essay checker free grammar and plagiarism checker easybib

• Essay Check
• Chicago Style
• APA Citation Examples
• MLA Citation Examples
• Chicago Style Citation Examples
• Writing Tips
• Plagiarism Guide
• Grammar Rules
• Student Life

Writing Help Simplified

• Instantly check for plagiarism & grammar
• Get expert feedback to improve your writing within 24 hours

Get automatic paper help

• Expert Check

Check for unintentional plagiarism

Scan your paper the way your teacher would to catch unintentional plagiarism. Then, easily add the right citation.

Strengthen your writing

Give your paper an in-depth check. Receive feedback within 24 hours from writing experts on your paper's main idea, structure, conclusion, and more.

Find and fix grammar errors

Don't give up sweet paper points for small mistakes. Our algorithms flag grammar and writing issues and provide smart suggestions.

What students are saying about us

"This was the best feature of the website! It corrected a lot of grammar issues that even my writing tutor overlooked."

- Zachary T.

"The grammar suggestions caught some mistakes I definitely would not have caught on my own, so it made my paper so much better."

- Francis R.

"This is a convenient and easy to use tool because instead of having to access several different programs you can create citations and do grammar and plagiarism checks all in one place. The plagiarism check in particular gave me peace of mind when turning in my paper."

How we'll help you improve your paper

Check Your Paper for Grammar and Unintentional Plagiarism

Welcome to your go-to review service for writing and citing with confidence! With the click of a button, BibMe Plus will review your paper for spelling, punctuation, verb tense, and other grammar issues so you can rest easy knowing that you’re submitting your best work.

After putting in the long hours to complete and submit an assignment on time, the last thing you want to learn is that a misspelled word or missing APA format or MLA format citation slipped past you and made its way into your final draft. Thankfully, your concerns about how to avoid plagiarism and typos can be a thing of the past with help from the right tools.

The BibMe Plus writing and citing tools go far beyond the basics of just proofreading; they also check your paper for plagiarism and help you build your biography quickly. Our tool scans your document for similar content on the Internet. If it encounters a passage that may need a citation, it flags it so you can review the passage, examine the source, and easily create and insert a citation if it’s needed. Try it out now!

Detect Unintentional Plagiarism

Finding out that you’ve accidentally infringed on another’s work the night before your assignment is due can leave you scrambling to rewrite sections of your paper, update your citations, and modify your bibliography at the eleventh hour.

If you find that you have accidentally plagiarized, whether on your first, fourth, or final draft, the BibMe Plus plagiarism tool has got you covered. When the BibMe Plus essay checker scans your paper, it searches the web for passages of similar text and highlights areas that may need attention. You have the power to review each flagged passage, as well as the suggested source, to determine if a citation is needed. If you conclude that you did not plagiarize, you can dismiss the plagiarism suggestion and move on to review the next.

After reviewing the suggested sources and identifying the passages which are missing citations, you can choose to start creating a proper citation right then and there. Not only can you create the citation, but you can both add it directly into your paper as an in-text citation as well as to your bibliography at the end of the paper.

All of the BibMe Plus writing and plagiarism check tools and guides are conveniently available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So it doesn’t matter if you finish your paper a week early, or a few hours before it is due; help is here whenever you need it.

How Does the Plagiarism Checker Work?

Before subscription-based and free plagiarism checkers became readily available, figuring out how to check for plagiarism efficiently and effectively was a vexing problem. After all, reviewing every sentence by hand and comparing it all with the entirety of the world’s published works for potential plagiarism would be an arduous and potentially impossible task. That’s why instructors across all levels of education often rely on automated scanning tools (like a paid or free online plagiarism checker)  to check for plagiarism and help them identify instances of academic dishonesty; and why students should, too.

A free plagiarism checker may scan your paper for matching text and merely highlight the problem areas and return a percentage that reflects the amount of unoriginal writing it uncovered. The BibMe Plus paper checker offers a lot more than a free plagiarism site and gives you the information you need to make fully informed and intelligent decisions. Our plagiarism detector reveals any passages that require your review and returns the results to you, along with links to the source that contains matching text.

About the Plagiarism Checker and Grammar Check Tools

You’ve done the research, drafted and revised your paper, and took care to credit all of your sources. The last step before you submit your paper is to proofread it in order to catch any missed errors or citations. A missing preposition , misused adverb , or misspelled interjection might escape you, but you’re unlikely to escape your teacher.

The BibMe Plus grammar checker gives you the feedback you need to help polish and improve your paper before you turn it in, not after. Not only does it flag spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, but it also gives you helpful tips that explain why the item is flagged so you can correct it, learn from it, and become a better writer.

A quick scan of your paper with the BibMe Plus plagiarism tool will also help to reveal any passages that, while perhaps unintentional, would still be considered plagiarizing. With tailored tips and an easy-to-use interface, our writing tool can help you unlock the magic to more natural, relaxed, and efficient editing to help ensure that your writing is clear, consistent, and properly cited.

The best part about it? Instant suggestions. No further reading , waiting for a human proofreader to respond to you, or racing across campus to get to the writing center before it closes.

The BibMe Plus grammar checker is available precisely when and where you need it. Conduct an on-demand spell check and grammar check at any time of day to validate the integrity of your work, and to generate any missing citations, all in a matter of seconds.

What is Plagiarism?

Committing academic dishonesty could lead to failing grades and even expulsion Knowing the potential consequences of plagiarism certainly makes it clear why you should avoid it. However, without a concrete definition, abstaining from it can prove challenging.

If you’re wondering, “What does plagiarism mean?” an easy to remember plagiarism definition is that it’s the act of using someone else’s work or ideas without giving them proper credit . It’s important to note that this definition is not bound by intention, and students may commit it both knowingly and unknowingly in a research paper .

Learning to define plagiarism is just the first step in developing the awareness necessary to avoid it. Identifying it in its various forms is the crucial next step, combined with consistently utilizing a subscription-based or free online plagiarism checker as a non-negotiable element of your paper-writing process.

Is your paper in need of a plagiarism check?  The BibMe Plus grammar check and plagiarism tool has got you covered! It’s designed to help spot those pesky places in your paper that may get red marks from your teacher, and it couldn’t be easier to use. Simply upload or paste your paper into the online plagiarism checker and, in no time at all, you’ll receive your results and can review any areas of concern. Try it now!

Not ready to check for plagiarism yet? Not to worry–the BibMe Plus plagiarism tool is available 24/7, so you can research, write, and revise when it’s best for your schedule.

Examples of Plagiarism

While it’s critical to understand the plagiarism definition as it’s broadly defined, it’s just as vital to learn the various ways it can occur if proactively preventing plagiarism is your goal.

Direct Plagiar ism:

Direct plagiarism is the deliberate act of copying another individual’s work or idea into an assignment without providing any type of acknowledgment. An example of this would be a student copying and pasting text from a source into their project, without using quotation marks or any kind of attribution.

Incremental Plagiarism : 

Copying bits and pieces from a single sentence and adding them into a project without attribution is a form of literary theft called incremental plagiarism . Just as with direct plagiarism, the incremental form attempts to disguise when a student or writer is taking credit for words and ideas that are not their own.

Patchwriting:

When a writer rephrases another author’s words (and it remains similar to the original words) and includes them without attribution in their work, it is known as patchwriting or mosaic writing .

How does it happen? Perhaps the writer rearranged words in the sentence, subbed out a few adjectives with synonyms, or used bits and pieces of the original wording and mixed it with their own. No matter the method, the original wording is often easy to spot as it peeks through its patchwork disguise.

Self-Plagiarism:

Plagiarizing another author’s words or ideas is an issue that most students recognize as wrong, but many are shocked to learn that reusing their own words can also fit the plagiarism definition. After all, they ask, how can I steal from myself?

Self-plagiarism is less about stealing and more about deceiving. When a student refurbishes or reuses work they completed in the past and turns it in a second time instead of completing new, original work, they are not honest with their teacher. Even reusing portions or paragraphs of your previous work without disclosing it is dishonest.

Do you have a paper you want to evaluate so you can confirm you’ve completed your research responsibly without plagiarizing (by accident)? A quick scan with the BibMe Plus plagiarism tool will help highlight phrases, sentences, or paragraphs in your paper that are found elsewhere on the internet. Each highlighted section has a prompt that will also ask you if you need a reference for it. Even better? If you review the source and determine that you need to add a citation, the plagiarism check tool will guide you through the steps of creating and inserting your reference. Pretty awesome, right? We think so too.

Lesser-Known Examples of Plagiarism

There are quite a few acts of intentional or unintentional dishonesty that students are surprised to learn also meet the definition of plagiarism.

Misleading Citations:

Including misleading citations is a form of academic dishonesty that is just as serious as direct infringement.

To understand how this fits into the plagiarize definition, consider the final result. If this type of plagiarism is undetected, the writer has deceived their audience and created a false belief about the words and ideas in the source material and its author. Whether it occurs intentionally or unintentionally, misleading citations draw a false link between an idea and a source and harm a student’s credibility.

Invented Sources:

While misleading references can occur as a result of not understanding your research, invented sources are more often the result of insufficient research or intentional deception. A student who can’t find a source to back up a point they want to make or who doesn’t want to commit the necessary time to ethically complete a paper might resort to including one or more invented sources in their bibliography. Whatever the cause, an invented source creates an illusion of credibility by tying an idea to a source that doesn’t exist.

An invented source can also be the result of poor note-taking. Perhaps you found the perfect quote to include in your introduction but forgot to write down the source. You know it’s wrong to plagiarize, but unless you invent a source you’ll have to remove the quote, right?

Wrong! Rather than choosing between removing the quote or inventing a reference, let the BibMe Plus plagiarism tool free up some time by helping you find the source and create an accurate citation. It’s quick and easy to scan your paper for plagiarism and, most importantly, it’s the ethical thing to do.

What Is Not Plagiarism

With the definition of plagiarism covering so much ground, it’s easy to raise the alarms and wonder if even the most innocent of acts might be construed as plagiarizing. Our advice? Don’t panic. Instead, sit back, relax, and check out these times when you can write your heart out, worry-free:

Common Knowledge:

Information that is widely known and accepted as fact is considered common knowledge. This can either be information that is known to most people in the world, in your country, in your state, or even just in your field of study, depending on the audience for your work. For example:

J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series.

This is a fact that is known widely enough that it is considered common knowledge and does not require a citation.

If your statement is considered common knowledge, you can include it in your paper without creating a citation. Keep in mind, though, that research papers showcase new ideas and analysis. Common knowledge is acceptable to include, but make sure you mix in information from outside sources as well.

Attributed Quote or Idea:

To include the ideas of others in your papers, you need only to attribute them to the original author to ensure you safely stay on the side of academic integrity. A proper paraphrase or direct quote with a citation is an excellent way to promote a point in your paper, while also demonstrating that you fully understand the author’s idea and have completed your research responsibly.

While most writers remember to add references for direct quotes, they can sometimes forget to include references when adding paraphrases into papers. A free plagiarism site may only help these writers pinpoint passages, but the BibMe Plus tool also helps you develop accurate references, in Chicago citation style and many others, in all types of situations. Quotes, paraphrases, full references: you name it, our plagiarism checker does it, and does it well.

Now that we’ve learned what is and isn’t plagiarism, let’s look at how to avoid it entirely.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

When you first learn to define plagiarism and realize how expansive the definition is, it can be intimidating to think about all the information you have to cite. That’s where the BibMe Plus online plagiarism tool comes in by helping to spot intentional and accidental plagiarism and flagging any matching text for your review.

When you use the plagiarism tool, or any of our resources, your paper always stays in your control. You’ll be given the potential source for each flagged passage so you can review it and decide whether to create a citation or dismiss the alert.

If you find that you need to add a citation, we’ve got your back. There are BibMe citing tools that can help guide you through the process of creating and styling a citation for your paper.

No matter what tools you use to help complete your work ethically, whether they’re free plagiarism tools or not, you are ultimately responsible for the work that you turn in. Remember, the best time to find errors or unintentional infringement is BEFORE you turn in your paper, not after. When in doubt, run a BibMe Plus plagiarism check to help you find any passages that you may have missed on your own, and use the free tools to create and insert your citations in more styles than even imaginable.

Spot Writing Mistakes

Unintentionally plagiarizing isn’t the only thing to worry about when writing and revising a paper—you also don’t want to lose points for small grammatical mistakes. Luckily, the BibMe Plus grammar checker and plagiarism tool will complete a spell check and review your document for style, punctuation, sentence structure, verb tense, pronoun -antecedent agreement, and more!

The BibMe Plus grammar check tool gives you more depth and insight than a standard spell checker. When you scan your paper, the proofreader highlights areas for your review and provides prompts to help you make an educated decision about how to proceed before accepting or ignoring each suggestion. And, since our grammar and spelling check gives definitions and explanations, it can help you improve your writing over time.

This service is for all writers, from those who have complete confidence in their writing ability to those who are just starting to write. No matter what your writing level, let the BibMe Plus grammar and plagiarism checker free up your time with a quick and thorough review that leaves no noun , determiner , or conjunction unchecked! Upload your paper now and start improving your writing today.

Best Essay and Paper Checker – Free and Paid Options

| Candace Osmond

| Writing Tools

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

Plagiarism and poor grammar can make you lose your credibility as a writer. Your readers will stop visiting your website and citing your academic papers because they do not trust you. That’s where a writing editor can help you.

You might ask, what is the best essay and paper checker for me? This guide will give you a list of free and paid options to consider. 

Comparison Table of the Best Writing Checkers

English grammar and spelling checks, tone detection, clarity-focused rewrites, plagiarism checker.

Starts at $12 per month.

Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge.

ProWritingAid

Spell and grammar correction, check, length, writing style reports.

Starts at $6.58 per month.

Spelling, grammar, plagiarism checks, citation assistant.

Starts at $9.95 per month.

Virtual Writing Tutor

Spelling and grammar checks, essay outliner, paraphrase. 

Plagiarism detection, grammar and spell checker, automated scoring.

Starts at $7.95 per month.

Basic spelling and grammar corrections.

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, edge.

My Assignment Help

Spelling and grammar checker, expert assistance on assignments.

Starts at $47.30.

Citation Machine

Built-in citation generator, spelling and grammar checks, plagiarism detector.

Starts at $9.95.

Paraphraser, summarizer, spelling, and grammar checker.

Starts at $8.33 per month.

Spelling and grammar corrector, dictionary, syntax guide.

Starts at $5.00 per month.

Most Popular Essay Checkers

Grammarly is my favorite tool and the most popular essay checker that corrects any mistake in spelling and grammar to improve the quality of your content. The software helps correct your essays and research papers through its in-depth suggestions.

I use it for all my content writing as well as proofing my works of fiction before sending to my editor. I highly recommend it for any type of writer.

Aside from spotting spelling and grammar errors, this grammar tool also corrects your sentence structure, repetitive words, and lengthy sentences. It also improves the consistency of your tone in your writing assignments.

These suggestions come with detailed explanations that will make you understand why you made a mistake. Pay attention to these explanations to improve your writing skills in your future academic paper.

Grammarly has other features that enhance your delivery, engagement, and clarity. There’s also a personal dictionary and thesaurus for vocabulary enhancement.

You also have the option to conduct plagiarism checks on this tool. Subscribe to Grammarly’s premium version so you can perform unlimited checks on its plagiarism tool. It will scan your work against billions of sources, then provide links to duplicate content. 

The premium version prices are higher than other popular essay checkers, starting at $12 per month. But you indeed get more than your money’s worth.

• Provides explanations for its correction suggestions.
• Multiple platform availability.
• Checks your essay for plagiarism.
• Most popular AI-powered writing assistant.
• Expensive premium version.
• Heavy advertising on email.

ProwritingAid

Another online tool you can use for editing essays is ProWritingAid . I also use this program, not for papers but as a second line of defense on my content work and fiction.

This complex grammar software has multiple functions to help you achieve your writing goals. Although special functions are dedicated to creative writing, it’s also suitable for academic writing.

ProWritingAid uses artificial intelligence to spot spelling mistakes and grammar issues in your work. The accurate essay checker detects your over-reliance on adverbs, subject-verb disagreement, overused words, and repeated sentence starts.

Its 20+ functions include reports for sticky sentences, transitions, and dialogue tags, which you won’t find in other essay checkers. ProWritingAid is also one of the best plagiarism checkers on the internet that can effectively spot plagiarism issues in your work.

But as with Grammarly, you must make monthly or yearly subscriptions to access the premium features. ProWritingAid starts at only $6.58 per month. But if you want to save more money, try the lifetime subscription for only $399.

• 20+ advanced features for grammar.
• Affordable premium service.
• Includes a plagiarism checker.
• Unnecessary writing reports.
• Messy interface.

EasyBib is an underrated online essay checker for students and professional writers. While checking your paper for spelling and grammar mistakes, EasyBib also helps you improve your writing style.

Once you upload your document on EasyBib, it will give you targeted feedback on your communication, credibility, and clarity. You can also access a free resource library that will sharpen your writing skills.

EasyBib checks your work for unintentional plagiarism to ensure the integrity of your composition. You will see a percentage that displays how much of your work is original. You can use this to make the proper citation, but teachers may also use it to evaluate your paper.

What makes EasyBib one of the best essay checker apps is its ability to help you with different citation styles. Online plagiarism checkers are incomplete without these tools.

Beyond this program’s basic features, it can help you cite using the seventh and eighth editions of MLA. It can also generate citations for APA 7th edition , Chicago 16th, and 18th edition, etc. The Citation Styles Language powers these styles.

• Helps create a list of sources.
• Includes a free resource for beginners.
• Has basic correction facilities for spelling and grammar.
• Spelling and grammar corrections are limited. 

Are you looking for a free paper checker that performs the usual grammar check on your document? Virtual Writing Tutor provides all the essential features of a writing assistant. It checks for your spelling, style, and punctuation errors.

But it’s not your average editing software. Virtual Writing Software also has an essay outliner to make academic assignments easier. It helps you write your entire content as the tool outlines your argumentative papers, opinion essays, and prioritized list essays. 

The competent paper writer gives students a smoother experience with its paraphrasing feature. Virtual Writing Tutor helps you avoid being accused of plagiarism. It works by scanning your work against other sources, then suggesting changes. 

Other helpful features of Virtual Writing Tutor include the word counter, cliches, power words, and a vocabulary checker. It’s perfect for English learners, content editors, and students. 

• Helps spot ESL grammar mistakes.
• Includes an essay outliner for students.
• Free online tool.
• Limited grammar-checking tools.

Paper Rater

PaperRater is one of the essay checker platforms you should check out for your university essays and regular writings. It foxes basic grammatical errors, like subject-verb disagreement and inappropriate use of “your” and “you’re.” 

The automated proofreader also corrects contextual spelling and punctuation mistakes. It generates results in seconds without all the unnecessary signups and logins. On top of that, PaperRater is also free.

The online writing corrector features unique feedback and writing instructions for users. You’ll see many modules that analyze your text and compare it with students of the same education level.

For example, PaperRater offers a vocabulary score based on the quantity and quality of your words. It indicates a percentage of users you did better than in your work. 

Other feedback forms include your sentence length and variability, passive voice, and sentence starts. It can also perform plagiarism checks on your paper to guarantee academic honesty.

PaperRater recently launched its premium packages that let you check longer documents and plagiarism scans. The pricing starts at $7.95 per month. 

• Specifically marketed toward essayists and students.
• Works well on your browser.
• Includes a free and affordable premium version. 
• Not comprehensive and accurate.
• No browser extension or mobile application.
• Has many distracting ads.

Scribens is a free essay checker which requires no subscription to access its multiple editing tools. I’d recommend this to students of any level.

Like other tools, it can correct your spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. It features 250 tools that scan your nouns, verbs, prepositions, punctuations, and typos.

It also has basic editing features for your writing style. This AI-based essay scanner tool claims to correct ten times more mistakes than MS Word on your English language document. Thanks to Scribens’ dictionary, you can look for appropriate synonyms for your words.

Scribens also checks for cliches, redundancy, run-on sentences, and comma splices. Click on any part of your work, and it will instantly highlight all issues. Although free, this online writing tool doesn’t have strict limitations, making it a friendly Grammarly alternative.

The only downside to Scribens is its lack of a plagiarism and paraphrasing checker. It won’t evaluate the originality of your work nor recommend alternative sentences. 

If you want to try using plugins for different browsers, you can subscribe to the premium version of Scribens. This version also offers ad-free corrections and a bigger capacity for texts.

• Complete spelling, grammar, and punctuation checker.
• Straightforward interface.
• Free features with no strict limitations.
• Inaccurate grammar checker.
• No paraphrasing and plagiarism tools.
• No options for multilingual corrections.

My Assignment Help is a website where you can seek help for your college application essays and other documents. The essay checker service has a default grammar checker you can use for your general papers, custom essays, and more.

But its primary function is to help every user receive an expert review of their work from those with professional experience. My Assignment Help’s professional writers all have Ph.D. credentials to give you writing assistance. 

It offers grammar and style correction for all subjects. Regardless of your educational level, the platform can give you the exemplary service you need. These experts also review your work for plagiarism using software programs like Turnitin.com.

Pricing starts at $47.30, depending on the deadline of your work. It features a 100% money-back guarantee through PayPal and free SMS updates about your assignment status.

• Includes online spell and grammar checker.
• Ideal for college assignments.
• Real people will give your work expert assistance.
• 100% money-back guarantee.
• Difficult to use for new users. 

If you need an APA, MLA, and Chicago Style Citation Generator, Citation Machine can help you. The comprehensive tool helps college students and other academicians avoid citation mistakes so they can maintain their credibility,

The tool also helps observe proper citation no matter the type of your source. For instance, citing video materials differs from citing books, even if you only use one style. This software offers innovative technology to resolve these issues.

Citation Machine’s new plagiarism and grammar checker are game-changers, making it competitive against other essay checkers. It can finally spot over 50 errors in grammar using its advanced technology while helping you avoid duplicate content.

This online citation generator is affordable, starting at $9.95 per month.

• Good usability for spelling and grammar checks. 
• Features citations for APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
• Affordable.
• Not as accurate as Grammarly.
• No human reviews.
• Limited device compatibility. 

Quillbot is an AI-based software that students and content writers use to paraphrase and summarize their work. The tool also brings together a plagiarism detector and a grammar checker. I found it easy to navigate and very user-friendly, so this is an excellent option if you’re not tech savvy.

Its unique selling point is the paraphrase, which content publishers use to remove complicated language and duplicate parts. You can choose between different writing modes that will serve as a basis for the rewrites, like formal, simple, and creative.

Quillbot also helps users produce the perfect paper through its summarizer tool. It starts at $8.33, a reasonable price for its advanced features. 

• Provides different writing modes.
• Rephrases and summarizes your writing.
• Offers affordability for students and content writers.
• Inaccurate paraphrasing feature.
• Limited browser extensions.

AntiDote is ideal for writers who want to learn as they write and edit their essays. Its approach to your essay is more educational, convincing you to analyze your spelling, grammar, and structure issues.

This online writing tool underlines any potential issue in your text, then explains why it’s a problem. All you need to do is hover on the section, and it will give you the explanation you need. 

You can either accept or reject AntiDote’s suggestions. The AI software also features a dictionary that lets you know the meaning of the word you use. AntiDote has an Android and iOS version, allowing you to edit your work from a mobile device.

Pricing starts at $5.00/ month, but you can opt for a one-time purchase of $129.95 and have the program forever.

• Decent proofreading software.
• Secure writing tool.
• Slow loading time.
• No mobile apps.

Can Grammarly Check Essays?

Grammarly Free is a reliable essay-checking software that evaluates all text types for grammar and spelling errors. It checks sentences for clarity, proper diction, engagement, and inclusive language. 

There’s also a premium version that offers more grammar suggestions plus a plagiarism checker. Grammarly Premium scans your work against billions of websites and articles to avoid intentional and accidental plagiarism.

Check Your Essay Before Submitting

Spelling, grammar, and plagiarism mistakes make your writing look unprofessional. But this list of the best essay and paper checkers will help you reduce these writing flaws. It includes both free and paid options you can choose from.

Pick the best tool that will solve all your writing issues. But never take human judgment for granted when editing your work.

Grammarist is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

2024 © Grammarist, a Found First Marketing company. All rights reserved.

• Services Growth Roadmap SEO Only Content Only SEO + Content Video
• Free Training

Product Review

EasyBib Review

EasyBib is a premium Grammar and spelling checker with a built-in plagiarism detector. It is designed with students in mind, both on the high school and college level.

The “Bib” in EasyBib refers to the creation of a bibliography or works cited page at the end of a term paper or essay. That was the original purpose for this tool. However, recently, they’ve started scanning documents for grammar errors, punctuation mistakes, spelling mistakes, and instances of accidental plagiarism.

If you’re curious to see how EasyBib holds up against services like ProWritingAid  or Grammarly , you’ve come to the right place.

At our  content marketing agency , we review the best writing apps and grammar checkers so that you don’t have to.

We tested both the free and premium versions of EasyBib to determine its effectiveness as a tool for writers of all ages and skill levels. We took a piece of sample writing and had the system make spelling corrections, grammar suggestions, and check for instances of plagiarism.

See how it fared in this EasyBib review.

Disclosure: These reviews are reader-supported. We might earn a small commission if you purchase something through our site. Learn more

Our Verdict

I only recommend the premium subscription plan. The free plan is entirely too limited and is nothing more than a waste of time. Grammarly might be on the pricey side, you can save 20% with our link. 

Grammarly Best All-Around

• Only English
• Expensive without our link

EasyBib Limited Features

• Limited suggestions
• Tedious sign-up process
• No additional platforms
• Questionale customer service page

Grammarly Premium Walkthrough Video

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pros of easybib, cons of easybib, easybib costs, plans, & payment options, do i recommend easybib, 1. great plagiarism detector.

When you visit EasyBib’s website, they spend a lot of time talking about plagiarism. They dive into the various definitions of plagiarism, the reasons why you should avoid it, and heavily tout the effectiveness of their premium plagiarism detection software without going into too many specifics.

The service is really great and super thorough.

It should be noted that plagiarism detection is only offered with the EasyBib premium subscription and cannot be used with the free plan.

To get started with EasyBib, copy and paste your writing into the open form on the right. The service immediately gets to work, checking your content for grammar errors, spelling errors, and punctuation mistakes.

If you want to run a plagiarism check, you’ll have to do a whole new search.

Click on the tab on the left marked Plagiarism. This will bring up a small box that states that the system is ready.

Click Check My Paper to get started.

EasyBib keeps you updated as it works and lets you know that, depending on the length of your writing, it could take up to 10 minutes.

It finished with our sample paper in under two.

This sample article is loaded with plagiarism intentionally so that we can check the effectiveness of plagiarism checkers. It found that a whopping 88% of the text was copied from other sources. It actually identified more instances of plagiarism than most of our top plagiarism detectors .

If you want more information on a source, click on the result, and you’ll find the following screen, with a link to the source in question.

After that, EasyBib can actually help you create a citation if you want to keep the text intact while giving credit where credit is due.

2. Citation Generator

Once you’ve identified instances of unintentional plagiarism, you can cite sources properly to avoid any unpleasantness.

EasyBib, being first and foremost a citation management tool, allows you to create citations with ease. After the system tells you where you’ve accidentally plagiarised, it gives you the source.

Copy and paste the source URL into the citation generator to begin.

It also gives you several citation styles to choose from, such as MLA citations, among others. Make your selection, and you’re off to the races.

Enter the URL, and EasyBib will give you suggestions. Click on Cite, and you’ll be able to start building out your citation formatting.

3. Easy to Use

As a grammar checker, EasyBib was very easy to use once you got through the sign-up process.

There’s a large open document on the right. Paste your text into the document to begin the correction process.

Once you’ve pasted your writing, you’ll see a number of grammatical suggestions on the left. You can take each step by step.

What I particularly like about these suggestions is that they take the time to explain why the selection is wrong. That gives writers a chance to learn something from the tool and apply that knowledge to future writing.

The suggestions it offered were excellent, much like those offered by other premium services  that we’ve reviewed.

1. Limit of 5 Suggestions on Free Plan

Whenever you have a free plan, you’re going to have limitations put in place.

Usually, those limits involve the depth of grammar and spelling corrections offered. EasyBib takes limitations to a whole new level, and it’s almost to the point where you shouldn’t even bother with the free service at all.

You get five suggestions.

First, you’ll get a pop-up ad touting the premium service. Thankfully, this was the only intrusive ad I encountered while using the free plan.

Below, you’ll see that there are 38 total suggestions, but I only see the first five because of the shackles placed on free users.

I understand the need to limit free services, but this is a little silly.

Giving someone only five suggestions for their entire article or paper is ridiculously limiting.

Even the experts from our  MasterClass review  would attest to that.

The plagiarism detector is also a premium-only service, and you won’t be able to use it on the free plan.

2. Questionable Customer Service Page

A strong customer service department is the backbone of any business.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one here.

When I clicked on the Support page for EasyBib, my Chrome browser freaked out.

It immediately let me know that my connection was not private. For most people, this is a full stop. Cybercrime permeates every corner of the internet, so when something like this warning hits my screen, I take it seriously.

Were I browsing around for a service to use for myself, I would have left EasyBib forever right there. But for the purposes of this review, I fired up a VPN for some enhanced encryption and security and soldiered on.

When I got to the page, I was dismayed to find a knowledge base with no readily available contact information.

I searched for a few common questions and came up with nothing. And these were simple questions like “how many languages do you include” and “how large is your plagiarism database?”

Finally, I clicked on one of the articles it was suggesting. It was on cancellations. It was a useful and informative piece, complete with screenshots.

At the very end of the article, I found a tiny button that linked to a contact form. So direct contact is possible, you just have to dig for it.

I went to the contact page and started filling out the form.

I selected that I had a general question, and the dropdown box that popped up was interesting.

It immediately asked me why I wanted to cancel.

What the what?

I said nothing about cancellation. I thought maybe it was because I was looking at a cancellation article, so I tried again from an article about the citation builder.

Same thing.

My question had nothing to do with cancellation.

EasyBib is like an insecure significant other who, when you say you have a question, responds with, “WHAT, WHY DO YOU WANT TO BREAK UP WITH ME?”

I just wrote “NA” in all of its ridiculous required fields and asked a simple question about the plagiarism detection database.

As of this writing, I have yet to receive a response.

3. Tedious Sign-Up Process

Creating a premium account with EasyBib was annoying.

It wanted the usual information like your email and password, but then it started in with a bunch of questions I found to be unnecessary.

First, it wanted to know if I was a student, teacher, or parent.

Well…I’m none of those things. So I just selected student to get the process moving.

Now it wanted to know what level of education I was participating in, what university I was with, and what year I was. How is any of this relevant to purchasing a subscription?

Once that was done, thankfully, I was able to enter my payment information and start my trial membership.

4. No Specific Information on Plagiarism Detector

As I mentioned before, there is a lot of information about plagiarism on this site and why you should want to use a plagiarism detector.

However, there is no actual information on EasyBib’s plagiarism detector. I wanted to know the size of the database, so I scoured the site and came up with nothing.

After reading through the entire site, I learned that plagiarism is wrong and why you shouldn’t do it. But I didn’t learn anything about EasyBib’s plagiarism detector save for a throwaway line about “billions” of sources.

5. No Additional Platforms

EasyBib is only available through the easybib.com website. There are no mobile apps or desktop applications to speak of.

That’s very limiting, especially considering that mobile internet use is insanely popular, and some students might need offline corrections on their papers.

There is only one premium subscription for EasyBib. It is called EasyBib Plus. It comes with the plagiarism detector, enhanced grammar corrections, advanced feedback, MLA style, and more than 7,000 other writing styles.

It costs $9.95 per month.

The plan comes with a three-day free trial.

The only payment method accepted by EasyBib is a debit or credit card. They don’t take PayPal, Bitcoin, or anything else like that.

Yes and no. I recommend it for students looking to check their essays and expand their writing style.

Just for students, though.

I think EasyBib would appreciate that because this was clearly designed with students and academic writing in mind. If you’re looking for a quality and affordable plagiarism detector that also dabbles in grammar and spelling, this is the service for you.

I only recommend the premium subscription plan. The free plan is entirely too limited and is nothing more than a waste of time.

But with the lack of customer service and a tedious sign-up process coupled with no mobile support whatsoever, I can’t recommend it for grammar and writing to working professionals like professional writers, authors writing a book, and teachers.

Get long-term ROI.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / MLA In-text Citations

MLA In-Text Citations

An in-text citation is a reference to a source that is found within the text of a paper ( Handbook 227). This tells a reader that an idea, quote, or paraphrase originated from a source. MLA in-text citations usually include the last name of the author and the location of cited information.

This guide focuses on how to create MLA in-text citations, such as citations in prose and parenthetical citations in the current MLA style, which is in its 9th edition. This style was created by the Modern Language Association . This guide reviews MLA guidelines but is not related directly to the association.

Table of Contents

Here’s a quick rundown of the contents of this guide on how to use in-text citations.

Fundamentals

• Why in-text citations are important
• Prose vs parenthetical in-text citation differences
• Parenthetical citation reference chart

In-text citation examples

• In-text citation with two authors
• In-text citation with 3+ authors
• In-text citation with no authors
• In-text citation with corporate authors
• In-text citation with edited books and anthologies
• In-text citation with no page numbers and online sources
• Citing the same sources multiple times
• Citing 2+ sources in the same in-text citation
• Citing multiple works by the same author in the same in-text citation
• Abbreviating titles
• Citing religious works and scriptures
• Citing long or block quotes

Why are in-text citations important?

In-text citations

• Give full credit to sources that are quoted and paraphrased in a work/paper.
• Help the writer avoid plagiarism.
• Are a signal that the information came from another source.
• Tell the reader where the information came from.

In-text citation vs. in-prose vs. parenthetical

An in-text citation is a general citation of where presented information came from. In MLA, an in-text citation can be displayed in two different ways:

• In the prose
• As a parenthetical citation

While the two ways are similar, there are slight differences. However, for both ways, you’ll need to know how to format page numbers in MLA .

Citation in prose

An MLA citation in prose is when the author’s name is used in the text of the sentence. At the end of the sentence, in parentheses, is the page number where the information was found.

Here is an example

When it comes to technology, King states that we “need to be comfortable enough with technology tools and services that we can help point our patrons in the right direction, even if we aren’t intimately familiar with how the device works” (11).

This MLA citation in prose includes King’s name in the sentence itself, and this specific line of text was taken from page 11 of the journal it was found in.

Parenthetical citation

An MLA parenthetical citation is created when the author’s name is NOT in the sentence. Instead, the author’s name is in parentheses after the sentence, along with the page number.

Here is an MLA parenthetical citation example

When it comes to technology, we “need to be comfortable enough with technology tools and services that we can help point our patrons in the right direction, even if we aren’t intimately familiar with how the device works” (King 11).

In the above example, King’s name is not included in the sentence itself, so his name is in parentheses after the sentence, with 11 for the page number. The 11 indicates that the quote is found on page 11 in the journal.

Full reference

For every source that is cited using an in-text citation, there is a corresponding full reference. This allows readers to track down the original source.

At the end of the assignment, on the MLA works cited page , is the full reference. The full reference includes the full name of the author, the title of the article, the title of the journal, the volume and issue number, the date the journal was published, and the URL where the article was found.

Here is the full reference for King’s quote

King, David Lee. “Why Stay on Top of Technology Trends?” Library Technology Reports , vol. 54, no. 2, Feb.-Mar. 2018, ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=//search-proquest-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/docview/2008817033?accountid=35635.

Readers can locate the article online via the information included above.

Citation overview

The next section of this guide focuses on how to structure an MLA in-text citation and reference in parentheses in various situations.

A narrative APA in-text citation and APA parenthetical citation are somewhat similar but have some minor differences. Check out our helpful guides, and others, on EasyBib.com!

Wondering how to handle these types of references in other styles? Check out our page on APA format , or choose from more styles .

Parenthetical Citation Reference Chart

Sources with two authors.

There are many books, journal articles, magazine articles, reports, and other source types written or created by two authors.

When a source has two authors, place both authors’ last names in the body of your work ( Handbook 232). The last names do not need to be listed in alphabetical order. Instead, follow the same order as shown on the source.

In an MLA in-text citation, separate the two last names with the word “and.” After both authors’ names, add a space and the page number where the original quote or information is found on.

Here is an example of an MLA citation in prose for a book with two authors

Gaiman and Pratchett further elaborate by sharing their creepy reminder that “just because it’s a mild night doesn’t mean that dark forces aren’t abroad. They’re abroad all of the time. They’re everywhere” (15).

Here is an example of an MLA parenthetical citation for a book with two authors

Don’t forget that “just because it’s a mild night doesn’t mean that dark forces aren’t abroad. They’re abroad all of the time. They’re everywhere” (Gaiman and Pratchett 15).

If you’re still confused, check out EasyBib.com’s MLA in-text citation generator, which allows you to create MLA in-text citations and other types of references in just a few clicks!

If it’s an APA book citation you’re looking to create, we have a helpful guide on EasyBib.com. While you’re at it, check out our APA journal guide!

Sources With Three or More Authors

There are a number of sources written or created by three or more authors. Many research studies and reports, scholarly journal articles, and government publications are developed by three or more individuals.

If you included the last names of all individuals in your MLA in-text citations or in parentheses, it would be too distracting to the reader. It may also cause the reader to lose sight of the overall message of the paper or assignment. Instead of including all last names, only include the last name of the first individual shown on the source. Follow the first author’s last name with the Latin phrase, “et al.” This Latin phrase translates to “and others.” Add the page number after et al.

Here’s an example of an MLA parenthetical citation for multiple authors

“School library programs in Croatia and Hong Kong are mainly focused on two major educational tasks. One task is enhancing students’ general literacy and developing reading habits, whereas the other task is developing students’ information literacy and research abilities” (Tam et al. 299).

The example above only includes the first listed author’s last name. All other authors are credited when “et al.” is used. If the reader wants to see the other authors’ full names, the reader can refer to the final references at the end of the assignment or to the full source.

The abbreviation et al. is used with references in parentheses, as well as in full references. To include the authors’ names in prose, you can either write each name out individually or, you can type out the meaning of et al., which is “and others.”

Here is an acceptable MLA citation in prose example for sources with more than three authors

School library programming in Croatia and Hong Kong is somewhat similar to programming in the United States. Tam, Choi, Tkalcevic, Dukic, and Zheng share that “school library programs in Croatia and Hong Kong are mainly focused on two major educational tasks. One task is enhancing students’ general literacy and developing reading habits, whereas the other task is developing students’ information literacy and research abilities” (299).

If your instructor’s examples of how to do MLA in-text citations for three or more authors looks different than the example here, your instructor may be using an older edition of this style. To discover more about previous editions, learn more here .

Need some inspiration for your research project? Trying to figure out the perfect topic? Check out our Dr. Seuss , Marilyn Monroe , and Malcolm X topic guides!

Sources Without an Author

It may seem unlikely, but there are times when an author’s name isn’t included on a source. Many digital images, films and videos, encyclopedia articles, dictionary entries, web pages, and more do not have author names listed.

If the source you’re attempting to cite does not have an author’s name listed, the MLA in-text citation or parenthetical citation should display the title. If the title is rather long, it is acceptable to shorten it in the body of your assignment. If you choose to shorten the title, make sure the first word in the full citation is also the first word used in the citation in prose or parenthetical citation. This is done to allow the reader to easily locate the full citation that corresponds with the reference in the text.

If, in the Works Cited list, the full reference has the title within quotation marks, include those quotation marks in the in-text citation or reference in parentheses. If the title is written in italics in the full reference, use italics for the title in the in-text citation or reference in parentheses as well.

Parenthetical Citations MLA Examples

The example below is from a poem found online, titled “the last time.” the poem’s author is unknown..

“From the moment you hold your baby in your arms you will never be the same. You might long for the person you were before, when you had freedom and time and nothing in particular to worry about” (“The Last Time”).

The example below is from the movie, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain .

“Perhaps it would have been different if there hadn’t been a war, but this was 1917, and people were exhausted by loss. Those that were allowed to stay manned the pits, mining the coal that would fuel the ships. Twenty-four hours a day they labored” ( Englishman ).

Notice the shortened title in the above reference. This allows the reader to spend more time focusing on the content of your project, rather than the sources.

If you’re looking for an MLA in-text citation website to help you with your references, check out EasyBib Plus on EasyBib.com! EasyBib Plus can help you determine how to do in-text citations MLA and many other types of references!

Corporate Authors

Numerous government publications, research reports, and brochures state the name of the organization as the author responsible for publishing it.

When the author is a corporate entity or organization, this information is included in the MLA citation in prose or parenthetical citation.

“One project became the first to evaluate how e-prescribing standards work in certain long-term care settings and assessed the impact of e-prescribing on the workflow among prescribers, nurses, the pharmacies, and payers” (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2).

If the full name of the organization or governmental agency is long in length, it is acceptable to abbreviate some words, as long as they are considered common abbreviations. These abbreviations should only be in the references with parentheses. They should not be used in citations in prose.

Here is a list of words that can be abbreviated in parentheses:

• Department = Dept.
• Government = Govt.
• Corporation = Corp.
• Incorporated = Inc.
• Company = Co.
• United States = US

Example of a shortened corporate author name in an MLA parenthetical citation

“Based on our analysis of available data provided by selected states’ departments of corrections, the most common crimes committed by inmates with serious mental illness varied from state to state” (US Govt. Accountability Office 14).

Here is how the same corporate author name would look in an MLA citation in prose

The United States Government Accountability Office states, “Based on our analysis of available data provided by selected states’ departments of corrections, the most common crimes committed by inmates with serious mental illness varied from state to state” (14).

Remember, citations in prose should not have abbreviations; other types of references can.

Looking for more information on abbreviations? Check out our page on MLA format.

Edited Books and Anthologies

Edited books and anthologies often include chapters or sections, each written by an individual author or a small group of authors. These compilations are placed together by an editor or a group of editors. There are tons of edited books and anthologies available today, ranging from ones showcasing Black history facts and literature to those focusing on notable individuals such as scientists like Albert Eintein and politicians such as Winston Churchill .

If you’re using information from an edited book or an anthology, include the chapter author’s name in your MLA citation in prose or reference in parentheses. Do not use the name(s) of the editor(s). Remember, the purpose of these references is to provide the reader with some insight as to where the information originated. If, after reading your project, the reader would like more information on the sources used, the reader can use the information provided in the full reference, at the very end of the assignment. With that in mind, since the full reference begins with the author of the individual chapter or section, that same information is what should be included in any citations in prose or references in parentheses.

Here is an example of an MLA citation in prose for a book with an editor

Weinstein further states that “one implication of this widespread adaptation of anthropological methods to historical research was the eclipse of the longstanding concern with “change over time,” and the emergence of a preference for synchronic, rather than diachronic, themes” (195).

Full reference at the end of the assignment

Weinstein, Barbara. “History Without a Cause? Grand Narratives, World History, and the Postcolonial Dilemma.” Postcolonial Studies: An Anthology , edited by Pramod K. Nayar, Wiley-Blackwell, 2015, p. 196. Wiley , www.wiley.com/en-us/Postcolonial+Studies%3A+An+Anthology-p-9781118780985.

Once you’re through with writing and citing, run your paper through our innovative plagiarism checker ! It’s the editor of your dreams and provides suggestions for improvement.

Sources Without Page Numbers and Online Sources

When a source has no page numbers, which is often the case with long web page articles, e-books, and numerous other source types, do not include any page number information in the body of the project. Do not estimate or invent your own page numbering system for the source. If there aren’t any page numbers, omit this information from the MLA in-text citation. There may, however, be paragraph numbers included in some sources. If there are distinct and clear paragraph numbers directly on the source, replace the page number with this information. Make it clear to the reader that the source is organized by paragraphs by using “par.” before the paragraph number, or use “pars.” if the information is from more than one paragraph.

Here is an example of how to create an MLA parenthetical citation for a website

“She ran through the field with the wind blowing in her hair and a song through the breeze” (Jackson par. 5).

Here’s an example of an MLA citation in prose for a website

In Brenner’s meeting notes, he further shared his motivation to actively seek out and secure self help resources when he announced, “When we looked at statistical evidence, the most commonly checked out section of the library was self-help. This proves that patrons consistently seek out help for personal issues and wish to solve them with the help of the community’s resources” (pars. 2-3).

Here’s another MLA in-text citation example for a website

Holson writes about a new mindful app, which provides listeners with the soothing sound of not only Bob Ross’ voice, but also the “soothing swish of his painter’s brush on canvas.”

In above example, the information normally found in the parentheses is omitted since there aren’t any page, parentheses, or chapter numbers on the website article.

Looking for APA citation website examples? We have what you need on EasyBib.com!

Need an in-text or parenthetical citation MLA website? Check out EasyBib Plus on EasyBib.com! Also, check out MLA Citation Website , which explains how to create references for websites.

Citing the Same Source Multiple Times

It may seem redundant to constantly include an author’s name in the body of a research project or paper. If you use an author’s work in one section of your project, and the next piece of information included is by the same individual(s), then it is not necessary to share in-text, whether in prose or in parentheses, that both items are from the same author. It is acceptable to include the last name of the author in the first use, and in the second usage, only a page number needs to be included.

Here is an example of how to cite the same source multiple times

“One of the major tests is the Project for Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills. This measurement was developed over four years as a joint partnership between the Association of Research Libraries and Kent State University” (Tong and Moran 290). This exam is just one of many available to measure students’ information literacy skills. It is fee-based, so it is not free, but the results can provide stakeholders, professors, curriculum developers, and even librarians and library service team members with an understanding of students’ abilities and misconceptions. It is not surprising to read the results, which stated that “upper-level undergraduate students generally lack information literacy skills as evidenced by the results on this specific iteration of the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills test” (295).

The reader can assume that the information in the second quote is from the same article as the first quote. If, in between the two quotes, a different source is included, Tong and Moran’s names would need to be added again in the last quote.

Here is the full reference at the end of the project:

Tong, Min, and Carrie Moran. “Are Transfer Students Lagging Behind in Information Literacy?” Reference Services Review , vol. 45, no. 2, 2017, pp. 286-297. ProQuest , ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=//search-proquest-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/docview/1917280148?accountid=35635.

Citing Two or More Sources in the Same In-text Citation

According to section 6.30 of the Handbook , parenthetical citations containing multiple sources in a single parenthesis should be separated by semicolons.

(Granger 5; Tsun 77) (Ruiz 212; Diego 149)

Citing Multiple Works by the Same Author in One In-text Citation

Just as you might want to cite two different sources at the same time, it can also be useful to cite different works by the same author all at once.

Section 6.30 of the Handbook specifies that “citations of different locations in a single source are separated by commas” (251).

(Maeda 59, 174-76, 24) (Kauffman 7, 234, 299)

Furthermore, if you are citing multiple works by the same author, the titles should be joined by and if there are only two. Otherwise, use commas and and .

(Murakami, Wild Sheep Chase and Norwegian Wood ) (Murakami, Wild Sheep Chase , Norwegian Wood , and “With the Beatles”)

Abbreviating Titles

When listing the titles, be aware that long titles in parenthetical citations can distract the reader and cause confusion. It will be necessary to shorten the titles appropriately for in-text citations. According to the Handbook , “shorten the title if it is longer than a noun phrase” (237). The abbreviated title should begin with the word by which the title is alphabetized.

Best practice is to give the first word the reference is listed by so the source is easily found in the works cited. Omit articles that start a title: a, an, the. When possible, use the first noun (and any adjectives before it). For more on titles and their abbreviations, head to section 6.10 of the Handbook .

• Full title :  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 
• Abbreviated: Curious
• Full title:  The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks 
• Abbreviated:  Disreputable History

Religious Works and Scriptures

There are instances when religious works are italicized in the text of a project, and times when it is not necessary to italicize the title.

If you’re referring to the general religious text, such as the Bible, Torah, or Qur’an, it is not necessary to italicize the name of the scripture in the body of the project. If you’re referring to a specific edition of a religious text, then it is necessary to italicize it, both in text and in the full reference.

Here are some commonly used editions:

• King James Bible
• The Orthodox Jewish Bible
• American Standard Bible
• The Steinsaltz Talmud
• The Babylonian Talmud
• New International Bible

When including a reference, do not use page numbers from the scripture. Instead, use the designated chapter numbers and verse numbers.

MLA example of an in-text citation for a religious scripture

While, unacceptable in today’s society, the Bible is riddled with individuals who have two, three, and sometimes four or more spouses. One example in the King James Bible , states that an individual “had two wives, the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children” (1 Sam. 1.2)

The only religious scripture that is allowed to be in the text of a project, but not in the Works Cited list, is the Qur’an. There is only one version of the Qur’an. It is acceptable to include the name of the Qur’an in the text, along with the specific chapter and verse numbers.

If you’re attempting to create a reference for a religious work, but it’s not considered a “classic” religious book, such as a biography about Mother Teresa , or a book about Muhammed Ali’s conversion, then a reference in the text and also on the final page of the project is necessary.

If you’re creating an APA bibliography , you do not need to create a full reference for classic religious works on an APA reference page .

For another MLA in-text citation website and for more on the Bible and other source types, click here .

Long or Block Quotes

Quotes longer than four lines are called, “block quotes.” Block quotes are sometimes necessary when you’re adding a lengthy piece of information into your project. If you’d like to add a large portion of Martin Luther King ’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a lengthy amount of text from a Mark Twain book, or multiple lines from Abraham Lincoln ’s Gettysburg Address, a block quote is needed.

MLA block quotes are formatted differently than shorter quotes in the body of a project. Why? The unique formatting signals to the reader that they’re about to read a lengthy quote.

Block quotes are called block quotes because they form their own block of text. They are set apart from the body of a project with different spacing and margins.

Begin the block quote on a new line. The body of the full project should run along the one inch margin, but the block quote should be set in an inch and a half. The entire quote should be along the inch and a half margin.

If there aren’t any quotation marks in the text itself, do not include any in the block quote. This is very different than standard reference rules. In most cases, quotation marks are added around quoted material. For block quotes, since the reader can see that the quoted material sits in its own block, it is not necessary to place quotation marks around it.

Here is an MLA citation in prose example of a block quote

Despite Bruchac’s consistent difficult situations at home, basketball kept his mind busy and focused:

When I got off the late bus that afternoon, my grandparents weren’t home. The store was locked and there was a note from Grama on the house door. Doc Magovern had come to the house because Grampa was “having trouble with his blood.” Now they were off to the hospital and I “wasn’t to worry.” This had happened before. Grampa had pernicious anemia and sometimes was very sick. So, naturally, it worried the pants off me. I actually thought about taking my bike down the dreaded 9N the three miles to the Saratoga Hospital. Instead, I did as I knew they wanted. I opened the store and waited for customers. None came, though, and my eye was caught by the basketball stowed away as usual behind the door. I had to do something to take my mind off what was happening to Grampa. I took out the ball and went around the side. (13)

Notice the use of the colon prior to the start of the block quote. Do not use a colon if the block quote is part of the sentence above it.

Here is an example of the same block quote, without the use of the colon:

Despite Bruchac’s consistent difficult situations at home, it was clear that basketball kept his mind busy and focused when he states

When I get off the late bus that afternoon, my grandparents weren’t home…

If two or more paragraphs are included in your block quote, start each paragraph on a new line.

Looking for additional helpful websites? Need another MLA in-text citation website? Check out the style in the news . We also have other handy articles, guides, and posts to help you with your research needs. Here’s one on how to write an MLA annotated bibliography .

Visit our EasyBib Twitter feed to discover more citing tips, fun grammar facts, and the latest product updates.

If you’re looking for information on styling an APA citation , EasyBib.com has the guides you need!

MLA Handbook . 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated July 5, 2021.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

In MLA style, if multiple sources have the same author , the titles should be joined by and if there are only two. Otherwise, use commas and and .

• In-text citation: (Austen Emma and Mansfield Park )
• Structure: (Last name 1st Source’s title and 2nd Source’s title )
• In-text citation: (Leung et al. 58)

If the author is a corporate entity or organization, included the name of the corporate entity or organization in the in-text citation.

• In-text citation: (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2)

Yes, there’s an option to download source citations as a Word Doc or a Google Doc. You may also copy citations from the EasyBib Citation Generator and paste them into your paper.

Yes! Whether you’d like to learn how to construct citations on your own, our Autocite tool isn’t able to gather the metadata you need, or anything in between, manual citations are always an option. Click here for directions on using creating manual citations.

An in-text citation is a shortened version of the source being referred to in the paper. As the name implies, it appears in the text of the paper. A works cited list entry, on the other hand, details the complete information of the source being cited and is listed within the works cited list at the end of the paper after the main text. The in-text citation is designed to direct the reader to the full works cited list entry. An example of an in-text citation and the corresponding works cited list entry for a journal article with one author is listed below:

In-text citation template and example:

Only the author surname (or the title of the work if there is no author) is used in in-text citations to direct the reader to the corresponding reference list entry. For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author for the first occurrence. In subsequent citations, use only the surname. In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author. If you are directly quoting the source, the page number should also be included in the in-text citation.

Citation in prose:

First mention: Christopher Collins ….

Subsequent occurrences: Collins ….

Parenthetical:

….(Collins)

….(Collins 5)

Works cited list entry template and example:

The title of the article is in plain text and title case and is placed inside quotation marks. The title of the journal is set in italics.

Surname, F. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title , vol. #, no. #, Publication Date, page range.

Collins, Christopher. “On Posthuman Materiality: Art-Making as Rhizomatic Rehearsal.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 39, no. 2, 2019, pp. 153–59.

Note that because the author’s surname (Collins) was included in the in-text citation, the reader would then be able to easily locate the works cited list entry since the entry begins with the author’s surname.

An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the text being cited. The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s name . The publication year is not required in in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when text is quoted from the source being cited. In-text citations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation.

Citations in prose are incorporated into the text and act as a part of the sentence. Usually, citations in prose use the author’s full name when cited the first time in the text. Thereafter, only the surname is used. Avoid including the middle initial even if it is present in the works-cited-list entry.

Parenthetical

Parenthetical citations add only the author’s surname at the end of the sentence in parentheses.

Examples of in-text citations

Here are a few tips to create in-text citations for sources with various numbers and types of authors:

Use both the first name and surname of the author if you are mentioning the author for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the author’s surname. Always use only the surname of the author in parenthetical citations.

First mention: Sheele John asserts …. (7).

Subsequent occurrences: John argues …. (7).

…. (John 7).

Two authors

Use the first name and surname of both authors if you are mentioning the work for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the surnames of the two authors. Always use only the authors’ surnames in parenthetical citations. Use “and” to separate the two authors in parenthetical citations.

First mention: Katie Longman and Clara Sullivan ….

Subsequent occurrences: Longman and Sullivan ….

…. ( Longman and Sullivan).

Three or more authors

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues.” For parenthetical citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”

Lincy Mathew and colleagues…. or Lincy Mathew and others ….

…. (Mathew et al.).

Corporate author

For citations in prose, treat the corporate author like you would treat the author’s name. For parenthetical citations, shorten the organization name to the shortest noun phrase. For example, shorten the Modern Language Association of America to Modern Language Association.

The Literary Society of Malaysia….

…. (Literary Society).

If there is no author for the source, use the source’s title in place of the author’s name for both citations in prose and parenthetical citations.

When you add such in-text citations, italicize the text of the title. If the source title is longer than a noun phrase, use a shortened version of the title. For example, shorten the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to Fantastic Beasts .

Knowing Body of Work explains …. (102).

….( Knowing Body 102).

MLA Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Grammar Checker by AHelp

Achieve Flawless Writing in a Few Seconds

Quick & Effortless Grammar Correction

Grammar Check for Your Specific Needs

Free Text Improvement

Free grammar checker.

Remember Me

What is your profession ? Student Teacher Writer Other

Forgotten Password?

Username or Email

Experience the future of academic writing

Boost your chances of success with real-time, subject-specific language suggestions that help you write better, faster!

Research, Write, Cite: Enjoy Uninterrupted Writing with Paperpal

Get science-backed answers to your questions from 250M+ research articles and save relevant citations to your library!

Online Plagiarism Checker For Students & Academics

Avoid accidental plagiarism in your academic text with Paperpal’s accurate plagiarism detector.

1Mn+ Academics love Paperpal

Rated Excellent on Trustpilot

“It offers suggestions about tenses, and paraphrasing and helps re-organize my paragraphs, giving them better language structure. I feel confident about my manuscripts after running them through Paperpal. ”

" Unlike Grammarly, Paperpal aligns and tailors my sentence structures to the convention of academic writing. It also helps me to rephrase or simplify unclear sentence structures and helps me write with confidence and ease"

" What I love about Paperpal is that it has an element of context sensitivity. It understands the context in which the content is written and then gives suggestions"

" The best thing about Paperpal Word is that you get edits in real-time , and not when you’re done writing your document."

“Because of Paperpal, my manuscript is now free of errors, more concise and more readable! ”

“Its easy to use, helpful in drafts as an academic and unlike ChatGPT, it doesn't provide same suggestions everytime. ”

Try Paperpal

Unmatched features for academic writing

Language suggestions.

Paperpal understands academic context, suggesting precise language corrections without changing references, equations, technical terms, and non-English words.

Plagiarism Checks

Get similarity score, colour-coded results and side-by-side comparisons to sources.

Research NEW

Get science-backed answers to your questions from 250M+ research articles as you write

Brainstorm ideas, get outlines and titles, create abstracts, summaries, study highlights, or craft powerful emails to journals with a click.

Paraphrase text to improve clarity and tone

Accurate paraphrasing that retains the meaning of your work, helps meet journal-prescribed word counts and maintains a formal tone.

High quality academic translations for your text

Context-sensitive translations from 25+ foreign languages to English, letting you focus on your research while we polish your writing.

Pre-submission checks to avoid desk rejection

Comprehensive submission readiness report with 30+ language and technical checks.

Contextual synonyms for better vocabulary

Improve the clarity of your text with relevant synonym suggestions that are validated based on published literature.

Paperpal has you covered at every writing stage

Have a ready manuscript that needs review? Full language checks with edits in track changes and multiple free rounds to ensure high-quality writing

Work anywhere online with real-time, secure, accurate language and grammar checks and rewrite suggestions for academic writing

Writing a paper on MS Word? Paperpal for Word provides assistive writing with instant language and grammar suggestions as you write

Be a part of the new writing revolution

Our powerful AI tools transform your work by giving you the power to improve your writing. Paperpal is built for all academics. Learn more below

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my data used for training paperpal’s ai, how does paperpal work, how to use paperpal in ms word, can i use paperpal for free, what is the price for paperpal paid subscriptions, who can use paperpal, what all can paperpal be used for, how secure is my manuscript and does paperpal use my data, what ai models are used in paperpal, will my paperpal edited document be flagged as plagiarised, will my paperpal edited document be flagged by ai detectors, will i retain copyright over my paperpal edited document, take the first step towards academic writing excellence.