APA in-text for peer-reviewed work uses author–date: (Author, Year) or Author (Year); add page/paragraph for quotes and three-plus authors use et al.
Clean citations make your work easy to read and easy to trust. With APA style, you bring sources into a sentence with a short author–date cue. This guide shows the moves that writers use every day, with tight patterns, plain examples, and quick fixes for snags.
APA In-Text Citation Basics
APA uses two simple modes: narrative and parenthetical. Narrative means you place the author name within your sentence, then the year in brackets. Parenthetical means both the name and the year sit in brackets. Use one mode or the other based on flow; both point the reader to your reference list.
For journal work, keep the author family name and the year. Add a page or paragraph mark only for a direct quote. For three or more authors, compress the author list to the first author plus “et al.” from the first cite.
APA In-Text Patterns At A Glance
| Case | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One author | Narrative: Author (Year) | Parenthetical: (Author, Year) | Lee (2022) | (Lee, 2022) |
| Two authors | Author and Author (Year) | (Author & Author, Year) | Rahman and Silva (2023) | (Rahman & Silva, 2023) |
| 3+ authors | Author et al. (Year) | (Author et al., Year) | Nguyen et al. (2021) | (Nguyen et al., 2021) |
| Group author | Group Name (Year) | (Group Name, Year) | World Health Organization (2020) | (World Health Organization, 2020) |
| No author | Short title in quotes + Year | “Mindset and Sleep,” 2021 |
| Direct quote | Add page or para. after year | (Khan, 2024, p. 15) | (Lopez, 2020, para. 4) |
| Multiple sources | Separate with semicolons | (Ali, 2022; Chen, 2021; Ortega et al., 2020) |
| Same author, same year | Append letters a, b, c | (Patel, 2019a) and (Patel, 2019b) |
For full rules, see APA Style in-text basics. A friendly primer sits at Purdue OWL APA overview.
How To Cite Peer Reviewed Articles In APA In-Text: Core Moves
Peer-reviewed pieces live in journals, so the same author–date cue fits. Below, you’ll see the cases you’re most likely to meet, with ways to write them cleanly in running text.
Single Author Article
Use the family name and year. Narrative: Amin (2023) found a link between sleep loss and slower recall. Parenthetical: Sleep loss can slow recall (Amin, 2023).
Two Authors In One Article
Join the names with “and” in running text and with an ampersand in brackets. Narrative: Bari and Gomez (2022) mapped the sample. Parenthetical: The sample was mapped (Bari & Gomez, 2022).
Three Or More Authors
List the first author plus “et al.” from the first cite. Narrative: Chowdhury et al. (2021) ran two trials. Parenthetical: The team ran two trials (Chowdhury et al., 2021).
Group Or Organization As Author
Write the full name in the first cite. If the group has a well-known short name, you may add it in brackets in that first cite and then use only the short name later. In-text: World Health Organization (WHO, 2020), then later (WHO, 2020).
No Named Author
Use a short title in quotation marks in place of the name. Cap words as you would in a title. Parenthetical: Sleep depth rose with cues (“Deep Sleep Signals,” 2021).
Same Author, Same Year
Add letters to the year across the reference list and citations. Set the order by the title in the reference list. In-text: Rahim (2019a) and Rahim (2019b).
Different Authors, Same Year
When two sources share a year and the same first author family name, add initials in the in-text cite to tell them apart. In-text: (H. Park, 2020; J. Park, 2020).
Quotations From Peer-Reviewed Articles
For word-for-word material, add a page number or a paragraph mark if pages are missing. Parenthetical: “delta power rose” (Hassan, 2021, p. 9). For a long block quote, keep the same author–date and location data.
No Page Numbers In Online First
If an online-first article lacks page numbers, use a paragraph mark or a section heading plus a paragraph count. In-text: (Iqbal, 2024, “Results,” para. 2).
Narrative Vs Parenthetical Choice
Pick the mode that reads best. Narrative keeps the sentence moving when you want the name to take the lead. Parenthetical lets you tuck the cite at the end of a claim. Mixing the two across a paper is fine; just keep each cite clean.
When a sentence already names the author, don’t repeat the name in brackets. Write: Ahmed (2022) tested a new cue. Not: Ahmed (2022) tested a new cue (Ahmed, 2022).
Multiple Citations In One Set Of Brackets
When one point rests on more than one source, place all of them in one set of brackets. Order them by the family name and separate each with a semicolon. Do not repeat the year with the same author group in that same set.
Sample: (Begum, 2019; Farooq & Mendez, 2020; Kim et al., 2018). If two or more items share an author and year, append letters a, b, c to sort them.
Signal Phrases And Flow
Signal phrases help the reader move from claim to source. Handy verbs include reports, notes, finds, argues, shows, and concludes. Use a verb once per sentence; avoid a pile of stacked cites with no wording around them.
Blend short paraphrases with the cite so the sentence stays crisp. Keep quotes brief and rare; your voice should guide the reader, with cites as road signs.
When Articles Share Authors Or Titles
If two articles share the same author and year, add letters to the year both in the text and in the reference list, as shown above. If two articles share the same short title, lengthen the title within the cite so each one points cleanly to a single reference item.
If two sources share the same first author family name but are different people, add initials to the in-text cite. This prevents confusion when the year matches.
Abbreviations, Latin Terms, And Formatting
Use et al. for three or more authors from the first cite. Keep the period after al. and include a comma before the year in brackets. Do not italicize Latin terms in the cite.
Use p. for one page and pp. for a span. Use para. only when you must cite a paragraph. Section headings stay in plain text within quotation marks when used in a locator.
Edge Cases For Journal Citations
| Case | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Article with article number | Use the number as part of the locator only in quotes if pages are absent | (Okoro, 2022, para. 5) |
| Advance online publication | Use author–date as usual; the reference holds “Advance online publication” | (Ramos, 2020) |
| Retracted article cited | Note the retraction in the reference; in-text stays author–date | (Singh, 2018) |
| Translated article | Cite the translated author; language details live in the reference | (Kovačević, 2017) |
| Meta-analysis | Treat as any article; name the type in your sentence if useful | Rahman and Uddin (2021) |
| Supplement issue | In-text stays author–date; the reference carries the supplement info | (Lopez et al., 2019) |
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Do not drop the year from a narrative first cite. Do not pile multiple sets of brackets back to back. Do not repeat the author in both the sentence and the brackets.
Watch spacing and commas. Place a comma between name and year in brackets. Place a comma before page or paragraph marks. Keep periods outside the closing bracket unless the cite ends the sentence.
Quick Templates You Can Reuse
Narrative, one author: Ahmed (2022). Parenthetical, one author: (Ahmed, 2022). Two authors: (Ahmed & Chen, 2022). Three or more: (Ahmed et al., 2022).
Direct quote with page: (Ahmed, 2022, p. 14). No page, online first: (Ahmed, 2022, para. 3). Same author and year set: (Ahmed, 2022a, 2022b). Group author short name after first cite: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020), then (WHO, 2020).
Consistency Checklist
- Pick narrative or parenthetical based on flow.
- Use et al. for three or more authors from the first cite.
- Add a page or paragraph only for quotes.
- Sort multiple sources in one set of brackets by author.
- Add letters to years when one author has more than one item in the same year.
- Add initials when two different authors share a family name and year.
- Match every in-text cite to one item in the reference list.
- Use plain, direct verbs in signal phrases.
- Keep punctuation tight and spacing clean.
- Use the short title in quotes when no author appears.
In-Text Vs Reference: What Goes Where
Keep the heavy data in the reference list. In-text carries only the author, year, and a locator for quotes. Do not place DOIs, issue numbers, or page spans from the article in your cite. Those live in the reference. If you need help building the reference, see the APA DOIs and URLs.
Instructor And Journal Rules
APA gives a base line. A class or a journal may ask for small shifts, such as naming an issue number in text for a special series. When posted rules differ, follow those rules with care while keeping author–date syntax intact. Keep APA syntax plain.
Practice: Fix And Compare
Poor: Studies show clear gains. Better: Studies show clear gains (Sarker & Imran, 2021). Poor: As noted by Khan and Lee in 2020, sleep aids memory. Better: Khan and Lee (2020) noted that sleep aids memory. Poor: Several labs report a link with no source. Better: Several labs report a link (Akter, 2022; Chen et al., 2021). Match each cite to one full reference.