MLA citation style

In-text citations - General guidelines

With in-text citations, you acknowledge a source by providing a brief reference to exactly where in the source you found the information. The reader can then use the complete reference listed in the Works Cited page at the end of your paper to verify what you have written. Further examples and explanations are available in the MLA Handbook.

• In most cases, providing the author's last name and a page number is sufficient. Example:

In response to rapid metropolitan expansion, urban renewal projects sought "an order in which more significant kinds of conflict, more complex and intellectually stimulating kinds of disharmony, may take place" (Mumford 485).

• If you mention the author’s name in your text, only the page reference needs to be inserted in parentheses. Example:

According to Postman, broadcast news influences the decision-making process (51-63).