How To Quote An Article In APA Format | Quotes Done Right

Quoting an article sounds simple until you’re staring at a PDF with no page numbers, a news site that keeps updating, or a journal article that uses article numbers instead of pages. Then the stress hits: Where does the comma go? Do you write “p.” or “pp.”? What if there are three authors? Good news: APA’s rules are steady once you see the pattern.

This walkthrough is built for APA 7. You’ll learn how to set up the in-text citation for a quote, how to build the matching reference entry, and how to handle the messy real-life cases that trip people up.

What “Quote” Means In APA

In APA writing, a quote is text you copy word-for-word from a source and place in quotation marks (or as a block quote). A paraphrase is your own wording of the idea. Both need an in-text citation, yet quotes also need a locator so a reader can pinpoint the exact spot.

If you’re quoting, decide two things before you type anything: (1) where the quote starts and ends, and (2) what locator the source gives you (page, paragraph, section, or something similar). That locator is what keeps your citation from feeling vague.

Quoting An Article In APA Format With APA 7 Rules

Every direct quote from an article follows the same three-part spine:

• Author (surname, or group name)
• Year (or n.d. when no date is shown)
• Locator (page number when available, or paragraph/section when not)

You can place the author in the sentence (narrative style) or inside parentheses (parenthetical style). Both are correct. Pick the one that keeps your sentence readable.

Narrative Style For Quotes

Use narrative style when the author’s name fits naturally in your sentence. The year sits right after the author, and the locator goes right after the quote.

Pattern: Author (Year) “quoted words” (p. X).

Parenthetical Style For Quotes

Use parenthetical style when you don’t want the author in the sentence. Put author, year, and locator together right after the quoted words.

Pattern: “quoted words” (Author, Year, p. X).

Picking The Right Locator

If the article has page numbers, use them. If it doesn’t, use a paragraph number. If the article is long, pair a short section heading with a paragraph count to help the reader land in the right place.

APA’s official notes on locators and quote handling are laid out on APA Style’s quotations guidance.

How To Quote An Article In APA Format In Text

Now let’s put the parts together. These are the situations you’ll see most often when you quote an article.

Short Quotes Under 40 Words

Keep the quote in double quotation marks. Put the citation right after the closing quotation mark and before the period in most cases.

Use p. for one page and pp. for a page range.

Block Quotes At 40 Words Or More

When the quote hits 40 words, switch to a block quote. That means no quotation marks, a new line, and an indented block. In WordPress, a blockquote element works well.

Place the citation after the final punctuation of the block.

Quotes From Online Articles With No Page Numbers

Lots of web articles have no pages. Use paragraph numbers like para. 4. If the article shows headings, add a short heading label so the locator feels specific.

Pattern: (Author, Year, “Heading name,” para. 4)

Quotes From PDFs That Restart Page Numbers

Some PDFs restart page numbers in each section or display two page counts (a PDF viewer count and a printed page count). Use the page number that appears on the document itself. If the PDF has no visible page numbers, fall back to paragraph numbers and a heading label.

Building The Matching Reference List Entry

In APA, every in-text citation must connect to a reference list entry, and vice versa. For articles, the reference entry usually follows this order:

1. Author
2. Date
3. Title of the article
4. Title of the periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper)
5. Volume, issue, and pages (when available)
6. DOI or URL (when available)

If your quote is correct but your reference entry is off, you still lose points in grading rubrics. So treat the pair as one unit: quote + in-text citation + reference entry.

Journal Articles

Journal references often include a volume number, an issue number in parentheses, and either a page range, an article number, or an eLocator. When a DOI exists, APA prefers the DOI in URL form.

APA’s own examples for journal articles are gathered on APA Style’s journal article reference examples.

Magazine And Newspaper Articles

Magazine and newspaper references vary based on print versus online. Print versions usually use a date with month and day. Online versions often use a URL and may skip a page range if the site doesn’t show one.

News Sites That Update Articles

Online news stories can be edited after publication. Use the date shown on the article you read. If the page lists both a published date and an updated date, cite the date tied to the version you relied on. Save a PDF copy or a screenshot for your own records when the topic is time-sensitive.

Article Type	Reference Entry Pattern	Notes
Journal article with DOI	Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx	Use DOI in URL form; include issue when shown.
Journal article with article number	Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), Article e12345. https://doi.org/xxxxx	Use the article number or eLocator in place of pages.
Journal article without DOI	Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), pages.	No database name; no retrieval date for stable content.
Magazine article online	Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Magazine Title. URL	Use full date; include URL for online versions.
Magazine article print	Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Magazine Title, Volume(Issue), pages.	Include page range from the print issue.
Newspaper article online	Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Newspaper Title. URL	Page numbers often missing online; that’s fine.
Newspaper article print	Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Newspaper Title, pp. A1, A4.	Use the print page labels as shown.
Blog post or site article	Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of post. Site Name. URL	Use the site name as the source; add a URL.

Handling Tricky Author And Date Cases

Article citations get messy when the author line is crowded or missing. Here’s how to keep your quote citations clean without guessing.

Two Authors

In text, list both surnames every time: (Lopez & Kim, 2023, p. 19). In narrative style: Lopez and Kim (2023) …

Three Or More Authors

Use the first author’s surname plus et al. from the first citation onward: (Singh et al., 2022, p. 4). In the reference list, list all authors up to the APA limit for that source type.

Group Authors

If a group wrote the article, use the group name as the author. That can be an agency, a research center, or an organization name shown on the page.

No Named Author

When there’s no author, move the title into the author position in the reference list. In text, use a shortened title in quotation marks plus the year and locator.

Pattern: (“Shortened Title,” 2021, para. 7)

No Date

If the article shows no date, use n.d. in both in-text citations and the reference entry.

Quoting With Accuracy And Clean Edits

Direct quotes need to match the source exactly. Still, you’re allowed to make small edits when you mark them clearly.

Brackets For Added Clarity

Use brackets to add a word that keeps the quote clear in your sentence. Don’t change the meaning. Keep additions short.

Ellipses For Removed Words

Use an ellipsis (…) to show you removed words inside a quote. Keep the remaining text faithful to the source’s meaning. Don’t use an ellipsis at the start or end of a quote unless it stops confusion about missing text.

[sic] For Errors In The Source

If the source has a typo and you want to show you copied it exactly, you can add [sic] right after the error. Use this sparingly. Most student papers don’t need it.

Table Of In-Text Quote Patterns

This quick map helps you pick the right in-text layout based on what you’re quoting.

Situation	In-Text Pattern	Locator
Short quote, one author	“Quote” (Author, Year, p. X).	Page number
Short quote, two authors	“Quote” (Author & Author, Year, p. X).	Page number
Short quote, 3+ authors	“Quote” (Author et al., Year, p. X).	Page number
Online article, no pages	“Quote” (Author, Year, para. X).	Paragraph number
Long online article, no pages	“Quote” (Author, Year, “Heading,” para. X).	Heading + paragraph
Block quote, pages	Block text. (Author, Year, pp. X–Y)	Page range
No author shown	“Quote” (“Short Title,” Year, para. X).	Paragraph number

Common Mistakes That Cost Points

These slip-ups show up again and again in student work. Fix them once and you’ll stop bleeding marks.

• Missing locator for a quote. A direct quote without p./para. looks unfinished.
• Mixing citation styles in one sentence. Don’t use both narrative and parenthetical author formats at once.
• Wrong punctuation order. In most cases, the citation goes before the period.
• Using a database name as the source. APA references point to the work itself, not the library database wrapper.
• Using a URL when a DOI exists. If there’s a DOI, use it.

A Fast Self-Check Before You Submit

Run this checklist right before you hit “submit” or “publish.” It takes two minutes and saves hours of back-and-forth.

1. Does every quote have author, year, and a locator?
2. Do quotation marks start and end in the right place?
3. Is every in-text citation matched by a reference list entry?
4. Are journal titles italicized in the reference list entry?
5. Did you use p. for one page and pp. for a range?
6. If there are no pages, did you use para. and, when needed, a heading label?

When Quoting Is The Right Move

Quotes work best when the original wording carries weight you can’t recreate without losing the point, like a definition, a striking line from an interview, or a sentence you plan to pick apart in your own writing. If the quote is only adding bulk, paraphrase instead and cite the idea.

Either way, stay consistent: build the in-text citation the same way every time, then make sure the reference entry has the full source details.