Produce: Parenthetical Citation
References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited. The
information in your parenthetical references in the text must match the corresponding information
in the entries in your lists of works cited. To avoid interrupting the flow of your writing, place
the parenthetical reference where a pause would naturally occur (preferably at the end of a sentence),
as near as possible to the material documented.
"Works Cited" examples can be found here.
Author's name in text
MLA style
Tannen has argued this point (178-85).
You only need to indicate page numbers, since the author's name appears in the text.
APA style
Tannen (1994) has argued this point.
Date of publication is placed after author's name.
Chicago style
Tannen (1994) has argued this point.
Date of publication is placed after author's name.
Author's name in list of works cited
MLA style
This point has already been argued (Tannen 178-85).
Author's name and page numbers are placed at the end of the attributed text.
APA style
This point has already been argued (Tannen, 1994).
Author's name and publication date (separated by a comma) are placed at the end of the
attributed text. Omit year from subsequent citations after first citation within paragraph.
Chicago style
This point has already been argued (Tannen 1994).
Author's name and publication date are placed at the end of the attributed text.
Authors' names in text
MLA style
Others, like Jakobson and Waugh (210-15), hold the opposite point of view.
APA style
Others, like Jakobson and Waugh (1978), hold the opposite point of view.
Authors' names in list of works cited
MLA style
Others hold the opposite point of view (e.g., Jakobson and Waugh 210-15).
APA style
Others hold the opposite point of view (Jakobson & Waugh, 1978).
Chicago style
Others hold the opposite point of view (Jakobson and Waugh 1978).
Citing two or more works by the same author or authors
MLA style
Shakespeare's King Lear has been called a "comedy of the grotesque" (Frye, Anatomy 237).
The book title (underlined) or journal article (in quotes) is provided. If there is no author, then
only the book title or journal article would appear.
APA style
Shakespeare's King Lear has been called a "comedy of the grotesque" (Frye, 1982, p. 237).
Include page numbers if only specific parts of a publication are used. If there is no author, then
only the book title or journal article would appear, example, (Anatomy, 237)
Citation Guides
The examples shown above were taken from the following sources. Refer to these sources for further
citation examples.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Ref LB 2639 .G53 1999
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th ed.
Ref BF76.7 .P83 1994
