Use in-text citations with MLA formatting

Learning Objectives Define what an in-text citation is and explain its purpose. Identify the key pieces of information needed for a basic MLA in-text citation (author's last name, page number). Correctly format an in-text citation for a direct quote from a print source. Correctly format an in-text citation for paraphrased information from a print source. Apply the rule for in-text citations when no author is provided for a source. Explain why giving credit to sources prevents plagiarism. Integrate in-text citations smoothly into their argumentative writing. Have you ever used someone else's awesome idea or words in your own writing? 💡 How do you make sure everyone knows it wasn't *your* idea first? In this lesson, you'll learn how to properly give cre...

TermDefinitionExample In-text CitationA short note placed directly within your writing that tells your reader exactly where you found a piece of information (like a quote or a fact).Many scientists believe the moon was once part of Earth (Jones 25). MLA FormattingA common set of rules for how to format papers and cite sources, often used in English and other humanities classes.Using the author's last name and page number in parentheses is part of MLA formatting. SourceAny book, article, website, video, or other material where you get information for your research.A book about dinosaurs, a website about space, or an interview with an expert are all sources. PlagiarismUsing someone else's words, ideas, or work as if they were your own, without giving them proper credit. It's...

The Author-Page Rule (Author's Last Name Page Number). This is the most common way to make an in-text citation. You put the author's last name and the page number where you found the information inside parentheses. The citation goes at the very end of the sentence, before the period. No Author? Use the Title Rule (Shortened Title Page Number). If your source doesn't have an author (like many websites), you use a shortened version of the source's title (usually the first few words) in quotation marks instead of the author's last name. If there's no page number, just use the title. Author Already in Sentence Rule (Page Number). If you mention the author's name directly in your sentence, you only need to put the page number in parenthe...