Introduction
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is a widely recognized citation and formatting standard used primarily in the humanities, particularly in language and literature studies. Its purpose is to ensure scholarly honesty, provide a consistent way for writers to credit sources, and allow readers to easily locate the original materials. This guide, reflecting the principles of the MLA Handbook (9th edition), will provide you with the necessary tools to correctly cite your sources and format your academic papers. Proper citation is crucial for acknowledging the work of others, lending credibility to your arguments, and avoiding plagiarism. This extended guide offers more detailed explanations and a wider array of examples to cover more specific citation scenarios.
APA In-Text Citations: A Complete Guide
A fundamental part of this is giving credit where credit is due, which means including accurate APA citations for every source you reference in your paper. This is crucial for acknowledging original ideas andavoiding accidental plagiarism.
While your reference list at the end of the paper provides the full details of each source, in-text citations are the brief markers you place within the body of your paper. These citations act like signposts, pointing your reader to the corresponding entry in your reference list so they can easily find the source you consulted.
Whether you are summarizing or paraphrasing the main findings or key takeaways from a source, or including a direct quote, an in-text citationis always necessary. The basic format for in-text citations is the author's last name(s) or organization and the year. However, theexact format changes depending on who the author is and whether you're citing a specific part of the source.
Let's break down the different scenarios you'll encounter when creating in-text citations:
Basic Author-Date Format
The most common in-text citation format involves the author's last name and the publication year. This citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence.
Includes the author and date within parentheses, usually at the end of the sentence before the final punctuation.
The format depends on the number of authors
Citing Works by Group Authors
If a work is published by an organization, government agency, or other group, use the group's name as the author.
Provide the full name of the group, followed by its abbreviation in square brackets, then a comma and the year.
Use only the abbreviation and the year.
If the group author does not have a standard abbreviation, spell out the full name every time.
Citing Specific Parts of a Source (Direct Quotes)
While paraphrasing is preferred, sometimes you need to use the exact words of a source. This is a direct quote.
Enclose the quote in quotation marks. Include the author's last name, the year, and the page number (or other specific location like paragraph number if no page number is available) where the quote can be found. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.
Use a blockquote. Block quotes do not need quotation marks. Instead, indent the entire block of text 1/2 inch from the left margin. The in-text citation in parentheses goes after the punctuation of the quote.
Shavers (2007) study found the following: While research studies have established that socioeconomic status influences disease incidence, severity and access to healthcare, there has been relatively less study of the specific manner in which low SES influences receipt of quality care and consequent morbidity and mortality among patients with similar disease characteristics, particularly among those who have gained access to the healthcare system. (p. 1021)