What is an in-text citation?
In an in-text citation, the author's name or title of the source (if no author) appears in a sentence and not in parentheses. In this case ONLY the page numbers (if available) are placed in parentheses. This is the same whether paraphrasing or quoting.
Examples:
Andersen argued this point (27-32)
As highlighted in the pamphlet, Assisted Living Facilities in Virginia, "staff turnover has increased by 10% since 2019" (8).
What is a parenthetical citation?
A parenthetical citation (also called "in reference") the author's name or the title of the source (if no author) does not appear in a sentence. In this case BOTH the author or the abbreviated title of the work including page numbers (if available) are placed in parentheses.
Examples:
Only 17% of students agreed with the decision (Thomas 97).
Most veterinarians agree that owners should ideally brush their dog's teeth twice a day (Dog Hygiene 12).
In-text/parenthetical citations and the works cited list
Please note that in-text and parenthetical citations must parallel the works cited entries. See the examples below -- parallel elements are in red.
| In-text/parenthetical citations | Works Cited |
| Garber writes that "dark chocolate hasn't had a glass of Merlot since it saw Sideways." |
Garber, Megan. "Milk Chocolate is Better than Dark, the End." The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/10/milk-chocolate-is-better-than-dark-chocolate-the-end/505511/. |
| While chewing is normal and has health benefits for dogs, they need to be taught what they can chew and what they can't ("Destructive Chewing"). |
"Destructive Chewing." ASPCA, www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/destructive-chewing. |
| Duckworth writes that cadets with high scores are as likely to drop out of West Point as cadets with low scores (6). |
Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner, 2018. |
| One author in-text |
Johnson has argued that both interpretations of the story are valued (178). Note: Location information, such as page numbers, must be given if available, both when quoting directly and with paraphrases. |
| One author in parenthetical citation | Between 1968 and 1988, television coverage of presidential elections changed dramatically (Hallin 5). |
| Two authors in-text | Others, like Jakobson and Waugh (210-11), hold the opposite point of view. |
| Multiple authors in parenthetical citation | The dystopian concept resonates deeply with readers (Rabkin, Greenberg, and Olander vii). |
| Multivolume work |
When referring to a specific page reference in a multivolume work, follow this format: (Author Last name Volume number: page numbers) Some believe this stance to be antiquated (Greene 2: 1-10). When referring to an entire volume of a multivolume work, follow this format: (Author Last name, vol. number) Between 1945 and 1972, the political party system underwent profound changes (Schelsinger, vol. 4, 3-7). |
| Work with no author - abbreviated title of work in parenthetical citation |
Give the full title or an abbreviated version of the title: International espionage was as prevalent as ever in the 1990s ("Decade" 27). Note: In this example, "Decade" is an abbreviated form of the full title, "Decade of the Spy." |
| Corporate author |
Preferred form (include the corporate author in-text): According to a study sponsored by the National Research Council, the population of China around 1990 was increasing by more than fifteen million annually (15). Alternate form (corporate author in reference, may abbreviate): Around 1990, the population of China was increasing by more than fifteen million annually (Natl. Research Council 15). |
| Two or more works by the same author, in parenthetical citation |
(Author's Last name, Title of Work page numbers) Shakespeare's King Lear has been called "a comedy of the grotesque" (Frye, Anatomy 237). |
| Two or more works by the same author, in-text | Northrop Frye considers Shakespeare's King Lear a "comedy of the grotesque" (Anatomy 237). |
| Indirect source in parenthetical citation |
Use this format when citing material obtained secondhand and not directly from a source: Samuel Johnson admitted that Edmund Burke was an "extraordinary man" (qtd. in Boswell 2:450). |
| Multiple works in a single parenthetical citation |
Use a semicolon to separate multiple works cited in a single parenthetical reference, (First work Author Last name page number; Second work Author Last name page number) Longitudinal studies show these findings are valid (Fukuyama 42; McRae 101-03). Digital media enhances creativity (Craner 308-11; Moulthrop, pars. 39-53). |
| Direct quotation in-text, under 4 lines |
If a direct quotation is under 4 lines, incorporate it into the text, placing the quotation between quotation marks. Include the page number in parentheses at the end of the quotation, before the period. Riedling writes that “students who are information literate operate comfortably in situations where there are multiple answers” (5). |
| Direct quotation in-text, 4 lines or more. |
Quotations of 4 lines or more must be set off from the text and should begin on a new line. Indent the quotation one inch from the left margin, and type it double-spaced. Do not use quotation marks. Include the page number in parentheses at the end of the quotation, after the period. In reference to the Kerala tradition, Blackburn writes that: |
| Citing a work without page numbers |
If a source does not include page numbers, but does provide explicit paragraph or section numbers, cite these. In these situations, include a comma after the author’s name. “Eagleton has belittled the gains of postmodernism” (Chan, par. 41). When a source has no page numbers or any other kind of reference numbers, no number is given in the parenthetical citation. The utilitarianism of the Victorians “attempted to reduce decision-making about human actions to a ‘felicific calculus’” (Everett). |
| Bible, Qu'ran, or other common source |
Add edition information to the first parenthetical citation for a common source such as The Bible. In one of the most vivid prophetic visions in the Bible, Ezekiel saw “what seemed to be four living creatures,” each with the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10). |
| Common literature source |
Add information (such as chapter and section numbers) that would help a reader locate the quotation in any edition of the work. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft recollects many “women who, not led by degrees to proper studies, and not permitted to choose for themselves, have indeed been overgrown children” (185; ch. 13, sec. 2). |
