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    Citing Sources in MLA: In-Text Citations

    Getting Started With In-Text Citations

    In-text citations are used in the body of the paper to give credit for another person's language, ideas, or for the use of other original content.  Basically, any time you quote, paraphrase, or provide a summary, you must include an in-text citation.

    Basic Rules:

    • In-text citations should include the author and the page number from where the quotation or paraphrase is taken.
    • Citations can either be placed at the end of the sentence or can be incorporated into the sentence.
    • MLA includes up to two authors, and after that uses the first author and "et al." in the place of additional authors.
    • MLA does not use placeholders for missing information. If there is no author, a shortened title may be used in the in-text citation.

    Examples for In-Text Citations

    For a general reference to the Bible, place the version in parentheses and italics after the word Bible in the sentence. You will also provide an entry in your works-cited list.

    Example:

    The Bible ( New American Standard Bible ) was reviewed for descriptions of the afterlife.

    For paraphrases or quotes from the Bible, include the book, chapter, and verse in the in-text citation.  The first citation will also include the version; subsequent in-text citations will only include the book, chapter and verse.

    Example:

    We are told to submit to our elders, while all of us are exhorted act with humility as God gives grace to the humble ( New American Standard Bible , 1 Pet. 5.5).

    For further references from the same edition, only include the book, chapter, and verse. The edition is not needed.

    For a work by one author:

    Researchers have concluded that food and comfortable setting were more important than games available to most students (Liu 3).

    According to Charles Liu, researchers have concluded that food and comfortable setting were more important than games available to most students (3).

    For works by two authors:

    (Walker and Allen 23)

    According to James Walker and John Allen...(23).

    For works by three or more authors, give the first author's last name followed by et al.:

    (Walker et al. 23)

    According to James Walker and colleagues...(23).

    For works with no author or an anonymous author:

    When there is no author listed for your source, use a shortened version of the title of the source. Put the title of a short work (like an article) in quotation marks or in italics if it's a longer work (books, plays, etc.) and provide a page number.

    ("University Life" 6)

    Do not use Anonymous in a citation, instead use the title of the source.

    For two works by the same author:

    When you have two sources written by the same author, include a shortened title for the work that you are quoting or paraphrasing. Short titles of books should be in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks:

    C. S. Lewis used an epistolary format to write in the voice of a demon ( Screwtape Letters 1). Lewis used allegory to...( Pilgrims Regress 5 and Great Divorce 4).

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