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Citation Tools: In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations

Benefit of MLA Parenthetical Citations

  • Emphasis on brevity & clarity.
  • Simple author / page format - unless there is no author (then use title of article).
  • Minimizes interruption of reading flow.
  • Links ideas and their source.
  • Directs reader to complete information about the source, which is on the works cited page.

In-text citations basics

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations. This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (just before the period). (from Purdue Writing Lab)

An in-text citation is a reference to a source that is found within the text of a paper (Handbook 227). This tells a reader that an idea, quote, or paraphrase originated from a source. MLA in-text citations usually include the last name of the author and the location of cited information. (from EasyBib)

In Text (Parenthetical) Citations

Citation Guides

Each of these guides have excellent examples to use as models.

Penn State University Libraries
"Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list." ("MLA Quick Citation Guide")

Purdue OWL
"In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what is known as parenthetical citation. This method involves placing relevant source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase."  ("MLA In-Text Citations: the Basics")

Ithaca
"If your source quotes another source — what MLA calls an “indirect source” — you should make every effort to locate that source and quote it directly. But if you cannot obtain the original, and your source doesn’t provide citation information, you can cite the secondhand source, as long as you clearly indicate what you are doing."  ("Guide to MLA Parenthetical Documentation")

Easy Bib "Creating Parenthetical Citations"