PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS – MLA Section 6

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WHEN TO USE THEM

Use parenthetical citations any time you:

  • summarize
  • paraphrase
  • directly quote an idea from a source 

In other words, use citations any time you refer to something you have learned from a source.

 

HOW TO WRITE THEM

When citing a source, use only the author’s last name and the page number.  It is not necessary to put a "p." before the page number.

Example:  (Jones 72)

If the author is unknown, use the title of the article, book, pamphlet, etc. and the page number. 

Example:  (“Fishing” 14)

If a web site or online magazine article does not list page numbers or paragraph numbers, you have to omit numbers from your parenthetical references.

Example:  (Red Snapper)

If the web site numbers each paragraph, you must cite the relevant paragraph numbers.  Pars. is the abbreviation for paragraphs. Use a comma to separate the author (or title, if there is no author) and pars.

Example:  (Moulthrop, pars. 19-20)

 

WHERE TO PUT THEM

  • When summarizing or paraphrasing a source, place the citation at the end of the sentence, before the period.
    • Example: When fishing for red snapper, raw squid serves as an inexpensive, yet effective bait (Jones 72).

  • When directly quoting a source, place the citation after the quotation marks and before the period.  If you use the author’s name to introduce the quote, you only have to put the page number in parentheses.
    • Example:  According to Bill Jones, “raw squid makes great bait for red snapper” (72).

  • When more than one sentence in a paragraph refers to one idea from the same source, simply place one citation at the end of the last sentence.
    • Example:  When fishing for red snapper, raw squid is a cheap and effective bait.  Live bait, although more expensive, works even better (Jones 72).

  • When citing more than one source in a paragraph, cite each source separately.
    • Example:  When fishing for red snapper, raw squid is a cheap and effective bait (Jones 72).  Live bait, although more expensive, works even better (“Fishing” 14).

Aldworth, Caroline.  Parenthetical Citations.  Park Ridge, IL:  Maine South High School, 2003.
Revised, Naomi Mellendorf. Park Ridge, IL: Maine South High School, 2005.