In-text Citations

Following MLA 7th Edition

What is in-text citation?

In-text citation, sometimes called a parenthetical
reference, is to help readers easily find the sources that
correspond to your referenced passage.

General Rules
The information that is required in a parenthetical citation depends
on:
1. the source medium (Print, Web, Dvd, ect.)
2. the sources entry on the works cited page.

Any information that is provided in-text must

correspond to the information provided on the
Works Cited page.

The signal word or phrase provided to the

readers in the text, must be the first thing that
appears on the left-hand margin of the
corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

Author-page style
The authors last name
and the page number(s)
from which the quotation
or paraphrase came from
must appear in the text.

1.

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry

was marked by a "spontaneous overflow
of powerful feelings" (263).

2.

Romantic poetry is characterized by the

"spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

3.

Wordsworth extensively explored the role

of emotion in the creative process (263).

Remember: A completed
reference should appear on
the Works Cited page.
Works Cited Reference:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical
Ballads. London: Oxford UP,
1967. Print.

The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself

or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but
the page number(s) should always appear in the
parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.

Problems with your Authors??

Corporate Author?

No Known Author?

Use the name of the corporation followed

by the page number for the in-text
citation.

Use a shortened title of the work instead

of an author name. Place the title in
quotation marks if it's a short work or
italicize it if it's a longer work and
provide a page number.

You should also use abbreviations (e.g.,

nat'l for national) where appropriate.

Example:
monitor and study environmental
change . . ." ("Impact of Global
Warming" 6).

Works Cited:
"The Impact of Global Warming in North
America." Global Warming: Early Signs.
1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

Problems with your Authors??

Authors with Same Last
Names?
If two or more authors have the same
last name, provide both authors' first
initials (or) the authors' full name if
the authors share initials- in your
citation.
Example:
[ designer children (R. Miller 12),
others note that the advantages for
medical research outweigh this
consideration (A. Miller 46). ]

Problems with your Authors??

Multiple Authors?
Three or fewer authors, list the authors' last names in the text or in the parenthetical
citation:
1.

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

2.

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

More than three authors, use the work's bibliographic information as a guide for your
citation. Provide the first author's last name followed by et al.:
1.

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).

2.

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).

Long Citations
(Block Citations)
For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse,
place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks.
Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from
the left margin; maintain double-spacing:

PART OF
ESSAY
INDENT
1

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9