Citations Matter
In-text citations tell the reader exactly where you found a fact, quotation, or other piece of evidence—whether you quote it directly or paraphrase it in your own words. Depending on the information provided within your sentence, the amount of information you need to cite will vary. In MLA, in-text citations are usually parenthetical—that is, the source of cited information is put in parentheses within the body of the paper.
Elements of In-text Citations
For every quotation, fact, or piece of evidence you provide in your paper, you must note:
- The author(s) of the work in which the evidence was originally provided
- The page number(s) on which the evidence was found
- Repeated numbers within the citation do not need to be restated. For example, stating a page range as (181-5) is acceptable in MLA format.
Placement of In-text Citations
The placement of parenthetical elements for in-text citations depends on where a quotation appears within a sentence and how many words it contains.
Middle of a sentence (<4 typed lines)
- Place the citation directly after your closing quotation mark.
End of a sentence (<4 typed lines)
- Place the citation after the closing quotation mark and before the final sentence punctuation.
End of long quote no more than 1 paragraph (>4 typed lines)
- Use a block-citation: Position the quoted text in a separate mini-paragraph that is indented one inch (about 10 spaces) from the left and right margins.
- Left-align the mini-paragraph.
- Start the quotation on a new line.
- Double-space the quotation.
- Either cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation.
Within a multi-paragraph quotation (>4 typed lines)
- Use a modified block-citation: Position the quoted text in a separate mini-paragraph that is indented one inch (about 10 spaces) from the left and right margins.
- Left-align the mini-paragraph.
- Start the quotation on a new line.
- Indent the first line of each paragraph in the quotation an additional ¼ inch or about three spaces.
- Double-space the quotation.
- Either cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation.
Introducing a Source
The first time you introduce a new work within the body of your paper, cite the year of publication in parentheses immediately after the author’s full name (or the work’s title if author is unavailable). In rare cases, the author and date might both appear in the narrative. In this case, do not use parentheses.
Author and year stated in sentence
The author’s name can be stated to introduce evidence from their work. When the author’s name has already been stated, include the year of publication after the author’s name and cite pages on which the evidence is found in your parenthetical citation, which appears after the end quotation marks.
- Author’s name (year) argues, “quotation” (#). (single page)
- Author’s name (year) argues, “quotation”… (#-#). (multiple page range)
- Author’s name (year) argues, “quotation”… (#, #). (multiple pages that are discontinuous)
Example 1a: Author and year stated in sentence
Deborah Tannen (1993) states, “This prior experience or knowledge then takes the form of expectations about the world” (20–21), thus indicating that we come to expect certain outcomes as a result of what we already know.
Subsequent In-text Citations (Common Examples)
Author and year stated in paragraph
This case also applies if a previous first introduction of the work (with a citation) in the same paragraph is from the same work.
- Author’s name (year) … Sentence…”quotation” or paraphrase… (#-##).
Example 1b: Author and year already stated in paragraph
Deborah Tannen (1993) discusses the importance of individual experience to expectations. She argues, “This prior experience or knowledge then takes the form of expectations about the world” (20-21).
Author named after quotation or paraphrase
- Paraphrase or “quotation” (Last name(s) ##-##).
Example 2: Author name and page number(s) after a quotation
All of our personal experiences are stored and transformed into “expectations about the world” (Tannen 20-21).
Electronic (Internet and Web) sources
- “Quotation” (Last name OR title of Web site OR URL).
Example 3: Author name or other information after a quotation
“The [Dance, Dance Revolution physical education] program in West Virginia will roll out in the coming weeks at 103 middle schools and junior high schools and will reach the remaining schools by the end of the 2006-07 school year” (Kim).
Additional pointers for MLA formatted in-text citations
- When the work has more than four authors, MLA only requires that the first author is acknowledged, but you can list all authors if your instructor/editor prefers. If you only list the first author, add “et al.” after the author’s name as it appears in the citation or text.
- When citing more than one source in a sentence, both authors and page numbers are cited within the parentheses separated by a semicolon (;). The citation appears before the closing punctuation.
- Paraphrase…”quotation” (Last name 1 ##-##; Last name 2 ##-##).
- If you are citing multiple works for the same author, include an abbreviated title in each citation.
- Paraphrase…”quotation” (Last name, short title ##-##).