You think citing quotes in your APA paper is going to be simple. But, suddenly you have one book with multiple authors and another book with no date. You’re trying to add a citation for a website quote with no author or date. Plus, you have an interview. Simple citations have become a mess. Break down citations for books, websites and even interviews in even the most difficult of situations.
APA Citations for Book Quotes
Books come in all shapes and sizes. Citing them can be just as varied. But, once you know the rules, it’s a piece of cake.
Basic Citation
Most of the time, you’ll be able to follow the basic format for a book with one author. You’ll need three basic pieces of information: author, publication year and page number (p.). These can take different formats depending on long or short quotes, or if you are just paraphrasing.
Short Quotes
First, look at these examples of a short quote.
Example with a signal phrase:
Betts (2018) stated, “Students have difficulty with formatting.” (p. 200)
Example without a signal phrase:
She said, “Students have difficulty with formatting,” (Betts, 2018, p. 200) but doesn’t know why.
Long Quotes
Long quotes (which are more than 40 words quoted) take on the same format in APA style. However, you will indent all the quoted information a half inch. The citation at the end of the quote will come after the period. Here is a basic example:
“The statistics showed (imagine forty words) … Nutrition is important.” (Betts, 2018, p. 77)
Paraphrasing
When you paraphrase text from the source, you simply need to include the last name of the author and publication date.
Example:
This can be seen through the ways that nutrition… (Betts, 2018).
Two Authors
Sometimes, you’ll come across books with two authors. If you don’t know who specifically said the quote, then you will include both authors.
Example:
(Betts & Garrett, 2018, p. 65)
Three to Five Authors
Citations for your quote will take on two different formats depending on whether it is the initial reference.
Example Initial reference:
(Betts, Garrett & Cote, 2018, p. 55)
Example additional citations:
(Betts et al., 2018, p. 67)
Six or More Authors
Scholarly books might have six or more authors. Citing all the different names might take up multiple lines. APA has made an easy fix for this. Instead of listing all the names, just list the first author’s last name followed by et al.
Example:
(Betts et al., 2018, p. 77)
APA Website Citations for Quotes
Websites don’t have page numbers. When citing a quote from a website, you’ll want to include the author(s), year and paragraph number. Here are examples of citations with an author:
Example with signal text:
Betts (2018) stated, “APA style was fun.” (para. 3)
Example without signal text:
She stated, “APA style was fun.” (Betts, 2018, para. 3)
No Author
You could come across a website you want to quote that doesn’t list the author. It isn’t the end of the world. APA just calls for you to list the name of the website.
Example with signal text:
APA Formatting (2018) stated, “APA is amazing.” (para. 17)
Example without signal text:
“APA is amazing.” (APA Formatting, 2018, para. 17)
No Date
The information that website offered is amazing, but they don’t have a date. Don’t look past them. Instead, add your quote with (n.d.) instead of a date (e.g. Betts, n.d., para. 2).
Quotes from Interviews
Personal interviews are not published works that can be looked up in your works cited. Since these works are unique, the citation is too. For a personal interview citation, include the author’s name(s), personal communication and date. They are only found in-text.
Quoting a Quote Citation
Authors quote other authors and famous works to prove their points within published books, magazines, and more. Now, you are quoting that author. How confusing, right? It doesn’t have to be. Citing a quote within a quote is as simple as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- List the original author’s last name.
- Include the date of publication of the original.
- Add ‘as cited in’ then the name of the work.
- Follow with the publishing date of the cited work.
- List the page the information can be found on.
If it seems like a lot, check out these examples.
Example with signal text:
Betts (2016) argues, “Quote.” (as cited in Garrett, 2018, p. 22)
Example without signal text:
(Betts, 2016, as cited in Garrett, 2018, p. 22)
Quotes, Quotes and More Quotes
A sound paper is based on fact. Facts need resources. Quotes can supply great resources to back up the facts you’re putting forth in your APA paper. Now, have fun giving it a try.