how to do mla parenthetical citations for websites

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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

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Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the  MLA Handbook  and in chapter 7 of the  MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

Basic in-text citation rules

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.

General Guidelines

• The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
• Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In-text citations: Author-page style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.

In-text citations for print sources with known author

For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.

In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author

When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.

In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems

If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:

The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).

Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.

In-text citations for print sources with no known author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.

Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .

If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.

Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.

Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's  The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection

When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the  internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in  Nature  in 1921, you might write something like this:

See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .

Citing authors with same last names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:

Citing a work by multiple authors

For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Corresponding Works Cited entry:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1

For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.

Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If you cite more than one work by an 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.

Citing two articles by the same author :

Citing two books by the same author :

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):

Citing multivolume works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:

John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

Citing indirect sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays

Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.

Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.

Here is an example from O'Neill's  The Iceman Cometh.

WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.

WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)

Citing non-print or sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's  Evaluating Sources of Information  resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

• Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
• Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
• Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like  CNN.com  or  Forbes.com,  as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

Miscellaneous non-print sources

Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:

In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.

Electronic sources

Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:

In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).

In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009. 

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.

Multiple citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:

Time-based media sources

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

When a citation is not needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.

Other Sources

The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

Thursday, February 23: The Clark Library is closed today.

MLA Style (9th Edition) Citation Guide: Websites

• Introduction to MLA Style
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Videos/DVDs/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• 9th Edition Updates
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Entire website - no separate pages or sections, page or section from a website.

Note: For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead.

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day. If the source does not include a copyright/last modified date, then omit the date and include an access date in your citation instead.

Access Date

Date of access is optional in MLA 8th/9th edition; it is recommended for pages that may change frequently or that do not have a copyright/publication date.

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

Author, or compiler name (if available).  Title of Website,  Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date.

Works Cited List Example:

Mabillard, Amanda.  Shakespeare Online,  29 Dec. 2011, www.shakespeare-online.com. Accessed 6 July 2016.

In-Text Citation Example:

(Author's Last Name)

(Mabillard)

Note: In this example, the name of the organization affiliated with the website is omitted since it is the same as the website title.

Created by an Unknown Author, or the Author is the same as the Website Title/Publisher

 "Title of Section."  Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed Date Month (abbreviated) Year.

Note: The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site . If the website publisher is the same as the author and title of the web site , then include only the title of the web site. 

“ Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview.”  WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

("Title of Section")

(“Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview”)

Created by a Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Document."  Title of Website,  Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Date Month (abbreviated) Year.

Morin, Amy. "How to Prevent the Media From Damaging Your Teen's Body Image."  Verywell Family,  About Inc., 6 Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/media-and-teens-body-image-2611245. Accessed 1 Nov. 2019.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / MLA Website Citation

How to Cite a Website in MLA

If you are a student faced with creating an MLA website citation for the first time, you may be confused about where to begin. This guide is here to answer all of your questions and take the guesswork out of creating an MLA citation for websites.

All academic fields require students and researchers to document their sources. Those studying the humanities, including fields in language literature, will typically follow MLA format when structuring their papers as well as when documenting sources.

Citing your sources is a necessary part of any research paper or project. This element serves both to give credit to the researchers and authors whose work informed yours, as well as to preserve academic integrity. Any source that provided you with ideas or information that you have included in your work and which are not considered common knowledge must be included, including websites.

The Modern Language Association is not associated with this guide. All of the information, however, is based on the MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition as well as the MLA website, and is presented as guidance for students writing in this style.

If you are looking for help with APA format , our reference library can provide you with guidance for this and more styles .

What You Need

To cite a website, you should have the following information:

• Title of source.
• Title of the container ,
• Other contributors (names and roles),
• Publication date,
• Location of the source (such as DOI, URL, or page range).

The Modern Language Association refers to these guidelines as “core elements” on page 105 of the Handbook. If your teacher has asked you to cite your sources in this format, these elements will form the foundation for each MLA website citation included in your MLA Works Cited list, as well as the entries for sources in any other format.

If one of the elements does not apply, students may omit it. Supplemental items may also be included when necessary. In addition to the supplemental details discussed below, a list of additional supplemental components can be found on the MLA website.

If it’s an APA citation website page or an APA reference page you need help with, we have many other resources available for you!

Table of Contents

This guide includes the following sections:

• MLA9 Changes
• Citing websites with an author
• Citing websites with no author
• Citing websites with no formal title
• Citing social media websites
• In-text citations

Changes to MLA Citation for Websites in Ninth Edition

In previous editions, students and researchers creating an MLA website citation were not required to include the URL. However, beginning with MLA 8, it is recommended that you include the URL when creating a citation for a website unless your teacher instructs you otherwise. Even though web pages and URLs can be taken down or changed, it is still possible to learn about the source from the information seen in the URL.

When including URLs in a citation, http:// and https:// should be omitted from the website’s address ( Handbook 195). Additionally, If you are creating a citation that will be read on a digital device, it is helpful to make the URL clickable so that readers can directly access the source themselves.

If the website’s publisher includes a permalink or DOI (Digital Object Identifier), these are preferable as they are not changeable in the same manner as URLs. Whether you include a URL, permalink, or DOI, this information should be included in the location portion of your citation.

Another change that occurred with the eighth edition that impacts how to cite a website in MLA is the removal of the date the website was accessed. While you may still find it useful to include this information or your teacher may request it, it is no longer a mandatory piece of your citation. Should you choose to add this optional information, you may list it after the URL in the following manner:

• Accessed Day Month Year.
• Accessed 2 May 1998.
• Accessed 31 Apr. 2001.
• Accessed 17 Sept. 2010.

For an overview of additional formatting changes in the ninth edition, including resources to help with writing an annotated bibliography , check out the rest of EasyBib.com’s writing and citation guides, and try out our plagiarism checker for help with grammar and to avoid unintentional plagiarism.

MLA 9: Citing Websites With an Author

To make an MLA 9 citation for a website, you will need the following pieces of information:

• author’s name
• title of the article or page
• title of the website
• name of the publisher (Note: Only include the name of the publisher when it differs from the name of the website.)
• date the page or site was published (if available)

Citing a Website in MLA

Place the author’s name in reverse order, the last name first, followed by a comma, and then the first name followed by a period. The title of the web page or article is placed in quotation marks, with a period before the end quotation. The title of the website is written in italics followed by a comma. If the name of the publisher differs from the name of the website, include it after the title. Immediately following the publisher is the date that the page or article was published or posted. Finally, end with the URL, permalink, or DOI, followed by a period.

View Screenshot | Cite your source

In-text website citation with one author

The in-text citation for a website with an author is reflected as the author’s last name in parentheses, followed by a period. Unless the website includes numbered paragraphs or sections, you should not include any additional information. For the website used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

Cite your source

An APA parenthetical citation is similar, except it also includes the year the source was published.

To learn more about formatting MLA in-text & parenthetical citations , be sure to check out the rest of EasyBib.com’s resources and citation guides.

How to cite a website with two authors in MLA 9

According to Section 5.7 of the Handbook , for a website with two authors, place the authors’ names in the same order as the source (similar to an APA citation ). The first name should be formatted in reverse order as was done for a single author. The second name, however, is written as First Name Last Name and is followed by a period, as demonstrated in the template that follows:

In-text website citation with two authors

The in-text citation for a website with two authors should include both authors’ last names, in the order in which they are listed in the source and your works cited:

How to cite a website with three or more authors in MLA 9

For a source with three or more authors, you should place the authors’ names in the same order as the source. The first name is listed in reverse order and is followed by a comma and et al. Et al is the abbreviation for et alia, a gender-neutral Latin phrase meaning “and others.”

In-text website citation with 3+ authors

The in-text citation for a website with three or more authors should contain only the first author’s last name, followed by et al. ( Handbook 232):

Click on this page if you’re looking for information on how to create an APA in-text citation .

MLA 9 Citation for Websites with No Author

Sometimes, websites do not state who wrote the information on the page. When no author is listed, you may omit the author information from the MLA citation for the website and begin, instead, with the title ( Handbook 108).

Note about web pages by organizations/corporations:  Often, web pages are published by organizations or corporations with no author indicated. In these cases, you can assume that the publisher also authored the web page (like the example above). Since the author and publisher are the same in these cases, you can skip showing an author and just indicate the organization /corporation as the publisher ( Handbook 119 ).

In-text website citation with no author

The in-text citation for a website without an author is noted with the first noun phrase or words in the title in quotations and parenthesis, followed by a period. Unless the website includes numbered paragraphs or sections, you should not include any additional information. For the website used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

MLA 9 Citation for Websites Without a Formal Title

When citing a web page that does not include a formal title, it is acceptable to include a description of the page. Do not place the description in italics or quotation marks. Follow the description with the name of the website.

In-text website citation without a title

The in-text citation for a website without a formal title uses a shortened version of the webpage description for the in-text citation. Use the first noun phrase of the description from your Works Cited citation in parenthesis, followed by a period. For the website used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

MLA 9 Citation for Social Media Websites

In an increasingly digital world, social media platforms have become one of the most popular sources students turn to when writing a research paper. From Black history facts , to quotes from notable people, such as Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill , social media has become a mega influence in our world.

When citing social media in your work,  follow the same format as an MLA citation for a website. Here are some examples of ways you can cite various social media platforms in your work:

How to cite Twitter in MLA 9

Many notable individuals use Twitter as a platform to share intriguing ideas. It’s a shame Twitter was unavailable to long-gone scientists, authors, and presidents such as Albert Einstein , Mark Twain , and Abraham Lincoln . Luckily, we have the Twitter profiles of today’s great minds at our fingertips!

To cite a tweet, you will begin with the account holder’s name and their Twitter handle in square brackets, followed by a period ( Handbook 118). After this, in quotations, you should enter the full text of the tweet, including any hashtags. The publisher, Twitter, is then listed in italics, followed by the date the tweet was posted in day, month, year format. Finally, include a URL to the tweet followed by a period.

Note:  When the account name and username are similar, the username can be excluded from the citation. For example, if the account’s username was @FirstNameLastName or @OrganizationName.

In-text website citation of a Twitter post

The in-text citation for a Twitter post is reflected as the author’s last name in parentheses, followed by a period. For the tweet used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

How to cite Instagram in MLA 9

To cite an Instagram post, begin with the account holder’s name and their username in square brackets. In quotations, list the title of the photo, if it is given. If there is no title, write a brief description of the picture but do not place it in italics or quotation marks. The publisher, Instagram, is then listed in italics. Any other contributors (such as the photographer, if it is not the same as the account holder) are then listed, after which you will add the date the photo was published and the URL.

In-text website citation of an Instagram post

The in-text citation for an Instagram post is reflected as the author’s last name or the name of the account in parentheses, followed by a period. For the Instagram post used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

How to cite Facebook in MLA 9

To cite a Facebook post, begin with the account holder’s name or username. In quotations, list the title or caption of the post, if it is given. If there is no title or caption, write a brief description of the post, but do not place it in italics or quotation marks. Examples: Image of Malcolm X, or, Muhammed Ali headshot.

The publisher, Facebook, is then listed in italics, after which you will add the date posted and URL.

In-text website citation of a Facebook post

The in-text citation for a Facebook post is reflected as the author’s last name or the name of the account in parentheses, followed by a period. For the Facebook post used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

Social media and website comments

Citing the comments left on social media or a website begins with the commenter’s name or username. To indicate that you are citing a comment, follow the name with a period and then the words Comment on , followed by the title of the source (for example, the name of the article) in quotation marks. This is then followed by the title of the website in italics, and the publisher, if applicable. The date is then listed, followed by the URL, permalink, or DOI.

In-text citation of a social media comment

The in-text citation for a social media comment is reflected as the author’s last name in parentheses, followed by a period. For the post used in the example above, the in-text citation would be written as follows:

In-text Citations for Websites

In-text citations generally consist of parentheses and the last names of the authors or the first few words of the web page title.

Since there are no page numbers, unless the web page includes numbered paragraphs or sections, you don’t need to include any additional information.

When you have multiple authors, place them in the same order they are listed in the source.

If what you really need is an APA book citation or a reference for an APA journal , there are more guides on EasyBib.com for you to explore.

Visit our EasyBib Twitter feed to discover more citing tips, fun grammar facts, and the latest product updates.

Troubleshooting

Solution #1: when and how to reference entire websites versus specific pages in mla.

Reference an entire website when your information comes from multiple pages or if you are describing the entirety of the website. If your information is only from one page, only cite the singular page.

Whole website, author known

• Write the author’s name in last name, first name format with a period following.
• Next, write the name of the website in italics.
• Write the contributing organization’s name with a comma following.
• List the date in day, month, year format with a comma following.
• Lastly, write the URL with a period following.

Works cited example:

Night, Samuel. Food Creations , International Hypothetical Chefs’ Club, 21 May 2021,                 www.foodcreationshypotheticalwebsite.com/best_macaroni_recipe.

In-text example:

Whole website, author unknown

• If there is no specific author, begin the citation by writing the website name in italics.

Food Creations , International Hypothetical Chefs’ Club, 21 May 2021, www.foodcreationshypotheticalwebsite.com/best_macaroni_recipe.

( Food Creations )

Webpage, author known

If information is from only a few pages or the pages cover multiple topics, reference each page

• If an author is named, write the author’s name in last name, first name format.
• If a title is not provided, create your own description of the page.
• List the title of the website in italics with a comma following.
• Write the date that the page was created followed by a comma.
• Lastly, list the URL followed by a period.

Blake, Evan. “Best Southern Macaroni Recipe.” Food Creations , International Hypothetical Chefs’ Club, 21 May 2021, www.foodcreationshypotheticalwebsite.com/best_macaroni_recipe.

Webpage, author unknown

If an author is not named, write the name of the page in quotation marks with a period following.

“Best Southern Macaroni Recipe.” Food Creations , International Hypothetical Chefs’ Club, 21 May 2021, www.foodcreationshypotheticalwebsite.com/best_macaroni_recipe.

(“Best Southern Macaroni Recipe”)

Solution #2: Referencing a conversation on social media in MLA

The in-text citation should identify the author and talk about the format (e.g., video, post, image, etc.) in prose.

Lilly West’s photo of traditional Japanese sweets shows an example of nature influencing Japanese design.

The basic structure of a works-cited reference for social media stays the same no matter the format or the social media service (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). Here are works- cited-list entry guidelines:

• The name is listed in last name, first name format with a period following. If an organization, just write the organization’s name as it’s usually presented.
• If the username is very different from the author’s real name, include it in brackets after the user’s real name but before the period.
• Write the title, post text, or description of the post in quotation marks. End it with a period.
• Write the website name in italics with a comma afterward.
• List the day, month, and year that the post was created followed by a comma.
• List the URL followed by a period. Leave out “https://” and “http://”.

Facebook example:

West, Lily. “Kyoto Japanese sweets.” Facebook , 30 May 2021, www.facebook.com/hypotheticalexample/thispostisnotreal.

Twitter reference example:

West, Lily [@lilianhypotheticalwestbest]. “Kyoto Japanese sweets.” Twitter, 30 May 2021, www.twitter.com/hypotheticalexample/thispostisnotreal.

Instagram reference example:

West, Lily [@lilianhypotheticalwestbest]. “Kyoto Japanese sweets.” Instagram , 30 May 2021,            www.instagram.com/hypotheticalexample/thisphotoisnotreal.

Solution #3: How to cite a social media post without a title or text

If there is no text or title where the title element usually goes, instead describe the post without quotation marks. Example:

West, Lily [@lilianhypotheticalwestbest]. Photo of traditional Japanese sweets on a green plate. Instagram , photographed by Bethany Lynn, 30 May 2021,   www.instagram.com/hypotheticalexample/thisphotoisnotreal.

Solution #4: How to cite a social media post with a long title or text

If the text is very long, you can shorten it by adding ellipsis at the end of the text. Example:

West, Lily [@lilianhypotheticalwestbest]. “Nothing is better in life than feeling like all of the effort you’ve invested has finally. . . .” Twitter, 17 Feb. 2021, www.twitter.com/hypotheticalexample/thispostisnotreal.

• Works Cited

MLA Handbook . 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated June 5, 2021.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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It’s 100% free to create MLA citations. The EasyBib Citation Generator also supports 7,000+ other citation styles. These other styles—including APA, Chicago, and Harvard—are accessible for anyone with an EasyBib Plus subscription.

No matter what citation style you’re using (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.), the EasyBib Citation Generator can help you create the right bibliography quickly.

Yes, there’s an option to download source citations as a Word Doc or a Google Doc. You may also copy citations from the EasyBib Citation Generator and paste them into your paper.

Creating an account is not a requirement for generating MLA citations. However, registering for an EasyBib account is free, and an account is how you can save all the citations you create. This can help make it easier to manage your citations and bibliographies.

Yes! Whether you’d like to learn how to construct citations on your own, our Autocite tool isn’t able to gather the metadata you need, or anything in between, manual citations are always an option. Click here for directions on using creating manual citations.

If any important information is missing (e.g., author’s name, title, publishing date, URL, etc.), first see if you can find it in the source yourself. If you cannot, leave the information blank and continue creating your citation.

It supports MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 7,000 total citation styles.

If there is no author, the title becomes the website page’s identifier.

In-text example (no author): ( Honey Bee Medley )

Works cited example (no author): Honey Bee Medley . Hivemind Press, 2018, www.hivebees.com/honey-bees.

If there is no publication date, include an accessed date instead.

Works cited example (no author, no date): Honey Bee Medley . Hivemind Press, www.hivebees.com/honey-bees. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.

If there is no title, briefly describe the source.

Works cited example (no author, no date, no title): Collage of honey bees. Hivemind Press, www.hivebees.com/honey-bees. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.

To cite a website that has no page number in MLA, it is important that you know the name of the author, title of the webpage, website, and URL. The templates for an in-text citation and works-cited-list entry of a website that has no page number, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

You can use a time stamp if you are referring to an audio or video. Otherwise, use only the author’s surname.

(Author Surname)

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

Author or Organization Name. “Title of the Webpage.” Website Name . Publication Date, URL.

Dutta, Smita S. “What is Extra Sensory Perception?” Medindia . 16 Nov. 2019, www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/extra-sensory-perception.htm#3 .

Abbreviate the month in the date field.

MLA Citation Examples

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MLA Citation Style Guide: Parenthetical Citations

• Parenthetical Citations
• Works Cited
• Journal Article from an Online Periodical
• Journal Article from an Online Database
• Magazine Article
• Magazine Article from a Database
• Newspaper Article
• Newspaper Article from a Database
• Newspaper Article from a Website
• Two or Three Authors
• More Than Three Authors
• Anthology, Compilation, or Edited Book
• Corporate Author
• Book with No Author
• Article in a Reference Book
• Multivolume Work
• Translation
• Basic Web Page
• Document from a Web Site
• Listserv, Blog, or Tweet
• Audiovisual Media
• Images and Art
• Indirect Source
• Government Publication

Using Parenthetical (In-Text) Citations

Include a parenthetical citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your Works Cited list.

MLA parenthetical citation style uses the author's last name and a page number; for example: (Field 122).

How to Cite a Direct Quote (92-105)

When you incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence, you must cite the source. Fit quotations within your sentences, making sure the sentences are grammatically correct:

How to Cite after Paraphrasing

Even if you put information in your own words by summarizing or paraphrasing, you must cite the original author or researcher as well as the page or paragraph number(s). For example, a paraphrase of Gibaldi’s earlier quotation might be identified as follows:

Within the research paper, quotations will have more impact when used judiciously (Gibaldi 109).

How to Cite Information When You Have Not Seen the Original Source (226)

Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original research report. In this case, because you did not read the original report, you will include only the source you did consult in the Works Cited list. The abbreviation “qtd.” in the parenthetical reference indicates you have not read the original research.

How to Cite Information If No Page Numbers Are Available (220-222)

If a resource contains no page numbers, as can be the case with electronic sources, then you cannot include a page number in the parentheses. However, if the source indicates paragraph numbers, use the abbreviation “par.” or “pars.” and the relevant numbers in the parentheses.

One website describes these specific dragons (King). A solution was suggested in 1996 (Pangee, pars. 12-18).

How to Cite Two or More Works by the Same Author or Authors (225)

When citing one of two or more works by the same author(s), put a comma after the author’s last name and add the title of the work (if brief) or a shortened version of the title and the relevant page number.

How to Cite if the Author's Name is Unavailable (223-224)

Use the title of the article or book or Web source, including the appropriate capitalization and quotation marks/italics format.

example: (“Asthma Rates Increasing” 29).

How to Cite when you are Altering a Direct Quote

When you need to leave out part of a quotation to make it fit grammatically or because it contains irrelevant/unnecessary information, insert ellipses points, or three spaced periods ( . . . ). (97-101).

If you must add or slightly change words within a quotation for reasons of grammar or clarity, surround the change with square brackets (101).

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• Document Format

Introduction to Parenthetical Citations

Formatting the parenthetical citation, sample parenthetical citations.

• Reference Entries

The function of a parenthetical citation--also known as an in-text citation--is twofold: (1) it unambiguously directs readers to a source listed on the works cited page, and (2) it provides the specific location within the source of the information being cited. In an effort to disrupt reading as little as possible, parenthetical citations are often but not always placed at the end of a sentence.

A typical in-text citation has two components. The first component mirrors the start of a source's entry on the works cited page. It allows readers to move from an in-text citation to a corresponding reference entry, where the source's publication information resides. The first component is usually the author's last name; t he second is usually a page number.

The parenthetical citation in the example above indicates that the quotation comes from page 202 of a work by Cicero. B ecause the first component of a parenthetical citation corresponds to a reference entry, r eaders can easily locate the publication information for the source. In this case, readers will locate Cicero's name in the alphabetical list of works cited at the end of the paper.

Textual integration : Keep in mind that there is always some interplay between the text of a sentence and and its parenthetical citation. Specifically, if an author is mentioned in the body of a sentence, his or her name does not need to be repeated in a parenthetical citation, for it is already clear from what source the borrowed material originates. The examples below show three different ways that an author's name might be integrated into the body of a sentence. Note that p age numbers are still indicated in parenthesis . 

Rhetoric without philosophy, according to Cicero, is but "an empty and ridiculous swirl of verbiage" (202).

In  De Oratore , Cicero says that rhetoric--when not joined by philosophy--is "an empty and ridiculous swirl of verbiage" (202).

Cicero argues that the art of rhetoric, unless reunited with the discipline of philosophy, provides little more than "an empty and ridiculous swirl of verbiage" (202).

Textual flow : Most  parenthetical citations appear at the end of a sentence. Such placement is ideal because it does not substantially disrupt the flow of reading. Such placement is not always possible, however, without abandoning the precision of a citation. In the following example, two different ideas from two different pages are cited within the same sentence. A single parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence would not be sufficient here, as it would not be absolutely clear which information came from which page.  In  these types of   situations ,  MLA guidelines dictate that parenthetical citations be placed at natural pauses in the sentence and as close to the cited material as possible.  The solution here is to place a parenthetical citation after each idea or point. The citations are not only close to the cited material but also appear at natural pauses (e.g., at a comma, at a period).

In  Gorgias , Plato accuses the sophists of practicing a form of verbal manipulation, one which deliberatively deceives the audiences (69), in an attempt to secure personal advantage (75).

​ Not every source has a single author and numbered pages. Accordingly, not every source can be cited in the exact manner outlined above. The following section will provide sample parenthetical citations for the types of sources that researchers are likely to encounter.

One author : A source by a single author lists the author's surname and the page number(s) of the cited material.

(Cicero 202)          (Quintilian 353-54)

Two or more authors : If a source has two authors, each author's surname is listed in the parenthetical citation, joined by the coordinating conjunction "and." If a source has three or more authors, only the first author's surname is listed, followed by "et al ."  (the abbreviation for  et alia,  Latin for "and others"). Because it is a common Latin abbreviation, "et al." should not be italicized.

(Bizzell and Herzberg 33)            (Losh et al. 7-10)

Multiple authors with same last name : If a writer uses two or more sources by authors with the same surname, parenthetical citations must include the first initials of said authors.

(K. Burke 245-46)          (E. Burke 22)

Multiple works by the same author : If two or more works by the author are used, parenthetical citations must also include a title or shortened title of the work. Note that titles of articles are in quotes and those of books are italicized.

(Richards, "Learning" 251)          (Richards,  Philosophy  3-5)          (Richards, Practical Criticism  174)

Corporate authors : Parenthetical citations for corporate authors simply list the corporation's name. If the corporation has an especially long name, it is acceptable to use the first few words of the name or to use abbreviations.

(Pew Research Center 3-5)          (Washington Institute 12)          (NORML 2)

Government authors : When a government agency is the author, a parenthetical citation will include the name of the government and the name of the agency that produced the work.

(United States, Department of Education 82)          (United States, Center for Disease Control 10)

Works with no author : If a work is not attributed to an author, the parenthetical citation will still list the first element of the works cited entry. Instead of an author, the first element is typically the title of the work. If the title is long, use only the first few words of the title.

( Beowulf  16; XIV)          ("Good Riddance" 16A)

Works of prose with multiple editions : Popular and oft-studied literary works are frequently available in multiple editions. To assist readers in locating cited material, it is customary to include division numbers. Divisions can be books, chapters, sections, etc. For prose works, division numbers are provided in addition to page numbers, which are listed first. The two are separated by a semicolon.

(Vonnegut 109-10; ch. 5)          (Plato, Republic  94-95; 398a)          ( Beowulf  16; XIV)

Works of poetry : For verse, division and/or line numbers replace page numbers. Divisions can be books, chapters, sections, etc.  For a long verse work with multiple divisions, give the division number and line, separated by a period. For shorter verse works, give only line numbers. NB: When citing divisions and lines, the first parenthetical citation for a source should include the name or abbreviation of the division and the word "line" or "lines," separated by a comma. Thus establishing the use of divisions and lines for that source , subsequent citations will only include referenced line numbers. 

(Dickinson, line 6)           (Dickinson 11-12)           (Homer, bk. 9, lines 366-67)          (Homer 9.366)

Works of drama : Parenthetical citations for dramatic works are built the same way as the previous two categories. If the drama is written in prose, it follows the guidelines for works of prose with multiple editions. If the drama is in written in verse, it follows the guideline for poetry.

(McDonagh 84; scene 9)          (Shakespeare, Macbeth  5.11.28-30)

Scriptural works : Parenthetical citations for sacred works use divisions and lines in lieu of page numbers. For the Bible, specifically, give the abbreviated name of the book being cited, followed by appropriate chapter and line number, separated by a period. To establish the use of a specific translation or version of the text, the first reference of the source--and only the first--should echo the first element of its works cited entry.

( New English Bible , Gen. 1.27)          (Gen. 2.22-23) 

Paragraph numbers : If a source has numbered paragraphs, they may be used to identify the location of cited material. Numbered paragraphs are sometimes present when page numbers are not, especially in online sources. Do not count and label paragraphs yourself; only use paragraph numbers when the source explicitly provides them. Writers signify that they are using paragraph numbers with the abbreviation "par." or "pars."

(Center for Academic Integrity, par. 9)          (Straw, pars. 9-10)

No page numbers : When a source has no page numbers--or other such numbers or divisions that identify textual location--simply provide the name of the author.

(Robinson)          (Stefaniak)

Time-based media : Audio and video recordings are cited by time or time range. Use HH:MM:SS format to indicate hour(s), minute(s), and second(s) into the recording.

(Clapton 00:02:32)          (Harrison 00:03:05-22)          (Scorsese 01:22:00-23:15)

Indirect citation :  When a writer is quoting a quotation from another source, he or she should mention the name of the primary author in the body of the text but provide citation information for the secondary source parenthetically. Precede the secondary source with "qtd. in" to indicate that the quote is provided secondhand. 

Léonard Misonne explains the concept: "Light glorifies everything. It transorms and ennobles the most commonplace and ordinary subjects. The object is nothing: light is everything" (qtd. in Sussman 19).

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Copy of Writing, Citing, Tutoring, and Studying Resources: MLA

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MLA Citation Examples

General Information for Works Cited Page

• The term Works Cited is centered, and not bold, italicized, or underlined.
• Double space all entries in the works cited and arrange entries alphabetically.
• Apply the hanging indent to all entries: first line begins at the margin, subsequent lines begin ½ inch from the margin.
• Title of source.
• Title of container,
• Other contributors,
• Publication date,
• Always end a citation with a period, even when a URL is the final element in the citation.
• Use italics (instead of underlining) for titles of larger works (books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles).
• For web resources, you may include an access date if the source is likely to change. Delete http:// from the beginning of web addresses.

Digital Examples

An Article from an Online Article Database

Chaitlin, Julia and Dan Bar-On. "Emotional Memories of Family Relationships During the Holocaust." Journal of Loss and Trauma , vol. 7, no. 4, 2002, pp. 299-326. Academic Search Premiere , doi: 10.1080/10811440290057701.

An Article from an Online Periodical

Yi, Kei-Mu. "Can Vertical Specialization Explain the Growth of World Trade?" Journal of Political Economy, vol. 111, no. 1, 2003, pp. 52-102, www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/344805.

An Article from an Online Newspaper or News Service

Flores, Rosa. “A debt-free college for students who struggle more.” CNN.com , 2 Sept. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/09/01/health/chicago-community-college-arrupe/index.html. Accessed 7 Sept. 2016.

Demaria, Robert. British Literature 1640-1789: An Anthology . 4 th ed., Wiley, 2016. Ebook Central , ebookcentral.proquest.com.dml.regis.edu/lib/ca/detail.action?docID=4205823.

An Institutional or Organization Web Site (corporate author)

University of Mississippi English Department. The Mississippi Writers Page . U of Mississippi, 2008, mwp.olemiss.edu.

An Online Government Publication

United States Dept. of State. “U. S. Relations with Belarus.” Bureau of Public Affairs, 6 Sept. 2016, www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5371.htm.

Print Examples

Gup, Ted. Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life . Doubleday, 2007.

Book Chapters

Higson, Andrew. “The Concept of National Cinema.” Film and Nationalism , edited by Alan Williams, Rutgers UP, 2002, pp 52-67.

Print Journal Articles

David, Craig R. “A Perfect Marriage on the Rocks: Geoffrey and Philippa Chaucer, and the Franklin’s Tale .” Chaucer Review, vol. 37, no. 2, 2002, pp. 129-44.

Wasserman, David, and Alan Strudler. “Can a Nonconsequentialist Count Lives?” Philosophy & Public Affairs , vol. 31, no. 1, 2003, pp. 71-94.

Newspaper Articles

Barron, James. “Broadway Stars, Out a Bit Early.” New York Times , 18 Feb. 2003, late ed., pp. B1+.

Encyclopedias

Kersten, Holger. “Tramps and Hobos.” American History through Literature: 1870 – 1920 , edited by Tom Quirk and Gary Scharnhorst, Scribner’s, 2006. 3 vols.

Government Publications

United States Dept. of Education. Helping Your Child Succeed in School . Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, Government Printing Office, 2002.

Videorecordings

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter . Directed by Robert Ellis Miller, performances by Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke, Warner Bros., 1968.

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MLA In-Text Citation

In-text Citations

When citing from a specific page in a work, include the last name of the author, and the page number(s). When referring to one work by one author , use the following format:

The Marriage-Go-Round is about the conflicting values of individualism and marital commitment in American culture (Cherlin 19).

When the author’s name is already clear from the narrative of your paper , include only the page number within the parentheses at the end of the sentence:

Kovats-Bernat found that street children are active participants in Haitian society and culture (6).

 When quoting a source, include the parenthetical citation after the quote:

 “For the children who live on them, Port-au-Prince streets are deeply personal and subjective spaces, as these children identify with the street as their home” (Kovats-Bernat 36).

When citing from an entire work , include the last name of the author(s) but do not include page numbers in the parenthetical citation (if using).

Additional Examples & Formatting

A work by two authors: (Hartmann and Slapničar 89)

A work by three or more authors: (Martens et al. 293)

A work by an organization: (National Center for Health Statistics 12-13)

A source with no author: If no author is available, shorten or abbreviate the title of the source so that it is easily identified. When using a title (or part thereof) in an in-text citation, place quotation marks around an article or book chapter; italicize a book title: (“Palau officially” 20)

An indirect source: If the original source is unavailable when quoting or paraphrasing a quote, write “qtd. in” before the author and page(s): (qtd. in Smith 54)

A web source: Follow the previous examples based on the author, if needed. Page numbers or URLs are not necessary in parenthetical citations for online resources. Parenthetical citations may not be needed for sources from the web.

A journal article : If in print or PDF form with page numbers available, include in the citation. If in HTML form or other digital form without page numbers, do not include them.

Research Help

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Printable Handouts

• MLA Works Cited Handout, 9th edition
• MLA In-text Citations Handout, 9th edition

MLA Sample Paper

• MLA Sample Paper from Purdue OWL

MLA Formatting and Style Guides

• MLA Formatting and Style Guide Purdue OWL's guide to MLA formatting and citation style.
• MLA Formatting and Style PowerPoint Slide presentation from Purdue OWL
• MLA Works Cited Page by SVSU Writing Center

MLA Style Tutorials

• MLA Audio-Video Tutorials by Purdue OWL
• Official MLA Style Center

Free Citation Generators

The library does not guarantee the citations created by the following services. It is suggested that all citations are thoroughly checked after creation.

EasyBib- Free MLA citation generator.

Mendeley - Free, downloadable "reference manager".

Zotero-   Free, open source tool to help you collect, organize, and cite your research sources.

KnightCite - Maintained by the Heckman Library at Calvin College. Cite in APA, MLA, and Chicago.

UCSU Citation Builder - Created and managed by NCSU Libraries. Cite in APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Reference Management Tools

• Zotero Basics This is a 3 part tutorial by Kimberly Kemp, Research & Instruction Librarian introducing the basics of using Zotero to manage your references and citing while you write.
• Mendeley Basics This is a 3-part tutorial on the basics of using Mendeley by Research & Instruction Librarian Kimberly Kemp.
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Citing Sources

Mla handbook, 9th edition, works cited, paper format, in-text citations.

• Essay Template
• Sample Essays

MLA style, or Modern Language Association , refers to a set of citation and paper formatting standards first established in 1951. Disciplines using MLA include literature, language, and cultural studies.

Important Notes

• The Works Cited page is the final section of your paper or project.
• Works Cited page requires the same last name, page number header as the rest of your paper, each line is double spaced with the second (and any following) trailing lines of a reference entry indented.
• Title the page Works Cited and center the title.
• The page contains the citations for the sources of information you used in your paper. Every source in your paper should appear on the Works Cited page and correspond to an in-text citation in the body of your paper.

General Formatting

MLA style uses a core-container approach to citations. Core elements are author and title. Container refers to "when the source being documented forms part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source. For example, a short story may be contained in an anthology. The short story is the source, and the anthology is the container" ( MLA Style ).

For Works Cited, include as much of the following information as possible with the appropriate punctuation. Not every element will apply to your sources.

Other Sources and Questions

• MLA Style Citations by Format
• Excelsior Writing Lab
• Referencing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers
• Margins: 1-inch
• Font: use a clear font between 11 and 13 points. One example is Times New Roman font.
• Running header: Add a running head in the upper right-hand corner with your last name, a space, and then a page number. Pages should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.
• Line spacing: double-space all of the text of your paper (including entries within Works Cited). 
• First page: list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date double-spaced in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. This is your header. There is no cover page.
• Title: center the title on the next double-spaced line after the header.
• Sample student papers 
• MLA Style checklist

MLA requires in-text or parenthetical citations in author-page format. In-text citations are required for all direct quotations and paraphrases. Page numbers should be copied exactly as they are in the source (for instance, 422, D32, xxxii). If source contains no page numbers, or is only one page, do no include page numbers.

Remember, your in-text citation should match that of the corresponding bibliographic entry. A reader should be able to move from your in-text citation to the Works Cited entry.

• At the end of the day Wilbur made “in excess of half a million dollars” (Marx 43).
• According to Marx, Wilbur made “in excess of half a million dollars” (43).

For less common sources (no known author, work in anthology, work with multiple authors, etc.), see Purdue OWL  or Excelsior OWL . 

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ZSR Library

Mla 8th ed. style guide: parenthetical (in-text) citations.

• Art, Photography, Music
• Business Resources
• Dissertations, Theses
• Emails, Social Media
• Film, Television, Video
• Journal, Newspaper, & Magazine Articles
• Legal Sources
• Parenthetical (in-text) Citations
• Web Sites, Blogs
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Single author

Two authors

Three or more authors

Corporate authors

Title of the work begins the entry in the works-cited list

Indirect source

In-text citations are brief and point your reader to the sources used from your works-cited list. Author (defined broadly) and page number are the two basic elements of MLA parenthetical citations. In cases where there is no named author, the title (often shortened) of the work is used. 

Citations should be placed within the text as close as possible to the end of the quote or idea. If the author's name or title of the work is mentioned in the text, put only the page number in parentheses.  

Single author ( MLA Handbook 54-55)

Example 1: It is thought that " Courtier had a profound influence on Elizabethan England and its cultural development" (Vitale iv).

Example 2: According to Vitale, it is thought that " Courtier had a profound influence on Elizabethan England and its cultural development" (iv). 

 When more than one work by the same author is included in the list of works cited, include a short form of the source's title: Example 3: " Courtier  had a profound influence on Elizabethan England and its cultural development" (Vitale, A Courtier's Legacy  iv).

 If the same last name is shared by more than one author, include the author's first initial (or, first name if the initial does not distinguish the author's name).  Example 4 : " Courtier  had a profound influence on Elizabethan England and its cultural development" (M. Vitale iv).

Two authors ( MLA Handbook 116)

List the authors' last names and page number of the quote or idea.

Example: College health providers should work to "dispel the myth of the 'Freshman 15'" (Vella-Zarb and Elgar 165).

Three or more authors ( MLA Handbook 116)

If the work has three or more authors, use the first author’s last name followed by et al . 

Example: (Watstein  et al . 483)

Corporate author ( MLA Handbook 117)

If a works-cited citation begins with the names of administrative units, give all the names in the in-text citation. 

Example: (United States, Congress, House, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 7)

Title of the work begins the entry in the works-cited list ( MLA Handbook 55-56)

If the author of the work is anonymous or if the work is written by the same organization that published it, the in-text citation will contain the title or a shortened form of the title used. 

Natalia Makarova is known as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century  ("Here's Looking" 40).

"Research is complete only when the results are shared with the scientific community" ( Publication 9). 

Works cited:

"Here's Looking at You, Natasha." Dance Magazine , vol. 84, no. 5, May 2010, pp. 40-44.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed.,  American Psychological Association,  2010.

Film ( MLA Handbook  57)

For time-based media such as film, video recordings, and audio recordings, include the related time or time range, separating the hours, minutes, and seconds with colons.

Example: ("Self Help" 00:34:30-34)

Indirect source (What if my author quotes another author?) ( MLA Handbook 124)

Whenever you can, take material from the original source, not a secondhand one. Sometimes, however, only an indirect source is available. In this case, identify the quoted author in your text and say “qtd. in” in your citation. 

Example: Chrysostom spoke of the original apostles by saying, "They did not stop there, but went even further,

and not satisfied with the world known to us they went out as far as the Ocean itself and enclosed in their own nets

the countries of the barbarians and the British Isles" (qtd. in Hanson 29).

Works Cited:

Hanson, R. P. C. Saint Patrick: His Origins and Career.  Oxford UP, 1968. 

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MLA Style Guide: In-text or Parenthetical References

• Bibliography Basics
• In-text or Parenthetical References
• Long Quotations
• Using Numbers

Why Should I Use a Parenthetical Reference?

In order to avoid plagiarism, all information which you gather from someone else’s research or knowledge needs to be both cited in a Works Cited page as well as through in-text citations. Parenthetical or in-text citations are inserted directly into an essay using parentheses. In-text citations must be used to give credit to the original author for paraphrases, summaries, as well as direct quotes. Generally, they are placed at the end of a sentence. 

What's the point?

Parenthetical or “in-text” citations:  

• allows your reader to know which source each idea/fact came from
• gives you credibility as a writer
• protects you from plagiarism
• points your reader to the proper entry in your Works Cited.

When Should I Use a Parenthetical Reference?

• When you use an original idea from one of your sources, whether you quote, summarize or paraphrase it.
• When you use factual information that is not common knowledge (cite to be safe).
• When you use a date or fact.

What Does a Parenthetical Reference Look Like?

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends" (Rowling 306).

Works Cited

Parenthetical Reference PowerPoint

• Parenthetical References PowerPoint

Need help in how to use parenthetical or in-text citations?  Remind yourself by looking through this PowerPoint presentation.

When Should I Cite?

When to Cite:

• Quoting directly from a source
• Using an original idea from one of your sources, whether you decide to quote, summarize or  paraphrase it
• Using factual information that is not common knowledge (cite to be safe).
• Using a date or fact that might be challenged.

There is no need to cite when:

• You have created knowledge and are writing about YOUR OWN analysis, experiences, observations, or reactions
• You are reporting YOUR OWN original research, for example, from a science experiment, etc.
• You are using common knowledge
• Don’t use diagrams, music, code, photos, or other images without citing the source both parenthetically and within a works cited document.
• Don’t take a block of text and change only a few key words and think you are paraphrasing. You’re not.  You're plagiarizing. (Even if you cite it).

Parenthetical References or In-Text Citations

When should I use a parenthetical reference?

• When you quote directly from a source
• When you use an original idea from one of your sources, whether you decide to quote, summarize or  paraphrase it
• When you use a date or fact that might be disputed

Easy Bib has an excellent publication that describes how to cite in-text.  NoodleTools will create your in-text citations for you, and the OWL at Purdue website has a good guide: MLA In-Text Citations.    See the box at the right for an example of what a parenthetical reference looks like.

General Guidelines

In-text citations or parenthetical references must match the entry on your Works Cited page. Whatever word or phrase you provide in your Works Cited entry must also be the first word or phrase in your parenthetical reference.  Remember to include a page number if you are using a print source.

You have two choices as to how you credit an author in the body of your essay.

1.     The author's name may be introduced in the beginning of the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence, not within the text of your sentence.   Notice that the period follows the parenthesis because the in-text citation is considered part of the sentence.

EXAMPLE:  As McDonald-Gibson, journalist and author, noted, “It was only when there was nothing else left—when there was no income, education, shelter, food, or safety—that people put themselves and their families in a boat and took that last gamble" (3).

The author's name and page number may be included in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase.

EXAMPLE:  Those who can no longer earn a living and cannot provide food, shelter, safety, or education for their children, find themselves having to make the difficult choice to leave the familiar and set out in a boat to travel to a new country where they hope they will have better opportunities (McDonald-Gibson 3).

If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page and under the name McDonald-Gibson, your reader would find the following information: 

McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte . Cast Away: True Stories of Survival from Europe’s Refugee Crisis . New Press, 2016..

Exceptions to the Rules: Double punctuation with In-text citations

If a quotation ends with a question mark or exclamation point, leave the original punctuation inside the quotation mark but put a period at the end of the parenthetical reference.

EXAMPLE: “Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?” (Whitman 26).

In-text Citations for Sources with No Author

When there is no author, use a shortened title instead of the author’s name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if available.

EXAMPLE: Why should people consider becoming vegetarians? Perhaps they want to do what they can to help the environment and save valuable resources, like water. “It takes 25 gallons of water to grow one serving of rice, 63 gallons of water to produce one egg, and 625 gallons of water to make one quarter-pound hamburger. It takes up to 100 times more water to produce one pound of beef than one pound of wheat” (“Wet”).

"Wet” Your Appetite!" SF Environment , http://sfenvironmentkids.org/teacher/lesson_plans/wet_appetite6-12.pdf

Citing a Work by Multiple Authors

For sources with two authors, list the last names of both authors in the parenthetical citation. 

For sources with more than two authors, only list the first author’s last name followed by et. al., just as you would in the Works Cited entry.

             EXAMPLE of a paraphrase:

Nickerson et. al. explain that the influence of peer dynamics may be one reason why bystanders rarely choose to step up and stop bullying (372).

EXAMPLE of a direct quotation:

In bullying situations, “peers play a potential role in exacerbating or abating the bullying. Bystanders witness more than 80% of bullying episodes but intervene less than 20% of the time” (Nickerson et. al. 372).

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MLA Citation Guide (9th edition) : In-Text Citations

• Getting Started
• How do I Cite?
• In-Text Citations
• Works Cited and Sample Papers
• Additional Resources

Header Image

In-Text Citation Basics

An in-text citation usually contains the author's name (or other first element in the entry in the works cited list) and a page number. 

A  parenthetical citation  that directly follows a quotation is placed after the closing quotation mark. No punctuation is used between the author's name (or the title) and a page number.

In-Text Citation Examples

The author's name can appear in the text itself or before the page number in the parenthesis:

Cox names five strategies to implement Diversity Management in companies (50).

“It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought” (Hemingway 96).

Here are some additional examples of in-text citations:

Smith argues that  Jane Eyre  is a "feminist  Künstlerroman " that narrativizes a woman's struggle to write herself into being (86).

Jane Eyre  is a "feminist  Künstlerroman " that narrativizes a woman's struggle to write herself into being (Smith 86).

Parenthetical Citations

What is a Parenthetical Citation?   This article defines parenthetical citations and offers tips for getting them right.

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Citation Help for MLA, 8th Edition: Parenthetical Documentation

• Book Review
• Email and Tweets
• Encyclopedia
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Master's Thesis or Project
• Music Albums & Songs
• Newspaper Article
• Formatting Your Paper
• Parenthetical Documentation
• Ethically Use Sources

Explanation

It sounds painful, but it doesn’t have to be!  Basically parenthetical documentation or in-text citations means that you are telling the reader where you got any and all information that did not come from inside your own head.  This is more obvious when you are directly quoting from a source, but it is also needed when you have summarized or paraphrased from a source and even if you got an idea from somewhere else. 

So how do you do it?  As the names imply, you are going to put the information about the source in parentheses in the text of your paper as opposed to a footnote where the source information is at the bottom of the page or an endnote where it goes at the end of your paper.  There are slight differences depending on which style you are using – APA or MLA. 

Basically you only need to list the author’s last name either in the text of the paper or in parentheses at the end of the sentence and the page number(s) where you got your information. Please see the examples below for options on how this could work in your writing. Also refer to your professor and how the discipline for which you are writing uses parenthetical notation as it can differ. Special note for literary studies students: 

If your quote is longer than forty words, set it off in a block text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch, and do not add quotation marks.  At the end of the quote put the period after the last word of the sentence followed by the parentheses.

**Note that the punctuation for the sentence goes AFTER the parenthesis. Take home message:  In order to avoid plagiarism, it is extremely important that you cite all words and ideas that you got from somewhere else.

Please see the following handbook on reserve in the Library for more information:  MLA Handbook . 8th ed.,  Modern Language Association, 2016.

• Author’s name in text                                              Smith states that, “…..” (112).  
• Paraphrasing several spots in a source                   Smith stated these facts, too (112-3, 146).  
• Author’s name in reference                                    This fact has been stated (Smith 112-3).  
• Cite an entire work – no page number                    Smith’s This Long Story has many stories.
• No author – give title of work abbreviated             These stories are true ( Long 112). to first major word   - in Italics for books,                These stories are true ("Long" 112).   in quotes for encyclopedia articles                          
• Website – no author and no page numbers         This Long Story has given evidence.
• More than one book by the same author                Is Smith’s, This Long Story , a memoir (112)?    
• More than one author in text                                  Smith and Lee agree that (146-150)  
• More than one author in reference                        This is agreed upon (Smith and Long 146).
• More than one work                                               We all agree (Smith 112; Lee 146).  
• Music album   - give album title                              We all agree (Blue Man Group, How ). abbreviated to first major word  
• Song   - give song title                                             We all agree (Presley, "Jailhouse" ).   abbreviated to first major word
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Home / MLA / Parenthetical Citations MLA: Step-by-Step Guide (for 2017)

Parenthetical Citations MLA: Step-by-Step Guide (for 2017)

Parenthetical citation, also known as in-text citation, is an easy way to create citations within your document, allowing your reader to see where you found the information without looking at the bottom of the page or the end of the document for a footnote or endnote.  Although footnotes were once the go-to way to cite information, parenthetical citation has become increasingly more popular, and is the go-to citation format for MLA format.  In this guide we will show you a step-by-step process on how to add parenthetical citations to your essay in MLA format.

What is Parenthetical Citation / Definition

Parenthetical citation is a way of providing a short reference to the source used when citing to material that is referenced, either by a direct quotation or an indirect reference.  Parenthetical citations can contain all of the reference material within the parenthesis or they can use signal phrases, which may contain some of the information.  How to properly use a parenthetical citation depends on the guidelines for the particular writing style you are using.  This guide will cover parenthetical citations for both MLA and APA.

MLA uses the author-page form of parenthetical citation.  What information you use in the in-text citation will depend upon the information you included in your works cited page.  For example, if you choose to use a signal to introduce your material, then that signal needs to be the first part of your works cited entry.

MLA Parenthetical Citation

While it is called author-page citation, the information that you use in the in-text citation will actually depend upon the information you included in your works cited page.  Some works will not have an author, so you would need to include the first part of your works cited entry, either in the parenthesis or in the signal phrase.   You can also use the author’s last name in your text to serve as a signal that you are going to provide a citation.  If the quoted material is more than four lines of prose or three lines of text, you put it in an indented block quote, omitting quotation marks.  The block quote remains double-spaced.  In our examples, we will have block quotes, shorter direct quotes, and indirectly cited material.

General Guidelines for MLA Parenthetical Citation

-The basic author-page citation format is: (Last Name X).  Example: (Smith 16)

-Using a signal means you use the author’s name (or whatever is first in your works cited page) to signal a quotation or indirect citation.  Example: Smith says that “the apple does not fall far from the tree” (16).

-If no page number is available, just use the author’s last name.  Example: (Smith).

-If there is no named author, you will either use the corporate author or the title of the work in your citation. If the title is a short work, like an article or a single web page, you would place it in quotation marks, but if the title is a longer work, like a website or book, you would place it in italics.  Examples: (CNN.com), (“German Shepherds”)

-For videos, movies, podcasts, and other timed forms of media, while there is no page number available, you can pinpoint the time, so you include that time as part of your reference.  Example: (Reiner 00:04:10- 00:04:56).

-Authors with the same last name are differentiated in in-text citations by the addition of the first initial.  Example: (P. Smith 15)

-For multiple authors, how you cite them depends on the number of authors.  For two authors include both of their last names in the citation and join them with the word “and” not a “&”.  For more than three authors, list only the first author’s last name then use the phrase et al.   Examples: (Smith and Jones 45), (Smith et al. 45).

-If you have multiple works by the same author, then include a reference to the work in the citation to differentiate between the works.  Short works would be placed in quotation marks, while long works would be in italics.  You can shorten the name of the work; it just needs to be enough to differentiate it from the other works by the same author in your works cited list.  Example: (Butcher, Fool Moon 43)

-If you are citing from a multi-volume work, include the volume before the page number in your citation.  Example: (Smith 1: 12).

-If you are citing to a play, you do not use the page number.  Instead, you use the act, the scene, and the line numbers. For Shakespeare’s works, you can abbreviate the play names.  You can find a list of common abbreviations for Shakespeare’s plays here . Example: (Shakespeare, Hamlet 1.2 25-45).

-Because there are different versions of the Bible, you want to include the version you are using in your first citation if only citing from one Bible in your paper or essay or the version you are using in all of your citations if you are citing from multiple Bibles.  You then include the Bible’s book, chapter, and verse. Example (King James Bible, Genesis 1.4-5)

-Some indirect citations will contain references to more than one work.  To include multiple references, use a semi-colon between the references in your in-text citation. Example: (Smith 15; Jones 14; Perez 345)

MLA Parenthetical Citation Examples

The easiest way to see how parenthetical citation works is to see examples.  We have designed our tutorials to work together, and this tutorial works well with our works cited tutorial, which gives you a step-by-step process for building works cited pages in MLA format.  We are drawing from the resources we used in that example to create this tutorial.  So, in these examples we will provide you with a template for a works cited entry for a type of source, the correct works cited list citation for the source we are using, and then examples of how you would use that source in a parenthetical citation.

Simple Book Format:

Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book.  Publisher, Publication Date.

Stoker, Bram.  Dracula: A Mystery Story . W.R. Caldwell & Co., 1897.

Short citation:

“Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania” (Stoker 1).

Long citation (using a signal phrase):

At the beginning of Dracula, Stoker immediately lets the reader know that his protagonist, Jonathan Harker, will be visiting Transylvania:

Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country.  I find that the district he named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia, and Bukovinia, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe.  (1-2)

Book with Multiple Authors:

Last Name, First Name and First Name Last Name.  Title . Publisher, Year of Publication.

Pratchett, Terry and Neil Gaiman.  Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.   Harpertorch, 2006.

Short Direct Citation:

“God does not play dice with the universe,” (Pratchett and Gaiman 14).

Indirect Citation:

One of the most interesting aspects of Good Omens is how the authors approach the idea of God.  For example, Pratchett and Gaiman describe God as playing games with the universe in a way that suggests more of a cruel indifference than actual malice (14).

Translated or Edited Books with Authors:

Translated or edited books can become a little challenging in your works cited.  Usually, you want to focus on the author.  However, there may be a reason that you want to focus on the translator or editor.  In those instances, you will focus on the translator or editor first, but indicate that they are not the author.  Our example involves a translator.  It also involves a republication, which is why it has two dates.

Last, First.  Title.  Translated by First Last, Publisher, Year.

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia.  100 Years of Solitude .  Translated by Gregory Rabassa, 1970, Harper Collins, 2003.

However, to emphasize the translator, it would be:

Last, First, translator.  Title .  By First Last, Publisher, Year.

Rabassa, Gregory, translator.  100 Years of Solitude.   By Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1970, Harper Collins, 2003.

Short Citation:

“On the first contact the bones of the girl seemed to become disjointed with a disorderly crunch like the sound of a box of dominoes” (Marquez 33).

Rabassa’s unique word often serves to make the story more vivid, like when he describes the “disorderly crunch” of a girl’s bones (Rabassa 33).

Basic MLA website citation format:

Author Last, Author First.  Title.  Title of Website, Other contributors, Version or Edition,

Volume, Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Pages or Paragraphs, URL or doi, Accessed Day Month Year.

Chemaly, Soraya.  “50 Actual Facts About Rape.”  Huffington Post , 8 December 2014,   huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/50-facts-rape_b_2019338.html  Accessed 19 May 2017.

Direct Quotation:

“Remember facts about rape?  Because it turns out that a whole lot of people know less than nothing about the subject” (Chemaly).

Indirect citation:

Men often define what constitutes rape in a way that reinforces their own power (Chemaly).

Online Encyclopedias:

Article name.  (Date).  In Encylopedia name.  Retrieved from URL

William Shakespeare.  Wikipedia , 9 May 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare ,  Accessed 19 May 2017.

Shakespeare’s “plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright” (“William Shakespeare”).

Article from an Online Periodical (Magazine or Non-Scholarly Journal):

Last, First.  “Article Name.”  Periodical Name , vol., no., year of publication, URL.  Accessed Day Month Year.

Scherer, Michael and Alex Altman, A.  “Trump’s Loyalty Test.”   Time Magazine , 189 (20), 29 May 2017.  time.com/4783929/president-trump-loyalty-test/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp- magmod .  Accessed 19 May 2017.

Direct Citation:

“The West Wing’s thick walls, even with the TV turned up, cannot muffle the sounds of staffers shouting behind closed doors” (Scherer and Altman).

Article from an Online Scholarly Journal:

The general format for an online-only scholarly journal is:

Last, First.  “Article Name.”  Journal Name , vol., no., year of publication, URL or doi.  Accessed Day Month Year.

Yardimci, Veysi and Aytul Yardimci.  “An Unusual First Manifestation of Hodgkin Lymphoma: Epitrochlear Lymph Node Involvement- A Case Report and Brief Review of Literature.  Journal of Investigative Medicine: High Impact Case Reports, 5, 2,  10.1177/2324709617706709 .  Accessed 19 May 2017.

Yardimci and Yardimci noted that “in the histopathological examination of the bone marrow biopsy, no finding in favor of lymphoma was detected” (Yardimci and Yardimci).

Scholarly Journal with No DOI:

Last, First.  “Article Name.”  Journal Name , vol., no., year of publication, pp. xxx-xxx, URL.  Accessed Day Month Year.

Kovan, Martin.  “Capital Punishment: A Buddhist Critique.  Journal of Buddhist Ethics , 24.  blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/files/2017/03/Kovan-Capital-Punishment-final-4.pdf. Accessed 19 May 2017.

According to Kovan (2017), “Capital punishment is irreversible and so requires a degree and kind of justification not necessary for non-lethal punishment” (64).

Of course, Kovan is not the first commentator to point out that because capital punishment cannot be undone, it requires a different approach than non-lethal punishments (64).

Newspaper Articles:

Last, First.  “Article Name.”  Newspaper Name , Day Month Year, URL.  Accessed Day Month Year.

Takahashi, Julie.  “Judge Dismisses Ahmed Mohamed ‘Clock Boy’ Suit Against Irving ISD.”  Houston Chronicle , 19 May 2017,  www.chron.com/news/houston- texas/article/Judge-dismisses-Ahmed-Mohamed-Clock-Boy-suit-11159334.php .Accessed 19 May 2017.

“On Thursday, the U.S. District Judge granted Irving and Irving ISD’s motions to dismiss the Mohamed family’s lawsuit, saying there was no evidence Ahmed faced religious or racial discrimination” (Takahashi).

YouTube Video:

Late name, First name of the creator.  “Title of the film or video.”  YouTube , uploaded by username, date of upload, URL.  Accessed Day Month Year.

“We Won the Game: Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds #2 w/Robin.” YouTube, uploaded by Jack Septic Eye, 15 May 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIdx2NCzlyI. Accessed 19 May 2017.

Popular YouTube personality Jack Septic Eye opens up his video with a consistent phrase and a recap of what happened on his last episode (“We Won the Game”).

“The Russia Connection.”  YouTube, uploaded by Randy Rainbow, 15 May 2017,  www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OuJYaz_oE

Randy Rainbow uses political satire to make a point, singing, “Someday they’ll find it, the Russia connection,”, to the tune of The Rainbow Connection song made popular by the Muppets (“The Russia Connection” 00:02:54-00:03:00).

Motion Pictures:

Title of Movie .  Directed by Director First and Last, Performances by First and Last Name(s), Studio, Year of Release.

The Princess Bride , Directed by Rob Reiner, Performances by Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, and Chris Sarandon, Act III Communications, 1987.

However, to highlight the role of various people, you might but a producer, director, or actor as the first person in your works cited.  Those examples would look like :

Lear, Norman, producer.  The Princess Bride , Act III Communications, 1987.

Reiner, Rob, director.  The Princess Bride , Act III Communications, 1987.

Elwes, Cary, actor.  The Princess Bride , Act III Communications, 1987.

Wright, Robin, actor. The Princess Bride , Act III Communications, 1987.

Sarandon, Chris, actor. The Princess Bride , Act III Communications, 1987.

Patinkin, Mandy, actor. The Princess Bride , Act III Communications, 1987.

Wesley manages to keep his identity secret, but reveals himself to Buttercup when he cries out his catchphrase after she pushes him down a hill ( The Princess Bride ).

Hopefully, this guide on how to add parenthetical citations in MLA format to your essay, along with these examples, have shown you how easy it is to use parenthetical citations in your MLA research papers.  While we have covered the most commonly asked questions about parenthetical citations in this tutorial, if you have additional questions, we are happy to help.

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Mla quick citation guide.

• In-text Citation
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• Citing Web Pages and Social Media
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• MLA Style Quiz

Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

MLA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the page number from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, for example: (Smith 163). If the source does not use page numbers, do not include a number in the parenthetical citation: (Smith).

For more information on in-text citation, see the MLA Style Center .

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al. 246; Thomas 15). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech. Derwing and others conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program (258).

Works Cited List

Derwing, Tracey M., et al. "Teaching Native Speakers to Listen to Foreign-accented Speech." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, vol. 23, no. 4, 2002, pp. 245-259.

Thomas, Holly K.  Training Strategies for Improving Listeners' Comprehension of Foreign-accented Speech. University of Colorado, Boulder, 2004.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author if known. If the author is not known, use the title as the in-text citation.

Your in-text citation should lead your reader to the corresponding entry in the reference list. Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Entire website with author: In-text citation Parents play an important role in helping children learn techniques for coping with bullying (Kraizer).

Works cited entry Kraizer, Sherryll. Safe Child. Coalition for Children, 2011, www.safechild.org.

Web page with no author: In-text citation The term Nittany Lion was coined by Penn State football player Joe Mason in 1904 ("All Things Nittany").

Works cited entry "All Things Nittany." About Penn State. Penn State University, 2006, www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html.

General Guidelines

In MLA style the author's name can be included either in the narrative text of your paper, or in parentheses following the reference to the source.

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (163).

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass and Varonis 163).

Group as author: (American Psychological Association 123)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass and Varonis 143; Thomas 24).

Direct quote:

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass and Varonis 85).

Gass and Varonis found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (85).

Note: For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, display quotations as an indented block of text (one inch from left margin) and omit quotation marks. Place your parenthetical citation at the end of the block of text, after the final punctuation mark.

In addition to awareness-raising, practicing listening to accented speech has been shown to improve listening comprehension. This article recommends developing listening training programs for library faculty and staff, based on research from the linguistics and language teaching fields. Even brief exposure to accented speech can help listeners improve their comprehension, thereby improving the level of service to international patrons. (O'Malley 19)

Works by Multiple Authors

When citing works by multiple authors, always spell out the word "and." When a source has three or more authors, only the first one shown in the source is normally given followed by et al.

One author: (Field 399)

Works Cited entry: Field, John. "Intelligibility and the Listener: The Role of Lexical Stress." TESOL Quarterly , vol. 39, no. 3, 2005, pp. 399-423.

Two authors: (Gass and Varonis 67)

Works Cited entry: Gass, Susan, and Evangeline M. Varonis. "The Effect of Familiarity on the Comprehensibility of Nonnative Speech." Language Learning , vol. 34, no. 1, 1984, pp. 65-89.

Three or more authors: (Munro et al. 70)

Works Cited entry: Munro, Murray J., et al. "Salient Accents, Covert Attitudes: Consciousness-raising for Pre-service Second Language Teachers." Prospect , vol. 21, no. 1, 2006, pp. 67-79.

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If I have two works with identical titles and no authors in my works-cited list, how do I distinguish between them in my parenthetical citations?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Writers sometimes need to cite anonymous sources with identical titles, such as articles in reference works. Since in MLA style works without authors are cited parenthetically by title, you need to provide additional information in your in-text citation to distinguish the sources.

For example, let’s say you have in your works-cited list two articles without authors titled “Harry Houdini,” one from  Encyclopedia.com and one from  Wikipedia :

“Harry Houdini.”  Encyclopedia.com , 2016, www.encyclopedia.com/ people/literature-and-arts/theater-biographies/harry-houdini. “Harry Houdini.”  Wikipedia : The Free Encyclopedia , Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini.

In your parenthetical citations, provide the title of the article and then add in brackets additional information to clarify which source you are using—usually, the first unique piece of information. In this case, that information is the title of the website:

As one source notes, “No one before or since has so completely defined the art of escape as Harry Houdini, magician, actor, and stage personality” (“Harry Houdini” [ Encyclopedia.com ]). Houdini “tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London’s  Daily Mirror ,” while the spectators remained “in suspense for an hour” (“Harry Houdini” [ Wikipedia ]).

For more on differentiating between sources with the same title in your in-text citations, see our previous post . For tips on how to distinguish between them when you are discussing the works in your prose, see here .

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How to Write an Essay in MLA Format | For Students

Starting from when I entered high school, the importance of submitting assignments in a particular format became a top priority. I quickly realized the significance of adhering to these guidelines, as they remained essential throughout my academic journey. You never know when the need for proper formatting will arise. At first, it may seem overwhelming, but in this simple guide, I'll show you how to write an essay in MLA format [For Students].

When is MLA format used?

MLA format is created by the Modern Language Association which is a standardized way to format academic papers and cite sources. It’s mainly used for subjects in the humanities, like literature, philosophy, and the arts. Unlike APA or Chicago formats, which are used for social sciences and history, MLA puts a strong emphasis on the authorship of sources.

Most students will need to use MLA format at some point, especially in humanities courses. It’s essential for essays, research papers, and other assignments in these subjects.

General Guidelines/ Rules of MLA Formatting

The first step to learning how to write an essay in MLA format for students is to get familiar with the general guidelines. It's all about following the rules to get your paper formatted in the MLA style:

Margins and Font:

Set 1-inch margins on all sides.

Choose a readable font such as Times New Roman, 12-point size.

Double-space the entire document, including block quotes (quotes longer than four lines), notes, and the works cited page.

Paragraph Indentation:

Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches (press Tab key once).

Punctuation:

Utilize standard punctuation marks and maintain consistency with punctuation, italics, and quotation marks throughout your paper.

Quotations:

Use double quotation marks (" ") for direct quotes.

For quotes longer than four lines, format as a block quote: start on a new line, indent 0.5 inches from the left margin (without quotation marks), and keep double-spacing.

Here is an essay MLA format template for your reference:

How to Set up MLA Format Essay [Step-by-Step]

So we have seen the general guidelines in the above example and also saw an essay MLA format example/sample showing what our final MLA format will look like. However, going through guidelines is not enough when you're learning how to write an essay in MLA format in Word or PDF format. You need a professional writing software that not only provides the tools but also allows you to use them easily.

Therefore, I will be using WPS Writer as my partner in writing an essay in MLA format, and I would recommend students to download WPS Writer from their website so that you can easily follow this guide. And yes, it is completely free. So let's begin formatting an essay to MLA format in WPS Writer:

1. Page Margins

So the first step is to ensure that our page margins are set to 1 inch on every side. Setting the margins first would help you avoid any formatting errors if you do this at a later stage. To set page margins in WPS Writer:

Step 1: Open WPS Writer and visit the “Page Layout” tab in the toolbar.

Step 2: Find the Page Margin options on the far left of the Page Layout ribbon.

Step 3: Set all the margin fields—top, bottom, left, and right—to 1 inch.

2. Line Spacing

Next, we need to ensure that the line spacing is set to double spacing . This helps improve readability and ensures your paper meets MLA formatting standards. To set double line spacing in WPS Writer:

Step 1: In WPS Writer, go to the “Home” tab in the toolbar.

Step 2: Find and click the “Line Spacing” option in the Home ribbon.

Step 3: In the Line Spacing drop-down, click on More.

Step 4: The Paragraph window will pop up. Visit the Spacing section and in the Line Spacing field, select “Double”.

Step 5: After that, click on OK to exit the Paragraph window.

Note: We can also use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + 2 to quickly change the line spacing to double.

3. Header- In the Upper-Left Corner

After setting the page settings, let's move on to the content of the essay, starting with the header in the following order:

Student's Name

Professor's Name

Course and Course Code

Due Date in the format DD Month, Year

Step 1: Follow the order to enter the header into your essay.

Step 2: To make the Header left aligned, visit the Home tab and then click on the “Align Text Left” icon.

Step 3: After entering the header, make sure the Font is set to "Times New Roman" in the Fonts field in the Home ribbon.

Step 4: After the font, the font size should also be set to "12." Therefore, make the change in the "Font Size" field in the Home ribbon.

4. Last Name & Page Numbers- In the Upper-Right Corner

MLA Format requires a running header that includes your last name along with the page number on the top right corner of every page. Let's see how we can create our running header for the MLA Format:

Step 1: Double-click on the Header area to open the Header/Footer in WPS Writer.

Step 2: Now type your last name and set its alignment to right by clicking on the “Align Text Right” icon in the Home ribbon.

Step 3: To add the page number, click on the "Page Number" option in the Header/Footer ribbon and select the "Header right" option to insert a page number in the right corner.

Once the running header has been added, it is important to set the font size of the running header to 12 and the font to "Times New Roman".

Step 4: Simply select your running header and click on the Home tab.

Step 5: In the Home tab, change the Font to "Times New Roman" in the Fonts field.

Step 6: To change the font size, in the Home ribbon, enter "12" in the Font size field.

The last setting for the running header is to set the header margin to "0.5 inches":

Step 7: Head over to the Header/Footer tab.

Step 8: In the Header/Footer ribbon, enter "0.5 in" in the “Header Height” field to set the header margin to 0.5 inches.

5. Title of Essay- On the Line Below the Date

After the header and running header, let's begin our essay with the title of our essay. Remember the rules:

The title should be center aligned.

The title should not be bolded, italicized, or placed in quotation marks unless it includes the title of a source (e.g., a book or movie title).

Step 1: Insert the title right below the header and visit the Home tab.

Step 2: In the Home ribbon, click on the “Center” icon to center align the title.

6. Headings and Subheadings- Into Sections

Headings and subheadings are important as they give reference to the reader. There are no hard and fast rules for their formatting, except that they need to be center aligned. You can set the font style to bold to help the reader distinguish them.

Step 1: Enter your heading below the title of the essay and visit the Home tab.

Step 2: In the Home ribbon, click on “Center” to align the heading to the center.

Step 3: To change the font style to bold, in the Home ribbon, click on the “Bold” icon right below the font field.

7. In-text Citation

In MLA format, in-text citations use parenthetical references to indicate quotes or ideas from another author. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do in-text citations:

Step 1: When you quote or paraphrase from a source, use the author's last name and the page number where the information is found.

Step 2:  After the quote or paraphrase, place the citation in parentheses. The citation should include the author's last name followed by the page number without a comma between them.

Step 3: The parenthetical citation should be placed before the period at the end of the sentence.

8. Works Cited Page

Finally, you will need to cite all the sources you took assistance from in writing your paper. Follow the following steps to understand how to cite your work in MLA format.

Step 1: Use a page break to start a fresh new page with the title "Works Cited." The heading "Works Cited" will follow similar heading guidelines as before.

Step 2: Double-space all entries and do not add extra spaces between entries.

Step 3: Use a hanging indent for each entry. The first line of each citation is flush with the left margin, and subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 inches simply using the “Tab” key..

Step 4: List entries in alphabetical order by the author's last name. If a work has no author, alphabetize it by the first significant word in the title.

Step 5: Format your sources as mentioned below for respective source medium:

Books Format: Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Articles in Journals Format: Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol. number, no. number, Year, pages.

Websites Format: Author's Last Name, First Name (if available). "Title of Webpage." Title of Website, Publisher, Date of Publication, URL.

Bonus Tips: How to Convert Word to PDF without losing Format

Once you finish writing your essay, the next challenge is converting it from Microsoft Word to PDF without losing formatting. This can be frustrating because sometimes the formatting doesn't stay the same.

To avoid this issue, use WPS Office . It offers strong PDF features and keeps APA and MLA formatting intact. On the other hand, Microsoft Word 365, though widely used, may occasionally struggle to keep formatting consistent when converting to PDF. It's important to choose tools that prioritize preserving the look and structure of your academic work.

Here is how you can use WPS PDF to convert your essay documents to PDF without compromising on the quality:

Step 1: On WPS Writer, click on the Menu button on the top left corner of the screen.

Step 2: Now simply click on the “Export to PDF” option in the Menu.

Step 3: The Export to PDF window will open. Here, you can alter a few settings such as the output path. After going through the settings, simply click on Export to PDF to save the essay document as a PDF.

FAQs about writing an essay in MLA format

1. how to cite an image in mla.

To cite an image in MLA style, you need to format the citation based on where the image was viewed. For online images, the citation should follow this structure:

MLA format:

Creator’s last name, First name. “Image Title” or Description of the image. Website Name in italics, Day Month Year, URL.

MLA Works Cited entry:

Smith, Jamie. “Vintage Cars.” Travel With Us, 15 Mar. 2023, www.travelwithus.com/vintage-cars.

MLA in-text citation:

(Smith) Note: If you discover an image through a search engine such as Google, ensure that you credit and link to the website that hosts the image, rather than the search engine.

2. Do I need to include a title page in my MLA essay?

In most instances, an MLA-formatted essay does not necessitate a separate title page unless instructed otherwise by your instructor. Instead, begin your essay with a header and center the title on the subsequent line.

3. How to Cite a Website in MLA?

To cite a website in MLA style, you should include the author’s name (if known), the title of the page in quotation marks, the name of the website in italics, the publication date, and the URL without "https://". If the identity of the author is not known, start with the title of the page. If the publication date is unavailable or if there's a possibility of content modifications, include an access date at the end.

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Page.” Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.

Adams, John. "Explore with us." Random Discoveries, 15 Sept. 2023, www.randomdiscoveries.com/explore-with-us.

Write Your Essays in Comfort With WPS Office

It’s so easy! The great thing about MLA format is that it’s not vastly different from APA and Chicago formats. There are only a few distinctions, and once you learn how to write an essay in MLA format [For Students], everything will become much easier for your academic life. Also, WPS Office is an incredibly handy tool for students. Not only can you format comfortably, but it’s also designed to be student-friendly, avoiding complex procedures. Simple yet advanced, and best of all, free. Get WPS Office today and write essays with ease and comfort!

• 1. How to Remove Page Breaks in Word for Your Essay? [For Students]
• 2. How to Do Hanging Indent in Word for Your Essay? [For Students]
• 3. How to Make MLA Format Heading and Header in WPS Office (Step-by-Step)
• 4. How to Use Track Changes in Word for Your Essay? [For Students]
• 5. Top 10 Best Introduce Yourself Essay Sample Words
• 6. How to Double Space in Word for Your Essay: A Guide for Students

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• Citing sources
• The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples

The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples

Published on March 14, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on February 28, 2024.

An in-text citation is a short acknowledgement you include whenever you quote or take information from a source in academic writing. It points the reader to the source so they can see where you got your information.

In-text citations most commonly take the form of short parenthetical statements indicating the author and publication year of the source, as well as the page number if relevant.

We also offer a free citation generator and in-depth guides to the main citation styles.

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Table of contents

What are in-text citations for, when do you need an in-text citation, types of in-text citation, frequently asked questions about in-text citations.

The point of an in-text citation is to show your reader where your information comes from. Including citations:

• Avoids plagiarism by acknowledging the original author’s contribution
• Allows readers to verify your claims and do follow-up research
• Shows you are engaging with the literature of your field

Academic writing is seen as an ongoing conversation among scholars, both within and between fields of study. Showing exactly how your own research draws on and interacts with existing sources is essential to keeping this conversation going.

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An in-text citation should be included whenever you quote or paraphrase a source in your text.

Quoting means including the original author’s words directly in your text, usually introduced by a signal phrase . Quotes should always be cited (and indicated with quotation marks), and you should include a page number indicating where in the source the quote can be found.

Paraphrasing means putting information from a source into your own words. In-text citations are just as important here as with quotes, to avoid the impression you’re taking credit for someone else’s ideas. Include page numbers where possible, to show where the information can be found.

However, to avoid over-citation, bear in mind that some information is considered common knowledge and doesn’t need to be cited. For example, you don’t need a citation to prove that Paris is the capital city of France, and including one would be distracting.

Different types of in-text citation are used in different citation styles . They always direct the reader to a reference list giving more complete information on each source.

Author-date citations (used in APA , Harvard , and Chicago author-date ) include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and a page number when available. Author-page citations (used in MLA ) are the same except that the year is not included.

Both types are divided into parenthetical and narrative citations. In a parenthetical citation , the author’s name appears in parentheses along with the rest of the information. In a narrative citation , the author’s name appears as part of your sentence, not in parentheses.

Note: Footnote citations like those used in Chicago notes and bibliography are sometimes also referred to as in-text citations, but the citation itself appears in a note separate from the text.

An in-text citation is an acknowledgement you include in your text whenever you quote or paraphrase a source. It usually gives the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number of the relevant text. In-text citations allow the reader to look up the full source information in your reference list and see your sources for themselves.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, February 28). The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/in-text-citation-styles/

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