APA, MLA, and Chicago in-text Citation: The Basics

In-text Citations: In-text citations refer to the citation of the used sources inside the body/ content of the paper. In-text citations are placed precisely where there is direct or paraphrased information from the used sources.

APA Citation (American Psychological Association)

In APA, the basic format for an in-text citation includes the author’s last name and the publication year, both enclosed in parentheses. Here are a few examples:

When citing a paraphrase: (Mary, 2019)
When citing a direct quote: (Robertson, 2016, p. 42)
When citing a source written by two authors: (Mary & Robertson, 2016) for a paraphrase and (Mary & Robertson , 2016, p.42) for a direct quote.
When citing a source written by more than two authors: (Brown et al., 2020) for a paraphrase and (Brown et al., 2020, p.42) for a direct quote
When citing a source with no author: (“Title of Article,” 2018)

Reference(s) List: The reference(s) list provides the full source(s) cited details. It is written at the end of the paper, and is organized alphabetically

Examples

1. Paraphrase: According to Mary (2019), effective time management is crucial for academic success. OR,
2. Effective time management is crucial for academic success (Mary, 2019)

2. Direct Quote: “Social media has become an integral part of daily life” (Robertson, 2016, p. 42).

Note that this applies to both APA 6^th and 7^th editions.

MLA Citation

In-text Citations: In MLA style, in-text citations typically include the author’s last name and the cited source’s page number(s). Here are a few examples:

When citing a paraphrase: (Mary 25)
When citing a direct quote: (Robertson 42)
When citing a source with two authors: (Mary and Brown 75)
When citing a source with multiple authors: (Brown et al. 75)
When citing a source with no author: (“Title of Article” 10)

Works Cited Page: The Works Cited page is a separate page at the end of the essay that lists all the sources cited in the paper. Again, the sources should be organized alphabetically.

Now, let us consider two examples of in-text citations and a statement from an essay:

Example 1: Paraphrase
According to Mary, effective communication is essential for building strong relationships (25). OR
Effective communication is essential in building solid relationships (Mary 25).

Example 2: Direct Quote
Robertson states, “Language is a powerful tool for expressing emotions and ideas” (42). OR
Language is a powerful tool for expressing emotions and ideas (Robertson 42).

Chicago Citation Style

Chicago style offers two main citation methods: footnotes/endnotes and author-date.

Author-date in-text citations

In-text citations with Chicago author-date format involve enclosing the author’s last name and the year of publication within parentheses (no comma in between). Here’s the general structure:

• (Author Last Name Year)

Examples:

• A recent study suggests climate change is a significant threat (Smith 2023).
• As argued by some scholars (Johnson et al. 2020), the impact is undeniable.

Addressing Variations

• Multiple Authors:
  • For two authors, use “and” between their last names (Miller and Jones 2022).
  • For three or more authors, use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” (Lee et al. 2019).
• No Author:
  • If the source has no identifiable author, use a shortened title in the citation (Chicago Manual of Style 17th ed.).
• Multiple Works by Same Author:
  • When citing multiple works by the same author published in the same year, differentiate them with lowercase letters after the year (Garcia 2021a, 2021b).

Chicago Footnotes and Endnotes

Placement:

• Footnotes: Appear at the bottom of the page where the reference or comment is mentioned. They are denoted by a superscript number in the text, and the corresponding note with the same number appears at the bottom of the page, separated by a line.
• Endnotes: Are listed together at the end of your entire paper, after the main text and before the bibliography. They are also denoted by superscript numbers in the text, but the corresponding notes appear all together in a separate section titled “Notes.”

Examples:
Footnote Example:
In the text:

The invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg marked a significant turning point in history. ¹

At the bottom of the same page:

1. Elizabeth Eisenstein, The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 1-2.

Endnote Example:
In the text:

The rise of the internet has had a profound impact on communication patterns, arguably even surpassing the invention of the printing press. ²

At the end of the paper, in the “Notes” section:

2. See Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1996) for a detailed discussion on the internet and social transformation.

Please note that in APA style, the sources list section is called “Reference(s),” while in MLA style, it is referred to as “Work(s) Cited.” In Chicago style, it is called the “Bibliography” or “Bibliographies.”

The list should be formatted with a hanging indent and listed in ascending order.