19 What Is an In-Text Citation?
If you want to include information from a source you consulted in your paper, you need to create an in-text citation. As mentioned before, in-text citations use only a few details of the source, enough to locate its matching citation in the Works Cited list.
In MLA style you generally need to include the following elements for all in-text citations, whether you are citing a book, a journal or trade article, a website or any other item:
- the author’s surname(s) or the group name
- the page number or other fixed locator if available
Where do I place citations in my writing?
Because in-text citations tell your reader which ideas belong to you and which ideas belong to someone else, it is crucial that you place them correctly. There are two different ways that you can include in-text citations into your assignments:
- as a parenthetical citation at the end of your sentence
- as a citation in prose as part of the sentence
In-text citation examples for a SHORT quote
Click on the 
symbol to learn about how to add in-text citations for short quotes (not longer than 4 lines).
Citation in prose
Parenthetical citation
In-text citation examples for a LONG quote
Click on the 
symbol to learn about how to add in-text citations for long quotes (longer than 4 lines).
Citation in prose
Parenthetical citation
In-text citation examples for paraphrases
Click on the symbol to learn about how to add in-text citations for paraphrases.
Citation in prose
Parenthetical citation
What if there aren’t any page numbers?
Some sources don’t have page numbers, in which case you normally simply omit this information. However, if there is a visible and fixed other locator (such as a chapter number or paragraph number), then include this information in lieu of the page number.
- Section and sections are abbreviated to sec. and secs.
- chapter and chapters to ch. and chs.
- paragraph and paragraphs to par. and pars.
What if there is no author? What if there are multiple authors?
Whatever the situation, you still need to cite your source. Check out the MLA Citation guide for answers to these and other questions, and if you need help, please ask us.
