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Mastering APA in-text citations involves careful attention to detail, regular practice, and patience. Explore tips for how to avoid common citation errors to help you create consistent, accurate citation practices that enhance your academic writing.

Overciting or Underciting

How often you cite in APA requires a balancing act, avoiding both undercitation and overcitation.

Example of Undercitation

Teachers use differentiated instruction to help students learn, allowing the teacher to cater lessons to the way each student learns and each student’s skill. Differentiation in teaching helps students by allowing learning in different ways. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) sets rigid standards for teachers that do not allow for this multidisciplinary approach that differentiation asks for. In this way, NCLB is not compatible with differentiation in the classroom (Thompson, 2009).

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Is all the information in the paragraph from Thompson, or are pieces of information based on the writer’s opinion?

Example of Overcitation

Teachers use differentiated instruction to help students learn, allowing the teacher to cater lessons to the way each student learns and each students’ skill (Thompson, 2009). According to Thompson (2009), differentiation in teaching helps students by giving for learning in different ways (Thompson, 2009). No Child Left Behind (NCLB) sets rigid standards for teachers, which does not allow for this multidisciplinary approach that differentiation asks for (Thompson, 2009). In this way, Thompson explained, NCLB is not compatible with differentiation in the classroom.

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Where are the writer’s original ideas, critical thinking, and analysis in the paragraph?

Example of Appropriate Citation

Teachers use differentiated instruction to help students learn, allowing the teacher to cater lessons to the individual way each student learns and each student’s skill (Thompson, 2009). Despite the advantages of the multidisciplinary approach, Thompson (2009) suggested that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) sets incompatibly rigid standards in the classroom. Thus, teachers must weigh children’s needs against educational realities.

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The writer has found a balance. They used and cited sources and added their critical thinking and analysis.

Mismatching Reference List Details

In-text citations and the reference list work together in academic writing.

  • Every source cited in your text needs a corresponding reference list entry, except for personal communication.
  • Every reference list entry needs at least one corresponding citation.
  • • There should not be any source listed in the reference list that is not cited.

Before finalizing a piece of writing, confirm you have a partnership between your citations and reference list.

Check the Details

It’s a good idea to also confirm all details match between your in-text citations and the reference list.

  • • Are author names spelled correctly in both places
  • Is the correct date used in both places?
Common Reference List Examples

Citing An I Statement

You may see examples in your writing where you have an “I” statement with a citation. These can happen when trying to justify procedures for a study, the actions you take in a classroom or hospital, or the decisions you may make in a particular case. However, this approach can cause confusion for a reader.

Common Error

During the analysis phase of my qualitative study, I will organize data into themes (Creswell, 2012).

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This sentence implies that Creswell has written about the writer’s plan for their research. This is likely untrue. To revise, the writer should return to the Creswell source and consider what was really said about themes.

Possible Revision #1

Creswell (2012) stated that data should be organized into themes in qualitative studies. Therefore, I will assign specific colors to themes and code interviewee responses accordingly.

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In this version, the writer has isolated what Creswell suggested in the first sentence. Then, in the second sentence they have added their plan and shown how it relates back to what Creswell suggested.

Possible Revision #2

Qualitative data should be organized into themes (Creswell, 2012), so I will assign specific colors to themes and code interview responses accordingly.

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This version puts the source information and application in the same sentence. The Creswell citation goes immediately after the information from that source. There is no citation with the “I” part of the sentence.

Citing a Paraphrase from a Previous Paper

You may be tempted to cite your own past work from courses, but this should only be done for original ideas, not when paraphrasing others. You will need to rephrase material for new papers to avoid recycling wording. Each paper should reflect your growth as a thinker and scholar, and the evidence you use must support the new paper’s purpose.

Common Error

Student Renee Thompson has written the following sentences.

  • Jones stated that the nursing shortage has led some government officials to propose recruiting nurses from other countries, including Mexico and Canada (Thompson, 2012).
  • Jones (as cited in Thompson, 2012) stated that the nursing shortage has led some government officials to propose recruiting nurses from other countries, including Mexico and Canada.
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Students may be tempted to cite their own past work, but this should only be done for original ideas, not when paraphrasing others. Renee should rephrase the material from Jones for her new paper to avoid recycling wording. Each paper should reflect a student's growth as a thinker and scholar, and the evidence must support the new paper's purpose.

Possible Revisions

Due to the U.S. nursing shortage, government officials have recommended bringing in trained nurses from Mexico and Canada (Jones, 2011). Such an action would likely improve nurse-to-patient ratios and patient outcomes (Jones, 2011). However, healthcare premiums would increase substantially in order to accommodate the recruiting and relocating costs..

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In this version, Renee has explained Jones’s idea in a new way and used it as a jumpstart for the paper’s argument against recruiting international nurses.

Learn More

For more information, including connections to Walden’s Academic Integrity policies, review our resource on reusing your work and self-citation.

Citing the Speaker on a Video

In many Walden courses, videos are part of the content; in these videos, guest speakers discuss topics related to the course. Because of this, many students cite just the speakers in their papers. However, this approach misses the producer of the video.

Common Error

In the video, West (2011) said that to appeal to visual learners, educators should use pictures, video, and bright colors in their mathematics lessons.

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The citation should be (Producer, Year). For most classroom videos, Walden University is the producer.

Possible Revisions

In a taped interview, West stated that educators should use pictures, videos, and bright colors in their mathematics lessons (Walden University, 2011).

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The citation should be (Producer, Year). For most classroom videos, Walden University is the producer.

Including an Honorific or Initials of an Author

You might see examples of citations that include honorifics (like an earned degree) or initials of authors, but these are not needed.

Common Errors

Honorific (Dr., PhD, MA): In the video “Nurse Leaders,” Dr. Smart (Walden University, 2010) identified the characteristics of leadership as competence, openness, confidence, and strength.

Initials:: Despite low cigarette smoking rates across the country, lung cancer incidence has increased by 50% in the past decade (Bartlett, T., Mahoney, C., Krishnan, A., & O’Connell, M., 2010).

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In APA style, only author last names are needed in narrative and parenthetical citations. Details like initials or earned degrees are not needed.

Possible Revisions

In the video “Nurse Leaders,” Smart (Walden University, 2010) identified the characteristics of leadership as competence, openness, confidence, and strength.

Despite low cigarette smoking rates across the country, lung cancer incidence has increased by 50% in the past decade (Bartlett et al., 2010).

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These examples demonstrate APA style for citations. First initials are only part of the reference list entries at the end of the paper; designations like “Dr.,” “PhD,” and “MA” are not included.

Key Takeaways

Applying proper APA citation practices enhances the clarity and credibility of your writing. By addressing common errors—such as mismatched references, unclear attributions, or incorrect formatting—you ensure your work adheres to academic standards and reflects your critical thinking and insights.

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