{"id":123,"date":"2017-06-19T22:55:22","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T22:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/chapter\/the-conventions-of-citations-and-references\/"},"modified":"2025-05-28T20:05:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T20:05:31","slug":"the-conventions-of-citations-and-references","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/chapter\/the-conventions-of-citations-and-references\/","title":{"raw":"MLA In-Text Citations","rendered":"MLA In-Text Citations"},"content":{"raw":"Because the use of in-text citations will be so integral to your writing processes, being able to instantly craft correct citations and identify incorrect<\/em> citations will save you time during writing and help you avoid having unnecessary points taken off for citation errors.\r\n\r\nHere is the standard correct in-text citation style according to MLA guidelines:\r\n
\r\n
\u201cQuotation\u201d (Author\u2019s Last Name Page Number).<\/div><\/blockquote>\r\nTake a moment to carefully consider the placement of the parts and punctuation of this in-text citation. Note that there is no punctuation indicating the end of a sentence inside of the quotation marks\u2014closing punctuation should instead follow the parentheses. There is also no punctuation between the author\u2019s last name and the page number inside of the parentheses. The misplacement of these simple punctuation marks is one of the most common errors students make when crafting in-text citations.\r\n\r\n\"[Include\r\nSo, let\u2019s say we have the following quote, which comes from page 100 of Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s North and South<\/em>: \u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe following examples show incorrect<\/strong> MLA formatting:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it.\u201d (Gaskell 100)<\/td>\r\nIncorrect because the period falls within the quotation marks<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (Gaskell, 100).<\/td>\r\nIncorrect because of the comma separating the author's last name and the page number<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (Elizabeth Gaskell 100).<\/td>\r\nIncorrect because the author's full name is used instead of just her last name<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (North and South 100).<\/td>\r\nIncorrect because the title of the work appears, rather than the author's last name; the title should only be used if no author name is provided<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nThe following example shows correct <\/strong>MLA formatting:\r\n
\r\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (Gaskell 100).<\/div><\/blockquote>\r\nHowever, there are exceptions to the above citation guideline. Consider the following format of an in-text citation, which is also formed correctly.\r\n
\r\n
Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s narrator makes it clear that \u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (100).<\/div><\/blockquote>\r\nDo you notice the difference between this citation format and the format of the first example? Unlike the first example, this citation does not list the author\u2019s last name inside the parentheses. This is because the last name is included in the quotation\u2019s introduction, which makes the identity of the author clear to the reader. Including the author\u2019s last name again inside of the parentheses would be thus redundant and is not required for MLA citation.\r\n\r\nThe same rule about inclusion of the author\u2019s last name applies for paraphrased information, as well, as shown in the following example:\r\n
\r\n
Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s narrator makes it clear that her protagonist does not speak of her home once she is in Milton (100).<\/div><\/blockquote>\r\nIn this paraphrase, the author\u2019s last name precedes the paraphrased material, but as in the case of quotation integration, if the author\u2019s last name is not described in the paraphrase then it is required inside of the parentheses before the page number.\r\n\r\n\"Graphic","rendered":"

Because the use of in-text citations will be so integral to your writing processes, being able to instantly craft correct citations and identify incorrect<\/em> citations will save you time during writing and help you avoid having unnecessary points taken off for citation errors.<\/p>\n

Here is the standard correct in-text citation style according to MLA guidelines:<\/p>\n

\n
\u201cQuotation\u201d (Author\u2019s Last Name Page Number).<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Take a moment to carefully consider the placement of the parts and punctuation of this in-text citation. Note that there is no punctuation indicating the end of a sentence inside of the quotation marks\u2014closing punctuation should instead follow the parentheses. There is also no punctuation between the author\u2019s last name and the page number inside of the parentheses. The misplacement of these simple punctuation marks is one of the most common errors students make when crafting in-text citations.<\/p>\n

\"[Include
\nSo, let\u2019s say we have the following quote, which comes from page 100 of Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s North and South<\/em>: \u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following examples show incorrect<\/strong> MLA formatting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it.\u201d (Gaskell 100)<\/td>\nIncorrect because the period falls within the quotation marks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (Gaskell, 100).<\/td>\nIncorrect because of the comma separating the author’s last name and the page number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (Elizabeth Gaskell 100).<\/td>\nIncorrect because the author’s full name is used instead of just her last name<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (North and South 100).<\/td>\nIncorrect because the title of the work appears, rather than the author’s last name; the title should only be used if no author name is provided<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The following example shows correct <\/strong>MLA formatting:<\/p>\n

\n
\u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (Gaskell 100).<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, there are exceptions to the above citation guideline. Consider the following format of an in-text citation, which is also formed correctly.<\/p>\n

\n
Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s narrator makes it clear that \u201cMargaret had never spoken of Helstone since she left it\u201d (100).<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Do you notice the difference between this citation format and the format of the first example? Unlike the first example, this citation does not list the author\u2019s last name inside the parentheses. This is because the last name is included in the quotation\u2019s introduction, which makes the identity of the author clear to the reader. Including the author\u2019s last name again inside of the parentheses would be thus redundant and is not required for MLA citation.<\/p>\n

The same rule about inclusion of the author\u2019s last name applies for paraphrased information, as well, as shown in the following example:<\/p>\n

\n
Elizabeth Gaskell\u2019s narrator makes it clear that her protagonist does not speak of her home once she is in Milton (100).<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In this paraphrase, the author\u2019s last name precedes the paraphrased material, but as in the case of quotation integration, if the author\u2019s last name is not described in the paraphrase then it is required inside of the parentheses before the page number.<\/p>\n

\"Graphic<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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CC licensed content, Original<\/div>