APA:
The APA style calls for three kinds of information to be
included in in-text cited quotes. The author's last name and the
work's date of publication and, in the case of quoted text, page number, must
always appear.
IF THE QUOTE IS
LESS THAN 40 WORDS:
Using a signal phrase where you list the author and year before the quotation,
and put the page number at
the end:
As Marshall Mathers (2008) revealed, “Guns and
violence have been around me my whole life – in my family life, in my social
life, everywhere” (p. 134).
Notice that the period comes after
the parenthentical.
Or you can quote without a signal phrase, and put the author, year, and page
number at the end:
The hip hop artist noted, “Guns and violence
have been around me my whole life – in my family life, in my social life,
everywhere” (Mathers, 2008, p. 134).
Again, notice that the period comes
after the parenthetical.
IF THE QUOTE IS
MORE THAN 40 WORDS:
If the quotation
is more than 40 words, you
need to do an indented block quotation. Notice, that as always, the author, year, and page
number are shown.
Marshall Mathers
went on to explain his attitudes towards guns:
Anybody who has a gun will tell you that at first it makes
them feel powerful. I was
infatuated. Obviously I don’t feel that
way now. I’ve lost too many friends,
family members, loved ones to gun violence.
I would much rather use my fists.
Kidding. (Mathers, 2008, p. 134)
** Notice that in the above example (indented
quote), this time the period comes before the parenthetical. The information in the parenthesis is not
followed by a period. This is different
from the above examples about quotes less than 40 words.
SUMMARIZING AND
PARAPHRASING:
For a summary or a
paraphrase (not a direct quote) of another author’s writing:
According to Mathers (2008), guns hurt a lot of
people and aren’t worth the powerful feeling they initially give a person (p.
134).
-OR-
Guns hurt a lot of people and aren’t worth the
powerful feeling they initially give a person (Mathers, 2008, p. 134).
Again, notice that the period comes
after the parenthetical.
In the two examples above, which
say the same thing, note that the author and year and page number
are indicated.
** NOTE: Your instructor may not require that you show
page number for summary or paraphrasing, so check with him or her first.
At the end, you must always have a REFERENCES page. In it, you
will state your sources. Example:
Mathers, M. (2008).
Eminem: the way I am. New York: Penguin Group
Inc.
Further sources on APA STYLE:
Sample APA
Paper: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/
