A Guide to Parenthetical Citations
Use parenthetical citations in the text of an essay to document every quotation, paraphrase, summary or other material (charts, pictures, etc.) requiring documentation. Parenthetical citations correspond to the list of works cited or references page at the end of the text. Below are the more common citation types; for others consult a stylebook or the web sites mentioned on the following pages.
MLA Parenthetical Citations:
1. Ordinarily use the author's full name the first time he/she is cited; thereafter just use the author’s last name in the text, and provide the page # in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Place the period after the citation: James West claims that his words were taken out of context and that he never claimed to have ghost-written The Lord of the Rings (325). [first mention of source] West claimed, “My words were taken out of context; I never said I had ghostwritten The Lord of the Rings” (qtd. in Jones 317). [direct quote] [indirect citation] 2. If the author is not mentioned in the text, provide both the author’s last name and a page number: The author himself never claimed to have had a hand in the writing of The Lord of the Rings (West 325). 3. If the author is unknown, cite the title of the work instead: Few scholars today think Tolkein wrote The Lord of the Rings working alone (“The West Mystery” 192).
APA Parenthetical Citations:
1. Most commonly, use the author’s name in the text followed by the date of publication of the source: Winters (2003) reported the first successful cloning of an Abyssinian wombat. 2. If a source is quoted, a page number appears in parentheses at the end of the passage: Winters (2003) told the conference, “This is an exciting new breakthrough in wombat studies” (p. 32). 3. If the author is not mentioned in the text, provide both the author’s last name and a date at the end of the passage: Researchers in Lake Stevens, Washington have reported the first successful cloning of an Abyssinian wombat (Winters, 2003).