The following are examples of how to cite various resources in author-date style. The parenthetical citations (often in the text of a paper) are indicated by "p" beside each example while reference citations are indicated by "r". The parenthetical citations only require the author, date, and relevant page number within parenthesis after cited information. This information is often the first two elements of a full citation found on the reference list in which all elements (author, date of publication, title, and other facts of the publication) are listed. However, some of the elements may be in a different location than in notes-bibliography citation.
One author
The author's name begins the citation in the reference list in inverted form (last name, first name). The year (date) of publication goes after the date. Titles of books (or containers) are italicized. Periods come after major elements (name, date, title) and at the end of the citation.
Parenthetical citations only require the author's last name, the year and page numbers. A comma is present after the date and before the page number.
(r) Raphael, Ray. 2002. The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord. New York: The New Press.
(p) (Raphael 2002, 73)
Two authors
The reference list citation requires the first author's name to be inverted (last name, first name). The second, and subsequent, author(s) come in standard order (first name, last name).
Put the last names of both authors in the parenthetical citations. For two authors, separate each author with "and" between. For three authors, use a comma to separate the first and second author. Then put "and" between the second and third author's names.
(r) McPherson, James M., and James K. Hogue. 2009. Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill.
(p) (McPherson and Hogue 2009, 121)
Four or more authors
Reference citations of sources with four or more authors have all the authors' names listed in the citation.
In the parenthetical citations, list the first author's last name and add "et al" after. Then put the year of publication and the page number.
(r) Bruce, Robert B., Iain Dickie, Kevin Kiley, Michael F. Pavkovic, and Frederick C. Schneid. 2008. Fighting Techniques of the Napoleonic Age: Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics 1792-1815. New York: St. Martin's Press.
(p) (Bruce et. al 2008, 163)
Author plus editor/translator
If a source has an author plus an editor or translator, place the editor/translator's name after the title of the book in standard order (first name, last name) preceded by "edited by" or translated by".
The parenthetical citation uses the author's name and does not feature the editor/translator's name unless the source does not have an author's name but an editor/translator. In this case, the editor/translator is put in the author's place in the citation/parenthetical citation.
(r) Roosevelt, Theodore. 2004. The Rough Riders: An Autobiography. Edited by Louis Auchincloss. New York: The Library of America.
(p) (Roosevelt 2004, 277)
Edition number
When a book has been published in multiple editions, make sure to note the edition you are using in the reference list. The edition number goes after the title of the book with "ed." after the number.
No note of the edition has to be made in the parenthetical citation.
(r) McPherson, James M., and James K. Hogue. 2009. Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill.
(p) (McPherson and Hogue 2009, 121)
Print articles
Articles published in journals can be both in print and/or online. The citations in the reference list require the title of the article to be put in quotation marks while the title of the journal is italicized. The publication date (i.e. 2016) goes after the author's name while the month or season (often found with journals) go in parenthesis after the volume and issue number (the volume/issue numbers go after the title of the journal.
Parenthetical citations only require the author's last name, year, and page number.
(r) Warren, Lenora. 2021. "Racializing the post-Slavery British Child: The Violent Lessons of Clarissa Dormer." XVII New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century 18, no. 1 (Spring): 3-17.
(p) (Warren 2021, 11)
Online articles
To cite an article that is online, include a URL in the footnote. If there is a URL attached to the article (often a permalink), use that rather than the one in the address bar. If a DOI (digital object identifier) is listed, use the DOI instead of the URL. Make sure the DOI has "https://" in front of the DOI.
(r) Golburt, Luba. 2009. "Catherine's Retinue: Old Age, Fashion, and Historicism in the Nineteenth Century." Slavic Review 68, no. 4 (Winter): 782-803. https://10.1017/S0037677900024529.
(p) (Golburt 2009, 790)