MLA In-text Citations: Guidelines for Proper Referencing

In MLA style, in-text citations are used to reference others' work in writing, involving parenthetical source information at the end of the sentence.

### Mastering MLA Style In-text Citations
* 📝 In MLA, in-text citations are used when directly quoting or paraphrasing someone else's work, with the source information placed in parentheses at the **end of the sentence**.
* 👤 For single authors, use the author's **last name and page number** (if available), like "Wordsworth 263." For corporate authors, use the organization's name, as in "**EPA 42**."
* 👥 When citing two authors, list both last names in order, such as "**Best and Marcus** 9." For three or more authors, use the first author's last name followed by "**et al.**," like "**Smith et al.** 45."
* 📘 If citing multiple works by the same author, include a **shortened version of the title** to specify, e.g., "**Visual Studies 72**."
* 🔗 For online sources without page numbers, use the **author's name or title**. For example, "Purdue OWL" for a webpage without numbered pages.
* 📚 When in doubt, ensure the in-text citation matches the **first item listed for that source in your Works Cited**.
* 🔍 Signaling in-text involves integrating part of the citation into the sentence itself, like "As Wordsworth famously stated, '**The child is father of the man**' (263)."
* 🌐 This vidcast follows MLA eighth edition guidelines; for more information, visit **Purdue OWL's MLA Eight page**.

MLA Style In-text Citations: a vidcast lecture brought to you by Eliza Gellis in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab. What is an in-text citation? In MLA, when you reference others' work in your writing, you use a parenthetical, or an in-text citation. This involves placing that source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence. So when do you need an in-text citation? You use in-text citations in two situations. One, when you directly quote someone, like here, for example, where we use Wordsworth's own words, or two, when you reference or paraphrase their work, like we do here when we summarize Wordsworth's ideas in our own words. So how do you cite in-text? First, there's author-page style. Just use the author's last name followed by the page number. If there is no page number, just the name is

fine. For example, here we show
Wordsworth's name and the page where we got the quote. For a corporate author,
just use the name of the organization followed by the page number, if there is
one. As we can see here, we summarize information from an EPA report listing
both the EPA and the page we're paraphrasing. For two authors, list both
last names in the order they appear in the source, like we do here with Best and
Marcus. For three or more authors, list the first
author's last name and replace the other author's last names with et al. Just
like the example, only the first author's name is shown. If you're using more than
one work by an author, use a shortened version of the title in your citation to
specify which work you're citing. Looking to the example below, here we use Visual
Studies as a shortened title to let our readers know specifically which of Alkens' pieces we're quoting. And if there

is no author, just use a shortened version of the title. Again, here we use Impact of Global Warming to help our readers identify which piece we're quoting, since this article has no author. With online sources, you're unlikely to have a page number, so just the author's name or the title is fine. For example, since the Purdue OWL webpage doesn't have numbered pages, we just list the authors who worked on the specific piece we're quoting. Still confused or unsure? When in doubt, just remember that your in-text citation should match up with the first thing listed for that source in your Works Cited. Lastly, there's signaling in-text. That's when you incorporate all or part of your parenthetical citation into the sentence itself. Thinking through this, we can see from the example below that we've included the author's name, part of our citation, into the sentence itself. This is often the most elegant way to

incorporate a quote and use an in-text citation. Thanks for watching, and don't forget to check out Purdue OWL's other resources on our website. This vidcast uses MLA eighth edition. For more information, visit our page on MLA Eight.

MLA Style: In-Text Citations (8th Ed., 2016)

OWLPurdue

Understanding MLA Style In-Text Citations

In MLA, in-text citations are used when quoting or paraphrasing someone else's work.

The citations can be done in author-page style, including the author's last name and the page number.

When citing a corporate author, the organization's name and the page number are used.

For sources with two authors, list both last names, and for three or more authors, use et al.

When citing multiple works by the same author, a shortened version of the title is used to specify the work.

Global warming is causing more frequent and severe natural disasters, affecting communities worldwide.

The rise in global temperatures is threatening the extinction of various plant and animal species.

Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, are the primary drivers of global warming.

The Impact of Purdue OWL's MLA Eighth Edition Vidcast

The Purdue OWL's MLA eighth edition Vidcast provides valuable resources for understanding and using MLA citation style.

The vidcast offers clear guidance on incorporating quotes and creating in-text citations (Purdue OWL).

Students and researchers can benefit from the in-depth information available on the Purdue OWL website.