In-text Citations for Sources (MLA Format)
AKA Parenthetical References
You put the citations within the actual text, either in the sentence itself like this:
In a Newsweek International article, Andrew Moravcsik states 45 million Americans currently do not have health insurance.
Or somewhere in the middle or the end of the sentence in parentheses, like this:
45 million Americans do not have health insurance (Moravcsik).
In-Text Citations for Information You are Quoting or Paraphrasing
1) Put the author’s name in parentheses, followed by the page number of the article/website. If there is no page number, then don’t list one. Example from a CNN article written by Bob Smith about the Michael Jackson court case:
The attorney for the Michael Jackson stated that there are still many people who support the singer and refuse to believe the allegations against him (Smith).
2) Sometimes the author is a corporate author, like the Associated Press, or a government agency, such as data from the US Census. Use the name of the agency or corporation as the author name. Example:
The population of the United States is 295,366,629 as of February 2005 (United States Census).
3) If you cannot find any author or sponsoring corporation or government agency, then use the first significant word of the title (exclude words such as a, an, or the). Example from a website on the Southwest by an anonymous author, called “Food of the Southwest.”
Many of the distinctive foods of the Southwest have been influenced by nearby Mexico (“Food”).
In-text Citations for Images
· If an artist/photographer is credited with the image, use their name as the author name and follow the same format as in number 1.
· Only a corporate author or a government agency? Follow the same format as in number 2.
· No one given the credit for the image? Use the same format as in number 3.
Full Citations for Works Cited Page (generic)
Full Citation for and online source:
Although some websites may not contain all of the following information, this is the basic format:
Author’s last name, Author’s first name (or site maintainer). “Document title.” Title of the professional or personal site, if any. Date of internet publication. Name of any institution or organization sponsoring or associated with the web site. Date you accessed the information. <URL>.
Full Citation for book sources:
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Chapter title.” Title of the book. Additional information. City of publication: Publishing company, publication date.
Full Citation for periodical sources (magazines, newspapers):
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Article Title.” Periodical Title. Date: inclusive pages.