Page numbers are a small but important part of APA citations. Fortunately, page numbers are only needed at the end of sentences when quoting from other sources. When writing a bibliography, page numbers are only needed when citing book chapters or journal articles. When in doubt, you can follow the basic guidelines for including page numbers. However, always include the page number if there is one.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using Quotes in Text
Step 1. Find the source page number used
Include the page number that includes the statement or fact you are citing. If it appears on more than one page, list the entire page range. You can find the page number in the top or bottom corner of the page.
- For example, if you are going to quote something from page 10, cite page 10.
- If the information to be quoted is spread over several pages, list them all. Therefore, you should quote pages 10-16.
- Sometimes, page numbers may be followed by letters like “B1” or use Roman numerals like “iv” or “xi.” Therefore, always use the numbering format used by the source.
Step 2. Write a sentence
You don't have to include page numbers in the sentence you're writing. This sentence should only contain information from the page you are quoting.
If you are going to write the author's name in a sentence, write the year of publication in brackets after the author's name. For example, you might write, “Smith (2010) shows that poor hygiene is correlated with low self-esteem.”
Step 3. Write the page number in brackets at the end of the sentence
Put the brackets before the period. The citation format you use will depend on whether or not the author's name is in the sentence.
- If the author's name is included in the sentence, write the page number at the end of the sentence. For example, “Smith (2010) shows that poor hygiene is correlated with low self-esteem (p. 40).”
- If the author's name is not included in the sentence, write the author's surname and year of publication in brackets before the page number. For example, “Research shows that poor hygiene is correlated with low self-esteem (Smith, 2010, p. 40).”
Step 4. Write p or pp before the page number
If you are only quoting from one page, you only need to write "p." before the page number. When quoting from several consecutive pages, you should write “pp.” before the page number. Separate page numbers with hyphens.
- A quote from a single page may take the form of (Smith, 2010, p. 40) or (p. 40).
- Quotations from several successive pages may take the form (Smith, 2010, pp. 40-45) or (pp. 40-45).
Step 5. Add a comma between several non-consecutive page numbers
If the information to be quoted is on several pages that are not sequential, you must still quote the page number used. Use "pp." before the page number. For example, if the information you want to quote comes from page 40 and then continues on page 45, you should write (Smith, 2010, pp. 40, 45).
Method 2 of 3: Writing a Bibliography
Step 1. Find the entire range of source pages used
Don't just cite the pages you use. Find the first and last page numbers of the article used. This is the page range. Therefore, if a chapter starts on page 27 and ends on page 45, the page span of that chapter is 27 -45.
- Newspaper articles may have page numbers followed by letters (such as 1A or B3) and introductions may use Roman numerals (such as i, ii, iii, etc.). Always use the numbering format used by the source.
- If the article to be quoted is more than a few pages long, write the page of the article starting and ending in both parts. Add a comma between the page numbers. For example, 15-20, 25-30.
- Make sure the source page range also includes bibliography, appendices, and other additional material. Therefore, if the content of the article ends on page 173 but the attachment ends on page 180, the page range of the article ends on page 180.
Step 2. Write a complete quote from the text used
The citation format used will depend on the selected source form. Since page numbers are generally only used in book chapters and articles, you can use the following guidelines when citing other sources.
- Book chapter: Surname, Initials of First Name. Second Initial (if any). (Publication Year). Chapter Title. in Editor A & Editor B (Editor), Book title (chapter page). Location: Publisher.
- Articles: Author A. & Author B. (Year). Article title. Journal title, volume number (creation number), article pages.
Step 3. Write a page range between the title and chapter locations of the book
Include page numbers in parentheses, and separate them with a hyphen. Write "pp." before the page number. For example, if you are quoting chapters on pages 41 and 63, your citation might look like this:
Williams, B. and Johnson, A. (1990). Traffic Patterns and Urban Spreads. in C. Carr (Editor), Traffic Engineering Trends (pp. 41-63). New York: ZMN Publishing
Step 4. Write the page range at the end of the article
Don't use "p." or "pp." before the page number. Separate the first and last page numbers with a hyphen. Therefore, when citing the journal article listed on pages 5-23, your citation might look something like this:
Roberts, R. (2013). Managing Traffic in the Southwest. Traffic Engineering 23(2), 5-23
Step 5. Sort each page number of the cited newspaper article
Newspaper page numbers are usually cited in a slightly different way than other articles, such as magazine or journal articles. Before the page number, write "p." when quoting from a single page, and “pp.” when quoting from multiple pages. Sort each page separately if not in order. For example, you might have to cite an article that starts on page B1 and continues on pages B3 and B4 like this:
Diaz, C. (2016, 26 June). “Traffic in The City,” The Times Morning Gazette, pp. B1, B3-B4
Method 3 of 3: The Right Time to Include Page Numbers
Step 1. Include page numbers when citing data or statistics from sources
If you include data, statistics, or other figures from a scientific study source, always include the page number the information is on.
For example, you might write, “According to Jones (2006), 5% of social media users are active for 5 hours or more each day (p. 207).”
Step 2. Include the page number after the quote
Write the page number after the quotation marks and before the period. This should be done when citing excerpts from books, articles, and book chapters. For example, you might write it like this:
Jones (2006) suggests that “5% of social media users are active for 5 hours or more each day” (p. 207)
Step 3. Consider writing down page numbers when paraphrasing
When you paraphrase, you are restating the author's general idea, argument, or result in your own way. You don't have to include them, but page numbers may be helpful when paraphrasing specific sections of long and complex sources. For example, you could write it like this:
“Jones (2006) indicates that addictive behavior is seen in a minority of social media users (p. 207).”
Step 4. Include paragraph numbers if there are no page numbers
When citing from websites or from other sources that do not have page numbers, you should include the paragraph numbers. In general, you should do this when citing specific quotes or data. You do not have to write page numbers in the bibliography.
- You can quote a paragraph in the same way as a page number. However, you must write "para." instead of "p." So, if you quote paragraph 3, the paragraph number of the quote will look like (para. 3) or (James, 2007, para. 3).
- To find the paragraph number, count the number of paragraphs from the first to the one you want to quote. Therefore, quotations taken from the third paragraph will be written as quotations from paragraph number 3.
