MLA GUIDELINES FOR
PARENTHETICAL
DOCUMENTATION
Information from
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th edition.
New York: MLAA, 2009.
Designed by Chris Bui and Tina Blaas
Revised by Savanna Richter
2010
© 2002 UWF Writing Lab
According to the UWF English Department,
“[p]lagiarism is the unacknowledged, or
insufficiently acknowledged use of another’s
ideas and/or his expression.” Purposely or
unknowingly copying ideas and information from
another source is plagiarism. As Linda Moore of
UWF indicates, “[i]t is not wrong to use the ideas
of others, but it is wrong not to give that person
credit for his ideas.” Plagiarism is very serious
and could result in disciplinary action, including
academic suspension or even expulsion. Just
don’t do it! If you use a secondary source, avoid
plagiarism: cite the source.
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Whether quoting directly from a source
or paraphrasing a source, you must
give credit to the author or authors of
the source.
In MLA, source information is given
immediately following the quoted or
paraphrased material.
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Which information is cited?
Direct quotations
Information taken
from secondary sources
Do not cite common knowledge
information. For example:
The earth revolves around the sun.
However, cite specific information that
is not considered general knowledge.
For example:
The earth is 149,573,000 km from the
sun (“Earth”).
If in doubt, cite the information to be
safe..
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Style
Place the parenthetical citation at a natural pause in the sentence
(“preferably at the end of a sentence”) and as close as possible to
the documented material. Parenthetical references precede final
punctuation.
The author’s or authors’ last names and the page number of the
source appear in parentheses: (Johnson 50).
Notice that there is no comma between the name and page number
and that no page marker (p., page, pp.) is necessary.
If no author is available, cite the title of the work: (“Earth” 28).
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Examples of Parenthetical
Documentation:
Direct Quotation:
“The contention that Shakespeare hated the
common people has found much comfort and
support in the fact that he never loses an
opportunity of reminding us that they smell”
(Palmer 315).
Note that the citation follows the
closing quotation mark but appears
before the period.
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Examples of Parenthetical
Documentation:
Paraphrase:
The argument that Shakespeare was repulsed
by commoners is maintained by the frequent
references in his plays about their smells
(Palmer 315).
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Other Possible
Documentation
Situations
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Two or three authors:
List all authors’ last names.
(Rabkin and Greenberg 23)
(Rabkin, Akin, and Bergen 6)
More than three authors:
Give the first author’s last name
followed by et al., or list all the
authors’ last names.
(Lane et al. 7)
(Lane, Alan, Poe, and Kern 7)
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Authors with the same last name:
Add the first initial.
(A. Smith 187)
(J. Smith 43)
More than one work by the same
author: After the author’s last name, place a
comma and the title of the work
before the page number(s). Shorten
the title if necessary. If the title is
introduced in the text, then it is not
needed in the parentheses.
(Frye, Double Vision 85)
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No author:
Give the full title or the first major
word of the title. The, a, and an are
not major words.
(Human Circus 564)
(“School Vouchers” 49)
Multiple page numbers:
Continuous
(Bishop 6-10)
(Stephens 28-9)
Separate
(McCall 45, 89)
Both
(Smith 52-8, 125)
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Citing Indirect Sources:
Add “qtd.” before the citation for
the indirect source
(qtd. In Boswell 2: 450).
Common Literature:
More information than the page
number alone is needed
(185; ch.13, sec. 2)
More than one work in a single
parenthetical reference:
Avoid using more than two
citations per reference
(Fukuyama 42; McRae 101-33)
Other Things to Know
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If the author of the source is mentioned in
the text, the author’s name is unnecessary
in the parenthetical citation as long as “the
reference is clearly to the work of the author
you mention”:
Palmer indicates “[t]he contention that Shakespeare
hated the common people has found much comfort
and support in the fact that he never loses an
opportunity of reminding us that they smell” (315).
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Once an author has been cited, his or
her name does not need to be given
again. Just give the page number until
a new work is cited. If a former source
is referred to again, then the author’s
name has to be cited again. Some
instructors may prefer the author’s
name in each new paragraph; some do
not. Ask to be sure.
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Example Romeo and Juliet presents an opposition
between two worlds: “the world of the
everyday,” associated with the adults in
the play, and “the world of romance,”
associated with the two lovers (Zender
138). Romeo and Juliet’s language of love
nevertheless becomes “fully responsive to
the tang of actuality” (141).
Quote within Quote
Use single quotation marks to indicate
a quote within a quote.
Example:
Everybody and everything “heard the whisper
all over the house: ‘There must be more
money’” (Lawrence 975).
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Quotation with Altered Text:
Any alterations to the original text should be
placed in square brackets ([ ]).
Original: They caused widespread panic.
Quote with altered text:
“[The tornadoes] caused widespread
panic” (Cage 32).
Given his experiences, Cage might
argue that tornadoes “caus[e]
widespread panic” (32).
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Explanations that follow quoted material
should be placed in parenthesis.
Adding “sic” to denote exact quotation –
Shaw admitted, “Nothing can extinguish my
interest in Shakespear” (sic).
Explanation of alterations or additions –
Lincoln specifically advocated a government
“for the people” (emphasis added).
Leaving out Information
If any part of the quotation is left out,
indicate omitted information by
inserting an ellipsis (. . .).
The ellipsis can stand for omitted
words, phrases, and sentences.
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Ellipsis
If you insert ellipsis within a sentence, use three
periods with a space before each and a space
after the last.
When the ellipsis coincides with the end of your
sentence, use three periods with a space before
each following a sentence period.
If a parenthetical reference follows the ellipsis at
the end of your sentence, however, use three
periods with a space before each, and place the
sentence period after the final parenthesis.
Examples
Original:
Medical thinking, trapped in the theory of
astral influences, stressed air as the
communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation
and visible carriers.
Omitted material within a quotation:
“Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the
communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation
and visible carriers” (101-02).
Block Quote
If a direct quotation runs more than
four typed lines in the paper, introduce
the quotation and then set it off in the
text by indenting it one inch (known as
a block quote).
There are no quotation marks around
the block quotation.
The parenthetical citation follows the
period.
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EXAMPLE
Stephens 6
According to Hemans’s account of the event, the boy refuses to leave without his father’s
consent. However, Warner suggests that Hemans’s poem is not quite accurate according to an
officer on the Swiftsure, a nearby English ship that picked up survivors from the Orient:
}
The son of Casabianca [. . .] had lost a leg, and was below with the surgeon, but
Indent 1”
No Quotation
Marks
quotation
{
the father could not be prevailed upon to quit the ship even to save his own life,
preferring to die beside his son rather than leave him wounded, and a prey to the
flames, thus placing parental affection in a most trying and awful situation, as if to
show the extremities to which it may be carried. (88)
Citation follows period
Warner adds that “[o]ther narratives say that, as the flames spread, Casabianca and his son did in
fact leave the ship together, only to be drowned before they could be picked up” (88), suggesting
that neither died on the burning ship.
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Introduce
Quote
Poetry
Poetry and verse are cited by line
numbers. Indicate a line break with a
slash (/).
Slashes are not needed for four or
more lines of poetry; however, use the
block quote format and copy each line
as it appears in the original.
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Example
The speaker calls “for a beaker full of the
warm South, / Full of the true, the blushful
Hippocrene / With beaded bubbles winking
at the brim” (Keats 15-7).
Remember that some professors may
modify these guidelines to fit their own
classes and assignments.
Just ask to be sure!
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For questions about MLA format,
consult the MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers
or call or stop by the
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UWF
Writing
Lab.
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