Internal Text Citations

What is a Internal Text Citation? Also called a parenthetical reference.

A parenthetical reference is a reference within the body of your paper to one of the sources listed in your Works Cited list. It indicates to your reader exactly what you derived from the source, and specifically where it can be found. You need to write a parenthetical, or "in-text" reference, whether you quote the material directly from the source, paraphrase it in your own words, or refer to an idea derived from the material.

What typically goes in an MLA-style parenthetical reference?

The information that you need to include depends on what type of source the material comes from. For printed material, you normally only need to include the author(s) (or title if there is no author) and page number(s) in your reference. For multi-volume works like encyclopedias, you may also need to include a volume number (see Rules 6 and 7 below). For Internet sources, sometimes paragraph numbers are provided.

The information described above can be either included in the sentence that you write, or added in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

What other rules do I need to know to write a parenthetical reference?

Rule 1: Placement

The parentheses are usually placed at the end of a sentence, between the last word and the period. If you are quoting material directly, the parentheses should go between the closing quotation mark and the period:

"The chicken came before the egg" (Smith 21).

Rule 2: Sentence vs. parentheses

Only information that is not already contained in your sentence is necessary in the parenthetical reference. For example, in the following example the author's last name, Smith, is already stated, so only the page numbers are necessary within the parentheses:

Smith theorizes that the chicken came before the egg (21).

Rule 3: When author names are similar

Information you provide in the parenthetical reference should distinguish exactly which work in your source list you are referring to. Add a first initial or whole first name if the last name is not unique in your source list. See Rule 5 below if there is more than one work by the same author. For example:

It has been proven that the chicken came before the egg (J. Smith 21).

It has been proven that the chicken came before the egg (John Smith 21).

Rule 4: When there is no author

If the work is listed and alphabetized in your source list by its title (no author), then you should refer to it in the parenthetical reference by its title as well. The title may be shortened to just the first word (not including articles like "The" and "A"), and should be quoted or italicized if it is quoted or italicized in your source list. For example:

Experts believe that the chicken came before the egg (Chicken 21).

Experts believe that the chicken came before the egg ("Egg" 21).

Rule 5: When there are two entries with the same author (or no author) and title

If you have two entries with the same author (or no author) and title, find a publication fact that distinguishes the works and add it in square brackets to their parenthetical references. For a nonperiodical source, that might be an edition number, editor, or year of publication. For an article in a periodical, the title of the periodical is usually the best option. For a Web page, use the title of the overall Web site. For example:

Experts believe that the chicken came before the egg (Egg [3rd ed.] 21).

Experts believe that the chicken came before the egg ("Egg" [Chicken Magazine] 21).

Rule 6: Page numbers and other numbering systems

Sources sometimes use alternate numbering systems like sections (sec.), chapters (ch.), books (bk.), parts (pt.), verses, lines, acts, or scenes. Online sources sometimes provide paragraph numbers. If an alternate numbering system is used, include that information in your reference. Note that a comma is used after the author (or title) in this case.

Experts believe that the chicken came before the egg (Smith, pars. 3-4).

In "Egg Poem" Smith asks "how do we know, which came first?" (lines 5-6).

Occasionally, you may find that page numbers are available in addition to these other numbering systems. In this case, it is helpful to include both; provide the page number first, followed by a semicolon, and then the other identifying information. An example follows:

One novel reports a different theory (Smith 55; pt. 1, sec. 3, ch. 1).

In "Egg Poem" Smith asks "how do we know, which came first?" (6; lines 5-6).

An exception to this rule is that when you are citing a classic verse play or poem, it is standard to omit page numbers even if they are given, and instead cite by division (act, scene, canto, book, part) and line. Divisions and the line number(s) are separated with periods, as in the following examples:

In his classic play, Smith jokes about the egg (Egg 1.4.55-56).

In "Egg Poem" Smith asks "how do we know, which came first?" (4.5-6).

Rule 7: When to cite the volume number

If you are referring to a multi-volume work like an encyclopedia AND you used more than one volume of that work in your paper, then your parenthetical reference should include the volume number you used, as in the following example where we are referring to pages 5-6 of the third volume:

Experts believe that the chicken came before the egg ("Egg" 3:5-6).

Rule 8: Referring to an entire work

If you are referring to an entire work (like an opera or an entire novel) and not a specific section of the work, state the author and/or title within the sentence, and do not add any further information in parentheses. For example:

Smith's opera "Chicken and Egg" is a light-hearted comedy.

An exception to the rule above is that if you are citing an entire volume of a multi-volume work, you should include the volume number (either within the sentence, or in parentheses as shown below). Note that we use the abbreviation vol. when page numbers are not provided, unlike the example for Rule 7.

Volume 2 of Smith's book solves the chicken and egg mystery.

Eggs solves the chicken and egg mystery (Smith, vol. 2).

Rule 9: Quoting or paraphrasing a quotation

If what you quote or paraphrase in your paper is itself a quotation in the source, add the phrase "qtd. in" to the parenthetical reference as shown here:

"I have proven that the chicken came before the egg" (qtd. in J. Smith 21).

Internal Text Citations: Examples

When you include a quotation or paraphrase from someone else's writing in your work, the author's last name and the page number(s) must appear in the text, and a complete reference must appear on your Works Cite page. The author's name must appear either in the sentence or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell the reader that the information in the sentence can be found on page 263 of a work by an author names Wordsworth. If the reader wants more information about the source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. Oxford UP, 1967.

If the author's name is included in your sentence, it does not need to be included in the parenthetical citation.

For more detailed information on Internal Citations, see Purdue OWL MLA In-Text Citations