Parenthetical Citation and Poetry Citation in a Research Paper
In MLA style, sources are acknowledged by parenthetical citations in the text instead of
numbered footnotes. It includes just enough information to point the reader to the
complete information in the Works Cited list. Depending on your sources, the
parenthetical citations will be different.
Cite your source at the end of the sentence or group of sentences by placing the
information in parenthesis followed by a period.
Book – single author
(Lesnett 43).
Book – 2 or more authors
(Lesnett and Sandburg 167).
Article in anthology
last name of author and page number
Encyclopedia on-line
(Brittanica).
Web site
(poets.org ). Note: shorten web address if needed
Quoting Poetry
1. The name of the poem is enclosed in quotations, not underlined or in italics.
Example: In Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall,” he portrays…
2. When quoting from a poem, always use the exact punctuation.
3. Identify the poet in the text or in parentheses following the quotation.
4. Be sure to give the line reference in parenthesis following the quotation.
Example: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” (line 1).
5. When quoting only one line of poetry, just keep going in the text.
6. When quoting 2-3 lines of poetry, separate each line with a slash (space before
and after the slash) and enclose it all in quotation marks. Example: Robert Frost
writes about nature in his opening lines, “Something there is that doesn’t love a
wall, / That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, / And spills the upper
boulders in the sun;” (lines 1-3).
7. When quoting 4 or more lines of poetry, start a new line and indent 2 tabs. Keep
each line of poetry the way it appears in the text and do NOT use quotation
marks. Example:
Robert Frost uses many examples from nature to discuss the differences
between the speaker of the poem and his neighbor.
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pine, I tell him.
He only says, “Good fences make good neighbors.” (lines 24-27)
8. If you need to leave a few words out of a line of poetry you are quoting, use an
ellipsis mark (…) for that section. If you eliminate an entire line use an entire
row of periods to indicate it.
Example: “We keep the wall between us as we go, / To each the boulders…to each.”
(lines 16-17).
Remember to double space everything in your research paper.