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6.30: Text- MLA In-Text Citations

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    In your paper, when you quote directly from a source in its words, or when you paraphrase someone else’s idea, you need to tell the reader what that source is so the author gets credit. When you tell the reader the author’s name in the text of your paper, this is called an in-text citation.

    An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/braw/?p=418

    Click here to download a transcript for this video

    In-Text citations are placed in parentheses, and have two components:

    • The first word found in the full citation on the Works Cited page (usually the last name of the author)
    • The location of the direct quote or paraphrase (usually a page number)
    Graphic showing when and how to create MLA In-text citations. If it is your own work, you do not need a citation. Otherwise, you need to look for the author's name (or title if there is no author name), and then the page number(s). Put the author's name and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the period, like: (Wilson 38).

    In-Text citations should be placed directly after the direct quote or paraphrase, or in a place that is a natural pause and does not cause the reader to become distracted while reading the body of your work.

    Example:

    In order to prevent starvation, Watney knew exactly what he needed to do. “My best bet for making calories is potatoes” (Weir 17).

    When using the author’s name in the sentence, only include the page number in the parentheses.

    Example:

    Seuss’s use of words such as “lurk” and “dank” help students understand the type of character that the Once-ler is (6).

    MLA reference showing text, then the author's last name and page number in parenthesis.
    Write author (last name) and page number in parentheses. If the author is already mentioned in the statement, just put the page number in parentheses. If there are two authors, name them both with “and” in the middle. Use commas if there are more than two authors. Place the citation before a punctuation mark. E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years (Alison 45).

    When to Use a Block Quotation

    A typical quotation is enclosed in double quotation marks and is part of a sentence within a paragraph of your paper. However, if you want to quote more than four lines of prose (or three lines of verse) from a source, you should format the excerpt as a block quotation, rather than as a regular quotation within the text of a paragraph. Most of the standard rules for quotations still apply, with the following exceptions: a block quotation will begin on its own line, it will not be enclosed in quotation marks, and its in-text citation will come after the ending punctuation, not before it. It should be indented one inch from the left margin.

    For example, if you wanted to quote the entire first paragraph of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, you would begin that quotation on its own line and format it as follows:

    Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice

    she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the

    use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’ (Carroll 98)

    The full reference for this source would then be included in your Works Cited section at the end of your paper.

    CC licensed content, Original
    • When and How to Use MLA Citations graphic. Authored by: Kim Louie for Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
    CC licensed content, Shared previously
    All rights reserved content
    • What Are In-Text Citations?. Authored by: Imagine Easy Solutions. Located at: https://youtu.be/R5igNRmKLug. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License

    6.30: Text- MLA In-Text Citations is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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