The most common citation mistakes aren't about formatting; they're about when a citation is required. This module covers direct quotes, block quotes, and the paraphrase that stretches across several sentences.
Direct Quotes
A direct quote reproduces the source word-for-word. It always needs three things: author, year, and a page number (or paragraph number for unpaginated sources).
Short quote, parenthetical
Researchers concluded that "motivation is contextual, not fixed" (Whitfield, 2021, p. 112).
Short quote, narrative
Whitfield (2021) concluded that "motivation is contextual, not fixed" (p. 112).
Notice in the narrative version the page number still appears at the end of the quote, in its own parentheses.
No page numbers? (E-locator and web articles)
Online-only articles with an article number (e-locator) instead of pages usually have no page numbers to cite. Point the reader to the spot another way: a paragraph number you count yourself, a section heading, or both.
Quote from an article without pages
Attention scores improved after even brief outdoor exposure (Moreau & Singh, 2023, Results section, para. 2).
The e-locator itself (e.g., e0284561) is not used in the in-text citation; it belongs only in the reference list entry.
Block quotes: 40 words or more
A quote of 40+ words becomes a block quote: start it on a new line, indent the whole thing 0.5", drop the quotation marks, and put the citation after the final period.
Block quote format
Adolescents in multigenerational households reported stronger emotional support networks than peers in nuclear-family homes. This effect persisted after controlling for household income and parental education, suggesting the grandparent relationship itself carries protective weight for adolescent well-being. (Delgado et al., 2024, p. 158)
⚠️ Note the period comes before the citation in a block quote, the reverse of a short quote.
Long Paraphrases
Paraphrasing (restating a source's ideas in your own words) still requires a citation. But what if your paraphrase runs three or four sentences?
The rule: cite the source in the first sentence, and don't repeat the citation in every following sentence as long as it stays clear you're still discussing the same source. Make it clear with signal phrases like "the researchers also found..." or "their analysis showed..."
Long paraphrase, cited once, clearly continued
Delgado et al. (2024) found that grandparent involvement predicted adolescent well-being across household types. The researchers noted the effect was strongest when grandparents lived in the home. Their analysis also ruled out income as an explanation.
Risky: connection lost
Delgado et al. (2024) found that grandparent involvement predicted adolescent well-being. Grandparents who live in the home matter most. Income does not explain the effect.
The second version drifts: by sentence two, a reader can't tell whether these are your claims or the source's. If you start a new paragraph still using the same source, cite it again.
🦦When in doubt: if the idea came from someone else, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, it needs a citation. Only your own analysis and common knowledge go uncited.
Practice
Question 1
You quote 12 words directly from page 47 of a source by Nguyen (2023). What must the citation include?
Question 2
Your quote is 52 words long. What do you do?
Question 3
You paraphrase one study for three consecutive sentences in the same paragraph. According to APA, you should:
Question 4: Spot the Problem
What's wrong with this passage?
Social media use peaks in early adolescence. Teens check their phones an average of 143 times per day, and this frequency correlates with sleep loss. These patterns are strongest in students aged 12–14.
Question 5
You want to quote from an online-only article that has an article number (e0284561) but no page numbers. Which citation is correct?