- FSMHome
- Introduction
- 1. Research and Writing Responsibly
- 2. APA Documentation
- 3. APA Document Formatting
- 4. APA Conventions for Grammar and Mechanics
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2.2.3. How to place and punctuate in-text notes
Although Section 2.2.1explains the two basic options you have for placing in‐text notes alongside cited material, writers often find in‐text notes difficult to punctuate correctly. This section offers more guidance on the mechanics of coordinating in‐text notes with specific kinds of references.
- Short Quotations (40 words or less)
- Long Quotations (over 40 words)
- Short paraphrases (one sentence or less)
- Long paraphrases (multiple sentences)
- Summary statements
Short Quotations (40 words or less)
When you take another author’s ideas word for word, you must put double quotation marks around the information (or use block formatting for longer quotes—see below). The page number (or other location reference—see 2.2.2) where the passage appears must also be part of the in‐text citation, presented in parentheses after the quotation and before the end punctuation for the sentence. The quotation starts and ends with double quotation marks (“. . .”). Notice that for short quotations the period at the end of the sentence goes after the in-text citation, which goes outside the closing quotation mark.
C. SHORT QUOTATION FROM A PAGINATED SOURCE
Smith and Smith (2006) subscribe to a value-based definition, stating, “a bubble [is] a situation in which the market prices of certain assets (such as stocks or real estate) rise far above the present value of the anticipated cash flow from the asset” (p. 3).
D. SHORT QUOTATION FROM SINGLE‐PAGE SOURCE WITH NO SECTION HEADINGS
Later in the year, Krugman (2006) characterized Greenspan as an “optimist,” aligning himself with the “pessimists,” whom Krugman believed had “the stronger case.”
E. SHORT QUOTATION FROM NON‐PAGINATED SOURCE WITH SECTION HEADINGS
By 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offered a detailed definition of “predatory lending,” including acts wherein lenders “knowingly lend more money than the borrower can afford” (“What Is Predatory Lending?”).
Long Quotations (over 40 words)
Quotations with more than 40 words should be presented as indented blocks of text starting on a new line. Indent one‐half‐inch from the left margin. Omit quotation marks, since the indentation and citation tell readers that the words are from a source. Maintain double‐spacing, even if the original does not include double‐spacing. If the quotation includes a paragraph break within it, indent one‐half‐inch from the already indented block margin where the break appears in the original. Unlike other quotations, the parenthetical citation for a block quotation should come after the closing punctuation for the final sentence of the quotation:
F. BLOCK QUOTATION
Schiller (2006) presents a more poetic view of the behavior leading to financial bubbles:
The kind of less-than-perfectly rational behavior that underlies the [current] bubble is not abject foolishness. It is not the error of fools. It is more the error that afflicts some of Shakespeare's tragic figures—in the sense of having subtle weaknesses or a partial blindness to reality. (p. 18)The “partial blindness” described by Schiller appears in many statements from . . .
Short paraphrases (one sentence or less)
When presenting observations from a source without using the source’s original wording, you do not have the challenge of coordinating quotation marks and citations, but you still must provide mention of the author and date and a reference to a specific location in the source. You have the option of presenting all these details in a closing parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence, or you can introduce the author and year in the main flow of the sentence, placing the page reference (or whatever location reference is available) in parentheses after the cited material. As with quotations, the end punctuation marks for the sentence follow the parenthetical citation (see also examples A. and B. above).
G. SHORT PARAPHRASE FROM WEB SOURCE WITH SECTION NUMBERS
Rules for releasing executive pay had not changed since 1993 (White, 2007, sect. 7).
H. SHORT PARAPHRASE (OF SECONDARY SOURCE) FROM WEB SOURCE WITH SECTION HEADINGS
Writing in 2001, E. Chancellor posited that increased speculative short-selling could actually help prevent financial bubbles (as cited in Chanos, 2003, “Short Sellers”).
Long paraphrases (multiple sentences)
Extended paraphrases of a source require the writer both to make clear which pieces of information come from the source and to identify as specifically as possible where those borrowed ideas are found in the source. It may be that extended paraphrases cover material spanning multiple pages, in which case, the writer would need to put multiple page references throughout the paraphrase. The example below illustrates a long paraphrase of passages extending multiple pages. The examples of appropriate paraphrasing in Section 1.4.4 illustrate a paraphrase of two successive paragraphs on a single page.
I. LONG PARAPHRASE
The roles of individual agents in producing large-scale financial crises are often hard to identify, but they are important to consider when formulating regulations for trade and commerce. Gray, Frieder, and Clark (2007) offer a series of historical case studies to illustrate connections between financial bubbles and ethical or professional misconduct of individuals (p. 860). The railroad industry of the 19th century, which Gray et al. compare to the dot-com industry of the 1990s (p. 866), is associated with multiple bubbles. In the mid-1800s, one stock bubble is attributed to both economic downturn and falsified books (pp. 867-868). By contrast, a later railroad bubble, leading up to the Panic of 1873, does not appear to be associated with clear ethical misconduct, but is more attributable to debt assumed on unrealistic growth estimates (pp. 869-70). The cases described by Gray et al. illustrate a range of challenges for those who write and enforce regulations: from detecting outright corruption and fraud to balancing the public interest in economic stability with the right of large-scale capitalists to assume risk commensurate with their desired rates of return.
No matter the form or length of the original passage, the paraphrasing writer has the responsibility to show readers clearly which ideas come from the source and which are the original contributions of the writer. Notice how the example below does not repeat all the authors’ names and the year of publication throughout. Since no other source by the same group of authors appears on the References page, readers can be assured that all the page references in the extended paraphrase refer to the article introduced at the beginning of the paragraph. For more guidance on how to streamline citations and make them more readable, see Section 2.2.4.
Summary statements
Brief recapitulations of the main point or conclusions of a source require no direct page reference, but still need to be attributed to a source on your References pages. Below are two examples, one citing a single source and one citing multiple sources sharing a single point:
J. SUMMARY OF AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS
Henderschott, Henderschott, and Ward (2003) dismiss the notion that sharp price rises and declines generally indicate financial bubbles driven by unreasonable exuberance.
K. IN‐TEXT CITATION OF SUMMARY STATEMENTS REFLECTING THE CONCLUSIONS OF MULTIPLE SOURCES
Although the two years preceding the burst in the housing bubble saw multiple early forecasts of the event (Krugman, 2006; “Latest Anderson Forecast,” 2005; Leonhardt, 2005), many economics experts, including journalists and academics alike, foresaw no catastrophic downturn (Brennan, 2006; Kudlow, 2006a, 2006b; Smith, 2005).