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Depending on the type of source, you may have to include extra information that helps your reader locate the source.
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APA references The basicsĪPA references generally include information about the author, publication date, title, and source. For court cases, use italics in the in-text citation but not in the reference entry. *Format the title in the same way as in the corresponding reference entry (either italicized or, if the title in the reference entry is not italicized, placed in quotation marks). When the author, publication date or locator is unknown, take the steps outlined below. Pay attention to punctuation and the use of the ampersand (&) symbol. The in-text citation changes slightly when a source has multiple authors or an organization as an author. Narrative citation: Smith (2020) notes that ….Parenthetical citation: According to new research … (Smith, 2020).Both types are generated automatically when citing a source with Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator.
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The in-text citation can take two forms: parenthetical and narrative. If you’re citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. You include them every time you quote or paraphrase someone else’s ideas or words to avoid plagiarism.Īn APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). In-text citations are brief references in the running text that direct readers to the reference entry at the end of the paper.
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