In-text Citations
MLA “Bible”
Why cite?
Whenever you refer to information in the text of your paper you must give credit to
the author or source from which you received your information. Regardless of if you
reword (paraphrase) your writing, you are required to give credit to the person(s),
group, organization, or entity in which you found your information. Failure to do this
results in plagiarism, a serious offense that can earn you poor grades in high school
and removal from a university. Plagiarism is also against the law!
In-text citations allow you to reference the work and expertise of others through the use of signal phrases
and parenthetical references. Signal phrases are used to identify a source and the type of information you
are using, such as a quotation, summary, or paraphrase. A parenthetical reference is a set of parentheses
that appear in your paper next to the information you have taken from one of your sources. This also
typically includes an author’s last name and the page on which you found the information. Occasionally,
other situations arise and you may have to vary the information in the citation. Signal phrases transition
readers smoothly into a quotation, summary or paraphrase.
Below, you will find a list of rules regarding using in-text citations in your writing. Read each rule and
familiarize yourself with the Modern Language Association (MLA) Format guidelines. It is important that you
understand these rules, as you will be tested over them during the remainder of the quarter.
In-text Citation Rules
1.
Sources with a single author

When citing a quote that comes from a source with an author, put the author’s last name
in parenthesis, along with the page number(s) on which the information is found. You do
not separate the author’s last name and page number with a comma. If the sentence
ends with a period, make sure the period is on the OUTSIDE of the citation. Note: if a page
number is not provided, then you only put the author’s last name in parenthesis.
o Example: There are many who insist that caring, civilized people should not hunt
sentient animals for fun, trophy, or sport because of the trauma, suffering, and
death that result, and that a society that characterizes wild animals as "game"
denies respect for life (Slesnick 53).

Sometimes, writers will use the author’s name in a signal phrase, a statement that
introduces where the quote or information is coming from, before giving the quote or
material. If the author's name is written in a signal phrase, you only need to write the page
number on which you found the information in the citation. The signal phrase has been
underlined for you in the example below.
o Example: Irwin Slesknick acknowledges the controversial topic of hunting by
pointing out the following: There are many who insist that caring, civilized people
should not hunt sentient animals for fun, trophy, or sport because of the trauma,
suffering, and death that result, and that a society that characterizes wild animals
as "game" denies respect for life (53).

Because the author’s name was mentioned before the quote was given,
only the page number is required for the in-text citation.
2.
Sources with multiple authors (three or less)

For a source with three authors or less, list the authors’ last names in parenthesis, along with
a page number in parenthesis for your in-text citation. Note: if a page number is not
provided, then you only put the authors’ last name in parenthesis.
o Example: Farmers and communities who gain knowledge of forest resources
appreciate its importance, invest in management, and tend to have their own
conservation goals (Brondizio and Moran 82).
o Example: Farmers and communities who appreciate the
importance of rain forests and their resources are more likely to invest their money
in conservation, as well as try to set goals for maintaining the importance of nature
and wildlife (Brondizio and Moran).

If you were to use the author’s last names in a signal phrase, you
would only include the page number in your citation. The signal phrase has been
underlined for you in the example below. If there is no page number, you only list the
last names of the author in parenthesis.
o Example: According to Brondizio and Moran, farmers and
communities who appreciate the importance of rain forests and their resources
are more likely to invest their money in conservation, as well as try to set goals for
maintaining the importance of nature and wildlife (82).
3.
Sources with multiple authors (four or more)

For a source with more than three authors, use the work's bibliographic information as a
guide for your citation. Provide the first author's last name followed by the phrase “et al.” in
parenthesis (Latin for "and others"). You may use this in place of the subsequent authors'
names.
o Example: Recognizing that our students have very limited cross-cultural and
interdisciplinary exposure within the academic setting, and that electronic
technology now facilitates this kind of communication, we created a course that
encourages such exposure and experience (Bell et al. 242).
o Note: There is never a period after “et” in “et al.”
4.
Sources with no author

If the source doesn’t have an author, note the title (if brief) or a shortened form of the title,
in the in-text citation. The title of the article goes inside of the parenthesis and is
punctuated with quotation marks. All major words in the title must be capitalized.

Typically, these sources would come from electronic sources (websites) in which there is no
specific author that published the information. Examples could include the Bureau of
Labor and Statistics, the American Cancer Society, or even university web pages (to name
a few).
o Example: Whether you smoke or not, you may already know that tobacco use is
the single largest cause of preventable death in the United States, exceeding the
death toll from HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, motor vehicle accidents, suicide, and
homicide combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(“Lung Cancer Awareness”).
5.
Citing more than one work by the same author

If you cite more than one work by a particular author, include a shortened title for the
particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles
of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.
o Example: I’ve no idea where to go. The brief sense of home I had that one night
with Rue has vanished. My feet wander this way and that until sunset. I’m not
afraid, not even watchful. Which makes me an easy target (Collins The Hunger
Games 235).
o Example: Yes. This is the thing to remember when fear threatens to swallow me up.
What I am about to do, whatever any of us are forced to endure, it is for them. It's
too late to help Rue, but maybe not too late for those five little faces that looked
up at me from the square in District 11. Not too late for Rory and Vick and Posy.
Not too late for Prim (Collins Catching Fire 123).
6.
Citing different authors with the same last name

When creating in-text citations for different authors with the same last name, include
enough information so that the reader will be able to differentiate them. For MLA purposes,
you would include the initial of their first name, followed by their last name and the page
number (if available).
o Example: It must have been a Thursday night when I met her for the first time—at
the dance hall. I reported to work in the morning, after an hour or two's sleep,
looking like a somnambulist. The day passed like a dream (H. Miller 1).
o Example: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!
Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of
them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul;
leave me my name!” (A. Miller IV.281-294).
Works Cited
Bell, Patricia, et al. "Globalizing the Classroom: Innovative Approach to National and International
Learning." Humanity & Society 39.2 (2015): 236. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 14 Jan.
2016.
Brondizio, Eduardo, and Emilio Moran. "Level-Dependent Deforestation Trajectories in the Brazilian Amazon
from 1970 to 2001." Population & Environment 34.1 (2012): 69. Points of View Reference Center.
Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.
"Lung Cancer Awareness." Washington Informer. 13 Jan. 2011: 16. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 11
Jan. 2016.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: the Penguin Group, 1995. Print.
Miller, Henry. The Rosy Crucifixion. New York: Grove, 1987. Print.
Slesnick, Irwin L. "To Hunt or Not to Hunt." Clones, Cats, & Chemicals: Thinking Scientifically about
Controversial Issues. 51. n.p.: National Science Teachers Association, 2004. Points of View
Reference Center. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
Created by Ms. Lindsay Williams
LHS English 9 & 12 Teacher