MLA In-Text Citations



MLA In-Text Citations

All quoted and paraphrased material must be cited in the text with a parenthetical in-text citation. All texts that you cite should be noted on a works cited page at the end of the paper, and all works noted on your works cited page should be texts cited in your paper.

Print Sources with Known Author

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text. If you provide a signal word/phrase that contains the author’s last name in the sentence, you do not need to include the author’s last name in the parenthetical citation.

Examples:

• Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

• Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as "symbol-using animals" (3).

Print Sources with No Known Author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (e.g. articles) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire websites) and provide a page number.

Example:

• We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).

A Work with Three or Fewer Authors

Examples:

• Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76).

• The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).

A Work with Multiple Authors

Provide the first author's last name followed by et al. or list all the last names.

Examples:

• Legal experts counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (Jones et al. 4).

• Jones et al. counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (4).

Non-Print or Sources from the Internet

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

1. Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).

2. You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.

3. Unless you must list the website name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text.

Please note: 1) There is no comma in between the author’s last name and the page number; 2) There is no p. before the page number; and 3) The parenthesis is placed after any final quotation mark and before the period

For additional help on parenthetical citations, visit:

Example:

Works Cited

Frank, Matthews L. "Hipping and Hopping Our Opportunities Away." Black Issues in Higher Education 17.21 (2000): 7. Student Resource Center- Gold. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. .

"Impact of music lyrics and music videos on children and youth." Pediatrics 98.6 (1996): 1219-222. Student Resource Center- Gold. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. .

Krohn, Franklin B., and Suazo L. Frances. "Contemporary urban music: controversial message in hip-hop and rap lyrics." ETC.:A review of General Semantics 52.2 (1995): 139-52. Student Resource Center- Gold. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. ..

"Parental Influence in the Life of the child." Mesa Community College, the resource for your continuing education. Mesa Community College, 1999. Web. 01 Jan. 2010.

Perry, Steve. "Pregnant Pause." Essence Feb. 2010: 92. Student Resource Center- Gold. Web. 11 Jan. 2010.

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|Common mistakes: |

|Not double spacing and typing in 12 point TNR font with 1 inch margins. (Please note that the above example does not use 1 inch margins.) |

|Not putting sources in alpha order. |

|Not using a hanging indent for each new source. |

|Choosing the wrong type of source. Is your article from a magazine or an academic journal? |

|Not knowing the difference between the article title and the journal title (Article title will appear in quotes and journal title will be italicized) |

|Getting editor/contributor/publisher confused |

|Confusing the database title with the title of the journal (Example of a database title: Student Resource Center Gold) |

|Confusing the website with the URL |

|Confusing the words “site” and “cite” (Hint: You visited your friend at a construction site to ask her how to cite the website Home Improvement for Dummies.) |

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