In-Text Citations: Replacing Your Source Letters

Parenthetical Citations

Every time you use a quote from a source, or even write about information you learned from a source, you must use a parenthetical citation. A parenthetical citation is simply the author’s last name or a keyword from the title (if no author).

Sources that have author names:

Source 1:

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New

York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Since your source has an author you will use (Clinton) as your parenthetical citation.

Sources that do not have an author:

If the title is short, place the whole title in quotation marks within parenthesis.

If the title is long, you will use a key word from the title. This key word will be put in quotations.

Source 2:

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental

Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Since your source does not have an author, and it is a longer title, you will choose a keyword and put it in quotations. (“Blueprint”) will be your parenthetical citation.

Introducing sources in your writing:

If you have a direct quotation or statistic, it is wise to introduce where you got such information from in your paragraph. When you do this, you do not need to put your parenthetical citation at the end of the paragraph.

Example with a direct quotation
Incorrect: / Correct:
Children who go through child abuse have emotional trauma. “Any kind of abuse can make a difference in your adulthood and can cause a lot of problems as you get older” (Weisburg-Ross). / In his article titled Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse, Stanley Weisburg-Ross states that “Any kind of abuse can make a difference in your adulthood and can cause a lot of problems as you get older.” You do not need to put (Weisburg-Ross) at the end of this sentence because you introduced it in your writing.
Example with a statistic
Incorrect: / Correct:
There is a lot of research on abuse that existed in 2007. “In 2007, 3 million cases were reported and about 1,400 children died from abuse and neglect” (“Dying”). / There is a lot of research on abuse that existed in 2007. One article from Newsweek titled “Too Many Children Dying” states, “In 2007, 3 million cases were reported and about 1,400 children died from abuse and neglect.” You do not need to put the (“Dying”) at the end of this sentence because you introduced it in your writing.

If you have further questions on using citations, please refer the following outstanding websites: