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📚 Research Papers & Citations · Lesson 5 of 7

In-text citations

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Quoting, paraphrasing and citing in APA and MLA.

APA 7 (author–date)

Paraphrase(Walker, 2017) or Walker (2017) found…
Quote(Walker, 2017, p. 45)
Two authors(Lee & Patel, 2021)
Three or more(Kim et al., 2020)
Group author(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023), then (CDC, 2023)
No date(Author, n.d.)

MLA 9 (author–page)

Paraphrase or quote(Walker 45)
In the sentenceWalker argues that… (45).
Two authors(Lee and Patel 12)
Three or more(Kim et al. 88)
No page (website)(Walker) — just the author
No authorA short title: (“Sleep and Teens”)

Quotes

Short quotes go in quotation marks inside your sentence. Long quotes (40+ words in APA, more than 4 lines in MLA) become indented block quotes without quotation marks. Introduce every quote and explain it afterward.

What doesn’t need a citation

Common knowledge (the US has 50 states), your own ideas and your own data. When in doubt, cite — it is never wrong to give credit.

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APA citation

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Always double-check against your instructor's guidelines. Paste into Word or Google Docs and the italics come along.

✏️ Practice: your turn

  1. Write one APA and one MLA in-text citation for a source you have
  2. Paraphrase a sentence and cite it
  3. Integrate one short quote with a signal phrase and an explanation
  4. Use the generator above to check your in-text citations

✏️ APA & MLA citation generator with a saved works-cited list

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. APA in-text citation for a quote:
2. MLA in-text citation:
3. Three or more authors in APA 7:
4. Does common knowledge need a citation?

0 of 4 correct

All lessons in Research Papers & Citations

  1. ❓ 1. From topic to research questionNarrow a broad topic into a question you can answer
  2. 🔎 2. Finding scholarly sourcesLibrary databases, Google Scholar and smart search terms
  3. ⚖️ 3. Evaluating sourcesPeer review, the CRAAP test and lateral reading
  4. 🧭 4. Thesis and outlineAn arguable thesis and an outline built around it
  5. 💬 5. In-text citationsQuoting, paraphrasing and citing in APA and MLA
  6. 📋 6. References and Works CitedFormatting the list: APA 7 and MLA 9 entries, hanging indents and order
  7. ✅ 7. Formatting, revising and academic integrityPaper format, revision passes, the writing center and AI rules