APA 7 In-Text Citations: The Complete Guide

Learning how to cite in APA 7 is essential for any academic paper. Every APA 7 in-text citation tells the reader who said it and when — and getting your APA 7 citation format wrong can cost you marks or even trigger plagiarism flags.

APA 7 uses the author-date system for every APA 7 citation. Here's the complete guide to how to cite in APA 7 for every situation.

The Two APA 7 Citation Formats

APA 7 format has two types of in-text citations, and you'll use both throughout any paper:

Parenthetical citation — the author and year appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence:

Research has shown a significant correlation between sleep quality and academic performance (Smith, 2023).

Narrative citation — the author's name appears as part of the sentence, with only the year in parentheses:

Smith (2023) found a significant correlation between sleep quality and academic performance.

The key difference in punctuation: use an ampersand (&) inside parentheses, but write out "and" in narrative text.

APA 7 Citation: One Author

Parenthetical: (Smith, 2023)

Narrative: Smith (2023)

Use the author's last name only. Do not include first names, initials, or titles in the APA 7 in-text citation — those belong on the APA 7 reference page.

Two Authors

Parenthetical: (Smith & Jones, 2023)

Narrative: Smith and Jones (2023)

Cite both authors every time, for every citation. There's no shortening rule for two-author works.

Note the punctuation difference: "&" inside parentheses, "and" in running text.

Three or More Authors

Parenthetical: (Smith et al., 2023)

Narrative: Smith et al. (2023)

This is a major change from APA 6. Previously, you had to list all authors on the first citation, then use "et al." for subsequent citations. APA 7 simplified this — use "et al." from the very first citation when there are three or more authors.

Important: "et al." is not italicized. There is a period after "al." because it's an abbreviation of "alia" (Latin for "others"). There is no period after "et" because it's a complete word.

Direct Quotes in APA 7 Format

When you quote someone's exact words, every APA 7 citation must include a page number (or equivalent locator):

Short quote (under 40 words):

The researchers concluded that "sleep deprivation significantly impaired cognitive function in all test groups" (Smith, 2023, p. 45).

Narrative version:

Smith (2023) concluded that "sleep deprivation significantly impaired cognitive function in all test groups" (p. 45).

No page numbers available: Use paragraph numbers, section headings, or both:

• (Smith, 2023, para. 4)
• (Smith, 2023, Discussion section, para. 2)
• (Smith, 2023, "Results" section)

APA 7 Block Quote Format (40+ Words)

APA 7 block quotes — quotes of 40 or more words — get special formatting:

• Start on a new line
• Indent the entire quote 0.5 inches from the left margin
• Double-space
• Do not use quotation marks
• The period goes BEFORE the parenthetical citation

Example:

Smith (2023) described the findings in detail:

The participants who received fewer than five hours of sleep per night showed measurable declines in working memory, reaction time, and emotional regulation. These effects were consistent across age groups and did not diminish over the course of the study period, suggesting that chronic sleep deprivation produces lasting cognitive impairment. (p. 47)

Multiple Sources in One Citation

When citing multiple sources to support a single point, list them alphabetically by first author surname, separated by semicolons:

Several studies have confirmed this finding (Adams, 2020; Brown, 2019; Carter, 2021).

If citing multiple works by the same author, list chronologically:

(Smith, 2018, 2020, 2023)

Same Author, Same Year

When your reference list includes multiple works by the same author published in the same year, add lowercase letters after the year:

(Smith, 2023a) and (Smith, 2023b)

The letters are assigned based on the alphabetical order of the titles in your reference list. The same letters must appear in both the in-text citations and the references.

Secondary Sources

If you read about a study in someone else's work and couldn't access the original, cite it as a secondary source:

In-text: (Original Author, as cited in Author You Read, Year)

Example: Johnson's early work (as cited in Smith, 2023) established the theoretical framework.

Only the source you actually read (Smith, 2023) appears in your reference list. Use secondary citations sparingly — always try to find and cite the original source.

Organizational Authors

Organizations can be authors. On the first citation, spell out the full name, then use an abbreviation for subsequent citations if one is well-known:

First citation: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023)

Subsequent citations: (WHO, 2023)

If the organization doesn't have a well-known abbreviation, spell out the full name every time.

No Author

Use the title in place of the author. If the title is long, shorten it:

Article or chapter title (in quotation marks): ("New Study Findings," 2023)

Book, report, or webpage title (in italics): (Annual Health Report, 2023)

Personal Communications

Emails, interviews, phone calls, text messages, and unrecorded lectures are cited in-text only. They do not appear in the reference list because readers cannot retrieve them:

(A. B. Smith, personal communication, January 15, 2023)

Include the person's initials and surname, and as specific a date as possible.

The Consistency Rule

Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list. Every source in the reference list must be cited in the text. The only exception is personal communications, which appear in-text only.

Author names and years must match exactly between in-text citations and references. If a reference lists "Smith, J. A." as the author with a 2023 date, your in-text citation must say (Smith, 2023) — not (Smith, 2022) and not (Smithe, 2023).

Stop Checking Every APA 7 Citation Manually

APA 7 in-text citation formatting is one of the most error-prone parts of any APA 7 format paper. The and/& rule alone trips up most students, and the et al. change from APA 6 still catches experienced writers off guard. No APA 7 template or APA 7 example covers every edge case.

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