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MLA Style - 8th Edition: Step 2: In-Text Citations

A guide to the elements of the new MLA Handbook.

Step 2: Generate MLA In-Text Citations

An MLA In-Text Citation gives credit to those information sources within the body of your paper and also connects the reader to your Works Cited page. In-text citations are meant to provide enough information to lead the reader to the source, while minimizing the interruption to the flow of your paper's argument.

The format of an In-Text Citation varies if you are quoting directly or if you are paraphrasing/summarizing. 

 

Quoting Directly

Direct quote - if including author name in sentence

Otto states that believing and experiencing the holy are entirely different phenomena--that we can "become consciously aware of it as an operative reality, intervening actively in the phenomenal world" (143). 

Page number only surrounded by parenthesis - inserted after quotation marks and before period.

Direct quote - if not including include author name in sentence

Believing and experiencing the holy are entirely different phenomena, and we can "become consciously aware of it an as operative reality, intervening actively in the phenomenal world" (Otto 143).  

Author name and page number surrounded by parenthesis - inserted after quotation marks and before period.

 

Note: The above examples of in-text citations tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 143 of a work by an author named Otto.  If a reader wanted more information about this source, he or she could turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Otto, they will find the following citation:

Otto, Rudolf.  The Idea of the Holy.  Oxford U.P., 1958.

Paraphrasing/Summarizing

Paraphrase/summarize in own words

Otto differentiates between believing and experiencing the holy as an operative reality (143).  

Page number only surrounded by parenthesis - inserted after summary and before period.

Note: The above examples of in-text citations tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 143 of a work by an author named Otto.  If a reader wanted more information about this source, he/she could turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Otto, they will find the following citation:

Otto, Rudolf.  The Idea of the Holy.  Oxford U.P., 1958.

Paraphrasing Practice

6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

  1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
  2. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
  3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
  4. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
  5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
  6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Source: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/