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MLA In-Text Citation

Page history last edited by Mrs. Train 11 years, 3 months ago

Back to Tiferes Citation and Plagiarism Guide

 

In-text citations appear in the body of your essay or report.

They are short, usually the name of an author and a page number, that leads to a full Works Cited or References page at the end of the report.

 

 

To cite sources in the body of the paper :

  • Use in-text citations in parentheses (brackets) unless your teacher asks for footnotes (refer to appendix for information on Footnotes).

  • All in-text citations must be document on the Works Cited page at the end of the paper.

  • Use the chart below or the drop-down list at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_s1-0001.html

     

 

 

 

Examples of In-Text Citations (MLA)

  How to... Example

For ONE book by an author

Include the last name of the author and a page number with no punctuation between name and page number.

“Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (Smith 6).

If author is mentioned in body of text

If the author is mentioned, only the page number is needed.

Smith confirms that “Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (6).

For TWO or more books by the same author

Include the last name, a comma, a short title for the book (in italics) and the page number.

(Smith,Great Literature  6)

Author unknown

Use the complete title within the text or use a short form of the title in parentheses. Book titles are italicized. Article titles are put in quotation marks.

“Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (Toronto the Good 6).

Source has no author but sponsored by an agency

Use the name of the agency in place of the author.

“Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (Tourism Toronto 6).

Web source with no page numbers

Do not add page numbers, even if they appear on a printout of a website (unless the document is a .pdf).

“Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (Smith).

Four or more authors

Name all the authors for the first entry however subsequently use the first author’s name and et. al to represent the others. It is Latin for “and others.”

“Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (Smith et al. 25).

 

For authors with the same surname, include the first name as part of the text or the first initial within the parentheses.

“Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world” (A. Smith 25).

Entire book

Use the author’s name only. There is no need to include a page number.

(Smith)

Play

Give the act, scene and line numbers as available. Separate numbers with periods.

In Shakespeare’sKing Lear, Gloucester learns a lesson from his experience: “A man may see how this world goes / with no eyes” (4.6.148-49).

Poem

Cite the part, stanza and line numbers, separated by periods, as available.

“…your men are considered so magnificent” (1.12.258-59).

Novel with chapters

Use page number, followed by a semicolon, then the part or chapter. Use abbreviations such as “pt.” and “Ch.”

…her chances of finding a boyfriend are “dull and void” (117; bk. 2, ch. 10).

 

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