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APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)
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In-Text Citations
Resources on using in-text citations in APA style
Reference List
Resources on writing an APA style reference list, including citation formats
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APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Paraphrasing
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Paraphrasing
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On This Page
Paraphrasing examples.
- In-Text Citation for More Than One Author
In-Text Citation for Group or Corporate Authors
No author and/or no date.
When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:
Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt, 1993).
Note : If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:
Hunt (1993) noted that mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research after the publication of John Bowlby's studies.
Original Source
Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.
Source from:
Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology , 139, 469-480.
Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing
The homeless come from families with problems. Frequently, they have been physically or sexually abused, or have lived in group homes. Usually no one cares for them or knows them intimately (Rokach, 2005).
Note : In this incorrect example the writing is too similar to the original source. The student only changed or removed a few words and has not phrased the ideas in a new way.
Example: Correct Paraphrasing
Many homeless experience isolation in part due to suffering from abuse or neglect during their childhood (Rokach, 2005).
Note : The example keeps the idea of the original writing but phrases it in a new way.
In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors
No Known Author:
Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.
If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.
If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.
Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).
( Cell Biology , 2012, p. 157)
("Nursing," 2011, p. 9)
No Known Date of Publication :
Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".
(Smith, n.d., p. 200)
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APA Style (7th ed.)
- Paper Formatting in APA 7
- Position of the citation
- Secondary Referencing
- Date of Publication
- Page numbers
- Citing Sources Multiple Times
- Citing from Web pages
- Paraphrasing and Summarising
Paraphrasing
Summarising.
- Examples of References in APA (7th ed.) style
- APA Reference Examples A-Z
- Citation Tools and Software
- Comparison of APA 6th and 7th eds
To paraphrase is to communicate the author’s work in your own words and to acknowledge the source:
- Used to rewrite text in your own words
- Used to clarify meaning
- Used to shorten a longer statement, but keep the main ideas
- Giving credit to the original author of the idea
Elements of a good paraphrase:
Change the structure of the original passage
Change the words
Give a citation / reference
To summarise is to describe broadly the findings of a study without directly quoting from it. Summarising involves repeating the main ideas of a passage in your own words. A summary concentrates on the important points rather than the details.
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APA 7th referencing guide: Paraphrasing
- Referencing and APA style
- How to cite sources within the text
- How to reference sources in your reference list
- Paraphrasing
- Using the style with EndNote software
- More information
About paraphrasing
Most pieces of writing you do at university will expect you to refer to other sources as evidence to support and justify the point that you make. The key way to use sources in your writing is to paraphrase their ideas. Paraphrasing is using another person’s ideas but putting them into your own words and showing your interpretation of these ideas. It is not just changing a few words in a sentence from the original text, and it must still have a citation with the author’s surname or organisation’s name plus the year it was published. You do not have to include a page number unless you are paraphrasing or summarising an idea from a particular page.
Callanan, G. A. & Tomkowicz, S. M. (2011). Legal yes, ethical no: using the case of debit card overdraft fees as a business ethics teaching tool. Journal of the Academy of Business Education , 12, 85-100.
Idea in the source which you want to paraphrase:-
This simultaneous attention to profit maximization on the one hand and the ethical expectations of society on the other creates a conflict that organizations confront on a daily basis. In this sense, organizations are pulled in two different directions; actions that allow for profit maximization, even if they are legal, could be questionable from an ethics standpoint and thereby fail to satisfy the expectations of society (pp. 85-86).
Unacceptable paraphrase i.e. plagiarism:-
This immediate consideration to profit maximization on the one hand and the moral expectations of society on the other creates a struggle that organizations confront on a regular basis. Therefore, organizations are pulled in two different directions; activities that allow for profit expansion, even if they are lawful, could be disputed from an ethics standpoint and thereby fail to fulfil the expectations of society.
Acceptable paraphrase:-
Callanan and Tomkowicz (2011, pp. 85-86) have argued that the ethical expectations of society and the attention placed on profit maximisation create a struggle for most organisations, which they have to deal with every day; organisations are often pulled in two opposing directions, one being the actions which will maximise profit and the other being the expectations of society.
If you are unsure how to paraphrase, please speak to the Learning Development team for your faculty: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/library/learning-development/
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APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: In-Text Citations & Paraphrasing
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When do I use in-text citations?
When should you add in-text citations in your paper .
There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format.
- Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation.
- Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source, which means you need to cite NEW information OR 2) You need to cite a DIRECT quote, which includes a page number, paragraph number or Section title.
- Important to remember : You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph.
What do in-text citations look like?
In-text citation styles: , let's look at these examples if they were written in text: .
An example with 1 author:
Parenthetical citation: Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020).
Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing.
An example with 2 authors:
Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019).
Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method.
An example with 3 authors:
Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).
Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions.
An example with a group/corporate author:
Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020).
Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor.
Tips on Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020). .
Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing:
- How do I learn to paraphrase? IF you are thoroughly reading and researching articles or book chapters for a paper, you will start to take notes in your own words . Those notes are the beginning of paraphrased information.
- Read the original information, PUT IT AWAY, then rewrite the ideas in your own words . This is hard to do at first, it takes practice, but this is how you start to paraphrase.
- It's usually better to paraphrase, than to use too many direct quotes.
- When you start to paraphrase, cite your source.
- Make sure not to use language that is TOO close to the original, so that you are not committing plagiarism.
- Use theasaurus.com to help you come up with like/similar phrases if you are struggling.
- Paraphrasing (vs. using direct quotes) is important because it shows that YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND the information you are reading.
- Paraphrasing ALLOWS YOUR VOICE to be prevalent in your writing.
- The best time to use direct quotes is when you need to give an exact definition, provide specific evidence, or if you need to use the original writer's terminology.
- BEST PRACTICE PER PARAGRAPH: On your 1st paraphrase of a source, CITE IT. There is no need to add another in-text citation until you use a different source, OR, until you use a direct quote.
References :
Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com . https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g
Citing Direct Quotes
When should i use a direct quote in my paper .
Direct quotes should only be used occasionally:
- When you need to share an exact definition
- When you want to provide specific evidence or information that cannot be paraphrased
- When you want to use the original writer's terminology
From: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/
Definitions of direct quotes:
- Western Oregon University's APA Guidelines on Direct Quotes This is an excellent quick tutorial on how to format direct quotes in APA 7th edition. Bookmark this page for future reference!
Carrie Forbes, MLS
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