When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text.
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.
On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges.
Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
APA encourages paraphrasing overusing direct quotes. Use direct quotes when:
When creating a citation for a direct quote, provide author, year and page number for both narrative and parenthetical citations.
Ex. University of Southern California (2020) "direct quote from author" (p. 4) OR "direct quote from author" (University of Southern California, 2020, p. 4).
How to cite specific parts of a source:
| Source Part | Format | Example |
| Single Page | p. # | p.14 |
| Multiple Pages | pp. #-# | pp.14-24 |
| Paragraph Number | para. # |
para. 4 |
| Multiple Paragraphs | paras. #-# | paras. 14-24 |
| Presentation | Slide # | Slide 4 |
| Table or Figure | Table # or Figure # | Figure 4.2 |
| Multimedia/Audiovisual Timestamp | hour:minutes:second or minute:second | 2:45:13 |
| Heading or Section Name | name of section section | Human resources section |
