When you need the in text citation of a quote in APA style, the format is precise but easy to learn once you see the pattern. APA, the style of the American Psychological Association, uses an author-date system: every quotation carries the author’s surname, the year of publication, and the page number where the quoted words appear. This guide walks through the APA rules for short and long quotations, narrative and parenthetical citations, multiple authors, missing page numbers, and the most common errors, so you can cite quotations confidently in APA seventh edition work.
APA style is used widely in psychology, education, nursing, business, and other social sciences, and instructors in these fields expect APA citations to follow the current edition closely. The examples here follow the seventh edition, which is the edition most institutions currently require. If your course or publisher specifies a different edition, check its manual for any differences, especially in the treatment of multiple authors and digital sources.
In Text Citation of a Quote in APA Style: The Core Format
The in text citation of a quote in APA style always has three elements: author, year, and page number. In a parenthetical citation, all three appear together after the quotation, for example: “Clear writing is a form of respect for the reader” (Smith, 2020, p. 42). Note the comma placement, the abbreviation “p.” for a single page, and the fact that the sentence’s final period comes after the closing parenthesis. In a narrative citation, the author’s name and year appear in your sentence, and only the page number follows the quotation, for example: Smith (2020) argued that “clear writing is a form of respect for the reader” (p. 42).
Both forms are correct, and choosing between them is a matter of sentence flow. Narrative citations work well when you want to emphasise the author, for example when discussing a particular researcher’s position. Parenthetical citations work well when the quotation itself is the focus and the source can sit quietly at the end of the sentence. Whichever form you use, the page number must appear for every quotation: APA treats the page number as required for direct quotations, not optional, unlike paraphrases, where a page number is encouraged but not required.
APA Short Quotations and Block Quotations
In APA style, a quotation of fewer than forty words is a short quotation. It is worked into your sentence, enclosed in double quotation marks, and followed by a parenthetical or narrative citation as shown above. A quotation of forty words or more is a block quotation. Block quotations start on a new line, are indented half an inch from the left margin, use no quotation marks, and are double-spaced like the rest of the paper. The citation comes after the final punctuation of the block, which is the reverse of the short-quotation rule, where the period comes after the citation.
Counting words for the forty-word threshold includes all words in the quotation itself. If you are close to the boundary, count carefully, because formatting a short quotation as a block, or vice versa, is a visible error. Block quotations should be used sparingly in any case. They are justified when the exact wording is essential to your analysis, such as when you are interpreting a definition or a key claim, but long blocks can make a paper feel like a patchwork of other people’s words. When in doubt, quote briefly and paraphrase the rest.
APA Quotations With Multiple Authors
APA seventh edition simplified the rules for multiple authors. A work with two authors names both authors in every citation, joined by “and” in a narrative citation and by an ampersand in a parenthetical citation, for example (Smith & Jones, 2020, p. 15). A work with three or more authors uses the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” from the very first citation, for example (Smith et al., 2020, p. 15). This is a change from the sixth edition, which required all authors to be named on first citation, so writers moving between editions should watch for it.
Corporate authors, such as organisations and government agencies, are cited by the organisation’s name, for example (National Institute of Health, 2021, p. 3). If the organisation has a well-known abbreviation, APA allows you to spell it out on first citation and use the abbreviation afterwards. Works with no author are cited by a shortened version of the title in place of the author, with the title in quotation marks for articles and in italics for books. These rules keep citations readable even when the author situation is unusual.
APA Quote Citation Formats at a Glance
| Situation | Parenthetical format | Narrative format |
|---|---|---|
| One author | (Smith, 2020, p. 42) | Smith (2020) |
| Two authors | (Smith & Jones, 2020, p. 15) | Smith and Jones (2020) |
| Three or more authors | (Smith et al., 2020, p. 15) | Smith et al. (2020) |
| Multiple pages | (Smith, 2020, pp. 42-43) | Smith (2020), pp. 42-43 |
| No page number | (Smith, 2020, para. 4) | Smith (2020), para. 4 |
In Text Citation of a Quote Without Page Numbers in APA
Web pages, e-books, and other digital sources often have no stable page numbers. APA provides a clear fallback: use the paragraph number, the section heading, or both. A paragraph citation looks like (Smith, 2020, para. 4). A section-heading citation looks like (Smith, 2020, “Discussion” section), and a combined form looks like (Smith, 2020, “Discussion” section, para. 2). Headings should be shortened if they are long, and they should be written in title case and enclosed in quotation marks. The goal is to give the reader a precise, findable location, even without pages.
For audiovisual sources, APA allows time stamps in place of page numbers, for example (Smith, 2020, 1:23), pointing to one minute and twenty-three seconds into the recording. For sources that are paginated in some versions but not others, such as e-books with location numbers, use the pagination of the version you actually consulted, and be consistent. Whatever marker you choose, it must appear in the citation beside the quotation, not only in the reference entry.
Changes Inside an APA Quotation
Sometimes you need to adjust a quotation slightly so it fits your sentence. APA follows the same conventions as other styles here. Use square brackets to mark any word you have added or changed, for example changing a pronoun to a name for clarity. Use an ellipsis, three spaced periods, to mark words you have omitted. Do not change the original wording silently, and do not use an ellipsis at the start or end of a quotation unless it is needed to avoid confusion. If the original contains an error, you may reproduce it followed by the word “sic” in italics and brackets, which signals that the error is in the original, not yours.
Quotations within quotations use single quotation marks inside your double quotation marks in APA style. Capitalisation at the start of a quotation should match the original unless you are integrating the quotation into your own sentence structure, in which case you may change the first letter’s case without marking it. These small conventions protect the accuracy of quoted material and show readers exactly where your voice ends and the source’s begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a page number always required for an APA quotation?
Yes, when one is available. APA requires a page number for direct quotations. For sources without pages, use a paragraph number, section heading, or time stamp instead.
How do I know if a quotation is a block quotation in APA?
Count the words. Fewer than forty words means an inline quotation with quotation marks. Forty words or more means a block quotation, indented and without quotation marks.
When do I use et al. in APA?
For works with three or more authors, use the first author’s surname plus “et al.” from the first citation onward in APA seventh edition. Works with two authors always name both authors.
Does the in-text citation replace the reference entry?
No. Every in-text citation must match a full entry in the reference list, and every reference entry should be cited in the text. The two work together.
How do I cite a quotation with two authors in APA?
For the in text citation of a quote with two authors, name both authors every time: use “and” between them in a narrative citation and an ampersand in a parenthetical citation, followed by the year and page number. This rule applies to every citation of that source, not just the first one.
In Text Citation of a Quote in APA Style: A Quick Checklist
Before submitting APA work, check every in text citation of a quote against this list. Does each quotation carry the author’s surname, the year, and a page number or other location marker? Does the period fall after the citation for short quotations and before the citation for block quotations? Are works with three or more authors shortened to the first author plus “et al.”? Are quotations of forty words or more formatted as blocks, and shorter ones kept inline with quotation marks? A yes to each question means your in text citation of a quote is in good shape.
It also helps to read your quotations aloud during proofreading. Reading aloud exposes mismatched quotation marks, missing citations, and sentences where the quotation does not fit grammatically. This final pass is especially valuable for the in text citation of a quote, because citation errors are easy to miss when you read silently and focus on ideas. A few minutes of careful checking protects the credibility of the whole paper, and it is a habit that serves you in every APA document you write.
Conclusion
The in text citation of a quote in APA style comes down to three elements, placed correctly: author, year, and page number, with the period after the citation for short quotations and after the final punctuation for block quotations. Learn the forty-word threshold, the et al. rule for three or more authors, and the paragraph-number fallback for unpaginated sources, and most APA quotation problems disappear. A final check that every quotation has a citation and every citation matches a reference entry will catch the rest. For more citation guidance, see our articles on APA citations for multiple authors, APA citations for two authors, and citing two authors in APA.