Published on
November 26, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
Chicago style has two systems for citing books and other outside sources—notes and bibliography or author-date. The notes and bibliography system is far more common (especially for history topics), and it requires two forms of citation:
Published on
November 25, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
Whether you’re using information from a published interview or an interview you conducted, APA has special citation guidelines.
Interviews you conducted don’t need APA reference page entries because those sources aren’t retrievable. Personal interviews need in-text citations that label the interview as a “personal communication.”
Published interviews in magazines, podcasts, and other sources need reference entries and in-text citations. The reference entry format is determined by the type of source (e.g., online magazine article). APA in-text citations for published interviews should include the author and year of the source rather than the interviewee’s name.
Regardless of where the interview data came from, it’s helpful to use the interviewee’s name in the narrative of the sentence for context.
APA interview in-text citation examples
Personal interview in-text citations
Published interview in-text citations
Licensed professional counselor Elena Jones (personal communication, July 1, 2023) described the impact of diet and exercise on mental health.
Educator and reading expert Patricia Alexander described the impact of digital media on persistence and time on task (International Reading Association, 2020).
The examples below will help you format APA interview citations for a few types of interviews. You can also try QuillBot’s free APA Citation Generator. Additionally, our Online Notepad can help you effectively take notes during interviews.
Published on
November 25, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
Movies and documentaries often provide valuable insights about topics that are common in APA writing. For example, they might include scientific evidence, qualitative research, or examples of social issues and psychological phenomena.
APA in-text citations for movies include the director’s last name and the year of release. Quotation citations also have a timestamp.
APA reference page entries include the director, year, title, and production company.
APA movie citations examples
In-text citations
Reference list entry
Inside Out 2 explores how emotions affect the development of an adolescent’s Sense of Self (Mann, 2024).
Mann, K. (Director). (2024). Inside out 2 [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios.
The examples below and QuillBot’s free APA Citation Generator can help you write clear and accurate APA movie citations. Our Notepad can also help you to effectively take notes online and keep track of relevant source information.
Published on
November 25, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
When you quote or paraphrase the Bible, APA requires in-text citations and a reference page entry.
APA in-text citations for the Bible include the Bible Version in Italics and Title Case, the year of publication, the Book Name, and the chapter and verse numbers separated by a colon.
APA reference page entries for the Bible include the Bible Version in Italics and Title Case, the year, the Publisher, and (if accessed online) a URL.
When citing a classic version of the Bible that’s been reprinted, include the original and current publication dates in the reference entry and in-text citations.
In the reference entry, include the reprinted date after the version title. At the end of the entry, include in parentheses “(Original work published year).” In-text citations for reprinted versions should include the original year and the reprinted year, separated by a slash.
APA Bible citations examples
In-text citations
Reference list entry
The preacher’s sermon referred to “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (King James Bible, 1769/2024, Eccles. 3:4).
The examples below will help you format APA Bible citations correctly, or you can try QuillBot’s free APA Citation Generator. Also, QuillBot’s Notepad can help you take notes online to keep track of relevant source information.
Published on
November 20, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
December 17, 2025
Many scholarly sources that are available online and relevant to APA writing come in PDFs. This file format is common for journal articles, government reports, and other sources because the formatting and layout stay consistent on different devices.
Source formats like PDFs don’t affect APA reference page guidelines. Instead, the source type (e.g., book or journal article) determines the reference entry content. For some source types, the reference entry ends with a URL for the PDF.
PDFs do impact APA in-text citations when you’re quoting online sources. For example, if you use an exact quotation from a journal article in a PDF, the in-text citation should include the author, year, and page number. (Page numbers aren’t required when you’re paraphrasing.)
APA PDF citation examples
In-text citation
Reference list entry
The Alzheimer’s Association (2024) explained, “To support people living with dementia in their homes and communities, as well as their caregivers, greater dementia-related knowledge, skills, and competencies are needed in the workforce beyond health care” (p. 67).
Alzheimer’s Association. (2024). 2024 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. https://www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf
(When an organization is both the author and publisher, omit the publisher slot of the reference entry.)
The examples below show the APA citation guidelines for source types that you’re most likely to access via PDF. You can also try QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to create clear and accurate APA citations. Additionally, QuillBot’s Notepad can help you take online notes to keep track of the sources you consult.
Published on
November 20, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
Long quotations are sometimes necessary in MLA writing, especially when you’re analyzing a text and need examples of the author’s technique. MLA requires block format for long quotations, which are defined as follows:
Passages of prose that are five or more lines of text in your document
Poetry quotations that are four or more lines in the original source
Block quotations should be double spaced and indented ½ inch. MLA 9th edition also has special requirements to cite a quote in block format.
In-text citations for MLA block quotes go after the end punctuation. Every source you quote or paraphrase should have a Works Cited entry. QuillBot’s free MLA Citation Generator can help you create accurate in-text citations and Works Cited entries.
MLA block quotation example
In Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver uses functional fragments to make the first-person point of view more relatable and compelling.
Aunt June was the opposite of Emmy. She gave us our own special bowls for snacks we could eat any time we wanted. She finally got her days off, and took us all over: a trampoline park, putt-putt golf, the hospital. The zoo, where we spent a whole day. Tigers, giraffes, and all like that. Monkeys, which Maggot and I figured out how to get all riled up until Aunt June said knock if off or we were going straight home. (25)
This style of prose helps readers feel as if the narrator is speaking to them face-to-face.
Published on
November 20, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
MLA essays always include dates, especially in the main heading on the first page and in Works Cited entries. Dates can also be used in the main text of an essay to give context about an event or an outside source.
In MLA Works Cited entries, write dates in day-month-year order. Abbreviate months that are more than four letters long (e.g., 20 Oct. 2022). Also use day-month-year order for the main heading on the first page, but don’t abbreviate the month (e.g., 7 November 2024).
In the main text, use either day-month-year or month-day year order, but stay consistent with the same format throughout the document. Months in the main text shouldn’t be abbreviated.
MLA date format examples
Main text
Works Cited entry
In a September 18, 2023, article, Peter Yeung and Melanie Péréz Arias describe a fog-catching technology that can address water shortages in remote areas affected by droughts.
Yeung, Peter, and Arias, Melanie Péréz.“The Backyard Farmers Who Grow Food with Fog.” Reasons to Be Cheerful, 18 Sept. 2023, www.reasonstobecheerful.world/lima-fog-catchers-water-scarcity-irrigation/.
Published on
November 20, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
An abstract is a short paragraph that summarizes the entire contents of a research study or journal article. It’s not the same as an introduction, which begins an essay or article and prepares readers for the body paragraphs.
In an academic database or print journal, readers skim the abstract first to decide if they should read the article. For example, when you’re exploring scholarly sources to use in an essay, abstracts help you make informed decisions about which articles might be relevant.
APA does not require abstracts for school assignments, but instructors occasionally assign them. They’re mostly necessary when you’re writing a dissertation or submitting an article to an APA publication. The guidelines below will help you read and write abstracts more strategically.
TipQuillBot’s AI Summarizer can be a helpful starting point for writing an abstract. Just paste in your article, and the tool will synthesize the main points. You can then adjust this summary to fit your writing style and the publication’s guidelines.
MLA in-text citations for movies usually have the title and, in some cases, a timestamp.
Works Cited entries for movies begin with a title and also include the director, distributor, year of release, and streaming app or URL (if applicable).
MLA movie citation examples
In-text citation
Works Cited entry
During the final battle in the 2021 film version, Macbeth and Macduff are surrounded by fog that obscures the background (The Tragedy of Macbeth 01:37:40–01:39:45).
The Tragedy of Macbeth. Directed by Joel Coen, Apple Original Films, 2021. Apple TV+ app.
Published on
November 13, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed.
Revised on
December 17, 2025
Journal articles are common scholarly sources in APA writing because they focus on original research studies and/or highly-specific aspects of an academic discipline.
APA requires two forms of documentation for journal articles:
In-text citations that include the author and publication year
Reference list entries that include the author, year, article title, journal title, volume and issue number, page range (with an en dash), and the DOI (a series of numbers that identifies the article and links to additional publication details)
Use the examples below to learn about the APA citation format for journal articles, or try QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to create in-text citations and reference list entries.
How to cite a journal article APA examples
In-text citation
Reference list entry
Lowery (2024) argued that book bans hinder opportunities to learn about minoritized individuals and their experiences.
Lowery, R. M. (2024). But these are our stories! Critical conversations about bans on diverse literature. Research in the Teaching of English, 58(1), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.58680/rte202332608
