Parenthetical Citations
using the
MLA Format
Parenthetical Citations in MLA
What are parenthetical citations?
Material borrowed from another source is
documented within the text by a brief parenthetical
reference that directs readers to the full citation in the
list of Works Cited.
Why use parenthetical citations?
Rather than try to reword someone else’s words in
your paper, which can be painstaking, difficult, and
you usually end up plagiarizing anyway, try
“borrowing” material and legitimately cite it in your
paper.
Parenthetical Citations in MLA
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done
in two ways. When you make reference to someone else's idea,
either through paraphrasing or quoting them directly, you:
+provide the author's name (or the title of the work)
and the page(or paragraph) number of the work in a
parenthetical citation, then...
+provide full citation information for the work in
your Works Cited list
*This allows people to know which sources you used in writing your
essay and then be able to look them up themselves, so that
they can use them in their research.
How Do I Do Parenthetical Citations?
MLA format follows the author-page method
of citation.
This means that the author's last name and the
page number(s) from which the quotation is
taken must appear in the text, and a complete
reference should appear in your Works Cited
list.
The author's name...
may appear in one of two places:
1) in the sentence itself or
2) in parentheses following the
quotation or paraphrase
The page number(s)…
should always appear in the parentheses
following the quotation, summary, or
paraphrase, not in the text of your
sentence.
Parenthetical Citations … Some Examples
Example #1 - Author’s name in text, Page at end
Indenting
does not need
to be done,
but can be
used to make
a quote more
noticeable.
In John Malam’s book, The Bombing of Hiroshima, he quotes Robert
Oppenheimer’s statements following the explosion:
“We waited until the blast had passed,
walked out of the shelter and then
it was extremely solemn. We knew
Particularly
when the
quote is
longer than a
few sentences.
the world would not be the same” (15).
Option to Example #1 - No title mentioned, information not quoted,
author’s name and pages given at the end (This is very useful if you are
not quoting, but summarizing or paraphrasing instead.)
Robert Oppenheimer described the world after the blast as extremely
solemn (Malam 15).
3 Ways to “Borrow” Information
Quoting- easiest way, but use selectively and quote
only the passages that deal directly with your subject
in memorable language. If you decide to omit part of
the passage, use ellipsis points (…) to indicate omitted
words from the original source (Trimmer 22).
Paraphrasing- restates the content of a short passage
phrase by phrase, recasting the author’s words in your
own (Trimmer 24).
Summarizing-condenses the content of a lengthy
passage, reformulate the main idea and outline main
points (Trimmer 24).
Quoting
(Author in text, page at end)
John Malam, in his book The Bombing of Hiroshima, recounts
statements of Albert Einstein, whose letter encouraged the U.S.
to build the atomic bomb. He said: “I could burn my fingers
that I wrote that first letter to Roosevelt” (27).
OR
(Author and page at end)
Albert Einstein’s response after the bombing of Hiroshima is
telling of the horrific aftermath and his guilt resulting from the
event. In reflecting on a letter he had once written to
President Roosevelt regarding uranium, he said, I could “burn
my fingers” for ever writing it (Malam 27).
A Comparison of Quoting, Summarizing,
and Paraphrasing the same information
in the following 3 examples.
Quoting
(Author, Page at the end of the quote)
President Truman was pleased that the testing of
the atomic bomb had gone so well. In his
opinion, “the atomic bomb could be used to bring
the war in the Pacific to a quick end and,
therefore, save American lives” (Malam 18).
Summarizing
(Author, Page at the end of the summary)
Though a tough political situation, President
Truman thought it would be best to use the atomic
bomb to bring the war in the Pacific to an end
(Malam 18).
Paraphrasing
(Author, Page at the end of the paraphrase)
President Truman was pleased that the testing of the
atomic bomb had gone so well; he felt the use of the
bomb could bring the war in the Pacific to an end,
saving countless American lives (Malam 18).
DON’T FORGET…
Plagiarism is a serious offense that
strips individuals of their personal
accomplishments. It is basically
“stealing” from someone, so instead
try “borrowing” and saying “thank
you” by citing your sources using
MLA.
Good Luck with your research!
Works Cited
Gibaldi, Joseph, and Walter S. Achtert. MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers. New York: Modern Language
Association of America, 2001.
Malam, John. The Bombing of Hiroshima.
North Mankato, MN: Smart Apple
Media, 2003.
MLA. 10 January 2005. Modern Language Association.
February 2005. <www.mla.org>
MLA Style Citations. 7 May 2004 University of
Berkley Library. 10 February 2005.
<www.lib.berkley.edu/TeachingLib/
Guides/MLAstyle.pdf>
Trimmer, Joseph F. A Guide to MLA
Documentation. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1999.
10
California