MLA In-Text Citations | Format & Examples
MLA in-text citations should include the author’s last name and page number in parentheses immediately after the cited material.
For sources with two authors, the citation should include both authors’ names connected with “and.”
For sources with three or more authors, include the first author’s name followed by “et al.” to indicate that the other authors’ names are omitted.
The key for MLA citations is that the in-text citation must correspond with the relevant entry on your Works Cited page.
Number of authors | Examples |
---|---|
One author | (Kinsley 46). |
Two authors | (Kinsley and Eong 79–81) |
Three or more authors | (Kinsley et al. 92, 95) |
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When and where to use MLA citations
Citations should accompany any quotations you use as well as any paraphrased material. Including a citation whenever you copy, paraphrase, or summarize another researcher’s work is imperative to avoid accidental plagiarism.
In-text MLA citations, also known as parenthetical citations, should come immediately after the quoted material and before any punctuation. If the material is being paraphrased rather than quoted, the citation is typically placed at the end of the clause.
If you refer to the author in the sentence itself, the citation should contain the page number only. If you refer to a source with three or more authors in the text of the sentence, replace “et al.” with “and colleagues” or “and others.”
To cite a page range, include the first and last page connected by an en dash (–). MLA also permits the use of hyphens (-) for page ranges for student (non-professional) papers.
To cite multiple non-consecutive pages, list the pages separated by commas.
Multiple sources in a single citation
If your sentence uses material from multiple sources, you can cite all the sources within a single in-text citation by separating them with a semicolon.
Citing the same source
If you cite the same source consecutively, you can cite only the page number after the first full citation. This can be done when the same source is used throughout a paragraph.
If a new source is introduced or you begin a new paragraph, you should include the full citation again.
Citing sources with the same author name
You may need to cite multiple sources by the same author or sources from multiple authors who share the same last name. In these cases, your in-text citation should include the necessary information to direct the reader to the correct Works Cited entry.
Multiple sources by the same author
At times, you may need to cite multiple works by a single author, such as different poems from a collection. In this case, citations should include an abbreviated version of the title following the author’s name and a comma.
When citing lines of poetry, the author’s name is followed by a comma and the line numbers of quoted material. Only the line numbers are needed for subsequent citations of the same poem if no other sources are introduced in between.
Citing authors with the same last name
When multiple authors share the same last name, include the author’s initials in the in-text citation so the reader knows which Works Cited entry to refer to for the particular source. If the authors have the same initials, write out their full first name.
Citing sources with no author
To cite material from an anonymous or otherwise unnamed writer, include a citation that directs readers to the first words in the Works Cited entry. Usually, this will be the name of the publishing organization or website or the title of the piece.
Organization names or titles that exceed four words should be shortened to the first main word or phrase used in the Works Cited entry (excluding the articles “the,” “a,” “an”).
The formatting of the name or title should follow MLA rules for italics versus quotation marks. If the source is a book title or website name, it should be italicized. If the source is the title of a specific article or a poem, use quotation marks.
Reference entry title | In-text citation title |
---|---|
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | (Sir Gawain) |
“The First Kiss of Love” | (“First Kiss”) |
American Association of Professional Apiculturists | (American Association) |
Citing sources without page numbers
Because MLA is often used for humanities research, you may need to cite various sources besides books and articles.
For sources with numbered parts such as plays, poems, or audiovisual materials like videos or podcasts, citations should include the numbers (e.g., line number, verse, paragraph, timestamp, scene) indicating where to find the quoted material in the source text and the type of system used (e.g., “lines 5–6”).
For sources without numbered or labeled parts, include only the author’s name. Do not add your own numbers to the source; this may cause confusion because the numbering system is not standardized across editions, publication formats, etc.
Source | How to cite | Example |
Source with numbered parts | Author name followed by a comma and the line, paragraph (par.), section (sec.), or chapter (ch.) number | (Torriani, par. 9)
(Poe, line 14) |
Play with numbered lines | Author name followed by act, scene, and line numbers, separated by periods | (Shaw 2.1.42–48)
(Shakespeare 1.1.19–27) |
Audiovisual source | Author name and timestamps | (Spielberg 1:14:36–1:15:08)
(Ward 08:03:03–21) |
Sources without numbering | Author name or shortened title | (Panjat)
(“MLA in-text citations”) |
Citing sources indirectly
When you encounter quoted or paraphrased material in a secondary source that you would like to cite, the best practice is to find the original source.
If this isn’t possible, you must cite both the original author and the source you used for the information using “qtd. in” (an abbreviation for “quoted in”). The Works Cited entry includes only the secondary source.
Frequently asked questions about MLA in-text citations
- When do I need MLA in-text citations?
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MLA in-text citations must be included any time you quote or paraphrase another source. Failing to include a citation could result in accidental plagiarism.
Citations are not usually needed for generally available knowledge, such as the dates of historical events or the birthdates of historical figures.
- How can I cite information from a footnote in MLA style?
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To cite information from a footnote in an MLA in-text citation, include the author’s name and page number as usual, followed by “n” and the footnote number (Bing 205n4).
To cite multiple footnotes, use “nn” and an en dash with the number range (Bing 205nn4–8).
For footnotes without numbers, include a space after the page number followed by “un” (Bing 103 un).
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can automatically create citations for all types of sources.