How to Do In‐text Citations in MLA

Last Updated: December 8, 2022 References

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style calls for a Works Cited page at the end of your paper along with parenthetical citations in-text. Place an in-text citation at the end of every sentence in which you quote or paraphrase information or ideas from another source. The basic format for an MLA in-text citation is the author's last name followed by the page number or page range where the quoted or paraphrased information appears. However, there are some special circumstances where you may have to deviate from this format.^{[1]
X
Trustworthy Source
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines
Go to source}

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Author-Page Number Format

1
Put the author's last name and page number in parentheses. To create a basic MLA in-text citation, type the last name of the author, then a space, then the page number (or range of pages) where the information you quoted or paraphrased appears in the original work. Your citation goes at the end of the sentence, inside the closing punctuation.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- For example: Louis Armstrong easily reached difficult notes that stymied other trumpet players (Bergreen 258).
Tip: If you include the name of the author in the body of your paper, you don't need to include it again in the parenthetical citation.
2
Add first initials for authors with the same last name. Particularly if you have authors with relatively common names, it's likely you'll have multiple sources with authors who have the same last name. Use first initials to differentiate them so your in-text citation will point your readers to the correct entry on your Works Cited page.^{[3]
X
Trustworthy Source
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines
Go to source}
- For example: Record deals are typically negotiated by lawyers and studio executives, not by the artists themselves (R. Stewart 17).
Advertisement
3
Type both authors' names if the work has 2 authors. Type the first author's name followed by the word "and," then the second author's name. Use the same order that appears on the title page or byline of the source, which should also be the same order you use on your Works Cited page. Follow the second author's name with the page number, if the source is paginated.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- For example: With the explosion of streaming music, record deals had to evolve to incorporate this new method of distribution (Hall and Oates 24).
4
Follow the first author's name with "et. al" for 3 or more authors. MLA style parenthetical citations only include the names of up to 2 authors. If the source has 3 or more authors, only the first author's name is included. However, you'll include all the author's names in your Works Cited entry.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- For example: In the age of digital music, individual songs have become more important than record sales (McCartney et. al. 37).
5
Cite all pages where paraphrased information appears. Some authors may discuss a particular idea across several pages of their work. While you don't necessarily have to include every instance where the idea was mentioned, you should include the page numbers for passages you specifically read. If the source has an index, it can help you with this.^{[6]
X
Research source}
- For example: Record label fears that digital music would bring about their end were overblown (Urban 12, 18, 29-32).

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Citing Non-Print Sources

1
Include the first item that appears in your Works Cited entry. If a non-print source has an author, you would include their last name in your parenthetical in-text citation. However, many non-print sources don't have authors the same way books and journal articles do. In these cases, use the first item in your Works Cited entry to point your readers to the correct full citation.^{[7]
X
Trustworthy Source
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines
Go to source}
- If you're citing a movie, the first item in your Works Cited entry may be the director of the movie or it may be the title of the movie itself. For example, suppose you want to cite the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg. If the first item is the name of the director, your in-text citation might be "(Spielberg)." If the first item is the name of the movie, your in-text citation might be "(Raiders)."
2
Leave out page numbers if the source isn't paginated. Many non-print sources, including web pages, don't have page numbers. Rather than counting paragraphs or using the page numbers on your computer's print function, simply don't include the page number.^{[8]
X
Research source}
- Include either the author's last name in parentheses, or the first item that appears in your Works Cited entry.
3
Incorporate citation information into the body of your paper. If you include this information in the body of your paper, you don't need a parenthetical in-text citation at all – your reader will be able to find the correct Works Cited entry from the information you've already provided. ^{[9]
X
Trustworthy Source
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines
Go to source}
- For example, the sentence "In Spielberg's movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, a humble professor reveals a taste for adventure" would not need a parenthetical citation at the end.
Tip: If you're citing a website, don't include URLs in the body of your paper. If you have to reference the website specifically, use an abbreviation of the name of the website, such as CNN.com.
4
Use runtime ranges for media sources. If you want to cite specific scenes in a media source, rather than the source as a whole, the range of hours, minutes, and seconds you reference takes the place of page numbers. Separate the beginning and end of the range with a hyphen.^{[10]
X
Research source}
- For example: As adventurous as he was, snakes were Indiana Jones's Achilles heel – so of course he would fall into a tomb covered in snakes (Spielberg 01:18:43-01:27:32).

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Addressing Special Circumstances

1
Provide edition or chapter numbers for classic works. If you're citing a classic or literary work with many different editions, add information to help your readers locate the specific passage you're referencing – even if they're looking at a different edition of the work. List the author if necessary, then the page number followed by a semi-colon. Then include your specific edition or chapter number after the appropriate abbreviation.^{[11]
X
Trustworthy Source
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines
Go to source}
- For example: Marx and Engels viewed history as a series of class struggles (79; ch. 1).
2
Add a shortened title when citing 2 works by the same author. If an author is particularly prolific or a leader in the field, you may have more than one work written by them. List the author's name unless it is included in the body of your paper, then type a shortened version of the title – typically the first 2 or 3 words.^{[12]
X
Trustworthy Source
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines
Go to source}
- For example: Developmental psychologists originally believed small children would not benefit from computer usage (Murray "Too Soon" 38). However, later studies showed playing video games led to better small motor skill development (Murray "Hand-Eye Development" 17).
Tip: Format titles the same way they are formatted in your Works Cited entry. Generally, titles of books are italicized, while titles of shorter articles are placed in double quotation marks.
3
Separate multiple sources in the same citation with a semi-colon. If you have a sentence that synthesizes information or ideas contained in multiple sources, your parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence should include both of them. Type the first one followed by a semi-colon, then add the second one.^{[13]
X
Research source}
- For example: Small children can interact with tablets or touch-screen devices better than with desktop computers that require the use of a keyboard and a mouse (Murray 17; Smith 37).
4
Simplify recurring citations from the same source, if appropriate. If you're citing the same source several times in a row, with no intervening sources, you may be able to simplify subsequent citations.^{[14]
X
Research source}
- For example, if you included the author's last name and page number in the first citation, you could use page numbers only in recurring citations.
- If the source is not paginated, you may not be able to simplify the citation any further.
5
Alter your format when citing the Bible. You don't normally have an entry for the Bible on your Works Cited page. Therefore, include the title of the version of the Bible you're using in your in-text citation, followed by the book, chapter, and verse.^{[15]
X
Research source}
- For example: Ezekiel described four creatures, each with the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).
6
Use the abbreviation "qtd. in" to cite an indirect source. If the source you used included a quote or a paraphrase from another work, try to find the original source. If the original source is unavailable, use the indirect source as a last resort. Indicate in your in-text citation that the words you referenced are not those of the author. Include the source you used in your Works Cited, not the original source.^{[16]
X
Research source}
- For example: Lennon argued that all problems of the world could be solved if they were approached with love (qtd. in Starr 22).

Community Q&A

Question

How do I do quotes and punctuation marks?

Community Answer

For quotes, use single quotes. Put the punctuation marks inside the quotes.
Question

Where does the question mark go in an intext citation - at the end of the sentence, or outside the parenthesis?

Community Answer

I've always been told it goes at the end outside of the parenthesis, as if the parentheses were part of the sentence itself.
Question

How do I do an in-text citation when there are two articles from the same website, there is no author, and the two articles have the same title except for the last word?

Community Answer

Depending on your teacher's preferences, there are two main ways to do this. One way would be to add a number after the titles of both works. Another way would be to just write out the complete title.