Skip to Main Content

Quinebaug Valley Campus Library

Quinebaug Valley Citing Sources - MLA Style

This guide will help you properly cite sources in your paper using MLA Style.

What are In-Text Citations

In-text citations are short notes in the text directing the reader to the source of your information. Your full citation appears in your References at the end of your paper. Use In-Text Citations when you are:

  • Using a quote, or
  • Using information that clearly came from a particular source

Your in-text citation will begin with the first piece of information in the reference page citation. For MLA, this will usually be the author's last name. If you are using a direct quote, the in-text citation will also include a page number.

In-Text Citations: The Basics

MLA in-text citations follow an author-page number system and share the same basic format: author's last name followed by the page number. In other words, the in-text citation structure should look like:

(Author's last name Page Number).

MLA in-text citations always include a page number even if the information cited is not a direct quote. Additionally, in-text citations always appear in parentheses, and punctuation should appear outside of the closed parenthesis. 

Examples:

There was "no evidence that there was foul play at the site" (Andrade 6).
It was reported the foul play occurred around the 1900s (Andrade 6). 

 

 

Narrative versus Parenthetical Citations

 

There are two ways to make an in-text citation: narrative and parenthetical. 

In a narrative citation, the source is mentioned in the text directly. If a page number is available, it is placed at the end of the sentence in parentheses.

Examples:

Advancements in the field reported by Diez indicating a positive future for the industry (5).
The report by Diez indicates that the bioengineering field is growing rapidly (5). 

 

 

In a parenthetical citation, the source is not mentioned directly in the text so it must be cited at the end of the statement. For the parenthetical citation the author's last name and the page number are included in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Examples:

Advancements in the field indicate a positive future for the industry (Diez 5).
The report mentioned "the bioengineering field is growing rapidly" (Diez 5).

 

In-Text Citations with Multiple Authors

In-Text Citations with Two Authors

If a source has exactly two authors, both names should be included in the in-text citation. If a page number is available it should also be included in the citation, placed at the end of the sentence in parenthesis. Follow the advice below for narrative and parenthetical citations. 

Narrative Citation: put the word "and" between the names.

Example:

Ito and Alvarez have made great advancements in the field (20).

 

Parenthetical Citation: put the word "and" between the names.

Example: 

Advancements have been made in the field (Ito and Alvarez 20).

 

In-Text Citations with Three or more Authors

If a source has three or more authors, include the first author's last name only and put "et al." after the first author's last name. Put the page number at the end of the sentence in parenthesis.

Narrative Citation: 

Example:

Alvarez et al. have made great advancements in the field (20).

 

Parenthetical Citation:

Example:

Advancements have been made in the field (Alvarez et al. 20).

 

In-Text Citations with an Organization or Corporation as the Author

If a source is not published by an individual it may be published under an organization or a corporation. In this case, include the full title of the organization or corporation along with the page number in your in-text citation. 

Narrative Citation:

Example:

The Modern Language Association traced a drastic increase in the number of book challenges in 2023 (57).

 

Parenthetical Citation:

Example:

 In 2023, there were "1,247 efforts to censor books and other resources in libraries" (Modern Language Association 57). 

Works in an Anthology, Periodical, or Collection

To cite a work that is exists in a larger source you will cite the author of the internal source, the author of the specific article or essay you are referring to not the author of the entire collection.  

For example, a line from  one of Martin Luther King Jr's speeches found in the book A Testament of Hope: the Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. edited by James M. Washington would be cited as (King 21).

Narrative Citation:

Example:

 King opens his speech with this moving statement "As I stand here and look out upon the thousands of Negro faces, and the thousands of white faces, intermingled like the waters of a river, I see only one face-the face of the future" (21).

 

Parenthetical Citation:

Example:

 "As I stand here and look out upon the thousands of Negro faces, and the thousands of white faces, intermingled like the waters of a river, I see only one face-the face of the future" (King 21).