Q. How do I reference or cite an author cited more than once in APA style?

Did you get the name "Jane Doe" off of the movie "The Autopsy of Jane Doe"? Great explanation, by the way!

@Ripper: No, we just used it as a convenient non-specific name :)

So in the reference list would we need to cite each time we used the same author and book year? would we then add the page number or subtle of the chapter?

@Suzien: You should only list each source in your reference list once, no matter how often you cite it. With the example here, it only applies when the same author (or authors with the same last name) has multiple sources you are citing that were published in the same year. That's when you use the convention of (Doe, 2020a), (Doe, 2020b), etc. In your reference list make sure to add the letters to the years as well. The idea is to make it easy for your reader to know which in-text citation is associated with which reference list entry.

Question: If I am writing a paper and I am citing Elegy Written in a Country Courtyard (poem), should I include his name/publishing year after every time I cite a verse, or should I just do it every so often? This is the only source I am using for my paper. Thanks in advance for any help.

@Bree: If you are quoting verse then make sure to include the author, date, and page numbers for each quote. If you are paraphrasing, you do not need to recite the source so long as it is clear to your reader what source you are drawing on. Only cite again when it might be ambiguous. Section 8.1 of the APA Manual has more advice on this, if you have that handy.

Hello. I used the same author in two different paragraphs. In the first paragraph the first author (Osterburg) had two other co-authors and no date was mentioned and in the 2nd paragraph, the same first author (Osterburg) was the sole author and the source was a different article on a different platform and a date was mentioned. How do I cite in-text and on the reference page? Thank you in advance.

@Joyce: You would treat them as two separate sources in both in-text citations and your reference list. For in-text, the last name goes in the paragraph with the date: (Osterburg, 2021). If you are directly quoting, you will need the page numbers: (Osterburg, 2021, P. 42) or (Osterburg, 2021, pp. 42-43) if the quote is on more than one page. On the reference list, you list both source separately. APA reference lists are alphabetical, so you would like the article where Osterburg was the single author first. You can find more info on APA citations at our APA Citation guide: http://libweb1.library.wwu.edu/elearning/documents/APAquickguide_july2020.pdf

Hi. I used the same author and work for 3 consecutive paraphrased sentences. Do I still have to end each sentence with (Author, Year)? Or can I cite the last 2 sentences with (Year) because they are all from the same work? In another part of my paper, within one paragraph, I paraphrased 3 sentences from the same author and work but the sentences in between are from me. Do I have to end each paraphrased sentence with (Author, Year)? Or could I cite the last 2 paraphrased sentences with (Year) because I haven't switched to another work?

@Mi: Only cite it in the first sentence where you are drawing upon the work. According to the APA 7th edition, on page 254, "it is considered overcitation to repeat the same citation in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed." So generally, as long as the reader can tell which source you are drawing on or responding to, you don't need to keep adding citations.

Hi, I'm using the same exact source for two different quotes in two totally different areas of a thesis.(page 23 and then 46) How do I in-text cite it? AND how do I list it in the reference list? Thank you!

@karn, It sounds like in your situation you should do a complete in-text citation each time, with author, date, and page number where you got the quote for each usage. They are far enough apart that you'll need to do that for your reader. With your reference list you only need to cite it once, unless you have separate reference lists for each section.

Hi! I am writing a summary for an article and I have used around 3 in-text citations for the same author and the same publication.. Should I reference them 3 distinct times in my reference list like you suggested with the letters a,b,c or should I just reference one time?

@Melissa: If it is the same publication, then you should cite it in your reference list only once. Also, please note that the convention using the a, b, c, etc. should only be used when it is the same author(s) and year, but different publications. For the same source used multiple times you only need to cite it again if you are using a quote or if it is unclear to your reader which source you are referring to. Often, you will see a source cited only once in a paragraph, even if other parts of the narrative are associated with that source.

Hello... If I am citing phrases from the same book but from 3 different sources.... can I use sub-scripts (numbers 1, 2, 3) for the same book-author followed by the three sources (in successive rows)? Thanks.

@Pooja: You shouldn't use subscripts, just lower-case letters. If all of the sources are coming from the same book, then you only need to include the book in your reference list once. However, if it is an edited book with different authors for the chapters, then you would want to use the chapter author names and the formatting for chapter citations.

Hi. If I am using direct quotations from a novel from the same author throughout the chapter I am writing for my thesis, should I always repeat (Author, Year, page) after every quotation in various paragraphs? ( this novel is all that I am referring to in my chapter and no other sources) How should I cite each time?

@Supuni: I certainly see your dilemma. Unfortunately, for APA style you should include all the in-text citation elements. That can get a little unwieldily when quoting often, but there are a few things you can do to help make the reading flow well. You can use narrative citations, where you refer to the author by name in your writing, followed by the year in parentheses, and then add a page number. So long as it is clear to your reader within the paragraph that you are still referring to the same source you can then use just the page numbers after quotes. For example: In Smith's (2021) novel Bread they state that, "bread is best fresh from the oven" (p.32). However, in other places in the novel they devise surreal scenarios for other ways bread can be appreciated too, including the bizarre statement, "Perhaps my favorite bread was the baguette I ate on the international space station" (p. 136).

How do you do an in-text citation with the (author, date, page) when the article's table of contents says the quote is from page 30, but when you are viewing the pdf on a url and scroll down, it says you are actually on page 33?

@Kim: Sometimes with PDF or eBooks the number on the page (e.g., page 30) is different than the page number of the PDF (e.g., page 33). This happens because there are often unnumbered pages (title page, copyright page, table of contents) of a book, so while the content of the book starts on page 1, it's page 3 of the PDF. In this case, use the page number on the book (page 30). In your reference list, use the eBook version of the book citation (APA Manual, 7th edition, pp 321-322). If there is a mistake in the book the quote is page 33 of the book (not page 33 of the PDF), reference page 33.

If I cite several authors in-text in the same brackets and one author (+ et al.; the other group members differ) is mentioned twice within that, is this citation correct: (Herzog et al., 1997, 2002)?

Hi Yara: I may be misunderstanding the question, but if you are citing two different sources, even if they are by the same author, you need to cite them separately by using a semicolon. So in stead of the way you had it I would recommend (Herzog et al. 1997; Herzog et al., 2002). That will make it clear to the reader that there are two sources.

Hi, I'm referencing my uni online module website pages for an end of year project. IfI have more than 26 references with the same name and year, what do I do when I get past z? Thanks

@Melissa, that's an interesting question that the APA Manual doesn't provide guidance for. The most important thing, however, is to make it clear for your reader. In that spirit, I think you could format the ones following Z as "aa, ab, ac, ad" or "a1, a2, a3" and make sure that aligns with your reference list. Whatever approach you take, if it is a graded project making sure it works for your instructor is probably a good idea.

Thanks, Gabe. That's good advice :)

What if I cite the same author and date for example, Thomas, 1999a, Thomas, 1999b etc, but there are more than 26 entries past Thomas, 1999z... What then

@Mike, please see my comment above in response to Melissa. The APA Manual does not give guidance on this, so using a convention of your own devising that is accurate between your in-text citations and reference list is the most important thing to make sure to do.

Hello, I believe you covered this in the above comments but i'd like to make sure. When referencing journals/scholarly articles in APA7, I am required to use page numbers, however, if I use the same source and cite different parts multiple times would the reference list look something like this? Moody, M. S. (2019). If instructional coaching really works, why isn't it working? Educational Leadership, 77(3), 30–35, 47, 69-70. or would each set of pages be its own entry in the reference list? (pages 30-35 is one entry, page 47 is another, etc...). Also, what do the numbers before the page numbers eg: '77(3)' refer to? I can't find any clear explanation for them and I'm a tad confused. Thanks for your help!

@Lola: You should cite the entire source once. If the author has multiple articles in the journal issue, then they should be distinguished by their distinct (hopefully!) titles. Then you would also want to make sure to use the lettering convention mentioned in this FAQ (Moody, 2019a; Moody, 2019b). If I am misunderstanding the question, and what you are actually asking about is about how to cite a single article with non-contiguous page numbers, then what you included in your comment with the page number ranges separated by commas would be correct.

If I am writing a paper in APA format about a single book, do I have to put the author's name and publication year after each in-text citation?

@A: This is something that lots of folx struggle with. If you are quoting, then you will want to make sure you have an in-text citation so others can locate the quote. However, APA encourages paraphrasing for readability, and it is not necessary to cite the same source repeatedly if it would be clear to the reader that the topic and source have not changed. In those cases, use a citation the first sentence where you refer to the source and avoid repeated citations. If you have a manual handy, there is more detail on this on page 254 in the description of over-citation.

Hi Gabe, I need your advice on this: I used many different chapters and pages from the one book. I will still cite it in-text as the authors name followed by year after each mention, but how do I reference the different sections, such as at the end of the reference when I am adding the pages, do I say, 11-302? Even though I used pg 11-24 and then 289-302. Do you know what I mean?

@Ciara: I think I know what you mean! It depends on the authorship of the book and chapters. If the book is composed of chapters or sections that are authored by different people, then you should format that according the guidance here: https://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/116660 If the book has one author or authors, just cite the entire book each time.

Hi, I am writing a detailed analysis of the text structure of a children's book and have to provide examples from the book to showcase my understanding. I have two sentences, one after another, that directly quote 8 different words from the book. Currently, I have referenced them as such: We learn of various “loud sounds” (Author, year, p. 8) such as “horns”, “sirens”, and “drill[s]” (p. 11) and the setting is one of darkness and fear to begin with. However, the atmosphere develops into one of safety and warmth as the child recalls scents of “summer” (p. 20), “nice” (p. 22) people and musical sounds of “piano” and “choir” (p. 25) singing. Am I supposed to reference them in a different way? I understand the issue with over-citing but I am required to provide examples and the exact words used within the children's book are most suited, rather than paraphrasing. But also, the number of page numbers visible seem a bit intense and ruin the flow for the reader.

@Niamh, I think I understand your struggle here! It sounds like you have expectations from an instructor, or other person, regarding your writing that don't completely align with APA guidance. In these cases, where there is a reader who is grading, or otherwise in a position of authority, with the writing you are working on, it makes sense to meet their expectations as a priority. Since you are required to provide exact word examples, I think your approach makes sense, even if it reads awkwardly, since you are demonstrating where you are using those exact words from. In most other cases, it would make sense to omit the quotes, given that single words or two word phrases do not usually need to be quoted, and simply cite the source once.

Hello. I am writing a research paper and Ive cited a couple books. in one of my paragraphs, if I'm only using multiple evidence from only one book, how many times do I have to cite, and how would I cite APA style? For instance: She reveals how one well-known social media outlet, Facebook, utilized "micro-targeting" techniques to locate voters based on race, and the false concept that undocumented persons were committing "voter fraud" was rampant" (Burzynsik, 2020). ->> would I have to do that for all my evidence throughout my paragraph, or only the beginning?

@Boblee: You should only cite it as often as is needed for your reader to clearly understand when you are drawing upon a source. When you are paraphrasing a source, as APA encourages, you only have to cite the source once, so long as it would be clear to your reader that you are still referring to the same source. When quoting, you should always include a citation.

Hi, I'm citing the same article on my paper but using parts of it in different chapters of my study (used in chapter 1, and in chapter 2). Is it correct that I will be listing it in my reference list on both chapters? We are required by our professor to list every article cited after every chapter. Thanks in advance.

@Shay: Yes, make sure to include it in each chapter where you have a reference list and it is used in-text. With a few exceptions, anything cited in-text should be in your reference list, and vice-versa.

Hi - I have a sentence that has three quotes from the same source, but from different pages. Using APA, should the citation be (Smith, 2020, p. 12, p. 14, p. 16) or (Smith, 2020, pp. 12, 14, 16) ? Thank you, I have looked everywhere and cannot see a specific answer. (8.25 is close but the quotes are discrete, not on discontinuous pages)

Hunter, I recommend making sure that the page number always follows the quoted portion of text. If you are quoting multiple parts within the same paragraph, and it would be clear to your reader from your narrative that it is the same source, you should be able to do that with just the page number and without the author name and date. If it might be unclear, then it is best to do a full in-text citation.

Hi - I have a sentence where the following happens: "Author (year) defines x as "(...)" (p.21) and y as "...) (p.45). It's because it's from the same book/glossary and I am wondering if it can be done this way or not.

Rita, that should be fine. The important thing is that your reader would be able to clearly understand where the origin of the quote comes from. In the example you gave, I think it meets that mark!

asking if i am referencing the same author but with different pages do i have to repeat the whole referencing details or can just do with the pages

Agnes, I'd recommend including the entire in-text citation if you are using page numbers in order to avoid ambiguity. The APA Manual does provide guidance on avoiding over-citation, but that would be more appropriate when paraphrasing the same source in a given paragraph. The objective should be to make sure there is no potential for ambiguity to your reader.

If I'm quoting the same author on two different topics in the same article, is that overcitation? If not, how would I do so?

@Beau: It's probably not over-citation, but it always depends on context. If you are building off, borrowing, or otherwise connecting to ideas in the literature you are using adding a citation will always be a good practice. If you have already cited them in the paragraph and will do so again, you might consider whether that is necessary. If it is clear in the context of the narrative text that you are referring to the same source, it should be fine to cite them once. If you are quoting the source, you will always want to cite it as part of indicating where in the source the quote came from. When it makes sense to cite a source more than once, it should be done the same way for each in APA.

Hello, I'm critiquing a journal article, so when I cite from the article throughout the paper, I will put the same in-text citation all times? And in the references page, I will place the same reference however many times I use it? Or do I only put the reference once? Or do I put "ibid" or something?

@Maggie: I'll start with the easiest part to answer and that is that you only need to list an item in a reference list once in APA. Terms like ibid are used for other citation styles, like Chicago, but not APA. The most important function is that it is clear to your reader which source in the reference list an in-text citation connects to, which is done with author last names and years for APA style. In regards to your first question, your conventions with in-text citation frequency can vary depending on the writing, whether it is a quote being cited, and any parameters that may come from an assignment (assuming it is an assignment). Whenever you have a quote, those should always be cited in-text, including a page or paragraph number, where possible. When paraphrasing or borrowing an idea from a source, you don't necessary need to continue citing the source repeatedly when it is clear to your reader based on the narrative text what source you are referencing. It might be clear to your reader that everything is related to the one source for an article critique. However, to be on the safe side, I'd recommend re-citing the source in-text for any new paragraph or any other place where it might be unclear that the source is being referred to with a claim or idea in your writing.

Hello, I am writing a literature review and I am using paraphrased information from the same source in a couple of different paragraphs. Do I have to introduce the author and the year in every paragraph or just the first mention?

@Vanesa: I would generally recommend having it in each paragraph to make clear the source the ideas are coming from. If you feel like your narrative is already really clear from each paragraph which source is being referred to, you might consider omitting it. However, I think in most cases it is going to make sense to cite in each paragraph. To enhance readability by using a narrative citation rather than a full in-text citation. For example, that could look like the following: Vanesa (2023) has asked questions about how APA citations should work for the same source in different paragraphs. Versus this kind of citation: Some writers have asked questions about how APA citations should work for the same source in different paragraphs (Vanesa, 2023).

Hello, I am writing an essay based on one source. Throughout the essay, I mention things that could be found in different sections of the text, usually not quoting directly. The page I am referring to changes every few sentences, does it suffice to just include the page number after the first full citation? Example: (Author, 2023, p. 94), later in-text citations being (p. 56) and (p. 75) As well, in my essay I go back and forth between pages. Meaning: I refer to page 164 (p. 164). I refer to page 163 in the next sentence (p. 163), but I refer to page 164 again in the sentence that follows (p.164). Should the citation only be included once despite the reference to a different page in between? Are either of these situations considered overcitation?

@Emma: Apologies for the late reply to your question. It is likely the most ideal approach to your situation would be to rely on paraphrasing in-text citations, which do not require page numbers. That way you could cite your source and so long as it is clear from your narrative that you are still drawing from the same source, you do not need to cite it again (see APA section 8.24, if you have a copy of the manual). It does sound like it may be overcitation with your current approach. If you quote from the source, then you do need to make sure to include a page number.