MLA in-text citations give credit to the sources you reference in your paper. They appear in parentheses within the text and correspond to full entries on the Works Cited page.
Basic Format
The standard MLA in-text citation includes the author's last name and the page number, with no comma:
(Smith 42)
Common Scenarios
Author in the Signal Phrase
If you include the author's name in the sentence, only the page number goes in parentheses:
Smith argues that "the evidence is clear" (42).
Two Authors
(Smith and Jones 45)
Three or More Authors
(Johnson et al. 112)
No Author
Use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks:
("MLA Formatting" 5)
No Page Number
For web sources without page numbers, use only the author name:
(Doe)
Web sources raise a second question: which element opens the Works Cited entry in the first place. That depends on whether the page has an author, and it is worked through in how to cite a website in MLA.
Corporate Author
Use the organization name:
(Modern Language Association 78)
Multiple Works Same Author
Include a shortened title to distinguish sources:
(Smith, Writing Guide 42)
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