphrased section. For example:
- There are two types of in-text citations in APA format: parenthetical and
narrative.
Hunt (2011) explains that mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of
a. Parenthetical citations include the author(s) and the date of publication
developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in
within parentheses.
b. Narrative citations intertwine the author as part of the sentence with institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (p. 358).
the date of publication (in parentheses) following.

Short Quotations
If a quotation consists of fewer than 40 words, treat it as a short quotation:
 Incorporate the quote into the text and enclose it within double quotation
marks.
 Include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference.
 If the author and date are introduced in the sentence as a narrative citation,
then add the page number in parentheses at the end of the quote.
For example, Smith (2019) demonstrated how to "..." (p. 112).
 If the author and date are not introduced as part of the text (parenthetical
citation), then include the author and date with the page number. The period
should come after the parentheses.
For example, "..." (Smith, 2019, p. 112).
Long (Block) Quotations
If a quotation contains 40 words or more, treat it as a long (block) quotation:
 Do not use quotation marks to enclose a block quotation.
 Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the whole block 0.5 inches from
the left margin.
 If there are additional paragraphs within the quotation, indent the first line of
each subsequent paragraph an additional 0.5 inches.
 Double-space the entire block quotation; do not add extra space before or after
it.
 Either (1) cite the source in parentheses after the quotation's final punctuation,
or (2) cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place
only the page number in parentheses after the quotation's final punctuation. Do
NOT add a period after the closing parenthesis in either case.
 See section 8.27 in the Publication Manual for examples of the block quotation.
Direct Quotation Without Page Numbers
When you quote from electronic sources that do not provide page numbers (e.g.,
webpages, websites, some e-books), provide readers with another way of locating the
quoted passage. Use any of the following approaches that will best help readers find the
quotation:
 Provide a heading or a section name.
 Provide a paragraph number (count the paragraphs manually if they are not
numbered).
 Provide a heading or section name in combination with a paragraph number.
In-Text Citation for More than One Source
If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply
record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon. List the
sources alphabetically by author's last name or first word used from the title if no author
is given, in the same order they would appear in the Reference list. For example:
(Jones, 2015; Smith, 2014).
(Beckworth, 2016; "Nursing," 2015).
In APA, in-text citations are inserted in the text of your research paper to
briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations
point the reader to more complete information in the Reference list.
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text
citation. In the author-date method, the writer includes the author and
date within the body of the paper and includes a corresponding reference
in the Reference list. This method allows the reader to identify sources
used in the paper by reviewing the author and date within the text of the
paper, and then easily locate the corresponding reference in the
alphabetical Reference list.
Example (APA style):
Two of the three reviewed studies focusing on communication in non-internet and
internet relationships mediated by FtF, phone, or email modalities found that the
frequency of each modality’s use was significantly linked to the strength of the
particular relationship (Cummings et al., 2002).
 In MLA Style (Modern Language Association), 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.
MLA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the page number from
which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, for example: (Smith 163). If the
source does not use page numbers, do not include a number in the parenthetical
citation: (Smith).
Example paragraph with in-text citation (MLA style)
A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs
designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech
(Derwing et al. 246; Thomas 15). Their training techniques are based on the
research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure
to non-native speech. Derwing and others 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 (258).
Works Cited List
Derwing, Tracey M., et al. "Teaching Native Speakers to Listen to Foreign-accented
Speech." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, vol. 23, no. 4,
2002, pp. 245-259.
Thomas, Holly K. Training Strategies for Improving Listeners' Comprehension of
Foreign-accented Speech. University of Colorado, Boulder, 2004.
Citing Web Pages In Text
Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author if
known. If the author is not known, use the title as the in-text citation.
Your in-text citation should lead your reader to the corresponding entry in the
reference list. Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.
Entire website with author:
In-text citation
Parents play an important role in helping children learn techniques for coping
with bullying (Kraizer).
Works cited entry
Kraizer, Sherryll. Safe Child. Coalition for Children, 2011, www.safechild.org.
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").
Works cited entry
"All Things Nittany." About Penn State. Penn State University, 2006,
www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html.
General Guidelines
In MLA style the author's name can be included either in the narrative text of
your paper, or in parentheses following the reference to the source.
Author's name part of narrative:
Gass and Varonis found that the most important element in comprehending non-
native speech is familiarity with the topic (163).
Author's name in parentheses:
One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native
speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass and Varonis 163).
Group as author:
(American Psychological Association 123)
Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)
Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of
accented speech in general (Gass and Varonis 143; Thomas 24).
Direct quote:
One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly
facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass and Varonis 85).
Gass and Varonis found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse
greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (85).
Note: For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of
verse, display quotations as an indented block of text (one inch from left margin) 2. Reference Citation refers to the complete bibliographic entry of a reference used
by the writer. This appears in the reference list found at the last part of the paper.
and omit quotation marks. Place your parenthetical citation at the end of the
block of text, after the final punctuation mark.
 An APA in-text citation consists of the author's last name and the year of
In addition to awareness-raising, practicing listening to accented speech publication (also known as the author-date system). If you're citing a
has been shown to improve listening comprehension. This article specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page
recommends developing listening training programs for library faculty and number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170).
staff, based on research from the linguistics and language teaching fields.
 MLA citing format often includes the following pieces of information, in
Even brief exposure to accented speech can help listeners improve their
this order: Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Source." Title of
comprehension, thereby improving the level of service to international
Container, Other contributors, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication
patrons. (O'Malley 19)
Date, Location.

Example (APA style):

Works by Multiple Authors
References
When citing works by multiple authors, always spell out the word "and." When a
source has three or more authors, only the first one shown in the source is Cummings, J. N., Butler, B., & Kraut, R. (2002). The quality of online social relationships.
normally given followed by et al. Communication of the ACM, 45(7), 103-108.

One author: (Field 399) Hu, Y., Wood, J.F., Smith, V., & Westbrook, N. (2004). Friendships through IM: Examining the
relationship between instant messaging and intimacy. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Works Cited entry: Communication, 10, 38-48.
Field, John. "Intelligibility and the Listener: The Role of Lexical Stress." TESOL
Tidwell, L. C., & Walther, J. B (2002). Computer-mediated communication effects on disclosure,
Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 3, 2005, pp. 399-423. impressions, and interpersonal evaluations: Getting to know one another a bit at a time.
Human Communication Research, 28, 317-348.
Two authors: (Gass and Varonis 67)
Underwood, H., & Findlay, B. (2004). Internet relationships and their impact on primary
Works Cited entry:
relationships. Behavior Change, 21 (2), 127-140.
Gass, Susan, and Evangeline M. Varonis. "The Effect of Familiarity on the
Comprehensibility of Nonnative Speech." Language Learning, vol. 34, no. 1, 1984, These two forms of citations are dependent on each other. Once a source is cited
pp. 65-89. in-text, it should also appear in the reference list or else with the writer may be
accused of plagiarism.
Three or more authors: (Munro et al. 70)
Works Cited entry: Both APA and MLA cite sources within a paper by using parenthetical, in-text
Munro, Murray J., et al. "Salient Accents, Covert Attitudes: Consciousness-raising references. MLA uses the author's last name and the page number as
for Pre-service Second Language Teachers." Prospect, vol. 21, no. 1, 2006, pp. 67- reference. APA uses the author's last name and the year of publication. If a direct
79. quote is used, APA requires author's name, year, and page number.