MLA Citations in the Body of Your Paper
MLA citations follow specific conventions that distinguish them from other styles. In-text citations are also sometimes known as “parenthetical citations” because they are enclosed in parentheses. Most often, the author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
If you use the name of the author to set up your quote or paraphrase, mention the full author’s name the first time in the sentence; thereafter use only the last name. Then put the page number without p. or pp. in the parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Page numbers should appear as they do in the source. If the source is only one page, do not add a page number in the citation. Examples of how numbers could appear in citations include 422, xxvi, and D32.
If other location types are used within a citation, they are listed often using abbreviations. The table below shows some location options with the appropriate abbreviations. When using any of these location types, add a comma within the citation after the author’s name. Only use the location type if they are included in the source. For example, do not use line or paragraph numbers if they are not included in the source referenced.
| Location | Appropriate Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| chapter(s) | ch. or chs. |
| line | Do no abbreviate. Write out line or lines. |
| paragraph(s) | par. or pars. |
| scene | sc. |
| section(s) | sec. or secs. |
If an ebook is used, use page numbers that are consistent across devices. Chapter numbers are also acceptable. However, do not use location numbers as they can vary in different devices.
If you need to cite more than one source in your in-text citation, you should use a semicolon to separate the sources.
It’s important to remember, in MLA style, each citation in your text must have a complete bibliographic entry in your Works Cited page, so, if readers want to go to the original source, they can!
The examples above are just a few of the most common examples of in-text citations in MLA style. The following pages provide more detailed information about in-text citing in MLA.