Use parenthetical citations in the text of an essay

							              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 ghost-
       written 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).