Please sign in

You need to log in to use the bookmarking feature.

Harvard Business School

  • Baker Library
  • Special Collections
  • Fast Answers
  • All Services
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Working Knowledge
  • Academic Programs
  • Faculty & Research
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • Map / Directions

Purdue Owl: MLA Formatting & Style Guide

Developed by the Purdue Online Writing Lab.  MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

Author/Editor (By:)

Contributor, corporate author, related organizations, citation type.

Purdue University

  • Ask a Librarian

Master of Science Engineering Technology (MSET)

  • Manage Your Research
  • Copyright and Plagiarism
  • Common APA Citation Questions
  • MET 52700 This link opens in a new window

Purdue OWL: APA

  • APA Guidlines
  • Videos on the Basics of APA
  • General Format
  • In-Text Citations: The Basics
  • Reference List: The Basics
  • Types of APA Papers
  • APA Changes 6th Edition
  • General APA Facts
  • APA Sample Paper
  • APA Formatting - The Basics
  • APA Formatting: Reference List Basics
  • APA References List: Complex Authors
  • APA References: Periodicals
  • APA References Entries for Books

Purdue OWL: Writing Tips

Choosing a Topic

Where Do I Begin?

Developing Strong Thesis Statements

Writing a Research Paper

Citation Management

  • Citation Management Tools
  • Quick Reference Generators

Citation management tools help you track and organize the articles you are gathering for your research.  Citation management tools also generate in-text citations, import records from databases, and reference pages.   NOTE : Errors do occasionally occur with citation managers, so always check your citations and references.

  • Zotero by Michael Witt
  • Endnote Desktop by Robert Freeman
  • Endnote Basic by Jerilyn Tinio
  • Endnote Web vs. Zotero
  • Citation Machine
  • NoodleToole Express (my favorite for difficult references)
  • << Previous: Manage Your Research
  • Next: Copyright and Plagiarism >>
  • Last Edited: Feb 22, 2024 10:34 AM
  • URL: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/mset

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: The Basics

OWL logo

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).

Note:  This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 169-179 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 65-66, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA citation basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference. All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

  • Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.

( Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media .)

  • When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: Natural-Born Cyborgs .
  • Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo ."
  • Italicize the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American Mind ; The Wizard of Oz ; Friends .
  • Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles: "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required).

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

IMAGES

  1. purdue owl apa reference generator

    owl purdue in text citations

  2. Owl Purdue In Text Citations

    owl purdue in text citations

  3. Owl Purdue In Text Citations

    owl purdue in text citations

  4. Apa Cite Purdue Sale Outlet, Save 61%

    owl purdue in text citations

  5. Purdue Owl Apa 7Th Edition Reference Page Example / How To Use Purdue Owl To Cite In Apa 7th

    owl purdue in text citations

  6. Owl Purdue Apa In Text Citation Dictionary : Roseman University Library

    owl purdue in text citations

VIDEO

  1. Citation 💗

  2. Citation 👀❤️

  3. Citation ✨🔫

  4. Citation 🙂

  5. Citation 😎

  6. Citation 💙

COMMENTS

  1. In-Text Citations: The Basics

    Learn how to cite sources in APA style using the author-date method, with examples of quotations, paraphrases, and titles. Find out how to format quotations, page numbers, and special cases in your text.

  2. MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

    Learn how to cite sources in MLA style using parenthetical citations. Find out the basic rules, guidelines, and examples for different types of sources, such as books, articles, poems, and websites.

  3. APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

    In-Text Citations Resources on using in-text citations in APA style The Basics General guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay Author/Authors How to refer to authors in-text, including single and multiple authors, unknown authors, organizations, etc. Reference List

  4. In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

    Purdue OWL Research and Citation APA Style (7th Edition) APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) In-Text Citations: Author/Authors In-Text Citations: Author/Authors Though the APA's author-date system for citations is fairly straightforward, author categories can vary significantly from the standard "one author, one source" configuration.

  5. In-Text (Citation) References

    (Martin and Bailey 1988) For three authors, give all last names in the first citation in the text; in subsequent citations, use the first name and et al. First citation: (Carr, Smith, and Jones 1962)... Later citations: (Carr et al. 1962) For four or more authors, use the first author's last name plus et al. in all citations. (Nilson et al. 1962)

  6. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    Learn how to create MLA in-text citations and reference lists for your research papers. Find basic guidelines, examples, resources, and tips on formatting and citing sources in MLA style.

  7. Using In-text Citations

    Give students practice recognizing and using different forms of in-text citations. Materials. One copy of the Citation Examples handout per student. Computer Lab Option Materials. Word processing software. Digital projector. Procedure. Elicit from students what they know about or understand in-text citations to be and what purpose they may serve.

  8. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    Learn how to cite sources using MLA 9th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations. See examples, tips, and optional elements for different types of sources.

  9. Handout: Using In-text Citations

    To be human is to weep. The human species is the only one in the whole world of animate nature that sheds tears. The trained inability of any human being to weep is a lessening of his capacity to be human - a defect that usually goes deeper than the mere inability to cry.

  10. APA Style Introduction

    These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

  11. In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

    Summary: APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual ...

  12. In-Text Citation

    If you are citing multiple references at once, you should separate the citations with commas. If this citation covers three or more consecutively-numbered citations, you need only include the first and last, separated by an en-dash. Note that the comma requires a space, but the en-dash does not.

  13. Research and Citation Resources

    APA Style (7th Edition) These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster. MLA Style

  14. Introduction

    Print Sources Electronic Sources Suggested Resources Purdue OWL Research and Citation AMA Style AMA Style AMA Style References are found at the end of a manuscript and are titled "References," and each item should be listed in numerical order (two references should not be combined under a single reference number) as opposed to alphabetically.

  15. General Format

    Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA. You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel.. General APA Guidelines. Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides.Include a

  16. MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)

    MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

  17. Using Citation Generators Responsibly

    This usually means putting the pieces of information received in Step 1 into the correct order and applying the correct formatting. The generator produces a citation (or set of citations) that the user can use. This usually takes the form of text that a user can copy and paste into a project.

  18. Library Guide for Education Graduate Students

    In-Text Citation: Authors APA 7th Foot Notes and Appendices APA 7th Changes in the 7th Edition APA 7th Last Edited: Feb 9, 2024 10:42 AM URL: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/Education_GraduateStudents Print Page

  19. Purdue Owl: APA Formatting & Style Guide

    English Developed by Purdue's Online Writing Lab. Contains resources on in-text citation and the references page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

  20. Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition

    Please note that although these resources reflect the most recent updates in the The Chicago Manual of Style (17 th edition) concerning documentation practices, you can review a full list of updates concerning usage, technology, professional practice, etc. at The Chicago Manual of Style Online.. Introduction. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) covers a variety of topics from manuscript ...

  21. Purdue Owl: MLA Formatting & Style Guide

    Contributor Translator Corporate Author Related Organizations Citation Type Website Languages English Developed by the Purdue Online Writing Lab. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

  22. General Format

    Different practices apply for theses and dissertations (see Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, ad Dissertations [8 th ed.].; Main Body. Titles mentioned in the text, notes, or bibliography are capitalized "headline-style," meaning first words of titles and subtitles and any important words thereafter should be capitalized.

  23. Basics of Citing in APA

    The Purdue Owl APA formatting and Style Guide's most often used spaces on the guide are: In-Text Citations: The Basics (information on how a citation should generally be formatted inside of your paper, paraphrased, and direct quotes) In-Text Citations: Author/Authors (information on rules for listing of author(s). For example multiple authors, corporate authors, etc.)

  24. MLA Style

    MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics; MLA Formatting Lists ... Purdue OWL; Research and Citation; MLA Style; MLA Style; MLA Style. Welcome to the Purdue OWL. This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

  25. APA

    In-Text Citations: The Basics Reference List: The Basics Types of APA Papers APA Changes 6th Edition General APA Facts APA Sample Paper Purdue OWL: Writing Tips Choosing a Topic Where Do I Begin? Developing Strong Thesis Statements Writing a Research Paper Citation Management Citation Management Tools Quick Reference Generators

  26. Reference List: Other Print Sources

    Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here. Important Note: Because the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual heavily emphasizes digital and electronic sources, it does not contain explicit instructions for certain less-common print sources that ...

  27. PDF Using "et al." in APA 7: A Quick Rundown

    They would be cited in-text as follows to avoid ambiguity: (Jones, Smith, Liu, et al., 2020) (Jones, Smith, Ruiz, et al., 2020) Note: the above information refers to rules with in-text citations and essay body text only. In your actual References page entries, you would list out each individual author (up to 20 per citation).

  28. In-Text Citations: The Basics

    Summary: APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual ...