March 1, 2021

Quoting articles in the APA style

Using direct quotes in an essay is a great way to back up your ideas with concrete evidence and spice up your arguments. However, if you want your essay to look professional, you can use a custom essay writing service. If you decide to write your essay yourself, then you should know how to quote correctly, no matter what style you use - MLA or APA. And remember: if you use a quote but do not mention the first author, it is considered plagiarism. In addition to the quotes provided in the essay, you will have to make a reference page at the end of your essay.

Include APA-style quotation marks

In the American Philological Association (APA) style, you must include the a uthor's name and page number when citing, just like the MLA format, but you must also include the year. In APA format, you must also use "page" before the page numbers when citing.

1. Bring short quotations.
To cite a short quote (less than 40 words) in an APA essay format, just make sure you include the author's name, year, and page number (and "Page" for it).

2. Include long quotation marks.
To quote a long APA quote, you need to paste it into a free-standing block of text. You should start a quote on a new line indented 1/2 inch from the left, and then write the quote in full with the same indentation. If the quote consists of several paragraphs, you can insert the first line of another paragraph with an additional indentation of 1.2 cm from the new margin. When quoting, stick to double the line spacing by putting the quotation in brackets after the last punctuation mark. The same rule applies to shorter quotations - you need to add the author, year, and page somewhere at the beginning or in the body of the quotation. Example:

  • A study by McKinney (2011) found the following: English school teachers who did 100 minutes of yoga every week for a month were able to build relationships with students, become more empathetic towards students and colleagues, worry less about grading and day-to-day tasks, and even reimagined the novels they taught in for years. (57-59).

3. Rephrase quotations.
 If you choose to paraphrase an APA citation, you must include the author, year of publication, and the page number you are paraphrasing.

  • McKinney believes yoga is a form of physical and mental therapy (2012, p. 99).
  • According to McKinney, yoga should become compulsory in all secondary schools (2012, p. 55).

4. Cite multiple authors.
 When inserting a quote with more than one author in an APA-style essay, you must use the ampersand ("&") to combine the names of two authors in alphabetical order. Here is an example:

  • Ultimately, it was found that "students who watch TV rather than read develop a much smaller vocabulary" (Hoffer & Grace, 2008, p. 50).

5. Bring quotes from the internet.
Whenever you get quotes from the internet, do your best to find the author's name, date, and paragraph number instead of a page. Here is an example:

  • Smith wrote in her article that "the world doesn't need another blog" (2012, paragraph 3).
  • If you don't know the author's name, use the article's title instead. If there is no date, write "n / a" in place of it. Like here:

Another study found that additional classes after school made an invaluable contribution to student development (student and tutoring, n / a).

Additional Resources:

How to Find Essay Examples in APA Format For Free

Tips on how to learn from an APA essay example

Where to Look for Well-Written Essay Examples