 In-text citations are parenthetical citations included within the body of your assignment when sources are quoted directly, paraphrased, or referenced. The parenthetical citation gives the reader some quick information and directs them to the full citation in the references listing. When you're quoting, place your in-text citation at the end of the direct quote. When you're paraphrasing or using ideas from a source, place the in-text citation as close as possible to this information. A parenthetical citation should include authors last names, year of publication, and specific page numbers or other direction to where you found the information that you are using. The same format is used, whether the author is a person or an organization. So an in-text citation for a quote from page 124 of a 2018 article by the author with the last name Smith would have the following format. The reader can then look in your references page and find the specific resource with Smith as the author that was published in 2018. If the source you are citing has two authors, include both names. In our previous example, if Smith had a co-author with the last name Park, the citation would look like open parentheses, Smith and Park, comma, and then the year in page number says before. If there are three or more authors, list the first author's last name, followed by E-T, space, A-L, period. This is a shorthand meaning and the other people. To use our previous example, our citation for three or more authors would say open parentheses, Smith at all, with a period, comma, 2018, comma, p, period, 124, close parentheses. When your paper is documented in this way, it will be easy for your reader to see exactly where you found your information. For more complex in-text citation questions, such as citing sources with no author or no page numbers, check out the BC Library Citation Guide at BellevueCollege.LibGuides.com. Or use the Ask a Librarian page on our website to learn more about getting in touch with a librarian to ask your questions.