Important reminders:
The MLA parenthesis note should always refer to the first word of the Works Cited entry. The first word will always be the author's last name or (for a source with no named author) the article title (in quotations). The first word will never be the web-site address, the name of the web site or the title of the publication.
The reference words in the MLA note should be typed in the same format as the words in the Works Cited entry. If the MLA note is referring to an article title, use quotes in the MLA note ("Government" 2).
Include a page number in all MLA parenthesis notes, even if the source you are citing is a one-page document. If the article is not paginated, determine the page number of the cited material by estimating how the document will print (use the "Print preview" command in your browser).
The MLA note should go at the end of the cited material unless you have a reason to place it in the middle of the sentence (you're citing two different sources or page numbers in the same sentence, for example).
The note is placed before the period at the end of the sentence (Jones 3).
If all the material in a single paragraph comes from the same source and the same page number, it is documented with only one MLA note at the end of the paragraph.
If all the material in a single paragraph comes from the same source but from different page numbers, identify the source and page number in the first note. For subsequent notes in that paragraph, the note should refer only to the page number (3).
Double check the end of every paragraph. If there is no MLA note there, it tells the reader that all the material between the previous MLA note and the end of the paragraph is your original material (none of the ideas or information in those sentences came from one of your sources).
When you are presenting material that is factual in nature -- statistics, news reports, historical information, general definitions and explanations, etc. -- there's usually no need to identify the author or source in the text of your sentence. This type of material is best presented as a direct summary. All the documentation (author's last name and page number) will be contained in the parenthesis note:
Overcrowding has become a serious problem in Illinois prisons, which are currently operating at almost double their rated capacities (Hall 22).
This note tells the reader that the information came from page 22 of the source by Hall, which is documented under that name on your Works Cited page.
For a source with no named author: If the author's name is not available, identify the source in your MLA note by using a shortened version of the title of the document. Be sure your abbreviation includes at least the first word of the full title to send the reader to the proper alphabetized entry on your Works Cited page. The following is a reference to a fact on page 2 of an unsigned newspaper article titled "Council sets new fines":
In 1998, the Champaign City Council passed a law that imposed a $500 fine on a bar owner who serves alcohol to under-age customers ("Council" 2).
For a source with more than one author:
If the source has two authors, use both names in the note (Hall and Wilson 3). If the source is edited or written by three or more people, use only the last name of the first author, followed by et. al., meaning "and others":Researchers at Johns Hopkins University concluded that diet was a contributing factor in more than 30 percent of all cancers (Blair et. al. 4).
For two or more sources by the same author:
If you cite two works by the same author, there will be two sources listed in your Works Cited listing. To show which of the two works is the source of a specific citation in your paper, include the author's last name and a shortened version of the title in your MLA note. Put the title in quotation marks. For example, if you used two newspaper stories titled "No solution reached on budget" and "Mayor vetoes proposal", both written by Joe Smith, the respective MLA notes would be:(Smith, "No solution" 3). (Smith, "Mayor" 2).
For a source you DO name in the text of your sentence:
If you are using a direct quote -- or if you are paraphrasing and want to stress the authority of the source -- include the author's name and credentials in the text of your sentence. Your MLA parenthesis note will take one of two formats, depending on whether you are using a direct or indirect quote, and whether the speaker/writer is the source's author:
1) For a direct quote -- the person you are quoting (or paraphrasing) is also the author of the source -- your parenthesis note will include only the page number, since you've already identified the source in the text of your sentence:
Newsweek financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn advises young investors to choose growth stocks for their self-directed retirement accounts (42).
This format tells the reader that the material is from page 42 of a source written by Jane Bryant Quinn. This source will be documented on your Works Cited page in an entry that begins with Quinn, Jane Bryant. Use this format whether you quote or paraphrase the author.
2) For an indirect quote -- the person you are quoting is not the author of the source where the quote appears -- the note format is slightly different. In this case, you must identify the speaker in the text of your sentence, then identify the source's author in the MLA parenthesis note. A common example is a newspaper story that includes a quote from an expert interviewed by the reporter. For these situations, use the "quoted in" format:
According to Circuit Justice Harry Clem, the Urbana courthouse is an "archaic, crumbling edifice" that doesn't meet current safety codes (qtd. in Bloomer A2).
This tells the reader that the quotation came from page A2 of the source written by Bloomer (documented on your Works Cited page).
For other MLA note formats, follow the guidelines in Chapter 46 of the Little, Brown textbook.