APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Three to Five Authors or Editors

  • General Style Guidelines
  • One Author or Editor
  • Two Authors or Editors
  • Three to Five Authors or Editors
  • Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
  • Article in a Reference Book
  • Edition other than the First
  • Translation
  • Government Publication
  • Journal Article with 1 Author
  • Journal Article with 2 Authors
  • Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
  • Journal Article 21 or more Authors
  • Magazine Article
  • Newspaper Article
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About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Book with Three to Five Authors or Editors

The general format below refers to a book with three or more authors.

If you are dealing with a book that has three to five editors instead of authors, you would simply insert the names of the editors into the place where the authors' names are now, followed by "(Eds.)" without the quotation marks (as per the example). The rest of the format would remain the same.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname et al., Year)

NOTE: The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is shortened to the first author's name followed by et al. and the year.

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Author Surname et al., Year, page number)

References:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle . Publisher.

(Johnson et al., 1999)

(Johnson  et al., 1999, p. 72)

Johnson, N. G., Roberts, M. C., & Worell, J. (Eds.). (1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls . American Psychological Association.

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APA 7th Edition Citation Guide

  • APA 7th Edition Home
  • Formatting the Paper Itself
  • When and What to Cite

In-Text: Multiple Authors

  • In-Text: First and Subsequent Citations
  • In-Text: Authors and Dates Matching
  • In-Text: Direct Quotations
  • In-Text: Secondary Sources
  • Reference Examples: Print
  • Reference Examples: Electronic
  • Reference Examples: Audiovisual Media
  • Step 1: Author (Names)
  • Step 2: Date
  • Step 3: Titles
  • Step 4: Source
  • Help and Training
  • Related Guides

This citation guide is based on The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed., 2020). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

Content in this guide was copied with permission from Bethel University (TN) Library .

how to cite 3 authors in text apa

How to Use This Guide

Citations in APA style include two parts: (1) in-text citations, which are connected to (2) reference list citations.

This guide will help you create in-text citations that correlate with the corresponding reference list citations. Please see Reference Examples  for more details on the reference list.

Note: All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper except for Personal Communications and similar unrecoverable sources.

Multiple Authors

If you are citing a source that has multiple authors, follow these basic steps.

Two Authors

Always cite both authors' names in-text every time you reference them.

Johnson and Smith (2009) found...

Three or More Authors

If a document has three or more authors, simply provide the last name of the first author with "et al." from the first citation to the last.

Thomas et al. (2007) likened abnormal psychology to...

... distractions (Thomas et al., 2007).

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to cite in APA when there are multiple authors

How to cite in APA when there are multiple authors

This article covers how to cite a reference in APA style (7th ed.) when there are multiple authors. Broadly speaking, in an APA style “the author” refers to the person(s) or group(s) who should be given credit for the work being referenced.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

In-text citations when there are multiple authors

Reference list entries when there are multiple authors, troubleshooting.

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in text. Unless you are citing a source with no author in APA , the structure in parenthetical citations includes placing the author’s last name/surname, followed by a comma, and the publication year in parentheses. In narrative citations, this information is incorporated into the sentence.

Parenthetical citation for one author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Curtis, 2020)

Narrative citation for one author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Curtis (2020)

Two authors

For a work with two authors, include both authors’ last names in every in-text citation, whether narrative or parenthetical. In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between the authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for two authors:

(1st Author & 2nd Author, Year Published)

(Curtis & Williams, 2020)

Narrative citation for two authors:

1st Author & 2nd Author (Year Published)

Curtis & Williams (2020)

Three or more authors

When citing a journal paper in APA with three or more authors, only enter the last name of the first author listed and add “et al.” after it. “Et al.” is Latin for the phrase “and others,” which is why it is used as a substitute for two or more authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for three or more authors:

(1st Author et al., Year Published)

(Harris et al., 2020)

Narrative citation for three or more authors:

1st Author et al. (Year Published)

Harris et al. (2020)

Here is a page with more information on when to use “et al.” in APA style .

Group authors

The same guidelines for in-text citations apply when the authors of a source are a distinct group or organization such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group. To confirm whether a reference was written by individual author(s) or a group, check the cover or title page.

Hint: for an online resource, the author could be the name of the organization hosting the webpage or website, rather than the name of just one content contributor.

Before using an abbreviated group name as the author of your citation, spell out the abbreviation and define the group one time first in the text. Afterward, use the abbreviation of the group name throughout the rest of the paper.

Group author in-text citation examples:

First parenthetical citation with group abbreviation included: (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU], 2020)

Subsequent parenthetical citations: (AJCU, 2020)

First narrative citation with group abbreviation included: The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU] (2020)

Subsequent narrative citations: The AJCU (2020)

Avoiding ambiguity in in-text citations

Sometimes, in-text citations that have three or more authors, some of whom have the same last name, and the same publication year can look like they are the same reference when using the et al. abbreviation. For example, Curtis et al. (2020) could refer to

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Tyler (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, Key, Smith, and Esparza (2020)

To avoid this ambiguity and confusion for the reader, write out as many names as possible for the in-text citation until the references are distinguished, and then add “et. al” to abbreviate the other authors’ names.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, et al. (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, et al. (2020)

When only the final author is different, list all of the names in every citation to avoid any confusion.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Esparza (2020)

APA has slightly different reference structures for different source types (e.g., book, website, journal article, etc.), but each structure generally includes the following:

Author last name, Author initials. (Date Published). Title. URL or DOI if available .

Need more help with citing a particular source? Find further guidance in this APA citations guide.

One or two authors

For references with one or two authors, cite using the four-part structure.

Two individual authors example:

Smith, J., & Jones, S. (1994). Making a movie star. Behind the Scenes Stories: A Journal of Celebrity Life, 44 (2), 192–200. https://doi.org/l4nds0r

One group author example:

The American Marine Society. (2003). Whale mating patterns in the new millennium. The American Marine Society Magazine , 17-20 . https://fams.gov/article/2003/whale-mating-patterns-in-the-new-millennium

2 – 20 authors

In APA 7th ed., up to 20 authors should be included in a reference list entry. Write out the last name and first initial(s) for each contributor.

2–20 authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., Fountain, A. (2020). Styling royalty. London Bridge Press.

21+ authors

For references with more than 20 authors, after listing the 19th author replace any additional author names with an ellipsis ( … ) followed by the final listed author’s last name and first initial(s).

21+ authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., . . . Booker, T. (2020). Eating well: Tips from 23 lifestyle authors. Food Magazine. https://foodmag.com/article/2020/tips-from-22-lifestyle-authors

Solution #1: How to order the names of multiple authors in an APA reference

Authors should be cited in the exact order that they are listed by the source, even if they have not been listed alphabetically.

Solution #2: How to cite an article with more than 20 authors in APA style

If an article has more than 20 authors, all authors do not need to be listed in the reference. Instead, name the first 19, then use an ellipsis (…), then add the name of the final author listed. The ellipsis acts as a substitute for all the names between the first 19 and the final authors. No ampersand (&) is needed before the final name.

For example:

Richards, B.A., Lillicrap, T. P., Beaudoin, P., Bengio, Y., Bogacz, R., Christensen, A., Clopath, C.

Costa, R. P., de Berker, A., Ganguli, S., Gillon, C. J., Hafner, D., Kepecs, A., Kriegeskorte,

N., Latham, P., Lindsay, G. W., Miller, K. D., Naud, R., Pack, C. C., … Kording, K. P. (2019). A deep learning framework for neuroscience. Nature Neuroscience ,  22 (11), 1761–1770. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0520-2

When making an in-text citation, only write the first author’s last name followed by “et. al.” This applies to both parenthetical and narrative citations.

(Richard et al., 2019)

Richard et al. (2019)

Solution #3: How to cite an article written by an organization in APA style

  • Organization as author

When an article is written by an organization, use the typical four-part APA structure (author, date, title, publisher) and cite the organization as the author.

American Nurses Association. (2019). 2018 Annual Report, American Nurse Today, 14 (6), 29-36.

https://www.nursingworld.org/~49d621/globalassets/docs/ana/ana-annual-report-for-

  • Organization as author and publisher

If the organization that authored an article is also its publisher , omit the publisher’s name in the citation.

  • In-text citation when an organization is an author

Use the organization’s name as the author. For example:

American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

If an organization’s name is long, abbreviate it by doing the following:

  • First, write the organization’s name in full the first time, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis.
  • After this, you may use the abbreviation without including the complete name.

1 st in-text narrative citation: American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

1 st in-text parenthetical citation: (American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

After this distinction is made, abbreviations in-text can be used as demonstrated below:

Narrative citations: The ANA (2019)

Parenthetical citations: (ANA, 2019)

Published October 28, 2020.

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To cite a source with multiple authors and an edition number in APA style, you need to know the names of the authors, title of the book, edition number, and publisher. The in-text citation of a book with multiple authors and an edition number is similar to citing a journal or a book reference with multiple authors. An example of a book reference with three authors and an edition number, along with a template, is given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname et al. (Publication Year)

LeBuffe et al. (2012)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(LeBuffe et al., 2012)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., & Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Book title (edition number). Publisher

LeBuffe, P. A., Naglieri, J. A., & Manderth, A. (2012). Devereux early childhood assessment for preschoolers (2nd ed.). Kaplan Early Learning Company.

Use numerals to indicate an edition number. The word “edition” is abbreviated as “ed.” Italicize the book title and follow sentence case for capitalization.

Citing a source that has multiple authors with the same last name and same initials is the same as citing a source with different authors. There is no need to add the initials of the authors in in-text citations as all surnames (although the same) appear in a single source. Examples of a book reference with three authors with the same last name and initials and their templates are given below:

Dunn et al. (2007)

(Dunn et al., 2007)

Author Surname, F. & Author Surname, F. (Publication Year). Book title. Publisher.

Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (2007). Peabody picture vocabulary test-IV. American Guidance Service.

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APA Formatting and Style (7th ed.) for Student Papers

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Citations with Three or More Authors

  • For works that have three or more authors, list the first author followed by “et al.” (meaning “and others”) Examples: (Connell et al., 2014) Researchers Connell et al. (2015) found . . .

Researchers Connell et al. (2015) point out that one of the purposes of advertising is “framing consumer decisions by directing attention away from product disadvantages” (p. 130). 

Parenthetical:, one of the purposes of advertising is “framing consumer decisions by directing attention away from product disadvantages” (connell et al., 2015, p. 130). , paraphrase / summary:, researchers connell et al. (2015) point out that one of the purposes of advertising is to distract people from an item’s undesirable qualities when they are considering a purchase. , one of the purposes of advertising is to distract people from an item’s undesirable qualities when they are considering a purchase (connell et al., 2015). , * ** remember: each source listed on the reference page must correspond to at least one in-text citation in the body of the paper; each in-text citation must correspond to a source listed on the reference page..

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

  • General Formatting
  • Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
  • Student Paper Elements - Title Page
  • In-text Citation Basics
  • In-text Citation Author Rules
  • Citing Multiple Works
  • Personal Communications
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Author Rules

APA has different rules for in-text citations depending on:

  • The number of authors of a work
  • Whether you are citing a group author that has an abbreviation
  • If an author is unknown or anonymous
  • If more than one work has the same author and date
  • If multiple authors share surnames

Look to the right to find rules about each of these circumstances.

Number of Authors to Include in In-text Citations

For a work with one or two authors, include the author name(s) in every citation.

     (McCall, 2019)

     (Moyer & Hendricks, 2014)

     Thornton and Manning (2016)

For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation, including the first citation, unless doing so would create ambiguity.

     (Huerta et al., 2019)

     Kapoor, Bloom, Montez, et al. (2017)

     Kapoor, Bloom, Zucker, et al. (2017)

To learn more about avoiding ambiguity in in-text citations, see pp.266-267 of the manual.

Group Authors, With and Without Abbreviations

Authors may be groups. For example, you may cite a work written by the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH.

If a work is authored by one or two groups, include the group author name(s) in every citation.

     (Morningside College, 2019)

     (Harvard University & Cambridge College, 2018)

     (U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., 2019)

If a group author has an abbreviation, introduce the abbreviation in the first citation. In subsequent citations, use the abbreviation in place of the full group name.

      First citation:  (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2015)

      Subsequent citations:  (MADD, 2015)

Unknown or Anonymous Author

For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation.

If the title of the work is italicized in the reference list, also italicize the title in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is not italicized in the reference list, use double quotation marks around the title in the in-text citation.

Capitalize titles in in-text citations using title case, even though sentence case is used in the reference list entry.

      Book with no author:  ( The Future of Entrepreneurship , 2018)

      Magazine article with no author:  ("Towards a Psychology of Collective Memory," 2015)

When the author of a work is overtly designated as "Anonymous," this takes the place of the author name in the in-text citation.

     (Anonymous, 2016)

See pp. 264-265 of the manual for more information.

Works With the Same Author and Same Date

When multiple references have an identical author (or no authors) and publication year, include a lowercase letter after the year. This lowercase letter is also included in the reference entry.

Use only the year with a letter in the in-text citation, even if the reference list entry contains a more specific date.

     (LaBlanc & Ibarra, 2019a)

     (LaBlanc & Ibarra, 2019b)

     (Kirk, n.d.-a, n.d.-b)

Authors With the Same Surname

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname but have different initials, include the first author's initials in all in-text citations, even if the year of publication differs.

     (J. R. Stuart & Frey, 2016; M. Stuart, 2019)

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname and the same initials, cite the works in the standard author-date format.

     (Grant, 2019; Grant & Reese, 2017)

If multiple authors within a single reference share the same surname, the initials are not needed in the in-text citations.

     (Chen & Chen, 2018)

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

  • General Formatting
  • Student Paper Elements - Title Page
  • Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
  • In-text Citation Basics
  • In-text Citation Author Rules
  • Citing Multiple Works
  • Personal Communications
  • Classroom or Intranet Resources
  • Secondary Sources
  • Periodicals
  • Books & Reference Works
  • Edited Book Chapters & Entries in Reference Works
  • Reports & Gray Literature
  • Conference Sessions & Presentations
  • Dissertations & Theses
  • Data Sets & Software
  • Tests, Scales, & Inventories
  • Audiovisual Works
  • Audio Works
  • Visual Works
  • Social Media
  • Webpages & Websites
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Basics & Formatting
  • Avoiding Plagiarism

Library contact information

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Text us: 712-794-4288

Chat online with a BVU Librarian

Schedule an appointment with a BVU librarian (This can be an electronic meeting or F2F)

Author Rules

APA has different rules for in-text citations depending on:

  • The number of authors of a work
  • Whether you are citing a group author that has an abbreviation
  • If an author is unknown or anonymous
  • If more than one work has the same author and date
  • If multiple authors share surnames

Number of Authors to Include in In-text Citations

For a work with one or two authors, include the author name(s) in every citation.

     (Boucher, 2017)

     (Dawson & Lee, 2021)

     Fitzsimmons and Ibarra (2019)

For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation, including the first citation:

     (Maldonado et al., 2019)

Unless using one author would create ambiguity:

     Weiss, Dryden, Prentiss, et al. (2018)

     Weiss, Dryden, Baptiste, et al. (2018)

To learn more about avoiding ambiguity with in-text citations, see pp.266-267 of the manual.

Group Authors, With and Without Abbreviations

Authors may be groups. For example, you may cite a work written by the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC.

If a work is authored by one or two groups, include the group author name(s) in every citation.

     (Buena Vista University, 2021)

     (Harvard University & Cambridge College, 2018)

     (U.S. Department of Agriculture et al., 2019)

If a group author has an abbreviation, introduce the abbreviation in the first citation. In subsequent citations, use the abbreviation in place of the full group name.

      First citation:  (North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO], 2017)

      Subsequent citations:  (NATO, 2017)

Unknown or Anonymous Author

For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation.

If the title of the work is italicized in the reference list, also italicize the title in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is not italicized in the reference list, use double quotation marks around the title in the in-text citation.

Capitalize titles in in-text citations using title case, even though sentence case is used in the reference list entry.

      Book with no author:  ( The Business of Life , 2018)

      Magazine article with no author:  ("Parental Involvement and Academic Growth," 2021)

When the author of a work is overtly designated as "Anonymous," this takes the place of the author name in the in-text citation.

     (Anonymous, 2023)

Works With the Same Author and Same Date

When multiple references have an identical author (or no authors) and publication year , include a lowercase letter after the year. This lowercase letter is also included in the reference entry.

Use only the year with a letter in the in-text citation, even if the reference list entry contains a more specific date.

     (Cohen & Crozier, 2019a)

     (Cohen & Crozier, 2019b)

     (Stendahl, n.d.-a, n.d.-b)

Authors With the Same Surname

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname but have different initials , include the first author's initials in all in-text citations, even if the year of publication differs.

     (J. R. Clancey & Thorgard, 2021; M. Clancey, 2019)

If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname and the same initials , cite the works in the standard author-date format.

     (Judge, 2022; Judge & Willard, 2021)

If multiple authors within a single reference share the same surname , the initials are not needed in the in-text citations.

     (Chen & Chen, 2023)

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Need help? Email [email protected] or chat with a BVU Librarian .

In-text citation

  • Reference list
  • Artificial intelligence
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  • Conferences
  • Course materials
  • Government and business reports
  • Medicine and health sources
  • Music scores
  • Tables and figures
  • Theses and dissertations
  • Web and social media
  • Other sources
  • Print this page
  • Other styles AGLC4 APA 7th Chicago 17th (A) Notes Chicago 17th (B) Author-Date Harvard MLA 9th Vancouver
  • Referencing home

The APA 7th style uses in-text citations when referring to or quoting people’s work. The essential elements of an in-text citation are the author surname/s and year.

Two types of in-text citations

1. author prominent format.

Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence.

Jones (2018) concluded that the treatment was effective in 74% of cases.

Author prominent citations are also referred to as parenthetical citations.

2. Information prominent format

Use this format if you want to emphasise the information. It cites the author’s name, typically at the end of a sentence.

...as evidenced by a recent Australian study of the treatment's effectiveness (Jones, 2018).

Information prominent citations are also referred to as narrative citations.

The following examples show how to form in-text citations according to number of authors and other considerations.

Surname, Year

Hawkins (2020) reported that the results of the study were inconclusive.

. . . the results of the study were inconclusive (Hawkins, 2020).

Two authors

Both surnames in the order listed on the publication and the year.

For author prominent citations, use “and” between the author names.

For information prominent citations, & between the author names.

Bovey and Hede (2013) argue that . . .

. . . is a significant factor (Bovey & Hede, 2013).

Three or more authors

Cite the first author followed by et al. and year

Robbins et al. (2017) note that leadership empathy and good communication are key to negotiating successful organisational change.

They may be required to work harder now there are … perform the same tasks (Robbins et al., 2017).

Different authors, same surname

When two or more authors have the same surname, add their initials to distinguish between them

P. R. Smith (1945) adopted a unique approach . . . . . . later in the text . . . This idea was first advanced by S. Smith (1935).

Research conducted by W.O. Brown and Jones (1985) was influenced by the work of S.A. Brown and Smith (1961).

The corresponding information prominent citations would be:

(P.R. Smith, 1945)

(S. Smith, 1935)

(W.O. Brown & Jones, 1985)

(S.A. Brown & Smith, 1961)

Multiple authors, ambiguous citations

Distinguish identical multiple-author citations with the same year by adding an additional surname, followed by a comma and et al.

Instead of just Brown et al. (1998), add additional author surnames to distinguish between separate works that Brown co-authored that year:

Brown, Shimamura, et al. (1998)

Brown, Taylor, et al. (1998).

The corresponding information prominent citations would be (Brown, Shimamura, et al., 1998), and (Brown, Taylor, et al., 1998).

  • For further guidance see the APA Style website - Citing multiple works…

Same author, two or more works

Author surname, then years separated by a commas, in chronological order.

Reimer (2017, 2018, 2019) considered this phenomenon across various studies . . .

. . . this phenomenon was considered across various studies (Reimer, 2017, 2018, 2019).

Same author, multiple works and same year

Assign a suffix of a, b, c, d, etc. after the year, according to alphabetical listing by title in the reference list.

Stairs (1992b) examined . . . . . . later in the text . . . According to Stairs (1992a) . . .

. . . was recently considered (Stairs, 1992b) . . . . . . later in the text . . . . . . the results were inconclusive (Stairs, 1992a).

  • For multiple references by the same author with no date, after n.d. add a hyphen and then the suffix e.g. (Dreshcke n.d.-b)

Multiple works from various authors

You may want to cite works from various authors to more strongly support a particular point you are making.

List each work alphabetically by surname in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons.

. . . as proposed by various researchers (Adams et al., 2020; Green, 2019; Hall & Clark, 2021).

Green (2019), Adams et al. (2020), and Hall and Clark (2021) analysed . . .

  • In the author prominent citation there is no requirement to order the citations alphabetically

If the author is identified as 'Anonymous'

Use 'Anonymous' as the surname.

Anonymous (2019)

(Anonymous, 2019)

Unknown author

Give the first few words of the title. If the title is from an article or a chapter, use double quotation marks. If the title is from a periodical, book brochure, or report, then use italics.

. . . the worst election loss in the party's history ("This is the end," 1968).

Corporate or group author

If the organisation has a recognisable abbreviation

First listing: Organisation name [Abbreviation], Year Subsequent: Abbreviation, Year

Where the organisation abbreviation is not widely known

Use the name in full every time

Census data gives valuable insights into... (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2021).

Australia's next census will be held on 10th August 2021 (ABS, 2021).

Author quoted directly

Occasionally it may be necessary to include in your work a quotation from an author.

Always include a page number when you have to cite directly from a source.

If no page numbers are available (e.g. in a website), include a paragraph number.

Use accepted abbreviations like p. for page and para. for paragraph

Gittins (2006) suggests that "the key to understanding microeconomics is to realise that its overwhelming focus is on the role of price" (p. 18).

Weston (1988) stated "the darkest days were still ahead" (p. 45).

A patient is in pain when they tell you and "it is important to believe the patient so as to build a trusting relationship" (Phipps et al., 1983, p.45).

Personal communications

Private letters, e-mail and conversations require only an in-text citation, which includes the date of the communication (Month DD, YYYY).

Personal communications are not included in reference lists, as they are not accessible to others.

R. Smith (personal communication, January 28, 2020) . . .

. . . (R. Smith, personal communication, January 28, 2020)

Author referred to in a secondary source

The original author is cited together with the secondary author.

Only do this when the original is unavailable and only include what you have actually read.

Farrow (1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988) . . .

Ward and Decan (1988) cited Farrow (1968) as finding . . .

. . . (Farrow, 1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988).

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APA Citation Style, 6th Edition: Three to Five Authors/Editors

  • One Author/Editor
  • Two Authors/Editors
  • Three to Five Authors/Editors
  • Chapter in a Book
  • Edition Other Than the First
  • Electronic Books
  • Journal Article with One Author
  • Journal Article with Two Authors
  • Journal Article with Three to Six Authors
  • Journal Article with Seven or More Authors
  • Government Publication
  • Magazine Articles
  • Newspaper Article
  • Reference List

Books with Three to Five Authors

(this libguide is for apa 6th edition, click   here   to visit our new   apa 7th edition libguide ).

The formatting guidelines below refer to books with three authors. If the book has four or five authors, you would follow this format and add the fourth and fifth author's after the third.

General Format:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author's Last Name, Author's Last Name, & Author's Last Name, year)

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Author's Last Name, Author's Last Name, & Author's Last Name, year, page number)

References:

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year).  Book title: Subtitle.  Location of publication: Publisher.

In-text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Ledlow, Manrodt, & Schott, 2017)

Note: In the first in-text citation, include all of the three to five author's last names. After the first in-text citation, all subsequent in-text citations include the first author's last name, et al., and the year. For example: (Ledlow et al., 2017). See table below for more information.

In-text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Ledlow, Manrodt,  & Schott, 2017, p. 52)

Ledlow, G. R., Manrodt, K. B., & Schott, D. (2017).  Health care supply chain management: Elements, operations, and strategies.  Burlington, MA: Bartlett & Jones Learning.

Books with Three to Five Editors

The formatting guidelines below refer to books with three editors. If the book has four or five editors, you would follow this format and add the fourth and fifth editor's name after the third.

(Editor's Last Name, Editor's Last Name, & Editor's Last Name, year)

(Editor's Last Name, Editor's Last Name, & Editor's Last Name, year, page number)

Editor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., Editor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial., & Editor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Eds.). (Year).  Book title: Subtitle.  Location of publication: Publisher.

(Blumenthal, Diclemente,  Braithwaite & Smith, 2013)

Note:  In the first in-text citation, include all of the three to five editor's last names. After the first in-text citation, all subsequent in-text citations include the first editor's last name, et al., and the year. For example: (Blumenthal et al., 2013). See table below for more information.

(Blumenthal, Diclemente, Braithwaite, & Smith, 2013, p. 52)

Blumenthal, D. S., Diclemente, R.J., Braithwaite, D., & Smith, S.A. (Eds.). (2013).  Community-based participatory health research : Issues, methods, and translation to practice.  New York: Springer Pub.

More than Five Authors or Editors?

If you are looking to cite a book with more than five authors or editors, follow the same format as three to five authors/editors. The only difference is with in-text citations. Even in your first in-text citation, you can shorten to the last name of the first author followed by et al., and the year. For example: Rodgers, Chung, Hightower, Collins, Long, Carr, & Thomas (2016) would be (Rodgers et al., 2016) starting with the first in-text citation. See the table below for more information or page 177 of the APA Manual, 6th Edition.

Citing References in Text

Carrie forbes, mls.

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Page References

Citation information has been adapted from the APA Manual (6th Edition). Please refer to pages 176-177 and 184 of the APA Manual (6th Edition) for more information.

Helpful Tips

-If two or more references of three or more authors/editors and publication year short to the same in-text citation, cite as many last names as needed to differentiate them. Example from p.175 of APA Manual: both Ireys, Chernoff, DeVet, & Kim, 2001 and Ireys, Chernoff, Stein, DeVet, & Silver, 2001 shorten to (Ireys et al., 2001). Instead, use Ireys, Chernoff, DeVet, et al. (2001) and Ireys, Chernoff, Stein, et al. (2001) respectively. Please refer to page 175 of the APA Manual, 6th Edition for more in depth information.

-Be mindful of hyphenated names, particularly hyphenated first names in your reference list. If an author or editor has a hyphenated first name, include first initials for both separated by a hyphen. For example: Lamour, J.-B. for Jean-Baptiste Lamour.

-If your reference list includes publications by two or more authors with the same last name, you should include the first initial in all in-text citations in order to help the reader avoid confusion.

-Suffixes like "Jr." or "III" are not included in in-text citations but are included in the reference list.

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Apa quick citation guide.

  • In-text Citation
  • Citing Generative AI
  • Citing Web Pages and Social Media
  • Citing Articles
  • Citing Books
  • Citing Business Reports
  • Other Formats
  • APA Style Quiz

Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers , use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1). More information on direct quotation of sources without pagination is given on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech.   Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development , 23 (4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004).  Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech  (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of an author.

For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). For more information on citations for sources with no date or other missing information see the page on missing reference information on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page. 

Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).

Reference entry

Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html

Web page with organizational author:

More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).

World Health Organization. (2018, March 22).  Depression . https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

Web page with no date:

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaste r. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015) Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note:  For direct quotations of more than 40 words , display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation .

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three or more authors:   (Tremblay et al., 2010)

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APA Citation Guide, 7th edition: Three to Five Authors or Editors

  • General Style Guidelines
  • One Author or Editor
  • Two Authors or Editors
  • Three to Five Authors or Editors
  • Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
  • Article in a Reference Book
  • E-Books, not from a Database
  • Edition other than the First
  • Translation
  • Government Publication
  • Journal Article with One Author
  • Journal Article with 2 Authors
  • Journal Article with 3-20 Authors
  • Journal Article 21 or more Authors
  • Magazine Article
  • Newspaper Article
  • Basic Web Page
  • Web page from a University site
  • Web Page with No Author
  • Entry in a Reference Work
  • Government Document
  • Online Press Release
  • Motion Picture
  • Youtube Video
  • Audio Podcast Episode
  • Music Recording
  • TikTok Video
  • Electronic Image
  • Lecture/PPT
  • Classical Works
  • Secondary Sources
  • Avoiding Plagiarism

About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).

Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the manual.

Book with Three to Five Authors or Editors (pp. 286, 321-322)

how to cite 3 authors in text apa

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APA (7th Edition) Referencing Guide

  • Information for EndNote Users
  • Authors - Numbers, Rules and Formatting

Everything must match!

Types of citations, in-text citations, quoting, summarising and paraphrasing, example text with in-text referencing, slightly tricky in-text citations, organisation as an author, secondary citation (works referred to in other works).

  • Reference List
  • Books & eBooks
  • Book chapters
  • Journal Articles
  • Conference Papers
  • Newspaper Articles
  • Web Pages & Documents
  • Specialised Health Databases
  • Using Visual Works in Assignments & Class Presentations
  • Using Visual Works in Theses and Publications
  • Using Tables in Assignments & Class Presentations
  • Custom Textbooks & Books of Readings
  • ABS AND AIHW
  • Videos (YouTube), Podcasts & Webinars
  • Blog Posts and Social Media
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  • Personal Communication
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  • Film / TV / DVD
  • AI software
  • APA Format for Assignments
  • What If...?
  • Other Guides

Coins showing Heads and Tails

There are two basic ways to cite someone's work in text.

In narrative citations , the authors are part of the sentence - you are referring to them by name. For example:

Becker (2013) defined gamification as giving the mechanics of principles of a game to other activities.

Cho and Castañeda (2019) noted that game-like activities are frequently used in language classes that adopt mobile and computer technologies.

In parenthetical citations , the authors are not mentioned in the sentence, just the content of their work. Place the citation at the end of the sentence or clause where you have used their information. The author's names are placed in the brackets (parentheses) with the rest of the citation details:

Gamification involves giving the mechanics or principles of a game to another activity (Becker, 2013).

Increasingly, game-like activities are frequently used in language classes that adopt mobile and computer technologies (Cho & Castañeda, 2019).

Using references in text

For APA, you use the authors' surnames only and the year in text. If you are using a direct quote, you will also need to use a page number.

Narrative citations:

If an in-text citation has the authors' names as part of the sentence (that is, outside of brackets) place the year and page numbers in brackets immediately after the name, and use 'and' between the authors' names:  Jones and Smith (2020, p. 29)

Parenthetical citations:

If an in-text citation has the authors' names in brackets use "&" between the authors' names :  (Jones & Smith, 2020, p. 29).

Note: Some lecturers want page numbers for all citations, while some only want page numbers with direct quotes. Check with your lecturer to see what you need to do for your assignment. If the direct quote starts on one page and finishes on another, include the page range (Jones & Smith, 2020, pp. 29-30).

1 author

Smith (2020) found that "the mice disappeared within minutes" (p. 29).

The author stated "the mice disappeared within minutes" (Smith, 2020, p. 29).

Jones and Smith (2020) found that "the mice disappeared within minutes" (p. 29).

The authors stated "the mice disappeared within minutes" (Jones & Smith, 2020, p. 29).

For 3 or more authors , use the first author and "et al." for all in-text citations

Green et al.'s (2019) findings indicated that the intervention was not based on evidence from clinical trials.

It appears the intervention was not based on evidence from clinical trials (Green et al., 2019).

If you cite more than one work in the same set of brackets in text , your citations will go in the same order in which they will appear in your reference list (i.e. alphabetical order, then oldest to newest for works by the same author) and be separated by a semi-colon. E.g.:

  • (Corbin, 2015; James & Waterson, 2017; Smith et al., 2016).
  • (Corbin, 2015; 2018)
  • (Queensland Health, 2017a; 2017b)
  • Use only the   surnames   of your authors   in text   (e.g., Smith & Brown, 2014) - however, if you have two authors with the same surname who have published in the same year, then you will need to use their initials to distinguish between the two of them (e.g., K. Smith, 2014; N. Smith, 2014).   Otherwise, do not use initials in text .

If your author isn't an "author".

Whoever is in the "author" position of the refence in the references list is treated like an author in text. So, for example, if you had an edited book and the editors of the book were in the "author" position at the beginning of the reference, you would treat them exactly the same way as you would an author - do not include any other information. The same applies for works where the "author" is an illustrator, producer, composer, etc.

  • Summarising
  • Paraphrasing

how to cite 3 authors in text apa

It is always a good idea to keep direct quotes to a minimum. Quoting doesn't showcase your writing ability - all it shows is that you can read (plus, lecturers hate reading assignments with a lot of quotes).

You should only use direct quotes if the exact wording is important , otherwise it is better to paraphrase.

If you feel a direct quote is appropriate, try to keep only the most important part of the quote and avoid letting it take up the entire sentence - always start or end the sentence with your own words to tie the quote back into your assignment. Long quotes (more than 40 words) are called "block quotes" and are rarely used in most subject areas (they mostly belong in Literature, History or similar subjects). Each referencing style has rules for setting out a block quote. Check with your style guide .

It has been observed that "pink fairy armadillos seem to be extremely susceptible to stress" (Superina, 2011, p. 6).

NB! Most referencing styles will require a page number to tell readers where to find the original quote.

how to cite 3 authors in text apa

It is a type of paraphrasing, and you will be using this frequently in your assignments, but note that summarising another person's work or argument isn't showing how you make connections or understand implications. This is preferred to quoting, but where possible try to go beyond simply summarising another person's information without "adding value".

And, remember, the words must be your own words . If you use the exact wording from the original at any time, those words must be treated as a direct quote.

All information must be cited, even if it is in your own words.

Superina (2011) observed a captive pink fairy armadillo, and noticed any variation in its environment could cause great stress.

NB! Some lecturers and citation styles want page numbers for everything you cite, others only want page numbers for direct quotes. Check with your lecturer.

how to cite 3 authors in text apa

Paraphrasing often involves commenting about the information at the same time, and this is where you can really show your understanding of the topic. You should try to do this within every paragraph in the body of your assignment.

When paraphrasing, it is important to remember that using a thesaurus to change every other word isn't really paraphrasing. It's patchwriting , and it's a kind of plagiarism (as you are not creating original work).

Use your own voice! You sound like you when you write - you have a distinctive style that is all your own, and when your "tone" suddenly changes for a section of your assignment, it looks highly suspicious. Your lecturer starts to wonder if you really wrote that part yourself. Make sure you have genuinely thought about how *you* would write this information, and that the paraphrasing really is in your own words.

Always cite your sources! Even if you have drawn from three different papers to write this one sentence, which is completely in your own words, you still have to cite your sources for that sentence (oh, and excellent work, by the way).

Captive pink fairy armadillos do not respond well to changes in their environment and can be easily stressed (Superina, 2011).

NB! Some lecturers and citation styles want page numbers for all citations, others only want them for direct quotes. Check with your lecturer.

This example paragraph contains mouse-over text. Run your mouse over the paragraph to see notes on formatting.

Excerpt from "The Big Fake Essay"

You can read the entire Big Fake Essay on the Writing Guide. It includes more details about academic writing and the formatting of essays.

  • The Big Fake Essay
  • Academic Writing Workshop

When you have multiple authors with the same surname who published in the same year:

If your authors have different initials, then include the initials:

As A. Smith (2016) noted...

...which was confirmed by J.G. Smith's (2016) study.

(A. Smith, 2016; J. G. Smith, 2016).

If your authors have the same initials, then include the name:

As Adam Smith noted...

...which was confirmed by Amy Smith's (2016) study.

(Adam Smith, 2016; Amy Smith, 2016).

Note: In your reference list, you would include the author's first name in [square brackets] after their initials:

Smith, A. [Adam]. (2016)...

Smith, A. [Amy]. (2016)...

When you have multiple works by the same author in the same year:

In your reference list, you will have arranged the works alphabetically by title (see the page on Reference Lists for more information). This decides which reference is "a", "b", "c", and so on. You cite them in text accordingly:

Asthma is the most common disease affecting the Queensland population (Queensland Health, 2017b). However, many people do not know how to manage their asthma symptoms (Queensland Health, 2017a).

When you have multiple works by the same author in different years:

Asthma is the most common disease affecting the Queensland population (Queensland Health, 2017, 2018). 

When you do not have an author, and your reference list entry begins with the title:

Use the title in place of the author's name, and place it in "quotation marks" if it is the title of an article or book chapter, or in italics if the title would go in italics in your reference list:

During the 2017 presidential inauguration, there were some moments of awkwardness ("Mrs. Obama Says ‘Lovely Frame’", 2018).

Note: You do not need to use the entire title, but a reasonable portion so that it does not end too abruptly - "Mrs. Obama Says" would be too abrupt, but the full title "Mrs. Obama Says 'Lovely Frame' in Box During Awkward Handoff" is unecessarily long. You should also use title case for titles when referring to them in the text of your work.

If there are no page numbers, you can include any of the following in the in-text citation:

  • "On Australia Day 1938 William Cooper ... joined forces with Jack Patten and William Ferguson ... to hold a Day of Mourning to draw attention to the losses suffered by Aboriginal people at the hands of the whiteman" (National Museum of Australia, n.d., para. 4).
  • "in 1957 news of a report by the Western Australian government provided the catalyst for a reform movement" (National Museum of Australia, n.d., The catalyst for change section, para. 1)
  • "By the end of this year of intense activity over 100,000 signatures had been collected" (National Museum of Australia, n.d., "petition gathering", para. 1).

When you are citing a classical work, like the Bible or the Quran:

References to works of scripture or other classical works are treated differently to regular citations. See the APA Blog's entry for more details:

Happy Holiday Citing: Citation of Classical Works . (Please note, this document is from the 6th edition of APA).

In text citation:

If the name of the organisation first appears in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation before the year in brackets, separated with a comma. Use the official acronym/abreviation if you can find it. Otherwise check with your lecturer for permission to create your own acronyms.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2013) shows that...

The Queensland Department of Education (DoE, 2020) encourages students to... (please note, Queensland isn't part of the department's name, it is used in the sentence to provide clarity)

If the name of the organisation first appears in a citation in brackets, include the abbreviation in square brackets.

(Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2013)

(Department of Education [DoE], 2020)

In the second and subsequent citations, only include the abbreviation or acronym

ABS  (2013) found that ...

DoE (2020) instructs teachers to...

This is disputed ( ABS , 2013).

Resources are designed to support "emotional learning pedagogy" (DoE, 2020)

In the reference list:

Use the full name of the organisation in the reference list.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017).  Australia's welfare 2017 . https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2017/contents/table-of-contents

Department of Education. (2020, April 22). Respectful relationships education program . Queensland Government. https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/stages-of-schooling/respectful-relationships

Academically, it is better to find the original source and reference that.

If you do have to quote a secondary source:

  • In the text you must cite the original author of the quote and the year the original quote was written as well as the source you read it in. If you do not know the year the original citation was written, omit the year.
  • In the reference list you only list the source that you actually read.

Wembley (1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999) argues that impending fuel shortages ...

Wembley claimed that "fuel shortages are likely" (1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999, pp. 10-12).

Some have noted that fuel shortages are probable in the future (Wembley, 1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999).

Olsen, M. (1999).  My career.  Gallimard.

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Book with Three or More Authors or Editors

The general format below refers to a book with three or more authors.

If you are dealing with a book that has three to five editors instead of authors, you would simply insert the names of the editors into the place where the authors' names are now, followed by "(Eds.)" without the quotation marks (as per the example). The rest of the format would remain the same.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname et al., Year)

NOTE: The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is shortened to the first author's name followed by et al. and the year.

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Author Surname et al., Year, page number)

References:

Surnames and initials for  up to twenty authors  should be provided in the reference list.  For more than 20 authors, list the first 19, followed by an ellipses, then list the final author.

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle . Publisher.

(Johnson et al., 1999)

(Johnson  et al., 1999, p. 72)

Johnson, N. G., Roberts, M. C., & Worell, J. (Eds.). (1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls . American Psychological Association.

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In-text citations

In-text citation examples, personal communications.

  • Articles from Journals, Magazines and Newspapers
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A parenthetical citation includes the last name(s) of the author(s) followed by a comma and the page number(s). The parenthetical citation can be at the end of a sentence or may be in the middle of a sentence if needed to be clear on what is being cited.

A company should always do what is right regardless of the consequences, but doing the right thing tends to result in the best outcomes (Dunn, 2016).

Because doing the right thing is always the best choice (Dunn, 2016), corporate leaders must carefully develop a strong ethical compass.

A narrative citation is used when the author’s name is part of the text. In these cases, the author’s name does not need to be repeated in the parenthetical reference.

Dunn (2016) asserts the view that though a company should do what is right regardless of the potential consequences, ethical actions often produce the best possible outcomes for all (p. 22).

For more on in-text citations of a paraphrase, see opens new window https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing

When quoting a source directly, page numbers are used to indicate the location of the quoted text. Though page numbers are not required for a paraphrase, it may be helpful to include page numbers to indicate the location of the paraphrased text. If the source has no page numbers, other location indicators, such as paragraph or section numbers may be used.

“Fundraising is an art and a science” (Garry, 2017, p. 99).

It is hard to predict how donors will respond to an appeal, but in time fundraisers learn to trust their intuition regarding the best approach (Garry, 2017, p. 99).

For more on citing quotations, See opens new window https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/quotations

Personal communications are sources that can not be recovered or accessed by the reader because they are not published. This includes emails, texts, conversations (in person, by phone or video conference, etc.), online chats, interviews, classroom lectures, memos, letters, etc. If the information is not available from any recoverable (published) source, it can be cited as a personal communication. Because the reader can not access the information in personal communications, they will not be included in the reference list, but cited in the text only.

In an interview, Benjamin Colby (personal communication, July 25, 2015) mentioned . . . .

A. J. Montoya (personal communication, February 4, 2020) emailed detailed financials to the research team . . . .

In a lecture on November 1, 2021, to a BUS 326 class, Dr. Dash said . . . .

More information is available on the APA Style website .

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  • Last Updated: Jan 26, 2024 10:32 AM
  • URL: https://library.oru.edu/APA

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  • The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples

The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples

Published on March 14, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 23, 2022.

An in-text citation is a short acknowledgement you include whenever you quote or take information from a source in academic writing. It points the reader to the source so they can see where you got your information.

In-text citations most commonly take the form of short parenthetical statements indicating the author and publication year of the source, as well as the page number if relevant.

We also offer a free citation generator and in-depth guides to the main citation styles.

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Table of contents

What are in-text citations for, when do you need an in-text citation, types of in-text citation, frequently asked questions about in-text citations.

The point of an in-text citation is to show your reader where your information comes from. Including citations:

  • Avoids plagiarism by acknowledging the original author’s contribution
  • Allows readers to verify your claims and do follow-up research
  • Shows you are engaging with the literature of your field

Academic writing is seen as an ongoing conversation among scholars, both within and between fields of study. Showing exactly how your own research draws on and interacts with existing sources is essential to keeping this conversation going.

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The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

  • Missing commas and periods
  • Incorrect usage of “et al.”
  • Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
  • Missing reference entries

how to cite 3 authors in text apa

An in-text citation should be included whenever you quote or paraphrase a source in your text.

Quoting means including the original author’s words directly in your text, usually introduced by a signal phrase . Quotes should always be cited (and indicated with quotation marks), and you should include a page number indicating where in the source the quote can be found.

Paraphrasing means putting information from a source into your own words. In-text citations are just as important here as with quotes, to avoid the impression you’re taking credit for someone else’s ideas. Include page numbers where possible, to show where the information can be found.

However, to avoid over-citation, bear in mind that some information is considered common knowledge and doesn’t need to be cited. For example, you don’t need a citation to prove that Paris is the capital city of France, and including one would be distracting.

Different types of in-text citation are used in different citation styles . They always direct the reader to a reference list giving more complete information on each source.

Author-date citations (used in APA , Harvard , and Chicago author-date ) include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and a page number when available. Author-page citations (used in MLA ) are the same except that the year is not included.

Both types are divided into parenthetical and narrative citations. In a parenthetical citation , the author’s name appears in parentheses along with the rest of the information. In a narrative citation , the author’s name appears as part of your sentence, not in parentheses.

Note: Footnote citations like those used in Chicago notes and bibliography are sometimes also referred to as in-text citations, but the citation itself appears in a note separate from the text.

An in-text citation is an acknowledgement you include in your text whenever you quote or paraphrase a source. It usually gives the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number of the relevant text. In-text citations allow the reader to look up the full source information in your reference list and see your sources for themselves.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

  • APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
  • MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
  • Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
  • Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, August 23). The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/in-text-citation-styles/

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APA Style (7th ed.): Citation Guide

  • Getting Started with APA

Formatting a Paper in APA

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  • Citing Sources in APA
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  • Paper Formatting
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APA Basic Formatting Rules for Student Papers

The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the  APA Publication Manual  7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.

  • clearly legible, regular-sized font
  • recommendations: 12pt Times New Roman, 11pt Arial, 11pt Calibri, 10pt Lucida Sans Unicode, 11pt Georgia
  • double spaced throughout all parts of the paper including title, headings, and footnotes
  • 1-inch margins on all sides
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2-inch (tab)
  • left-justified for the body of the paper

Running Head & Page Numbers:

  • not required to include shortened version of the title for student papers- unless requested by your instructor
  • include the page number in the top right corner of all pages

APA Title Page for Student Papers

Page number:.

  • include the page number in the top right margin. (It will be 1 for the Title Page. Continue numbering throughout the paper and References page.)

Heading about a 1/3 of the way down the page:

  • Paper Title : bold, centered
  • Author : your name
  • Institutional Affiliation : Lone Star College- Online
  • Course : your course number and the name of the course (ex. PSYC 2301: General Psychology)
  • Instructor : your instructor's name (ex- Prof. Jane Smith)
  • Due Date:  Month day, year format (ex- January 1, 2024)

APA Headings within the Body of the Paper

Paper title:.

  • include on the first line of the first page of the body of your paper
  • bold and centered

Headings and Sub-headings (use when needed)

  • APA uses a hierarchy of five levels for headings within the paper
  • short paper may not need headings at all

References Page Formatting

The following guidelines are the basic formatting rules outlined in the APA Publication Manual  7th edition. If your instructor sets different requirements, always use your instructor's guidelines first.

  • needs to start on a new page following the end of your paper
  • include the title References centered on the first line of the page
  • everything after the title is left-justified
  • listed in alphabetical order by the first part of the citation (usually the author)
  • double spaced throughout all parts
  • Each citation should have a hanging indent- or it should start at the left margin and then have all lines after it indented by 1/2-inch

Click on the information circles for tips on how to use Microsoft Word to format your paper in APA Style.

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In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).

Note:  This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .

APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

Citing an Author or Authors

A Work by Two Authors: Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Six or More Authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks. APA style calls for capitalizing important words in titles when they are written in the text (but not when they are written in reference lists).

Note : In the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works from the same author, list the years of publication in sequence, with the earliest first. Provide in-press citations last. Only list authors' surnames once for each list of dates. 

Following this pattern, multiple works from multiple authors can be contained within a single parenthetical. Separate authors' sources with a semicolon. Note, however, that the authors' names should be provided in the order they appear in the reference list regardless of when their sources were published.

Authors With the Same Last Name: To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year: If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords: When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

(Funk & Kolln, 1992)

Personal Communication: For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

Citing Indirect Sources

If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses.

Note: When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above. Also, try to locate the original material and cite the original source.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading. Note that in some electronic sources, like webpages, people can use the "find" function in their browser to locate any passages you cite.

Note: Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination.

Other Sources

The APA Publication Manual describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the manual does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of APA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard APA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite. For example, a sensible way to cite a virtual reality program would be to mimic the APA's guidelines for ordinary computer software .

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the APA Manual . In cases like this, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

IMAGES

  1. 3 Ways to Cite Multiple Authors in APA

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  2. Apa Format In Text Citation For 3 Authors

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  3. how to cite 3 authors in text apa

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  4. Apa Format In Text Citation For 3 Authors

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  5. Book chapters

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  6. APA Reference Page Examples and Format Guide

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  1. APA Practice Exercise: Placing APA In-text Citations

  2. APA In-Text Citations

  3. Mastering APA 7th Edition: Citing Multiple Authors

  4. APA7

  5. How to Make a Reference in APA Format

  6. How do you cite multiple authors in APA?

COMMENTS

  1. In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

    In-Text Citations: Author/Authors Though the APA's author-date system for citations is fairly straightforward, author categories can vary significantly from the standard "one author, one source" configuration. There are also additional rules for citing authors of indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

  2. APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.)

    Learn how to cite multiple authors in APA in-text citations with the 7th edition guidelines. Find out how to cite no author, date, page number, or missing information in APA in-text citations. See examples of parenthetical and narrative citations, and avoid ambiguity with multiple sources.

  3. APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Three to Five Authors or Editors

    Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. Publisher. Example In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): (Johnson et al., 1999) In-Text Citation (Direct Quote): (Johnson et al., 1999, p. 72) References: Johnson, N. G., Roberts, M. C., & Worell, J. (Eds.). (1999).

  4. In-Text: Multiple Authors

    Citations in APA style include two parts: (1) in-text citations, which are connected to (2) reference list citations. This guide will help you create in-text citations that correlate with the corresponding reference list citations. Please see Reference Examples for more details on the reference list.

  5. How to cite in APA when there are multiple authors

    Parenthetical citation for three or more authors: (1st Author et al., Year Published) (Harris et al., 2020) Narrative citation for three or more authors: 1st Author et al. (Year Published) Harris et al. (2020) Here is a page with more information on when to use "et al." in APA style.

  6. Three or More Authors

    NAU Guide to APA Citations with Three or More Authors For works that have three or more authors, list the first author followed by "et al." (meaning "and others") Examples: (Connell et al., 2014) Researchers Connell et al. (2015) found . . . Quotation Narrative:

  7. Authors

    APA has strict rules for how to show the author's names in the text of your assignment and in your reference list. You need to check the number of authors you have for your work, and then format your references accordingly: 1-2 authors 3-20 authors More than 20 authors See the tabs on this box for details. Things to Note:

  8. Journal Article with Three or more Authors

    How to Create an APA 7th edition Reference for a Journal Article with 3+ Authors; Author: Date: Title (SOURCE) Periodical information (SOURCE) URL: ... In-text Citation (Paraphrase): (Lee et al., 2007) In-text Citation (Direct Quote):

  9. LibGuides: APA Citations (7th ed.): In-text Citation Author Rules

    APA has different rules for in-text citations depending on: The number of authors of a work; Whether you are citing a group author that has an abbreviation; If an author is unknown or anonymous; If more than one work has the same author and date; If multiple authors share surnames; Look to the right to find rules about each of these circumstances.

  10. In-text Citation Author Rules

    For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is italicized in the reference list, also italicize the title in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is not italicized in the reference list, use double quotation marks around the title in the in-text citation ...

  11. In-text citation

    In-text citation. The APA 7th style uses in-text citations when referring to or quoting people's work. The essential elements of an in-text citation are the author surname/s and year. Two types of in-text citations 1. Author prominent format. Use this format if you want to emphasise the author. Their name becomes part of your sentence.

  12. APA Citation Style, 6th Edition: Three to Five Authors/Editors

    The formatting guidelines below refer to books with three authors. If the book has four or five authors, you would follow this format and add the fourth and fifth author's after the third. General Format: In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): (Author's Last Name, Author's Last Name, & Author's Last Name, year) In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):

  13. PDF Using "et al." in APA 7: A Quick Rundown

    Three authors, then, will use et al. a er referencing the primary author (e.g., Jackson et al. (2017) state…). According to the APA Style Manual 7. th. Edi on (Sec ons 8.10-8.36), whenever you're referring to a work with three or more authors, you should always use et al., even in the first cita on. This is a departure from previous edi ...

  14. Citing Multiple Works With Three or More Authors and the ...

    To avoid ambiguity, when the in-text citations of multiple works with three or more authors shorten to the same form, write out as many names as needed to distinguish the references, and abbreviate the rest of the names to "et al." in every citation.

  15. Library Guides: APA Quick Citation Guide: In-text Citation

    Using In-text Citation. Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list. APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005).

  16. Author-date citation system

    For a work with three or more authors, include the name of only the first author plus "et al." in every citation (even the first citation). The following table shows the basic in-text citation styles: a Define the abbreviation for a group author only once in the text, choosing either the parenthetical or the narrative format.

  17. APA Citation Guide, 7th edition: Three to Five Authors or Editors

    For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.. The following format will be used: In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue.. In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in ...

  18. Journal Article with 3 or More Authors

    (Author Surname et al., Year) In-Text Citation (Quotation): (Author Surname et al., Year, page number) References: Surnames and initials for up to twenty authors should be provided in the reference list. For more than 20 authors, list the first 19, followed by an ellipses, then list the final author. Author Surname, First Initial.

  19. In-Text Citations

    Using references in text. For APA, you use the authors' surnames only and the year in text. If you are using a direct quote, you will also need to use a page number. ... If an in-text citation has the authors' names in brackets use "&" between the authors' names : (Jones & Smith, 2020, p. 29).

  20. Three or More Authors or Editors

    General Format In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): (Author Surname et al., Year) NOTE: The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is shortened to the first author's name followed by et al. and the year. In-Text Citation (Direct Quote): (Author Surname et al., Year, page number) References:

  21. In-text citations

    From the APA Style web site: APA Style uses the author-date citation system, in which a brief in-text citation directs readers to a full reference list entry. The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication.

  22. The Basics of In-Text Citation

    Revised on August 23, 2022. An in-text citation is a short acknowledgement you include whenever you quote or take information from a source in academic writing. It points the reader to the source so they can see where you got your information. In-text citations most commonly take the form of short parenthetical statements indicating the author ...

  23. Citing multiple works

    Citing Multiple Works When citing multiple works parenthetically, place the citations in alphabetical order, separating them with semicolons. (Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Shulman, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017) Arrange two or more works by the same authors by year of publication. Place citations with no date first.

  24. Formatting a Paper in APA

    APA Basic Formatting Rules for Student Papers. ... Text begins as a new paragraph. 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading. Text begins as a new paragraph. ... listed in alphabetical order by the first part of the citation (usually the author) Spacing: double spaced throughout all parts;

  25. In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

    A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses. (Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)

  26. Citing Authors With the Same Surname

    If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname and the same initials, cite the works in the standard author-date format. Sometimes people publish under multiple names because of a name change (e.g., transgender authors, authors with a change in marital status). It is seldom relevant to note that two names refer to the same ...

  27. White paper references

    This page contains reference examples for white papers with an individual or group author. A white paper is a persuasive document that is written by a person or group to convince readers of their position and philosophy on a topic. ... which are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.4 and the ...