MLA: In-Text Citations
- Documentation of your research paper gives credit for ALL direct quotations, paraphrases,
and summaries of facts, ideas, or opinions. What appears inside the parentheses (called
an in-text citation) functions as a short, specific address that corresponds to the
complete address on the Works Cited list. The position of the in-text citation, usually
at the end of the pertinent sentence, shows your reader exactly what information has
come from the source and from which page, or its alternative.
- An in-text citation includes the last name(s) of the author(s) and the page number(s)
from which the quotation, paraphrase, or summary is taken.
- If there is no author, use a shortened version of the title. Article titles and titles
of other short works should be in quotation marks. Book, journal, and website titles
should be italicized.
- Once you have cited a source, if you refer to that text again without citing any other
text, you may simply put page number(s) in the parentheses. This guideline applies
only to consecutive citations of one source.
- If you are using more than one work by an author, include in parentheses the title
of the work, or a shortened version of a longer title.
- If you introduce an author/title within a sentence, you need to include only the page
number(s) in parentheses. See “Author mentioned in text and pages in parentheses”
below.
- Page numbers are always provided parenthetically.
Click here for examples of MLA in-text citations. Refer to your writer’s handbook for guidelines on how to make any changes to direct quotations or visit the Writing and Learning Commons (227-7197) for help.