HOW DO I DOCUMENT BORROWED MATERIAL IN THE TEXT USING APA?
by Kathy McLain, M.A.


One Author In-text Citation | Two Author In-text Citation | Three, Four, or Five Author In-text Citation | Six or More Author In-text Citation | Anonymous Author In-text Citation | Citing an Indirect Source (Somebody Quotes Somebody Else) | Two or More Works by the Same Author

If you have used MLA format before, you should be familiar with parenthetical documentation.  If you are unfamiliar with parenthetical documentation, you may want to refer to a discussion of parenthetical documentation under the heading WHAT IS APA FORMAT?  MLA format uses an in-text note in parentheses that refers the reader to a work cited page that contains a complete bibliographic list of all works quoted in the paper.  APA also uses an in-text note in parentheses that refers the reader to a list of the works cited, which instead of being called a "Work Cited" page as in MLA format, is in APA called "References."  The in-text parenthetical citation in MLA format consists of the author's last name and page number--(Smith 27). In APA the basic parenthetical citation consists of the author's last name, year of publication, with page numbers or chapter numbers added when specific reference is made to an exact part of the study--(Smith, 1998) or (Smith, 1998, p. 28).  This parenthetical note differs from MLA parenthetical citations in four specific ways:

1) In APA the parenthetical note can be placed anywhere it logically fits in the sentence:

	Johnson (1994) concludes that . . .
	. . . the results of the study support this conclusion ( Johnson, 1994).

In MLA the parenthetical note always comes at the end of the sentence.   APA format requires students to gain the skill of finding logical placement of the citation at an appropriate place at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence.

2) In APA there are really two types of parenthetical citations: one that refers to the entire study when no specific reference is being made to a particular section or page (Johnson, 1994) and a second parenthetical citation that refers to a specific section or passage rather than the entire study (Johnson, 1994, p. 3).

	One participant reported feeling "no pain whatsoever" (Johnson, 1994, p. 13).
	Johnson (1994) claims that one participant reported feeling "no pain whatsoever" (p. 13).

In the humanities, the date of study is not terribly important because an author's opinion one hundred years ago about Shakespeare's drama may be as valid today as it was a century ago.  However, in the sciences the date of study is important in tracing the progression of thought or knowledge or research in a particular area.

3) In APA there is a comma between the author's last name and the date in the in-text parenthetical citation--(Johnson, 1994).

In MLA there is no comma between the author's last name and page number--(Smith 12).

4) In APA there is a "p." as an abbreviation for "page" before any in-text parenthetical citation that includes a page number--(Johnson, 1994, p. 13).

When you include borrowed material in your paper whether it is a direct quotation, a paraphrase, or a summary, you must signal to your reader exactly where the borrowing begins and ends.  Signal the beginning of any borrowed material with a quotation transition:

	As one author notes,
	Hopkins (1998) concludes that

If the author's name appears as part of the sentence, cite only the year of publication in the sentence.

If the author and year are both included in the sentence, do not cite the year additionally in a parenthetical reference.

The in-text documentation note will change depending on how many authors there are or if there is no author.

Listed below are several in-text documentation notes for different types of sources.  If your source type is not illustrated in these common in-text parenthetical notes, you should refer to APA sections 3.94-3.103 for answers about the particular type of source that you have.

To access these examples, click on the heading at the top of the page that corresponds most closely with your source.
 

ONE AUTHOR IN-TEXT CITATION
Refers to an entire study:

* integrated in the text:  Hopkins (1998) notes
* at the end of a sentence:  (Hopkins, 1998)

Refers to a specific part of the study:

* integrated in the text:  Hopkins (1998) concludes that "these findings are conclusive" (p. 7).
* at the end of a sentence:  (Hopkins, 1998, p. 7)

TWO AUTHOR IN-TEXT CITATION
When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time.

Refers to the entire study:

* integrated in the text: Smith and Cousins (1998) argue
* at the end of a sentence:  (Smith & Cousins, 1998)

Refers to a specific part of the study:

* integrated in the text: "These results," argue Smith and Cousins (1998), "are inclusive" (p. 12).
* at the end of a sentence:  (Smith & Cousins, 1998,  p. 8)

THREE, FOUR, OR FIVE AUTHOR IN-TEXT CITATION
When a work has three, four, or five authors, name all authors the first time. In subsequent citations include only the last name of the first author followed by "et al." (et al. is the Latin abbreviation for "and others.")

Refers to the entire study:

* integrated in the text first reference: Lyon, Duffy, and McLain (1988) argue
* integrated in the text subsequent reference: Lyon et al. (1988) argue
* at the end of the sentence first reference:  (Lyon, Duffy, & McLain, 1988)
* at the end of the sentence subsequent reference:  (Lyon et al., 1988)

Refers to a specific part of the study:

* integrated in the text first reference: Lyon, Duffy, and McLain (1988) note that "there were some serious flaws in the original study" (p. 112).
* integrated in the text subsequent reference:  Lyon et al. (1988) note that "there were some serious flaws in the original study" (p. 112).
* at the end of the sentence first reference:  One study concludes: "there are some serious flaws in the original study" (Lyon, Duffy, & McLain, 1988, p. 112).
* at the end of the sentence subsequent reference: (Lyon et al., 1988, p. 112).

SIX OR MORE AUTHOR IN-TEXT CITATION
When a work has six or more authors, name only the last name of the first author followed by "et al." (et al. is the Latin abbreviation for "and others.")

Refers to the entire study:

* integrated in the text: Lyon et al. (1988) argue
* at the end of the sentence:  (Lyon et al., 1988)

Refers to a specific part of the study:

* integrated in the text:  Lyon et al. (1988) note that "there were some serious flaws in the original study" (p. 112).
* at the end of a sentence:  (Lyon et al., 1988, p. 112).

ANONYMOUS AUTHOR IN-TEXT CITATION
When a work has no author, quote the first few words of the title and the year. Put quotation marks around the first few words of the title of an article or chapter and italicize the title of the periodical or book.  Limit the number of sources with no known author because these types of sources tend to be less credible since one does not know who wrote the material.

* ("Study Correlates," 1978)
* (Research Methods, 1994)

For articles whose author is specifically listed as "anonymous," use the following citation format:

* (Anonymous, 1994)

CITING AN INDIRECT SOURCE (Somebody Quotes Somebody Else)
You can document your borrowing of someone quoting someone else by doing the following:

* Citing the original source: (Hillam, 1994)
* Adding the phrase "as cited in" to your in-text parenthetical documentation note: (as cited in Kahn 214)

TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
When there are two or more works by the same author, after the author's last name in the in-text parenthetical citation include an "a," "b," "c," to correspond with the listing by date of the works in the reference page at the end of the text.

* (Humphrey, 1994a)