MLA in-text citation

For an activity on MLA style, see Tutorials > LearningCurve Activities > Working with Sources (MLA)

1. Author Named in Signal Phrase

Include the author’s name in the signal phrase that introduces the borrowed material. Follow the borrowed material with the page number of the source in parentheses. Note that the period comes after the parentheses. For a source without an author, see item 9; for a source without a page number, see item 17.

According to Seabrook, “astronomy was a vital and practical form of knowledge” for the ancient Greeks (98).

2. Author Named in Parentheses

Follow the borrowed material with the author and page number of the source in parentheses, and end with a period. For a source without an author, see item 9; for a source without a page number, see item 17.

For the ancient Greeks, “astronomy was a vital and practical form of knowledge” (Seabrook 98).

Note: Most of the examples below follow the style of item 1, but naming the author in parentheses (as shown in item 2) is also acceptable.

3. With Block Quotations

For quotations of four or more lines, MLA requires that you set off the borrowed material indented one-half inch from the left-hand margin. Include the author’s name in the introductory text (or in the parentheses at the end). End the block quotation with the page number(s) in parentheses, after the end punctuation of the quoted material.

Jake Page, writing in American History, underscores the significance of the well-organized Pueblo revolt:

Although their victory proved temporary, in the history of Indian-white relations in North America the Pueblo Indians were the only Native Americans to successfully oust European invaders from their territory. . . . Apart from the Pueblos, only the Seminoles were able to retain some of their homeland for any length of time, by waging war from the swamps of the Florida Everglades. (36)

4. Two Authors

If your source has two authors, include both their names in either the signal phrase or parentheses.

Muhlheim and Heusser assert that the story “analyzes how crucially our actions are shaped by the society . . . in which we live” (29).

5. Three or More Authors

If your source has three or more authors, list the first author’s name followed by “et al.” (meaning “and others”) in the signal phrase or parentheses.

Hansen et al. estimate that the amount of fish caught and sold illegally worldwide is between 10 and 30 percent (974).

According to some experts, “Children fear adult attempts to fix their social lives” (Thompson et al. 8).

6. Group, Corporate, or Government Author

Treat the name of the group, corporation, or government agency just as you would any other author, including the name in either the signal phrase or the parentheses.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency states that if a public water supply contains dangerous amounts of lead, the municipality is required to educate the public about the problems associated with lead in drinking water (3).

7. Two or More Works by the Same Author

If your paper includes two or more works by the same author, add a brief version of the works’ titles (shaded in green) in parentheses to help readers locate the right source.

Mills suggests that new assessments of older archaeological work, not new discoveries in the field, are revising the history of Chaco Canyon (“Recent Research” 66). She argues, for example, that new analysis of public spaces can teach us about the ritual of feasting in the Puebloan Southwest (Mills, “Performing the Feast” 211).

8. Authors with Same Last Name

If your paper includes two or more sources whose authors have the same last name, include a first initial with the last name in either the signal phrase or the parentheses.

According to T. Smith, “[A]s much as 60 percent of the computers sold in India are unbranded and made by local assemblers at about a third of the price of overseas brands” (12).

9. Unidentified Author

If the author of your work is unknown, include a brief title of the work in parentheses.

Though a single language, Spanish varies considerably, a fact that “befuddles advertisers who would aim to sell to the entire Spanish-speaking world, like the shampoo-maker who discovered that cabello chino (“Chinese hair”) means curly hair in almost all Latin America save Ecuador, where it means straight hair” (“Rise of Spanish” 1).

10. Multivolume Work

If you cite material from more than one volume of a multivolume work, include in the parentheses the volume number followed by a colon before the page number. (See also item 11, for including multivolume works in your works cited list.)

Odekon defines access-to-enterprise zones as “geographic areas in which taxes and government regulations are lowered or eliminated as a way to stimulate business activity and create jobs” (1: 2).

11. Work in an Anthology or a Collection

Include the author of the work in the signal phrase or parentheses. There is no need to refer to the editor of the anthology in the in-text citation; this and other details will be included in the works cited list at the end of your paper.

Vonnegut suggests that Hamlet is considered such a masterpiece because “Shakespeare told us the truth, and [writers] so rarely tell us the truth” (354).

12. Entry in a Reference Book

In the signal phrase, include the author of the entry you are referring to, if there is an author. In the parentheses following the in-text citation, include the title of the entry and the page number(s) on which the entry appears.

Willis points out that the Empire State Building, 1,250 feet tall and built in just over one year, was a record-breaking feat of engineering (“Empire State Building” 375-76).

For reference entries with no author (such as dictionaries), simply include the name of the article or entry in quotation marks along with the page reference in parentheses.

Supersize — one of the newest pop culture terms added to the dictionary — is a verb meaning “to increase considerably the size, amount, or extent of” (“Supersize” 714).

13. Literary Work

Include as much information as possible to help readers locate your borrowed material. For classic novels, which are available in many editions, include the page number, followed by a semicolon, and additional information such as book (“book”), volume (“vol.”), or chapter (“ch.”) numbers.

At the climax of Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Jane fears that her wedding is doomed, and her description of the chestnut tree that has been struck by lightning is ominous: “it stood up, black and riven: the trunk, split down the center, gaped ghastly” (274; vol. 2, ch. 25).

For classic poems and plays, include division numbers such as act, scene, and line numbers; do not include page numbers. Separate all numbers with periods. Use Arabic (1, 2, 3, etc.) numerals instead of Roman (I, II, III, etc.) unless your instructor prefers otherwise.

In Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, Agamemnon admits that he has been wrong to fight with Achilles, but he blames Zeus, whom he says “has given me bitterness, who drives me into unprofitable abuse and quarrels” (2.375-76).

14. Sacred Work

Instead of page numbers, include book, chapter, and verse numbers when citing material from sacred texts.

Jesus’s association with the sun is undeniable in this familiar passage from the Bible: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8.12).

15. Entire Work

When referring to an entire work, there is no need to include page numbers in parentheses; simply include the author’s name(s) in the signal phrase.

Dobelli claims that cognitive errors tend to be ingrained in us, making it likely we’ll stumble over the same mistakes again and again unless we alter our way of thinking.

16. Secondary Source

To cite a source you found within another source, include the name of the original author in the signal phrase. In the parentheses, include the term “qtd. in” and give the author of the source where you found the quote, along with the page number. Note that your works cited entry for this material will be listed under the secondary source name (Pollan) rather than the original writer (Howard).

Writing in 1943, Howard asserted that “artificial manures lead inevitably to artificial nutrition, artificial food, artificial animals, and finally to artificial men and women” (qtd. in Pollan 148).

17. No Page Numbers

If the work you are citing has no page numbers, include only the author’s name (or the brief title, if there is no author) for your in-text citation.

According to Broder, the Federal Trade Commission has begun to police and crack down on false company claims of producing “environmentally friendly” or “green” merchandise.

18. Multiple Sources in the Same Citation

If one statement in your paper can be attributed to multiple sources, alphabetically list all the authors with page numbers, separated by semicolons.

Two distinct Harlems coexisted in the late 1920s: one a cultural and artistic force — the birthplace of a renaissance of literature, music, and dance — and the other, a slum and profit center for organized crime (Giddins and DeVeaux 132; Gioia 89).