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MLA citation style

In-text citations - Multiple authors or no author

  • If there are two authors, include the last name of each. Example:

(Winks and Kaiser 176)

  • If there are three or more authors, include the last name of the first author followed by "et al." without any intervening punctuation. Example:

(Baldwin et al. 306)

  • If there is no author, as is the case with some web pages, include either the whole title of the work in the text or use a shortened form of the title in parentheses, using the first words of the title. Italicize the titles of books or entire web sites and place the titles of articles or individual web pages in quotation marks.
  • Example of entire web site:

Voice of the Shuttle has many electronic sources.

  • Example of individual web page:

Gophers can have many detrimental effects on lawns, including building underground tunnels, eating plants, and disturbing root systems (“Gophers”).

  • If your source has no page numbers, but has labelled section or paragraph numbers, you can indicate these numbers in your parenthetical reference. If there are no such reference marks, do not create or include them in your reference.
  • Example where paragraph or section numbers are available:

Winston argues that "Rourke has lowered his defenses" (par. 29).

  • Example where no paragraph or section numbers are available:

The Lincoln administration was against secession, as it would “create a fatal precedent that would eventually fragment the no-longer United States into several small, squabbling countries” (McPherson).

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