LibGuides: MLA Guide for Word 2019: In-text Citations

In-text Citations

In-text citations direct readers to the works-cited-list entries for the sources you consulted and, where relevant, to the location in the source being cited.

The general format for MLA in-text citations is:

(author page#)

Here’s a typical example:

Reading is best done in a well-lit area (Spence 112-13).

When you refer to the author by name in your paper, you can leave the author’s name out of the citation. Here’s an example:

Spence noted that the theory was first popularized in the early post-war years (113).

Here are two examples where direct quotes are included:

As Christgau noted, “by second hearing its loveliness is almost literally haunting, an aural déjà vu” (117).

As noted, "by second hearing its loveliness is almost literally haunting, an aural déjà vu” (Chistgau 117).

The important thing is that the author’s name and the page number appear, either in the parenthetical citation or in the text of your paper itself.

If a page number is not available (or if you are citing an entire work), use the author's name directly within your paper or use the author's name in the parenthetical citation. For example:

Christgau provides a large number of Dylan reviews in this anthology.

While the album is "clearly superior to last year's release," the author also notes that "it is difficult to dance to" (Forbes).

You can also cite a chapter or specific section.

Castaneda insists that we "either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same” (ch. 3).

According to Don Juan, "a man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting" (Castaneda sc. 4).

More Than One Author?

If your source has more than one author, use the formats below:

One Author	(Wilson 33)
Two Authors	(Wilson and Love 33)
Three Authors	(Wilson et al. 33)

Block Quote

At times you may need to quote an extended passage from a book. If the quote is more than 3 lines long on the page, you need to use a block quote (half an inch from the left margin). Do not use quotation marks around block quotes in MLA. Finally, the citation goes outside the period that ends the quote. Here’s an example:

Christgau wrote:

Painfully crackpot and painfully sung, but also inspired, not least because it calls forth forbidden emotions. For a surrogate teenager to bare his growing pains so guilelessly was exciting, or at least charming; for an avowed adult to expose an almost childish naivete is embarrassing, but also cathartic; and for a rock and roll hero to compose a verbally and musically irresistible paean to Johnny Carson is an act of shamanism pure and simple. (117)