Parenthetical Documentation

When you are writing a paper and using a source, whether it is a direct quote, paraphrase, or summary of the work, you must give the author credit for it. If you don't, you can be convicted of plagiarism.

Documenting sources with MLA is really easy, though. You don't have to deal with footnotes or endnotes. You simply introduce the borrowing, and follow it with the author's name (unless it was included in the introduction) and page number where you found the information. The documentation is placed in parentheses at the end of the borrowing and almost always before the ending punctuation.

REMINDERS

_Make parenthetical citations brief and accurate.

_To avoid long parenthetical citations, place reference information, such as the author's name, in your sentence.

_Place a citation as close to the relevant material as possible without disrupting the sentence.

_Use one citation at the end of a long section of material that comes from one source and the same page(s)--do not cite at the end of each sentence in this case.

_Parenthetical citations always go outside of a quotation and always before a punctuation mark, such as a period.

Place the parenthetical citations in your essay as your write. Do not wait until the essay is finished.

Here are examples of documentation:

ONE AUTHOR, NOT NAMED IN INTRODUCTION
. . . One critic wrote, "While the rest of the world writes well, this author continues to make money by selling books written at a third grade reading level" (Smith 32).

ONE AUTHOR, NAMED IN INTRODUCTION
. . . According to Expensive Ivy League University Professor Dr. Angus Beefmaster, the only place for a woman is in the kitchen (152). Although few would agree with his assertion . . .

TWO OR THREE AUTHORS, NAMED IN INTRODUCTION
. . . Researchers Bryant and Wilford assert that the cause of the problem is a lack of time and money (2463) . . . in contrast, Professors David James, Allen Peters, and Katherine Christie argue that the problem has been instigated by bureaucratic nonsense on the part of the administration (30).

TWO OR THREE AUTHORS, NOT NAMED IN INTRODUCTION
. . . Some researchers assert that the cause of the problem is a lack of time and money (Bryant and Wilford 2463) . . . in contrast, a group of professors argue that the problem has been instigated by bureaucratic nonsense on the part of the administration (James, Peters, and Christie 30).

MORE THAN THREE AUTHORS
. . . According to one group of critics, the site of the beheading was the symbolic, womb-like focus of the racial deconstruction (Peters, et. al. 333-334) .
OR
. . . According to the same group of critics, the site of the beheading was nothing particularly special, and should not be taken into account in the analysis of the piece (Peters, Jones, Allen, and Williamson 365).

A REFERENCE TO A MULTI-VOLUME WORK
. . . Political Activist Barth Gurley called Hevering a "stupid dork" (2:197).

A REFERENCE TO AN UNSIGNED WORK
. . . While Dizzy Donald and the Peachy-Keen Kids were still recording their first album, Jake and His Friends released most of those songs under their own name, thus starting what has been called the "Kids/Friends Music Massacre" ("Dancing with the Kids" 43).

A REFERENCE TO A LITERARY WORK
. . . When Harold the Mighty Monkey took hold of the banana and ate it, it was symbolic of his struggle against the harsh memory of his mother's rejection (220: ch. 23).

NOTE: In literary works, it is important to include the part and/or chapter of a prose work, the page numbers and line numbers of poems, and the act, scene, and line numbers of verse drama (Romeo and Juliet, II.ii.17).

A VIDEO OR FILM
No parentheses are needed for citing. The title of the movie should be mentioned in the text of the paper, of course.

A LONG QUOTATION
The parentheses will come after the end punctuation in this context only. Also, no quotes will be necessary, either. Although MLA requires that all text be double-spaced, some professors prefer for the text in extended quotations to be single- spaced. If you are not sure, ask your professor. I will single-space here because everything I am doing is single-spaced (don't tell MLA!).

. . . According to Joan Bailey, the palace can be interpreted as a fireplace:

The palace is a gigantic, rock-studded fireplace. Its warmth is created almost entirely by the anger and resentment of Perceval, although it can be argued that Angelique feeds the flames with her passionate lust for the cold, heartless Perceval. The constant references by the author to the stone walls, the action of the butler as he pokes and prods the characters, and the way the wind from outside creates a draft that fans the flames of Angelique's desire and Perceval's melancholy all display the consistent symbol of the Hothearth Manor as a fireplace. (345)

INTERVIEW
Because you have the information in the Works Cited page, all you will need in-text is the source's name. . . . one source close to the issue added that "the big nose really hurts her career" (Anderson).

In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations for on-line material

Because Internet sources typically have no page or paragraph numbers, and Web sites in particular are often anonymous, people are often confused about how to refer to these sources within their papers. The answer is to cite the author's name whenever possible and use the source's title otherwise (or a shortened version of the title). If no page or paragraph number is provided in the document (NOT on your printer), leave that portion of the citation blank. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of an in-text citation is simply to point readers to the correct entry on the Works Cited Page.

Example

Despite the many challenges she has faced on the Internet, the author still enjoys the "magic" of the MOO (Dibbell).

If the electronic document does not have an author, use identifying words from the title.

Example

Each of the teletubbies has his/her own language acquisition level, and, because of this, a child can identify and progress to the next language level when the child feels comfortable ("The Inside Story").

Note: Do not cite page numbers from printouts because pagination may vary in different printouts.

The following websites will help: or

Smith 8

Works Cited

Barrow, Matthew. "Skipping School? Plan On Walking." Sacramento Bee. 13 Oct. 1999,

California final ed.: A1+.

Gorman, Elizabeth. Prairie Women.New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 1986.

"Great Gatsby Study Guide." studyguide.org. 5 January 2002. 11 March 2003.

Ito, Philip J. "Papaya," World Book Encyclopedia, 1998 ed. The World Book Multimedia

Encyclopedia, CD-ROM version of The World Book Encyclopedia.

Whitehurst, Daniel, former mayor of Fresno. Personal interview. 5 Mar. 2003.

When creating your Works Cited Page, remember to:

  • Begin the Works Cited on a new page, but number consecutively (i.e., if the last page of your essay is page 3, the Works Cited is page 4)
  • Alphabetize each entry by first letter
  • Underline all titles of books, magazines, films, etc.
  • Put quotation marks around the titles of poems, short stories, and articles
  • Indent the 2nd line, the 3rd line, and all subsequent lines of each citation
  • Double-space all entries