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10th Grade English: Argumentative Writing: In-text Citations - Examples

In-text Citations - MLA style

Listing your sources in a Works Cited page is only one part of the citation process; the other part is making references to your sources in the body of your paper. The purpose of the in-text citation is to inform your audience when you are making a reference to someone else's ideas or words. You must use an in-text citation when you quote material directly from the source, paraphrase it in your own words, or refer to an idea that is not your own.

According to the MLA Handbook: "References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited" (214). This means that for every reference you make in your paper there should be a corresponding citation in your Works Cited page, and vice versa.

One author

End of the sentence:

"The Eagles will win the Super Bowl" (Brown 25).

 

--OR--

 

Use the author's name in your sentence:

Brown predicts that the Eagles will win the Super Bowl (25). 

Rule of Thumb

Remember: when in doubt, CITE! You can lose points for not citing a source but you will not lose points for having too many in-text citations!

No author

If there is no author listed, use whatever comes first on the works cited page. It may be the title of the article or the name of an organization. The title/name may be shortened to the first word and should be quoted or italicized IF it looks that way on your works cited list.

Example:

Experts agree that the Eagles are the underdogs ("Super" 12).

 

In-text Citations

No page number

Instead of a page number, some sources may instead use:

  • sections (sec.)
  • chapters (ch.)
  • books (bk.)
  • parts (pt.)

If this occurs, use a comma after the author or title:   Experts agree that the Eagles are the Underdogs (Brown, sec. 3).

If there is no page number, section number, etc - just use the author's name in your citation!