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APA 7th referencing style Examples

This is a guide to using the APA 7th referencing style from the American Psychological Association. It is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

What is a direct quotation?

A direct quotation reproduces word-for-word material taken directly from another author’s work, or from your own previously published work.

If the quotation is fewer than 40 words, incorporate it into your paragraph and enclose it in double quotation marks. Place the in-text reference before the full stop.

David Copperfield starts with "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show" (Dickens, 1869, p. 1).

If the quotation comprises 40 or more words, include it in an indented, freestanding block of text, without quotation marks. At the end of a block quotation, cite the quoted source and the page number in parentheses, after the final punctuation mark.

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously. (Dickens, 1896, p. 1)

Format of a direct quotation in-text reference

  • Include the author, year, and specific page number for that quotation.
  • For material without page numbers, give the paragraph number or a time stamp.
  • Include a complete reference in the reference list.

Examples:

(Smith, 2003, p. 105)

(Brown, 1999, pp. 49-50)

Smith (2003) has argued that "......" (p. 105)

As Brown (1999) found "......" (pp. 49-50) 

(Anderson, 2019, 2:17)

Anderson (2019) noted that "...." (2:17)

Placement of a direct quotation in-text reference

  • If the direct quote is part of a sentence, place the in-text reference directly after the quote and continue with the sentence. For example:-

Mindfulness has a range of meanings as it "has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (Crane, 2017, p. 586) and can encompass....

As Crane (2017) said, "Mindfulness has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (p. 586) and can encompass....

  • If the direct quote is at the end of a sentence, include the in-text reference directly after the quote and end with a full stop.

"Mindfulness has become a trend word conveying a diversity of understandings dependent on context" (Crane, 2017, p. 586).

Quoting audiovisual works

  • Add a time stamp in place of a page number when quoting from audiovisual works such as videos, songs, TV shows.

Example:

(Yates, 2019, 1:14)

(Henderson, 2017, 2:30:14)

Works without a page number

For works without a page number, you can add:-

  • paragraph number (manually count if not listed) eg. (Kennedy, 2019, para.8)
  • heading or section name eg. (Harris, 2018, Behaviour Therapy section)
  • act, scene and line(s) for plays eg. (Wilde, 1895/1997, 1.1.6-8) (means Act 1.Scene 1.Line(s) 6-8)
  • canonically numbered sections for religious or classical works eg. (Genesis 15:6) (include book, chapter, verse, line or canto in place of page number)