Basic MLA In-Text Citation Examples
If you quote, paraphrase or summarize a source in your paper, it needs to be cited in the text as well as on the Works Cited page.
Basic MLA In-Text Citation Examples
| Author Type |
In-Text Citation |
Example |
|
No author /
anonymous with
page numbers
|
Use a shortened title of the work following the same format as the Works Cited entry; in quotes or italics. Exclude initials articles (a, an, the). Titles can be abbreviated if it is clear which title on the Works Cited page you are referring to. |
("Digital" 184). OR
(Epic 56). |
| 1 author with page numbers |
Author's last name and page number in parenthesis. Place the period outside the parenthesis.
|
(Seneca 44). OR (Seneca 44-45).
|
| 2 authors |
Include both last names in the in-text citation, connected by and followed by the page number in parenthesis. |
(Perkins and Jackson, 63). |
| 3 or more authors |
Include the first listed author's last name followed by et al. and the page number in parenthesis. |
(Kalir et al. 144). |
| Author mentioned in sentence |
If you use a signal phrase or mention the author in the sentence, include the page number(s) in parenthesis. You don't have to repeat the author's name. |
According to Casey, there is no evidence to support this claim (12). |
| Corporate author |
Abbreviate terms that are commonly abbreviated, such as Department (Dept.). If the corporate author is identified on the Works Cited page by administrative units, give all the name in the in-text citation (i.e. United States, Dept. of Labor). |
(United States, Dept. of Labor 147). |
