APA Quote Citation Generator: How to Cite a Quote in APA
An APA quote citation generator is a tool that formats a direct quote’s citation for you once you enter the source details. It saves typing, but it only formats what you give it, so you still need to know what an APA quote citation requires. An APA in-text citation for a direct quote needs three things: the author’s last name, the year, and the page number, in that order.
Here is the format a generator produces, so you can check its output or write the citation yourself.
What an APA quote citation looks like
For a direct quote, APA (7th edition) uses author, year, and page number. There are two placements.
Parenthetical, with everything after the quote:
The study found that “students retained more when tested frequently” (Miller, 2020, p. 14).
Narrative, with the author named in the sentence:
Miller (2020) noted that “students retained more when tested frequently” (p. 14).
The page number always uses “p.” for one page or “pp.” for a range. For a source with no page numbers, such as a webpage, use a paragraph number (para. 4), a heading, or a timestamp instead.
What details a generator needs from you
A generator can only format what it is given, so it will ask for the author’s last name, the publication year, the page or paragraph number, and, for the reference list entry, the title, source, and URL or DOI. If any of those is wrong or missing, the output is wrong. This is why a generator does not remove the need to find the source details yourself; it only arranges them.
Where generators go wrong
The common errors are formatting the citation to the wrong APA edition, dropping the page number on a direct quote, or guessing an author when the source has none. A generator will happily produce a clean-looking citation from bad inputs. Check that the year matches the source you actually used and that a direct quote always carries a page or paragraph locator.
How to quote a long passage in APA
A quote of 40 words or more is a block quote. Start it on a new line, indent the whole block half an inch, drop the quotation marks, and put the citation after the final punctuation:
Miller (2020) explained the effect at length:
Students who were tested on material soon after learning it retained more of that material weeks later than students who simply reread it. The act of retrieval, not the rereading, drove the difference. (p. 15)
For the equivalent rule in another style, see how to quote a textbook in APA, and for the general skill, writing a quote correctly.
Should you use a generator?
A generator is fine for speed once you understand the format, because you can catch its mistakes. Relying on one without knowing the rules is where students lose marks, since the tool cannot tell you it was fed the wrong page number or the wrong edition. Use it to save typing, then check the three required parts: author, year, and locator. For citing from a book specifically, see how to cite a quote from a book.
FAQ
What does an APA citation need for a direct quote?
Author’s last name, year, and page number: (Miller, 2020, p. 14). The page number is required for a direct quote and uses “p.” or “pp.”
How do I cite a quote with no page number in APA?
Use another locator: a paragraph number (para. 4), a section heading, or a timestamp for audio or video. The author and year stay the same.
Are APA quote citation generators accurate?
Only as accurate as what you enter. They format the details correctly but cannot verify them, so check the year, the locator, and that the output matches APA 7th edition.
What is the block quote rule in APA?
Quotes of 40 words or more become a block: new line, half-inch indent, no quotation marks, citation after the final period.