MLA- Modern Language Association
Citing Sources within Your Document
Examples of MLA In-Text Formatting Rules
Select an example to view from the following menu:
1. Author's Name Not Included in the Sentence
Format:
When the author's name is not included in the sentence, both the last name of the author and the page number should be cited in parentheses.
Example:
By taking on such an "unladylike" project as the representation of black life, Peterkin managed to offend, in one way or another, quite a few Southerners, including all of the men in her family: her father, her husband, and her brother (Thompson 16).
2. Author's Name Included in the Sentence
Format:
When the author's name is included in the sentence, you may omit this name from the parentheses to avoid redundancy, using only the page numbers.
Example:
James Henry Rice, Jr., a South Carolina naturalist and author, claimed that Gonzales had "rescued the 'Gullah' of the sea islands and the rice plantations from oblivion, into which it was fast descending" (241).