MLA Style: How to Cite Sources

Strategy: In-text Citation “In-text citation” happens when an author tells the reader where something came from by adding a reference in parentheses shortly after the fact or idea to be acknowledged. This is different from and easier than putting your references in footnotes or endnotes.

In-text Citation: From a Print Source When a source is paginated, give the page number (or inclusive page numbers) in your citation. Interaction refers to “in-class discussion, out-of-class electronic communication, and out of class face-to-face interaction” between the instructor and students and among students (Chen 48). If you’re using a source found on the Web that shows pagination, then include the pagination in your citation.

What If There’s More Than One Author? If your source has three or fewer authors, give all three authors’ names in the in-text citation. Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76). The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).

More Than Three Authors References to four or more authors name only the first author and then at “et al.” This is the Latin abbreviation for “and others.” Jones et al. counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (4). Legal experts counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun laws (Jones et al. 4). You also have the option of giving all the authors’ last names, if it’s not completely out of hand.

In-text Citation: From a Web source Obviously, you can’t include a page number from a website that has no pagination! No need to add “n.p.” (for “ no pagination”). The ASU Foundation (one of the state’s oldest 501C(3) organizations), is, I discovered, the ultimate broker, with a mission is to “sustain and support” the university while being “independently governed and professionally managed” (ASU Foundation Mission Statement). Note that when no author’s name is given, the reference starts with the document’s title.

In-text Citation: A Quote Cited within a Source Researchers agree that interaction is “fundamental to the effectiveness of distance education and traditional programs” (McIsaac and Gunawardena, 415), that it is “important” (Fulford and Zhang cited in Simonson et al. 72), and…

Strategy: Signal Phrase A signal phrase is a short tag that tells the reader where a fact or idea came from. This is considered good style because it helps your reader follow your train of thought and creates a smoother narrative. By the end of the Founder’s Day Event it was clear we had discovered a “community of memory”—what Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart defines as “one that does not forget its past…. [and] which is involved in retelling its story, its constitutive narrative….and [it] offers examples of the men and women who have embodied and exemplified the meaning of community” (153).

Signalling the source of a signal phrase Note that since you’ve mentioned the author and title in your sentence, you don’t have to repeat yourself in the in- text citation. All that’s needed (for a print source) is the page reference: By the end of the Founder’s Day Event it was clear we had discovered a “community of memory”—what Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart defines as “one that does not forget its past…. [and] which is involved in retelling its story, its constitutive narrative….and [it] offers examples of the men and women who have embodied and exemplified the meaning of community” (153).

If the Signal Phrase’s Source Is Online… …then there’s no need for a parenthetical reference to the page number. According to HealthInsight’s online “National Rankings for Hospitals,” the Mayo Hospital is one of the very few in the state that rank among the top clinically and in terms of safety.

Ditzy Details The in-text citation goes OUTSIDE the end-quotation mark, and we place it on the INSIDE of the period or comma that follows: Researchers agree that interaction is “fundamental to the effectiveness of distance education and traditional programs” (McIsaac and Gunawardena 426), that it is “important” (Fulford and Zhang, cited in Simonson, Smaldino, and Albright 72), and that “its importance cannot be underestimated” in distance learning environments (Harasim, cited in McIsaac and Gunawardena 428). No comma before page numbers!

Ditzy Details, II Enter a space between a word and an open- parenthesis: Researchers agree that interaction is “fundamental to the effectiveness of distance education and traditional programs” (McIsaac and Gunawardena 426),…

In Summary… Let’s review how these look Paginated Print Source: Interaction refers to “in-class discussion, out-of-class electronic communication, and out of class face-to-face interaction” between the instructor and students and among students (Chen 48). Unpaginated Web page: The ASU Foundation (one of the state’s oldest 501C(3) organizations), is, I discovered, the ultimate broker, with a mission is to “sustain and support” the university while being “independently governed and professionally managed” (ASU Foundation Mission Statement).

Review, Continued A quote cited within one of your sources: Researchers agree that interaction is “fundamental to the effectiveness of distance education and traditional programs” (McIsaac & Gunawardena 415), that it is “important” (Fulford and Zhang, cited in Simonson, Smaldino, and Zvacek 72),… A signal phrase: By the end of the Founder’s Day Event it was clear we had discovered a “community of memory”—what Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart defines as “one that does not forget its past…. [and] which is involved in retelling its story, its constitutive narrative….and [it] offers examples of the men and women who have embodied and exemplified the meaning of community” (153).