In-text citations are citations that are used in the text. The purpose of the in-text citation is to denote to the reader that full information of the source cited is listed in the works-cited-list entry.
The element that is required to create an in-text citation is the author’s name. The year of publication is not included for in-text citations. If you want to include any special elements, such as scene numbers or chapter numbers, you can add them with in-text citations. In-text citations will appear in the text in two ways: as citations in prose and as parenthetical citations.
When you include a citation in the text, which is read as a part of your sentence, it is a citation in prose. When you add such a citation, remember that you need to add the first name and surname of the author(s) in the text in its first mention. In other occurrences, cite only the surname of the author(s). Middle initials, even if available, should not be included within in-text citations. The first in-text citation in prose will look like this:
Marc Rich discusses enactment and reenactment acts.
Unlike citations in prose, in-text parenthetical citations always include only the surname of the author(s). As the name implies, parenthetical citations appear inside a parenthesis. A parenthetical citation is shown below:
Enactment and reenactment acts are discussed (Rich).
If you take a particular line or lines from the source and reproduce them as such, you must include the page number or numbers in your in-text citations. In-text citations do not require page numbers to be listed as “p.” or “pp.” An example sentence is given below.
According to Elaine Scarry, “The Making of the World is Challenging” (44).
If you introduce a citation to refer to a line, chapter, or scene of a source, you must include the elements in the below style:
Citation in prose:
chapter 6
scene 3
line 77
Parenthetical citation:
(ch. 6)
(sc. 3)
(line 77)
In-text citations examples for different numbers of authors are given below:
One author
Citations in prose, as stated earlier, include the first name and surname of the author in the first occurrence. They use only the author’s surname in subsequent occurrences. Parenthetical citations add only the author’s surname in all occurrences.
Citation in prose:
First mention: Paul Brodwin sees ….
Subsequent occurrences: Brodwin sees ….
Parenthetical:
….(Brodwin)
Two authors
The first name and surname of the authors are included in the first citation in prose. In other instances, only the authors’ surnames are used. Parenthetical citations add only the authors’ surname in all occurrences. The names are separated by “and.”
Citation in prose:
First mention: David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder ….
Subsequent occurrences: Mitchell and Snyder ….
Parenthetical:
….(Mitchell and Snyder)
Three or more authors
Use only the first author’s name in both citations in prose and parenthetical citations. Add “and others” or “colleagues” after the first author’s name in prose. Add “et al.” after the author’s name in parenthetical citations.
Citation in prose:
Hugh Culik and colleagues…. or Hugh Culik and others ….
Parenthetical:
….(Culik et al.)
Corporate author
Citations in prose use the corporate author name. In parenthetical citations, the organization name is shortened if possible.
Citation in prose:
Centers for Disease Control ….
Parenthetical:
….(Centers for Disease Control)
No author
For no author works, in-text citations take the title in place of the author’s name.
The title is italicized. If the title is very long, use one or two words of the title.
Citation in prose:
The Psychology of the Emotions explains the life of …. (17)
Parenthetical:
….(Psychology 17)
If two or more entries in the works-cited list have the same surname, use the first name not only in the first mention but also in subsequent occurrences in prose, to avoid confusion. In parenthetical citations, include the first initials of the author.
Citation in prose templates and examples:
First name Surname of the first author
First name Surname of the second author
Diana Raab
Melanie Raab
Parenthetical templates and examples:
(A. Author Surname)
(B. Author Surname)
(D. Raab)
(M. Raab)
If the first initials are also the same, use the full first name in parenthetical citations too.
Parenthetical examples:
(Ben Lee)
(Bit Lee)
As MLA style uses only the author’s name for in-text citations, it is advisable to use the title for in-text citations if multiple works by the same author are available in the works-cited list to indicate which work is referred to in the text.
Citation in prose example:
Spark says in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that ….
Parenthetical example:
There are different kinds of birds, and a distinct species is studied (Spark, Prime).
If the works-cited-list entry has only the title and no author, the title is used in citations. Shorten the title for in-text citations if it is too long.
Citation in prose:
Can There Be a Feminist Ehtnography ….
Parenthetical:
(Can There Be a Feminist Ehtnography)
No punctuation is required between the author’s name and the page number.
(Ribot 102)
Multiple page numbers are separated by commas if they are non-consecutive. If they are consecutive, use a dash. Page numbers are elided in ranges.
(Trujillo 73, 132–34, 137)
If any element other than the page number is included in an in-text citation, specify the name of the element before its number. In the below example, the paragraph is mentioned as “par.” The element is separated from the author’s name using a comma.
(Wyatt, par. 2)
If you want to include further sublevel information, such as line numbers in a specific para on a particular page, separate the elements from the page number by a semicolon. A comma is used between the elements.
(Bailey 111; par. 4, lines 6–11)
Multiple parenthetical citations are separated by semicolons.
(Blackston 32; Borgdorff 12)
If a title is included for in-text citations, it is added after the author’s name with a comma separator. No separator is used between the title and the page number.
(Brown, Dark Matters 108)
The titles of two works by the same author are separated by “and.” The titles of multiple works by the same author are separated by commas with an “and” before the last title.
(Butler, “Bodies That Matter” and “Giving an Account”)
(Spatz, “Blue Sky Body,” “Making a Laboratory,” and “Molecular Identities”)