MLA Style Parenthetical (In-text) Citations

The MLA citation style uses a combination of parenthetical citations in the text of the document and a list of works cited located at the end of the document. The parenthetical citations are placed at the end of a quotation and refer the reader to the list of works cited for a more complete citation.

Citing sources with MLA

MLA citation style requires parenthetical citations in the text of the document, and a list of works cited. For the parenthetical citation it is usually enough to list the author's last name and the page from which the quote is taken. Here is an example:

Medieval Europe was a place both of "raids, pillages, slavery, and extortion" and of "traveling merchants, monetary exchange, towns if not cities, and active markets in grain" (Townsend 10).

Townsend is the author of the book from which the quote was taken. The quote came from page 10 of the book. If your reader turned to your list of works cited she/he would find the complete citation for the book:

Townsend, Robert M. The Medieval Village Economy. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993. Print.

Below are a few examples of how to use MLA citation style to cite resources. For a complete list consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

Book with single author Parenthetical Citation (Author's last name [space] Page number)

Encyclopedia article Parenthetical Citation (Author's last name [space] Page number)

Magazine Article Parenthetical Citation (Author's last name [space] Page number)

Scholarly Journal Article Parenthetical Citation (Author's last name [space] Page number)

Newspaper Article Parenthetical Citation (Author's last name [space] Page number)

Web Pages: Web pages are more difficult to cite because they do not contain pagination; authors may not be listed; and it may not be clear who is the publisher or upon what date the page was published. When citing a web page you should try and get as much traditional citation information as possible. Note: The 7th edition of the MLA Handbook has eliminated adding the URL as part of the citation unless it is unclear how to find the site via a search engine such as Google.

Parenthetical Citation (Author's last name if given; if there is no author, use title of the web page; if there is no title use the name of the organization producing the web page)

Examples:

Web site, entire

Work Cited:

Internet Public Library (IPL). 2004. School of 
     Information, U of Michigan. Web. 7 Jan, 2004.
    
In-text: 
(Internet Public Library) or (IPL).

Web page, with author

"I Love Lucy: Series Summary." Sitcoms Online. N.p. 2004. Web. 28 Apr. 2005.