MLA Updated Guide

How to Format In-Text Citations

In-text citations are REQUIRED for paraphrased and quoted material from sources of information. 

Parenthetical style: The author’s last name or corporate author and page number are placed in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The period comes after the in-text citation.  Do not put a comma between the author's name and page number. Do not put p. for page. 

Example: The key to success for online students is linked to the student’s sense of belonging (Smith 20).  

Narrative style: The author’s last name or corporate author is not in parentheses because it is part of the sentence.  The page number is at the end of the sentence.  

Example: According to Smith, success for online students is tied to a student’s sense of belonging to the university community (20). 

This is the full citation of a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article. 

Walters, William H., and Esther Isabelle Wilder. “Fabrication and Errors in the Bibliographic Citations Generated by ChatGPT.” Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, Sept. 2023, pp. 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41032-5.

If I paraphrase some of the information from this article to include in my paper, I need to cite it using an in-text citation. 

Examples: 

Chat GPT versions 3.5 and 4 created fake or fabricated citations or citations with errors, although version 4 showed improvement (Walters and Wilder 1). 

According to the research done by Walters and Wilder, Chat GPT versions 3.5 and 4 both created fake citations for sources, even though version 4 showed improvement in the percentage rate (1). 

Sometimes it is necessary to quote material from a source word for word.  Quotes are rarely used in scholarly writing. 

Examples: 

Walters and Wilder found that "55% of the GPT-3.5 citations but just 18% of the GPT-4 citations are fabricated" (1).

"ChatGPT is fundamentally not an information-processing tool, but a language-processing tool" (Walters and Wilder 1). 

Notice that I cited the authors of the article, not sources cited within the article. If you need help with this, please contact a librarian.

How to Cite the Bible

In-text citation should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s).

The Bible. New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Hendrickson Publishers, 1993. 

Example: (The Bible (NRSVCE), Matt. 28:1-7).

Parenthetical style example: Matthew describes two women named Mary who witness Christ's resurrection (The Bible (NRSVCE), Matt. 28:1-8).

Narrative style: The story of two women named Mary, who witness Christ's resurrection, is told in Matthew 28:1-8 in the NRSVCE Bible. 

How to Cite an Encyclical Letter Written by a Pope or Other Works by a Pope or Saint

More Information: https://style.mla.org/citing-an-encyclical-letter/

Do not use honorific titles such as "Pope" or "Saint" in the citation, but it is polite to include them in the body of your paper as part of narrative citations.

Leo XIV. "Regina Caeli." The Holy See. 1 June 2025. https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/angelus/2025/documents/20250601-regina-caeli.html

Example in-text citation: Pope Leo XIV remembered the martyrdom of Cristofora Klomfass in 1945 in his greeting on June 1, 2025. 

Example in-text citation: Pope Leo XIV said on June 1, 2025, "I offer a cordial greeting to all those participating in the Jubilee for Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly." 

How to Cite Different Works by the Same Author

Narrative style: Use the author's last name in the sentence, then put the shortened title of the work with the page number at the end of the sentence. 

Example: Aslam concluded that many trends are affecting library management in the current climate of academic libraries ("Current Trends" 78).

Parenthetical style: Place the author's last name and the shortened title of the work with the page at the end of the sentence. 

Example: During challenging times leadership of academic libraries must employ transformational leadership effectively (Aslam, "Leadership" 135). 

Citations for sources used in examples:

Aslam, Mohammad. “Current Trends and Issues Affecting Academic Libraries and Leadership Skills.” Library Management, vol. 39, no. 1/2, Jan. 2018, pp. 78–92. Emerald Insight, https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-10-2016-0076.

Aslam, Mohammad. “Leadership in Challenging Times of Academic Libraries.” Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 69, no. 3, Jan. 2019, pp. 135–49. Emerald Insight, https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-03-2019-0038.

How to Cite a Work With No Author

Cite the first thing in the citation when there is no author. Use a corporate author in place of a person's name when possible. 

“Church of St. Euphemia.” The Byzantine Legacy, https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/hagia-euphemia. Accessed 23 Aug. 2023.

Example In-text citation: Built around 416, the Church of Saint Euphemia was not changed to that name until the 7th Century, when her remains were moved to that location ("Church of St. Euphemia"). 

Example in-text citation: According to the webpage "Church of St. Euphemia," the church was built in the 5th Century but was not named for the saint until the 7th Century.