Understanding MLA Parenthetical Citations: A Guide for Academic Writing
This guide explains the importance of MLA parenthetical citations in academic writing. It details how to properly credit sources when quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing information. Readers will learn how citations appear in-text, how to format them correctly, and the significance of using the author’s name and page numbers. By following these guidelines, students can enhance their credibility and encourage readers to explore original sources for more information. Reference examples illustrate correct usage, making this a valuable resource for any student.
Understanding MLA Parenthetical Citations: A Guide for Academic Writing
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Presentation Transcript
Parenthetical Citations: • Giving Credit UsingMLA Format
Parenthetical Citations • When you include information--quote, paraphrase, or summary--from another source, you must let your reader know where you got it. • Why? • It makes your ideas seem more credible since they have clearly been researched and are based on textual evidence, and • Your reader might be interested in going and finding out more about it.
Parenthetical Citations • Citations appear within the body of your text (sometimes they are called “in-text” citations) and are contained within parenthesis ( ) right after the quoted or paraphrased info.
Parenthetical Citations • They come directly after the information and right before the end punctuation. • Ex. “As he walked he would pray. Every step became a word of the Lord’s Prayer” (Graves 281).
Parenthetical Citations • They refer your reader to the first word of the entries on your Works Cited Page: • Normally, the first part of the Works Cited entry will by the author’s last name; therefore, you put the author’s last name in the parenthetical citation. • What goes in the parenthetical citation? Whatever word or words come first in the Works Cited Entry. • Ex: “As he walked he would pray. Every step became a word of the Lord’s Prayer” (Graves 281). • Graves, Piers Paul. Alive. New York: • Books, 2002. Print
Parenthetical Citation • If your sentence includes the author’s name, don’t include it in the citation. • Ex: When describing Canessa’s journey out of the mountains, Graves writes, “as he walked he would pray. Every step became a word of the Lord’s Prayer” (281).
Parenthetical Citation • If your sentence does not include the author’s name, include it in citation: • Ex. Parrado’s and Nando’s hope was heightened because “if [the sun] continued to illuminate that mountainside late into the evening it must mean that no other mountains stood in its way” (Graves 283).
Parenthetical Citation • If you are citing a range of pages, use a dash - • Ex. In order to push Canessa to continue the hike, Parrado suggested he think about something other than his pain, and Canessa began to imagine he was walking the streets of Montevideo (Graves 283-84).
Parenthetical Citation • If you are citing more than one page that are not in a range (not consecutive), use a comma: • Ex. (Graves 345, 352). • Notice that there is never a comma between the author’s name and the page numbers.
What if there is no author? • Just remember the rule: your parenthetical citation will include whatever word or words come first in the Works Cited entry. • If there is no author, MLA says to start the Works Cited entry with the title; therefore, you will include in the parenthetical citation the . . . • Title!
Most Important Slide of All • Know and visit this website: • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
