Quoting basics
If you are quoting, your in-text citation generally consists of three elements (if available):
- author information
- date information
- information about a specific part of a source
For more extensive information provided by APA, see Quoting.
Short quotes
Short quotes (less than 40 words) are enclosed in double quotation marks and incorporated in your sentence with either a narrative or a parenthetical citation.
Example for a print book - narrative citation (the page number is the specific part):
According to Smail (2008), Darwinian evolution "follows a rhythm dictated by the rapidity of generational turnover" (p. 99).
Example for a print book - parenthetical citation (the page number is the specific part):
One opinion is that Darwinian evolution "follows a rhythm dictated by the rapidity of generational turnover" (Smail, 2008, p. 99).
Example for an online source - narrative citation (the full heading is the specific part):
Sloan (2008) concluded "that there are still substantial theoretical issues at stake that may alter the understanding of evolutionary theory in important ways" (Summary and Conclusion section).
Example for an online source - parenthetical citation (the full heading is the specific part):
It seems "that there are still substantial theoretical issues at stake that may alter the understanding of evolutionary theory in important ways" (Sloan, 2008, Summary and Conclusion section).
Example for an online source - parenthetical citation (abbreviated heading is the specific part):
Handwerk (2021) points out that fossils are open to a variety of interpretation as they "often boast a mixture of modern and primitive features" ("300,000 Years Ago: Fossils").
Example for an online source - parenthetical citation (abbreviated heading is the specific part):
Fossils are open to a variety of interpretation as they "often boast a mixture of modern and primitive features" (Handwerk, 2021, "300,000 Years Ago: Fossils").
Long quotes
A quotation of more than 40 words is written in a block with no quotation marks, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin. Note that the closing punctuation mark precedes the page citation.
Example for an online source - narrative citation
Darwin (1998-2016) concluded the following:
Our ignorance of the laws of variation is profound. Not in one case out of a hundred can we pretend to assign any reason why this or that part differs, more or less, from the same part in the parents. But whenever we have the means of instituting a comparison, the same laws appear to have acted in producing the lesser differences between varieties of the same species, and the greater differences between species of the same genus. The external conditions of life, as climate and food, &c., seem to have induced some slight modifications. Habit in producing constitutional differences, and use in strengthening, and disuse in weakening and diminishing organs, seem to have been more potent in their effects. (Chapter 5, Summary section)
Example for an online source - parenthetical citation
The author concluded the following:
Our ignorance of the laws of variation is profound. Not in one case out of a hundred can we pretend to assign any reason why this or that part differs, more or less, from the same part in the parents. But whenever we have the means of instituting a comparison, the same laws appear to have acted in producing the lesser differences between varieties of the same species, and the greater differences between species of the same genus. The external conditions of life, as climate and food, &c., seem to have induced some slight modifications. Habit in producing constitutional differences, and use in strengthening, and disuse in weakening and diminishing organs, seem to have been more potent in their effects. (Darwin, 1998-2016, Chapter 5, Summary section)
The reference list entries for the above in-text citation examples are:
Smail, D. L. (2008). On deep history and the brain. University of California Press.
