MLA Formatting: How Do I: Write In-Text Citations

This resource can help you with questions you may have around MLA; this document will show you have to properly format in-text citations, form block quotes, structure a cover page, etc. Think of it as your MLA "cheat sheet"!

What Are In-Text Citations?

Here is some information you should know when formatting your in-text citations:

 

When writing in-text citations, the format that is always followed in APA is:

 

(Author’s Last name Page Number)   <---   This is for citing one page

(Author’s Last Name Page Numbers)   <---   This is for citing multiple pages

(Author’s Last Name)   <---   This is for citing when there is no page number

(“Shortened Title of the Work”)   <---   This is for citing when there is no author

 

Some guidelines to follow are:

 

  • Every source that you cite within your writing, also needs to be on your reference list or bibliography at the end

 

  • If you are referencing just an idea from another author or source, but not directly quoting it, then you only need to cite the author’s last name. This also is for when you are referencing an entire book, article, journal, etc.

 

  • If you are using direct quotes, then you must cite the author’s last name, and the page(s) quoted

 

  • When using “et al.,” in your citation, only the “al” has a period that follows it, and the comma comes after the period

 

  • When citing, the period will always come at the end of the citation, even when you are quoting a passage

 

  • If you are quoting a written text and there are no page numbers to attach to your citation, you can reference the chapter or paragraph number instead

 

  • If you have two authors that have the same last name, the way you create differentiation would be by including the first initial of each author. An example, (L. Smith 45) and (R. Smith 145-147)

 

  • When referencing two or more sources in a citation, the authors and page numbers can be separated by a semicolon. An example, (Jackson 23; McCallen 72-74)

 

  • According to MLA, proper nouns need to be capitalized; with author names, though, you need to write their name as the author themselves present it

 

  • If you are needing to shorten the name of a title for an in-text citation, make sure that you start the shortened title with the same word as the original title

 

  • Do not forget to cite evidence and information that is not fully yours; failure to do so results in plagiarism, which have significant consequences attached to it

APA In-Text Citations Quick Look

Number of Authors In-Text Citation Format

 

One Author

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

(Author's Last Name p. Number)

 

(Author's Last Name p. Number)

 

Two Authors

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

(Author 1 & Author 2 p. Number)

 

(Author 1 & Author 2 p. Number)

 

Three Authors

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

(Author 1, Author 2 & Author 3 p. Number)

 

(Author 1 et al. p. Number)

 

Four or More Authors

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

(Author 1 et al. p. Number)

 

(Author 1 et al. p. Number)

 

No Author

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

("Title of the Work"  p. Number)

 

("Title of the Work" p. Number)

 

Organization (Has an Acronym or Abbreviation)

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

(Full Name [Abbreviation] p. Number)

 

(Abbreviation p. Number)

 

Organization (No Acronym or Abbreviation) 

First Time:

 

Every Time After That:

(Full Name p. Number)

 

(Full Name p. Number)

 

Brain Food : MLA Guidelines in Writing

  • Last Updated: Sep 24, 2021 8:12 AM
  • URL: https://guides.warnerpacific.edu/c.php?g=1035854
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