In order to indicate where certain information in an essay or report comes from, authors should immediately follow the borrowed information with in-text citations. In-text citations are an essential part of all research papers, regardless of the style guide used. The following are instructions on how to create an in-text citation in a basic format using APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
Step
Method 1 of 3: WHAT
Step 1. Write the author's name in the sentence
Whenever available, you must include the last name of the author (or authors) responsible for the source work. One way to include the author's name is to include it in the sentence before writing the information provided by the author.
- According to Jones, this premise is false (2010).
- Research by Smith, Doe, and Rowell indicates that this is simply a misunderstanding (2002).
Step 2. Alternatively, write the author's name in parentheses
If you don't include the author's name in the sentence, put the author's last name in parentheses after the loan information. For works with more than one author, separate the last two names with an ampersand (&).
- This premise is false (Jones, 2010).
- Although previously accepted as fact, this is simply a misunderstanding (Smith, Doe, & Rowell, 2002).
Step 3. Write down the year of publication
Whenever available, include the year of issue in parentheses after the loan information. If the author's name is also enclosed in parentheses, separate the two with a comma. If there is no year, indicate with the abbreviation “n.d.”
- Erikson claims otherwise (1999).
- Some experts claim otherwise (Erikson, 1999).
- Research shows that this long-held belief is, “at best, nothing more than ancient folklore” (Johnson & Smith, n.d.).
Step 4. Separate double quotes with a semicolon
If the quoted or paraphrased information comes from multiple sources, include the author's name and year of publication for all sources in parentheses as usual and separate individual sources with a semicolon. Sort sources alphabetically like the order in the reference list.
Many people wonder whether these facts have been exaggerated (Doe & Simmons, 2009; Williams, 2007)
Step 5. Use the title to replace the author's name, if necessary
If the author's name is not available, include the title of the book in italics or the title of the article in quotation marks. Follow the title with the year of publication as usual. If there is no year of publication, use the abbreviation "n.d."
- Recent research on the brain supports this claim (“New News about the Brain,” n.d.).
- Psychological studies in this area continue to expand (Psychological Discoveries, 2012).
Method 2 of 3: MLA
Step 1. Include the author's name in the sentence
If available, the last name of the author (or authors) must be included in the citation. One way to include the author's name is to include it in the sentence before the quote or paraphrase.
- According to Jones, this premise is false (25).
- Research by Smith, Doe and Rowell indicates that this is simply a misunderstanding (98-100).
Step 2. Alternatively, write the author's name in parentheses
If you don't include the author's name in the sentence itself, you must include the author's last name in parentheses. For works with multiple authors, separate the last two names with the word “and.”
- This premise is false (Jones, 25).
- Although previously accepted as fact, this is simply a misunderstanding (Smith, Doe, and Rowell, 98-100).
Step 3. Write down the range of page numbers in which the information can be found
Write the page number (or pages), where the quoted information can be found, in parentheses. If using a series of pages, separate the two numbers with a hyphen. If using page numbers that are not in a range, separate them with a comma. Do not separate the author's name and page number with a comma.
- Erikson claims otherwise (27).
- Some scholars claim otherwise (Erikson 27).
- Research shows that this long-held belief is, “at best, nothing more than ancient folklore” (Johnson and Smith 28-31).
- New information clarifies this situation (Doe 18, 23).
Step 4. Write down the first name initials for different authors who have the same last name
If it is necessary to cite two works written by two different authors who have the same last name, indicate the two different authors by including the initials of the first name as well as the last name.
- Current lingual theory supports this concept (L. Hoffman 87), but some linguists disagree (M. Hoffman 14).
- L. Hoffman supports this concept (87), but M. Hoffman does not (14).
Step 5. Use a title if there is no author's name
If there is no source author name, use a short form title. Write the titles of articles and short works enclosed in quotation marks and the titles of books or other long works in italics. Write down the page numbers as usual.
- Recent research on the brain supports this claim (“New News” 4-5).
- Psychological studies in this area continue to expand (Psychological Discoveries 58).
Step 6. Write down the title when using more than one work by the same author
If citing information from multiple works by the same author, include the title of the work in parentheses, followed by the page number. Use quotation marks for short works and italics for long works. You can write the author's name in a sentence or in brackets before the title, separating the author's name and title with a comma.
- Doe holds this belief ("Theories on Literature" 92-4), but he is known to have occasionally deviated from it (Analysis of Popular Poems 100).
- This theory is “too new to provide a solid basis” (Analysis of Popular Poems 100), but it does hold promise (Doe, "Theories on Literature" 92-4).
Step 7. Separate double quotes with a semicolon
If the loan information comes from more than one source, cite each source in parentheses as usual, and separate the individual sources with a semicolon.
Many people wonder if all these facts have been exaggerated (Doe and Simmons 204; Williams 17-21)
Step 8. Write down the author's name and website if using an internet source
Nonprinting sources do not have standard page numbers. Instead of listing page numbers or paragraph numbers, indicate the source by writing the author's name and the title of the article or website name. Both the author's name and the website's name can be included in parentheses or in sentences. You should have at least one of the two pieces of information in parentheses, but you can also include both in parentheses, separated by a comma.
- Williams emphatically expressed his support for this new art movement (“Film Trends”).
- This new art movement received professional support (Williams, “Film Trends”).
Method 3 of 3: Chicago
Step 1. Use footnotes or endnotes
Usually, in-text citations are indicated through the use of footnotes or endnotes. Immediately after the punctuation that follows the loan information, mark the quote with a number written in high superscript. The number must be the same as the number in the quote used in the text. You can write the author's name in the sentence, but it's not mandatory.
- This information is judged as fact by everyone, except a few critics.1
- Doe believes that this is not true.2
Step 2. Provide full citation in the first footnote
At the end of the page or the bottom of the paper, write the author's first and last name and the title of the article. Include the author's name, even if you have mentioned it in the text itself. Following this information, indicate the city of publication, publisher name, and year of publication in parentheses. Immediately after that, include the page number where the loan information can be found.
- 1. Robert Smith and Kevin Williams, Studies on the Human Condition (New York: Big Time Press, 2012), 4-14.
- 2. John Doe, “A New Perspective” (New York: Major Journal, 2011), 18.
Step 3. Brief the citation in the next footnote
If you have cited a source once, abbreviate it in all subsequent footnotes. When a citation immediately follows another from the same source, abbreviate all information, except the page numbers, with the Latin abbreviation "Ibid." When a citation from the same source is separated by another source, include the author's last name, title of the work, and page number.
- 1. Robert Smith and Kevin Williams, Studies on the Human Condition (New York: Big Time Press, 2012), 4-14.
- 2. Ibid., 34.
- 3. John Doe, “A New Perspective” (New York: Major Journal, 2011), 18.
- 4. Robert Smith and Kevin Williams, Studies on the Human Condition, 67.
Step 4. Include citations in parentheses if not using notes
If the teacher has stated that you should not use footnotes or endnotes, provide the same citation information in parentheses immediately after the loan information and before the closing punctuation mark. Include the full name of the author, the title of the work, the city of publication, the name of the publisher, the year of publication, and the page number.
- Doe believes that this is not true (“A New Perspective” [New York: Major Journal, 2011], 18).
- “This idea is completely wrong” (John Doe, “A New Perspective” [New York: Major Journal, 2011], 18).
Step 5. Write down the name of the organization if the work is written by a company or government
If a company is responsible for a particular source, instead of an individual author, replace the author's name with the company name.
- The employment future for this profession looks positive (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook [Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013]).
- 18. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013).
