MLA (9th ed.) style requires the use of parentheses (in-text citations) to cite sources rather than footnotes or endnotes. Use the following guidelines when applying in-text citations:
- To cite a source, include the author’s last name and the specific page number where the information was found in parenthesis after the quote or paraphrase (see Example 1).
- Include the author’s name in the text of your paper and cite the page number in parenthesis (see Example 2).
- To cite a source that does not have an author, include the first word or words of the title of the work and page number in parenthesis (see Example 3).
- To cite a Web site or a source that does not have a page number, include the author's name in the text or at the end of the quote in parenthesis (see Example 4).
[Refer to MLA Handbook pages 227-230 and 231-286 for further details and examples].
In-text Citation Examples
Example 1
As had been the case with Dada nearly sixty years earlier, "the instigators of the revolutionary avant-garde in music comprised a tiny number of people" (Bracewell 242).
[In this example, both author's name and page number are placed in parentheses.]
Example 2
According to Bracewell, "the instigators of the revolutionary avant-garde in music comprised a tiny number of people" (242).
[In this example, the author’s name is used in the text, so only the page number is placed in parentheses.]
Example 3
Roxy Music’s style has been described as artistic rock that combined “wistful romantic irony with initially archaic and later subdued, lush rock” (“Roxy” 855).
[In this example, there is no author and the title of the article “Roxy Music” is shortened to “Roxy” and followed by the page number.]
Example 4
"Many of the best from the new crop of arty pop bands from that era owed a lot to Roxy's earlier incarnations, from the playfully quirky theatrical apparel to the emotionally detached, affected cool of some of their best music" (Clark).
[In this example, the quote is taken from a Web site without a page number designation and the author's name is included in parenthesis.]