When you need to create in text citations, you should follow the MLA citation guidelines. Using the correct format can make your paper more professional, and your instructor or supervisor will appreciate that you took the time to properly document your sources. The MLA Handbook provides instructions for citing many types of sources, but some sources may not be described in the handbook.
Some of the sources that are not listed in the MLA Handbook are books, journals, and website content. If you use these kinds of sources, check with your professor or supervisor to see if they have specific citation guidelines for these types of materials. If they do, you should follow those guidelines and use them as a reference guide for your work.
If a book or journal has chapter and section numbers, you can include those in your in-text citation. If it does not have chapters or sections, you will need to use parenthetical citations to indicate where the quoted information comes from.
An in-text citation (also known as a parenthetical citation) is a way to reference the source of a quotation or paraphrase in your essay. It is most often used when a source isn’t available in the bibliography, and it allows your readers to locate the original text.
A parenthetical citation should be placed directly after the quote or paraphrase and before the period or other punctuation mark that closes the quotation. The citation will also appear in your works cited page, which is at the end of your paper.
Whenever you cite a book or journal, be sure to include the author’s last name and page number at the end of the citation. This is necessary so that your readers can find the full reference in your works cited page.
You should cite the first page of your source if it contains an in-text quote, and you should cite each additional page if the quote or paraphrase spans more than one page. If the in-text citation includes multiple pages, separate the citations with a comma.
When you’re citing an electronic source, such as a website or a YouTube video, you can omit the page numbers and just use the author’s last name and the title of the page in your in-text citation. This is different than the citation you would use when you cite a printed source, which typically requires a page number.
If you want to cite a movie or podcast, be sure to provide the runtime in your in-text citation. This can include the entire film or program, the beginning and ending of the film or program, or only a part of the movie or program that you are quoting.
In addition to the in-text citation, you should cite all other sources that were mentioned or referenced in the video, podcast, or other electronic media. This will include the other people involved in the creation of the media, such as producers and directors, and any editors who acted as a liaison between the creators of the media and your professor or supervisor.
