LSC 1103\

Writing in-text citations using

APA format
Department of General Studies
When do we need to write an in-
text citation?

Answer:
Any time we use information from a reference
source to support our own ideas and opinions.

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A simple, in-text citation has TWO
pieces of information:

(1) the authors (writers) LAST name.

HOWEVER
if there is no author given you can use the
TITLE of the article OR the name of the
website.

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A simple, in-text citation has TWO
pieces of information:

(2) the YEAR of publication.

HOWEVER

if this is not available write (n.d.)

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If we quote using the exact words
said or written:

(1) ALWAYS include an appropriate verb

phrase with the citation. Examples include:
According to NAME (date),
NAME (date) states that,

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If we quote using the exact words
said or written:

(2) ALWAYS put QUOTATION marks

around the quote and a COMMA before it.
For example:
According to Al Serkal (2016), Residents say
that UAE roads are more dangerous now than
six months ago.

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A simple, in-text citation MIGHT
include:

The page number IF you are quoting the

exact words from a BOOK or other
PRINTED publication.
HOWEVER
if you paraphrase then the page number is
NOT required.

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Example citation using a page number:

According to Marriott (1992, p. 54) the words its

and its, are often confused in written English
because the pronunciation is the same.

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What should we do if there is more
than one author?

If there are three to five authors, use ALL

their LAST names for the first citation
ONLY.
After that use the name of the first author
PLUS et al

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Example citation using more than
one author:

Belkins, DeFone, Cruz, Smith and Dunkin

(2004) state that, teenagers become
increasingly susceptible to peer pressure as
they grow older.
In addition, Belkins et al (2004) also inform us
that, each time students feel pressured this can
lead them to serious psychological problems.

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Example citation using a
paraphrase:
In the book, Presentations - Second Edition, the
writer advises that you should not pretend to be
what you are not. (McClain, 2007)
Although this quote is taken from a book we
do NOT include the page number in the
citation because it is NOT a direct quotation;
it is a paraphrase.

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 Example citation from a website
with no author:

When the authors name is unknown we use the title

of the article for our citation:
Road Safety UAE (n.d.) advises that, Driving must
take our full concentration, because many unfortunate
things can happen if we are distracted.
Here, in addition to no author, there is no date given
so (n.d.) is used to indicate this.

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What should we do if we want to use TWO
quotes in a paragraph taken from different
reference sources?

Sometimes we may want to illustrate a point using

two different reference sources in one paragraph.
Make sure the information they are BOTH
providing is fully-related to the main idea of the
paragraph.
Doing this may help to strengthen our argument.

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 Example citation using two quotes
from different sources:
According to Al Serkal (2016) a recent survey conducted
amongst UAE residents revealed that, 79 per cent saw
more distracted driving during the last year. In addition,
Road Safety UAE (n.d.) clearly states that, Driving must
take our full concentration, because many unfortunate
things can happen if we are distracted.
Here, the words in addition are used to link our two
reference sources together. Taken together these two
quotes reinforce the idea that distracted driving is not
only on the increase but that it is also dangerous.

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