MLA in-text citations (9th edition)
MLA keeps in-text citations short: who, and where in the source. Build yours below, then check the less common cases in the guide.
(Walker and Stickgold 122)
Two authors: both surnames joined by “and”.
Author and page, nothing else
The MLA Handbook asks for the minimum a reader needs to find the Works Cited entry and the passage: the first element of the entry (usually the author’s surname) and a location (usually a page). No year, no comma, no “p.”:
“Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another” (Morrison 95).
If you name the author in your sentence, the parentheses hold only the page: Morrison writes that claiming ownership of the freed self “was another” matter (95).
Special cases
| Situation | Citation |
|---|---|
| Two authors | (Gilbert and Gubar 45) |
| Three or more authors | (Burdick et al. 12) |
| No author | (“Climate Change Basics”) |
| Two works by one author | (Morrison, Beloved 43) |
| Two authors with the same surname | (T. Morrison 43) |
| Poem, cited by line | (Dickinson, lines 3–4) |
| Play, by act.scene.line | (Hamlet 3.1.56–58) |
| Video, by timestamp | (Kurzgesagt 00:02:15–40) |
| Two sources at once | (Rody 97; Rushdy 12) |
Placement and punctuation
Place the citation at the end of the clause containing the borrowed material, before the period. For block quotations (more than four lines of prose), the citation follows the final punctuation. Use an en dash in page ranges and drop repeated hundreds digits: 245–47.
Paste your essay into the MLA format checker to catch commas, years and “p.” slipped into citations.
Questions
What is the format of an MLA in-text citation?
The author’s surname and the page number in parentheses, with no comma and no “p.”: (Morrison 43). If the author is named in the sentence, give only the page: Morrison describes … (43).
How do you cite a source with no page numbers in MLA?
Give only the author: (Nguyen). If the source has numbered paragraphs, sections or timestamps, you may use them with a label: (Nguyen, par. 4) or (Nguyen 00:12:30). Note that a comma does appear before a labelled locator.
How do you cite two or three authors in MLA 9?
Two authors: (Gilbert and Gubar 45). Three or more: the first author plus “et al.”: (Burdick et al. 12).
How do you cite a source with no author?
Use a shortened version of the title that begins with the same word as the Works Cited entry, in quotation marks for short works or italics for long ones: (“Climate Change Basics”).
How do you cite two works by the same author?
Add a short title to tell them apart: (Morrison, Beloved 43) and (Morrison, Sula 12). A comma separates the author and the title.