Citing Guide for Business (APA 7th ed.): Paraphrasing & Quoting

Citing Paraphrases Two Ways

1. Narrative citation

2. Parenthetical citation

Note: It is not required to provide a page or paragraph number in the citation when you are paraphrasing.

Long paraphrases

If you have a long paraphrase, cite the work being paraphrased on first mention. Once the work has been cited, it is not necessary to repeat the citation if the same work continues to be paraphrased:

Note:If the paraphrase continues into a new paragraph, reintroduce the citation.

Paraphrasing multiple sources in one sentence

When paraphrasing multiple sources in one sentence, include in-text citations for each source. The citations should be placed in parentheses, separated by a semicolon, and ordered alphabetically by the authors' last names:

• (Author A, Publication year A; Author B, Publication year B)

Suppose you want to include paraphrased information from two sources, one by John Smith published in 2021 and another by Jane Brown published in 2020. The in-text citation would be formatted as follows:

In this example, the ideas from both sources are combined into a single sentence, and the in-text citations for each source are included in parentheses, separated by a semicolon. Note that the sources are listed alphabetically by the authors' last names.

Here is a more complex example of paraphrasing multiple sources in one sentence:

In this example, the in-text citation includes multiple sources to support distinct aspects of the statement. The parenthetical citations are placed next to the specific aspect of the sentence they support, separated by semicolons.

The basics

When you include a direct quote from a source, you should also provide the page number where the quote can be found.

• Add "p." before the page number for a single page: (p. 42).
• Add "pp." for multiple pages: (pp. 42-43).
• If the pages aren't continuous, separate them with a comma: (pp. 42, 56).

Directly quoting text found on a single page

Narrative citation:

Parenthetical citation:

Quoting text found on multiple pages

Narrative citation:

Parenthetical citation:

If there are no page numbers...

Some sources like webpages and eBooks might not have page numbers. In these cases, use a page number alternative that will easily tell the reader where the quote is located. Here are examples of  page number alternatives:

• Add the paragraph number(s) where the quote can be found. Abbreviate to para. for text found in a single paragraph and to paras. for text found in multiple paragraphs:

• Add the heading or section name where the quote can be found. You can use the full section name without quotation marks, or you can abbreviate a long section name in quotation marks. 

Here is an example for citing a quote in-text that is found in an article section titled "Methodology":

Here is an example for a citing a quote in-text that is found in an article section titled "Exercise and Mental Health in Teenagers":

The basics

You will come across sources that have multiple authors, especially when you're using scholarly sources. Luckily, if there are three or more authors the in-text citation only includes the first author.

Paraphrasing a source with multiple authors

When paraphrasing a source with two authors:

• Include both authors' last names, separated by an ampersand (&) for parenthetical citations, or the word "and" for narrative citations. 
• List the last name of the authors in the same order as they appear in the source.

When paraphrasing a source with three or more authors:

• List the first author's last name followed by "et al." for both parenthetical and narrative citations.
• The first author is the author who is listed first on a source. 

Paraphrasing a source with two authors

Parenthetical citation:

Narrative citation:

Paraphrasing a source with three or more authors

Parenthetical citation:

Narrative citation:

Quoting a source with two authors

In-text citations for direct quotes from sources with multiple authors require that you include the page number(s). For the page number(s), use "p." (for a single page) or "pp." (for multiple pages) before the page number.

Parenthetical citation:

Narrative citation:

Quoting a source with three or more authors

Parenthetical citation:

Narrative citation:

The basics

When a source has a group author (such as an organization, government agency, or corporation) instead of individual authors, use the name of the group author as you would an individual author's name. For example:

• (American Psychological Association, 2021)

Group author abbreviations

You are not obligated to abbreviate the name of a group author, but you can if the abbreviation is well-known, will help avoid cumbersome repetition, or will appear at least three times in the paper.

• If the group name first appears in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation before the year in parentheses, separated with a comma:

• If the group name first appears in a parenthetical citation, introduce the abbreviation in brackets after the full name in the first citation:

Then, use the abbreviation in all later citations. For example:

• First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2021)
• Subsequent citations: (APA, 2021)

The basics

For a missing author, do not use “Anonymous” as the author unless the work is actually signed “Anonymous.” For example, articles from The Economist are usually signed "Anonymous." If the work is signed “Anonymous,” use “Anonymous” in the reference and in-text citation.

• Parenthetical citation :  (Anonymous, 2017)
• Narrative citation :  Anonymous (2017)

Paraphrasing a source with an anonymous author

Narrative citation

• Instead of using the author's last name, use Anonymous followed by the publication year in parentheses:

Parenthetical citation

• Include Anonymous and the publication year in parentheses:

Quoting a source with an anonymous author

Narrative citation

• Include Anonymous, the publication year, and the page number(s) in the citation:

Parenthetical citation

• Include Anonymous, the publication year, and the page number(s) in parentheses:

The basics

When a source has no publication date, you can still create in-text citations by using the abbreviation "n.d." (which stands for "no date") in place of the publication year. Here's how to format in-text citations for sources with no publication date:

• Parenthetical citation :  (Smith, n.d.)
• Narrative citation :  Smith (n.d.)

Paraphrasing a source with no publication date

Narrative citation

• Integrate the author's name into the sentence, followed by "n.d." in parentheses:

Parenthetical citation

• Place the author's last name and "n.d." in parentheses at the end of the sentence:

Quoting a source with no publication date

Narrative citation

• Include the author's name in the sentence, followed by "n.d." and the page number (if available) in parentheses:

Parenthetical citation

• Place the author's last name, "n.d.", and the page number (if available) in parentheses at the end of the sentence: