In-Text Citations Step 2
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In-Text Citations: Step 2
In-text citations allow readers to know what sources you used in writing your report. They also link each source to a full citation on your works cited page. MLA follows the author-page method of citation. This means the author's last name and page number(s) from which the quotation is taken must appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence which contains the information from a source. The author's name may appear either in the phrase itself or in the parenthetical citation. The page number(s) always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of the sentence. In-text citations work the same way for any source whether it is a book, periodical, or electronic source.
The exception is an interview, for which an in-text citation is not required. Identify the person interviewed in your phrase. You will need a works cited entry, however.
Examples:
Chomsky stated that "our economic system is rigged" (5).
One characterization of our economic system is "our
economic system is rigged" (Chomsky 5).
Notes:
● The period ending the sentence is placed after the parenthetical citation. The sentence is not over until the citation is given.
● There is a space between the end quotation mark and the beginning of the parenthetical citation.
Last updated
7/27/04 [ks/gw]
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