Citation Basics: In -Text

A basic MLA in-text citation consists of 2 elements:

• Author's last name
• Page number

These elements will be placed in parentheses at the end of the sentence where the author is paraphrased or quoted, before the period.

For example, if the author's last name is Garcia and you used information from page 27 of their article, your sentence would read:

• Insert quotation or paraphrasing here (Garcia 27).

If the author's name is referenced in the sentence already, only the page number is necessary to cite in-text. Example:

• According to Garcia, insert quotation or paraphrasing here (27).

For further instructions and examples for citing other sources (articles with multiple, blog posts, etc.), see the Purdue OWL Writing Lab page below.

A basic APA in-text citation consists of 3 elements:

• Author's last name
• Year
• Page number

These elements will be placed in parentheses at the end of the sentence where the author is paraphrased or quoted, before the period. Commas are required in between each of the elements and you must include "p." before the page number to differentiate it from the year.

Example, a citation from page 27 of a 2022 article written by author last name Garcia:

• Insert quotation or paraphrasing here (Garcia, 2022, p. 27).

If the author's name is referenced in the sentence already, only the year and page number is necessary to cite in-text. Example:

• According to Garcia, insert quotation or paraphrasing here (2022, p.27).

Or if the author AND year are mentioned:

• In a 2022 article by Garcia, insert quotation or paraphrasing here (p.27).

For further instructions and examples for citing other sources (articles with multiple, blog posts, etc.), see the APA and Purdue OWL Writing Lab pages below.