Identify the sentence that uses correct parenthetical citation.

Identify the sentence that uses correct parenthetical citation.

• A. The analysis followed established methods (Smith, 2019).
• B. The analysis followed established methods Smith 2019.
• C. The analysis followed Smith (2019) established methods.
• D. The analysis followed established methods. Smith 2019.

Answer: (A)

The main concept is how to attach a source to a claim with a proper in-text citation using parentheses. The sentence that says the analysis followed established methods earns credit because the source is clearly tied to that claim with the author and year inside parentheses right after the statement, and the period comes after the citation. This format, (Smith, 2019), is the standard way to credit a source for an idea without interrupting the sentence’s flow. Put simply, a parenthetical citation after the claim shows exactly what is being supported by the source and keeps the sentence grammatically clean. The comma between the author and the year inside the parentheses is also the conventional punctuation in many style guides, including APA. The other ways of presenting the citation break the standard pattern: they either omit the parentheses and punctuation, disrupt the sentence structure by inserting the citation in the middle of a noun phrase, or leave a bare citation fragment after a period. These options don’t clearly attach the source to the claim in a way that readers expect. So the sentence with the parenthetical citation after the claim is the correct choice because it cleanly and correctly credits the source for the assertion.

The main concept is how to attach a source to a claim with a proper in-text citation using parentheses. The sentence that says the analysis followed established methods earns credit because the source is clearly tied to that claim with the author and year inside parentheses right after the statement, and the period comes after the citation. This format, (Smith, 2019), is the standard way to credit a source for an idea without interrupting the sentence’s flow.

Put simply, a parenthetical citation after the claim shows exactly what is being supported by the source and keeps the sentence grammatically clean. The comma between the author and the year inside the parentheses is also the conventional punctuation in many style guides, including APA.

The other ways of presenting the citation break the standard pattern: they either omit the parentheses and punctuation, disrupt the sentence structure by inserting the citation in the middle of a noun phrase, or leave a bare citation fragment after a period. These options don’t clearly attach the source to the claim in a way that readers expect.

So the sentence with the parenthetical citation after the claim is the correct choice because it cleanly and correctly credits the source for the assertion.