1 Most Common In-Text Citation Formats for Writing
When implementing MCCS, the question moves from “Do I cite this?” to “How do I cite this?” Category
MLA
APA
CMS
In-Text
Citations
MLA in-text citations are made with a combination
of “within-sentence” source reference and
parenthetical references. The parenthetical
reference, which comes after the cited material,
normally includes the author if not already
identified in the text of the paper and usually also
includes a page number. At the end of the paper, a
list of works cited provides publication information
about the source; the list is alphabetized by
authors’ last names (or by titles for works without
authors). There is a direct connection between the
in-text citation and the alphabetical works cited so
the source can be quickly found in full.
APA in-text citation names the author of the
source, gives the date of publication, and at times
includes a page number in parentheses. At the end
of the paper, a list of references provides
publication information about the source; the list is
alphabetized by authors’ last names (or by titles for
works without authors). There is a direct link
between the in-text citation and the alphabetical
listing.
When required to use footnotes or endnotes based
on CMS, you will usually be asked to include a
bibliography at the end of your paper…a
bibliography lists every work you have cited in
your notes; in addition, it may include works that
you consulted but did not cite…The first time you
cite a source, the note should include publication
information for that work as well as the page
number on which the passage being cited may be
found…For subsequent references to a source you
have already cited, give only the author’s last
name, a short form of the title, and the page or
pages cited.
This phenomenon is best referred to as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence”
(Pepper 49).
This phenomenon is best referred to as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence”
(Pepper, 1961, p. 49).
This phenomenon is best referred to as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence.”12
Parenthetical
Citation
(Match number (12) to endnote or footnote)
Within-sentence
source
reference and
the page
number in
parenthetical
citation
Philosopher Stephen C. Pepper refers to
this phenomenon as a “cumulative
collaboration of evidence” (49).
Philosopher Stephen C. Pepper (1961)
refers to this phenomenon as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence”
(p. 49).
12. Stephen C. Pepper, World
Hypotheses (Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1961), 49.
Philosopher Stephen C. Pepper refers to
this phenomenon as a “cumulative
collaboration of evidence.”12
12. Stephen C. Pepper, World Hypotheses
(Los Angeles: University of California
Press, 1961), 49. Kalispell Public Schools, Kalispell, MT. Developed Summer 2012. Created with Reference to these sources:
Updated December 16, 2012
Documenting Sources in APA Style: 2010 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.
Documenting Sources in MLA Style: 2009 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
"Free APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian citation guides with examples - BibMe." BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Aug. 2012.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 7th ed. ; [Taiwan ed. Taipei: Bookman Books ;, 2009. Print.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. Fifth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.
"The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." The Chicago Manual of Style Online. N.p., 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. 2 Parenthetical
Citation with
Unknown
Author
This phenomenon is best referred to as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence”
(World Hypotheses 49).
This phenomenon is best referred to as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence”
(World Hypotheses, 1961, p.49).
This phenomenon is best referred to as a
“cumulative collaboration of evidence.”12
12. World Hypotheses, (Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1961), 49.
Common Literary Works and sacred texts:
Citations by These are usually available in a variety of editions.
Content Area Your list of works cited will specify which edition
you are using, and your in-text citation will usually
consist of a page number from your edition. When
possible, you should give enough information, such
as book parts, play divisions, or line numbers, so
that readers can locate the cited passage in any
edition of the work.
Literary Works without parts or line numbers:
At the end of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of
an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard drops dead upon
learning that her husband is alive. In the
final irony of the story, doctors report that
she has died of a “joy that kills” (25).
Classical and Legal texts:
APA considers a classical text to be one that is
thousands of years old. Sacred texts such as the
Bible and Qur’an are included as well as Greek and
Roman classics. APA uses the Bluebook legal
form of citation for all constitutions and seminal
US texts. More information on this may be found
at www.legalbluebook.com.
US Constitution still current:
If you are using some part of the U.S. Constitution
as evidence, the citation begins with U.S. Const.
followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or
clause numbers.
Full in-text citation: An entire source may be
given in parentheses immediately following a
quotation, or some of the data may be worked into
the text, with details confined to parentheses.
Women gained the right to vote in 1920
(U.S. Const. amend. XIX).
“If an astronaut falls into a black hole, its
mass will increase, but eventually the
energy equivalent of that extra mass will
be returned to the universe in the form of
radiation. Thus, in a sense, the astronaut
will be ‘recycled’” (Stephen W. Hawking,
A Brief History of Time: From the Big
Bang to Black Holes [New York: Bantam
Books, 1988], 112).
Kalispell Public Schools, Kalispell, MT. Developed Summer 2012. Created with Reference to these sources:
Updated December 16, 2012
Documenting Sources in APA Style: 2010 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.
Documenting Sources in MLA Style: 2009 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
"Free APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian citation guides with examples - BibMe." BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Aug. 2012.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 7th ed. ; [Taiwan ed. Taipei: Bookman Books ;, 2009. Print.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. Fifth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.
"The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." The Chicago Manual of Style Online. N.p., 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. 3 Verse Plays – give act, scene, and line numbers.
Use Arabic numerals, and separate the numbers
with periods:
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, Gloucester,
blinded for suspected treason, learns a
profound lesson from his tragic
experience: “A man may see how this
world goes / with no eyes” (4.2.148-49).
US Constitution repealed or amended:
During prohibition, the sale of liquor was
made illegal (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII,
repealed 1933).
Use of ibid.: From ibidem “in the same place”. If
a second passage from the same source is quoted
close to the first and there is no intervening
quotation from a different source, ibid. (set in
roman) may be used in the second parenthetical
reference
(ibid., 114).
If a quotation from another source has intervened,
a shortened reference may be given
(Hawking, Brief History of Time, 114).
Poems – cite the part, stanza, and line numbers,
separated by periods:
The Green Knight claims to approach
King Arthur’s court “because of you,
prince, puffed so high, / And your manor
and your men are considered so
magnificent” (1.12.258-59).
For poems that are not divided into numbered parts
or stanzas, use line numbers. For the first
reference, use the word “lines”: (lines 5-8).
Thereafter use just the numbers: (12-13).
Novels with Numbered Divisions: Give the page
number followed by a semicolon and the book,
part, or chapter in which the passage may be found.
Use abbreviations such as “pt.” and “ch.”:
Poems - If space or context in the text or in a note
requires that two or more lines be run in, the lines
are separated by a slash, with one space on either
side.
Andrew Marvell’s praise of John Milton,
“Thou has not missed one thought that
could be fit, / And all that was improper
does omit” (“On Paradise Lost”), might
well serve as our motto.
One of Kingsolver’s narrators, teenager
Rachel, pushes her vocabulary beyond its
limits. For example, Rachel complains
that being forced to live in the Congo with
her missionary family is “a sheer tapestry
of justice” because her chances of finding
a boyfriend are “dull and void” (117; bk.
2, ch. 10).
Kalispell Public Schools, Kalispell, MT. Developed Summer 2012. Created with Reference to these sources:
Updated December 16, 2012
Documenting Sources in APA Style: 2010 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.
Documenting Sources in MLA Style: 2009 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
"Free APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian citation guides with examples - BibMe." BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Aug. 2012.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 7th ed. ; [Taiwan ed. Taipei: Bookman Books ;, 2009. Print.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. Fifth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.
"The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." The Chicago Manual of Style Online. N.p., 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. 4 Sacred Texts: When citing a sacred text such as the
Bible or the Qur’an, name the edition in your
works cited entry. In your parenthetical citation,
give the book, chapter, and verse, separated by
periods. Common abbreviations for the books of
the Bible are acceptable.
Consider the words of Solomon: “If your
enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; if
he is thirsty, give him water to drink”
(Oxford Annotated Bible, Prov. 25.21).
If you’re paraphrasing or quoting specific parts of a
classical work, also provide the relevant names
and/or numbers of chapters/verses/lines. These
books are numbered systematically across all
editions, so use these numbers instead of page
numbers when referring to specific parts of your
source. Include the version name upon first cite
only.
The Bible enumerates these virtues: “And
now these three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love” (1
Cor. 13:1 New International Version).
OR
The Qur’an 5:3 specifies some dietary
restrictions, such as forbidding Muslims to
eat "the flesh of swine."
References to the Jewish or Christian scriptures
usually appear in text citations or notes rather than
in bibliographies. Parenthetical or note references
to the Bible should include book (in roman and
usually abbreviated), chapter, and verse—never a
page number. A colon is used between chapter and
verse.
Traditional abbreviations:
4. 1 Thess. 4:11, 5:2–5, 5:14.
5. Heb. 13:8, 13:12.
6. Gen. 25:19–36:43.
References to the sacred and revered works of
other religious traditions may, according to
context, be treated in a manner similar to those of
biblical or classical works. Citations of
transliterated texts should indicate the name of the
version or translator. The Koran (or Qur’an) is set
in roman, and citations of its sections use arabic
numerals and colons (e.g., Koran 19:17–21). Such
collective terms as the Vedas or the Upanishads are
normally capitalized and set in roman, but
particular parts are italicized (e.g., the Rig-Veda or
the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad).
Kalispell Public Schools, Kalispell, MT. Developed Summer 2012. Created with Reference to these sources:
Updated December 16, 2012
Documenting Sources in APA Style: 2010 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.
Documenting Sources in MLA Style: 2009 Update. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
"Free APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian citation guides with examples - BibMe." BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Aug. 2012.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 7th ed. ; [Taiwan ed. Taipei: Bookman Books ;, 2009. Print.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. Fifth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.
"The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide." The Chicago Manual of Style Online. N.p., 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.