APA uses the (author, date) citation system, which means that each in-text citation requires the following parts:
Sometimes, you must also include a page number, paragraph number, heading or time stamp in your in-text citation.
Examples are outlined below:
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Paraphrase / Summarize Author(s) last name(s), and year placed in brackets immediately following the title, word, or phrase it is related to. Note: If you are paraphrasing from a long book or article, also include page, paragraph or heading info. |
Consider this a paraphrased sentence (Robins, 2025). |
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Direct Quote (a) Quote, beginning with date and author(s) last name(s); page # at the end of the sentence in brackets |
In 2025, Robins stated that "consider this a direct quote" (p. 6). |
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Direct Quote (b) Sentence beginning with author(s) last name(s) followed immediately by date in brackets; page # in brackets at the end of the quote |
According to Robins (2025), "consider this a direct quote" (p. 6). |