how to cite a book when paraphrasing

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APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: In-Text Citations & Paraphrasing

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When do I use in-text citations?

When should you add in-text citations in your paper .

There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format. 

• Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation. 
• Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source, which means you need to cite NEW information OR 2) You need to cite a DIRECT quote, which includes a page number, paragraph number or Section title. 
• Important to remember : You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph. 

What do in-text citations look like?

In-text citation styles: , let's look at these examples if they were written in text: .

An example with 1 author:

Parenthetical citation:  Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020). 

Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing. 

An example with 2 authors: 

Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019). 

Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method. 

An example with 3 authors: 

Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).

Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions. 

An example with a group/corporate author: 

Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020). 

Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor. 

Tips on Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020).  .

Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing: 

• How do I learn to paraphrase? IF you are thoroughly reading and researching articles or book chapters for a paper, you will start to take notes in your own words . Those notes are the beginning of paraphrased information.
• Read the original information, PUT IT AWAY, then rewrite the ideas in your own words . This is hard to do at first, it takes practice, but this is how you start to paraphrase. 
• It's usually better to paraphrase, than to use too many direct quotes. 
• When you start to paraphrase, cite your source. 
• Make sure not to use language that is TOO close to the original, so that you are not committing plagiarism. 
• Use theasaurus.com to help you come up with like/similar phrases if you are struggling. 
• Paraphrasing (vs. using direct quotes) is important because it shows that YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND the information you are reading. 
• Paraphrasing ALLOWS YOUR VOICE to be prevalent in your writing. 
• The best time to use direct quotes is when you need to give an exact definition, provide specific evidence, or if you need to use the original writer's terminology. 
• BEST PRACTICE PER PARAGRAPH: On your 1st paraphrase of a source, CITE IT. There is no need to add another in-text citation until you use a different source, OR, until you use a direct quote. 

References : 

Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com .   https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g  

Citing Direct Quotes

When should i use a direct quote in my paper .

Direct quotes should only be used occasionally: 

• When you need to share an exact definition 
• When you want to provide specific evidence or information that cannot be paraphrased
• When you want to use the original writer's terminology

From:  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/ 

Definitions of direct quotes: 

• Western Oregon University's APA Guidelines on Direct Quotes This is an excellent quick tutorial on how to format direct quotes in APA 7th edition. Bookmark this page for future reference!

Carrie Forbes, MLS

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APA Citation Guide (7th edition): Quotes vs Paraphrases

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What's the Difference?

Quoting vs paraphrasing: what's the difference.

There are two ways to integrate sources into your assignment: quoting directly or paraphrasing.

Quoting  is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly as it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks (" ") around the selected passage to show where the quote begins and where it ends. Make sure to include an in-text citation. 

Paraphrasing  is used to show that you understand what the author wrote. You must reword the passage, expressing the ideas in your own words, and not just change a few words here and there. Make sure to also include an in-text citation. 

Quoting Example

There are two basic formats that can be used:

Parenthetical Style:

Narrative Style:

Quoting Tips

• Long Quotes
• Changing Quotes

What Is a Long Quotation?

A quotation of more than 40 words. 

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

• The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
• The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
• There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
• The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after, as it does with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)

Changing Quotations

Sometimes you may want to make some modifications to the quote to fit your writing. Here are some APA rules when changing quotes:

Incorrect spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Add the word [sic] after the error in the quotation to let your reader know the error was in the original source and is not your error.

Omitting parts of a quotation

If you would like to exclude some words from a quotation, replace the words you are not including with an ellipsis - ...

Adding words to a quote

If you are adding words that are not part of the original quote, enclose the additional words in square brackets - [XYZ]

Secondary Source Quotes

What is a secondary source.

In scholarly work, a primary source reports original content; a secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.

• Cite secondary sources sparingly—for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand.
• If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source.

Rules for Secondary Source Citations

• In the reference list, provide an entry only for the secondary source that you used.
• In the text, identify the primary source and write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used. 
• If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the in-text citation.

Example of a Secondary Source Use

Quote & In-Text Citation

Reference List Entry

Paraphrases

Paraphrasing example.

When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:

If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:

NOTE : Although not required, APA encourages including the page number when paraphrasing if it will help the reader locate the information in a long text and distinguish between the information that is coming from you and the source.

Paraphrasing Tips

• Long Paraphrases

Original Source

Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.

Source from: 

Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology, 139, 469-480. 

Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing

Example: correct paraphrasing.

If your paraphrase is longer than one sentence, provide an in-text citation for the source at the beginning of the paraphrase. As long as it's clear that the paraphrase continues to the following sentences, you don't have to include in-text citations for the following sentences.

If your paraphrase continues to another paragraph and/or you include paraphrases from other sources within the paragraph, repeat the in-text citations for each.

Additional Resource

• Paraphrasing (The Learning Portal)

Tip sheet on paraphrasing information

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Apa quick citation guide.

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Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers , use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1). More information on direct quotation of sources without pagination is given on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech.   Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development , 23 (4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004).  Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech  (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of an author.

For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). For more information on citations for sources with no date or other missing information see the page on missing reference information on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page. 

Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).

Reference entry

Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html

Web page with organizational author:

More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).

World Health Organization. (2018, March 22).  Depression . https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

Web page with no date:

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaste r. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015) Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note:  For direct quotations of more than 40 words , display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation .

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three or more authors:   (Tremblay et al., 2010)

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Paraphrasing

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When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt, 1993).

Note : If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:

Hunt (1993) noted that mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research after the publication of John Bowlby's studies.

Paraphrasing Examples

Original Source

Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.

Source from: 

Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth.  The Journal of Psychology , 139, 469-480. 

Example:  Incorrect  Paraphrasing

The homeless come from families with problems. Frequently, they have been physically or sexually abused, or have lived in group homes. Usually no one cares for them or knows them intimately (Rokach, 2005). 

Note : In this incorrect example the writing is too similar to the original source. The student only changed or removed a few words and has not phrased the ideas in a new way. 

Example:  Correct  Paraphrasing

Many homeless experience isolation in part due to suffering from abuse or neglect during their childhood (Rokach, 2005).

Note : The example keeps the idea of the original writing but phrases it in a new way.

No Author and/or No Date

No Known Author:

Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.

If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.

If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.

Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).

( Cell Biology , 2012, p. 157)

("Nursing," 2011, p. 9)

No Known Date of Publication :

Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".

(Smith, n.d., p. 200)

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

In-text citation for group or corporate authors.

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FAQ: How do I cite paraphrased information in APA Style (in-text)?

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When you paraphrase, you use your own words. This is usually preferable to direct quotes because the information is written in your own style, but you must be careful not to change the meaning. When paraphrasing, you must still acknowledge where you got the idea from by including a parenthetical citation.

When citing paraphrased information, APA requires you to include the author and date. It is also recommended (but not required) that you include the page number. The format of the page number depends on if the information is on a single page or range of pages.

Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information at the Beginning of a Sentence

A review  (Selby et al., 2017)  identified several laws pertaining to cancer research in the UK that might be affected because of Brexit.

Patafio et al. (2016) investigated the relationship between cancer research funding and cancer research output and found that research output is not well correlated with the public health burden of individual cancers that was measure by mortality rates.

The authors (Lindqvist & Neumann) argue that security and privacy are crucial in the Internet of Things (IoT) because if future attacks are successful they can cause widespread destruction and even cost lives.

Bernard (2011)  argues that Henry VIII's Catholicism was more than just Catholicism without the pope.

Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information in the Middle of a Sentence

Surgery is considered a last resort in the treatment of plantar fasciitis  Owens (2017) argues.

Strength training as treatment for plantar fasciitis, according to (Huffer et al. 2017) , does not contribute to the improved function and pain relief.

Many physical therapists use ultrasound therapy as treatment; however, numerous studies highlighted in the review published by Sanke and Radwan (2015) show that the therapy does not have any effect on the condition. 

Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information at the End of a Sentence

There are multiple types of cyberbullying  (El Asam & Samara, 2016) .

A significant amount of youths' social interaction takes place through technology and children as young as 10 have access to mobile devices  (Williford & DePaolis, 2016) .

The authors found that undergraduate students are afraid to report cyberbullying  (Watts et al., 2017, p. 273) .

Example of how the original quotation might be paraphrased<

Original quotation:.

American commitment to self-government rested on the early experience of colonization. English common law was introduced with the first settlers, and each new colony soon had an elected assembly designed to represent and protect the interests of the settler population, acting like a local equivalent of the Westminster House of Commons.  In theory, popular participation in government was balanced by a strong executive, in the person of the governor, supported by an advisory council.  Bit in the first years of settlement, when colonies were sponsored by private companies rather than the Crown, governors and councils were often themselves elected, reinforcing the tendency towards local control (Conway, 2013, p. 33) .

The essay incorporating the paraphrasing:

The early settlers in Colonial American may have considered themselves English and loyal to the Crown.  However, the local government structure supported a system of relative self-governance  (Conway, 2013, p. 33) .

More Information

• APA guide  (Shapiro Library)

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

Online Students

To access help with citations and more, visit the Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:

• Academic Support Overview: Getting Help with your Schoolwork This link opens in a new window

American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7 th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Bernard, G. W. (2011). The dissolution of the monasteries. History , 96 (324), 390-409. 

Conway, S. (2013). A short history of the American Revolutionary War . I.B.Tauris.

El Asam, A., & Samara, M. (2016). Cyberbullying and the law: A review of psychological and legal challenges. Computers in human behavior , 65 , 127-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.08.012

Lindqvist, U., & Neumann, P. G. (2017). The future of the internet of things. Communications of the ACM , 60 (2), 26-30. https://doi.org/10.1145/3029589

Owens, J. M. (2017). Diagnosis and management of plantar fasciitis in primary care. Journal for nurse practitioners , 13 (5), 354-359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.12.016

Patafio, F. M., Brooks, S. C., Wei, X., Peng, Y., Biagi, J., & Booth, C. M. (2016). Research output and the public health burden of cancer: Is there any relationship? Current Oncology , 23 (2), 75-80. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2935

Sanke, P. L., & Radwan, T. S. (2015). Ultrasound as an effective treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis. Journal of foot & ankle surgery , 54 (4) 481-487.

Selby, P., Lawler, M., Baird, R., Banks, I., Johnston, P., & Nurse, P. (2017). The potential consequences for cancer care and cancer research of Brexit. Ecancermedicalscience , 11 (752-769), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2017.ed63

Watts, L. K., Wagner, J., Velasquez, B., & Behrens, P. I. (2017). Cyberbullying in higher education: A literature review. Computers in human behavior , 69 , 268-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.038

Williford, A., & Depaolis, K. J. (2016). Predictors of cyberbullying intervention among elementary school staff: The moderating effect of staff status. Psychology in the schools , 53 (10), 1032-1044. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21973

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / Paraphrasing in MLA

Paraphrasing in MLA

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill. It allows you to seamlessly integrate another person’s ideas into your work, and it is the preferred way to integrate most research information into a paper.

In addition to writing a good paraphrase, you must also include a citation with the paraphrase. One effective way to do this is by using MLA in-text citations .

But first, let’s define paraphrasing.

What is a paraphrase? Why is it beneficial?

• A paraphrase is a piece of information written in a new way after reading and analyzing a source.
• A paraphrase translates the main ideas of a passage into a new passage that uses your own words and perspective.
• A paraphrase lets you control what point or information is highlighted.
• A paraphrase allows you turn a long passage into a condensed, focused passage.
• Direct quotes are helpful, but paraphrasing allows you show that you truly understand a work. Think about it: Is it easier to quote a source or paraphrase?

What does MLA have to do with it?

Academic integrity is extremely important, and a paraphrase allows you to use someone’s ideas efficiently in your work…but that is only part of the work. In order to stay ethical, you’ll also need include an in-text citation. That’s where MLA style comes in.

An MLA in-text citation gives appropriate credit to the original source. By following the guidelines of the MLA style and including an accurate citation, you can avoid accusations of plagiarism.

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association, which is a scholarly association dedicated to the study and advancement of languages. The MLA style comes from their published MLA Handbook , which provides rules and guidelines on research and writing. The latest update to the MLA style occurred in 2021, and careful consideration needs to be paid to these guidelines.

Although there are other styles of research and writing, MLA is the primary style guide for humanities, language, and literature in the United States.

How to paraphrase

Steps in paraphrasing.

• Read the original source material carefully. It is always a good idea to read it more than once so you can paraphrase accurately.
• Consider why the source was written, when it was written, who it was written by, and who the target audience was.
• What were the key ideas or points communicated?
• What is the key point you want to highlight from the source?
• What other contextual facts about the source do you think are important to include?
• Based on your notes, put together a paraphrase.
• Next, take a minute to double check your paraphrase against the original to ensure that you have used your own writing style.
• Finally, add an MLA in-text citation.

How to add an MLA in-text citation

In order to give credit for ideas that are not yours, citing is key. According the MLA, after you create a paraphrase, you should include an in-text citation with the paraphrase. In addition to the short, in-text citation, a full reference of the source should be included on your Works Cited page. This article will focus only on the in-text citation, but see this guide for more information on MLA works cited citations.

An MLA in-text citation can be done in two ways:

• Parenthetical

Both approaches require you to know the following:

• Last name of the author
• Page number

Parenthetical citation

One way to cite in the text is to use a parenthetical citation after the paraphrase. This includes putting the author’s last name and page number where you found the information at the end of the sentence, before the final period.

Using a website as a source? Note that if a source does not have page numbers, you do not have to include the page number in your parenthetical citation.

Parenthetical in-text citation structure:

Paraphrase (Author Last Name Page #)

Parenthetical example:

I kept pounding on the doors ’til my hands hurt and I woke up the dogs (Bronte 12).

Place that end punctuation carefully! Note that there is no period at the end of the sentence, but the period is outside the parentheses. Also, there is no comma between the author’s last name and the page number.

Citation in prose

A citation in prose means that you include the author’s last name within the page text and the page number at the end of the sentence in parentheses. A citation in prose would look like this:

Citation in prose citation structure:

Paraphrase with Author Last Name (Page #)

In-prose example:

Bronte explains how Lockwood kept pounding on the doors until his hands began to hurt and he woke up the dogs (12).

Example of how to paraphrase

Here is a piece of text taken from the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen:

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.

A paraphrase of the above would go something like this:

Mr. Darcy had meant to communicate that he loved Elizabeth, but in the end all he managed to do was communicate all the reasons he had fought against his feelings for her (Austen 390).

Notice the benefits of paraphrasing here?

• The paraphrase is (thankfully) much shorter than the full excerpt.
• The paraphrase writer could have mentioned several different ideas and points. Instead, paraphrasing allowed the writer to focus on the main point they wanted to highlight.
• The paraphrase demonstrates the writer’s deep understanding of what was communicated in the original passage.

Also, as mentioned previously, every in-text citation needs to have a matching, full citation in the Works Cited page. Here is the full citation for the above example:

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice . 1813. Project Gutenberg , 2008, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42671.

How NOT to paraphrase

When you paraphrase, do not do the follow:

• Use most of the same words and switch out a few words for synonyms.
• Use most of the same words and change the sentence order a little.
• Take key phrases from the sentences and put them into a new paragraph without quoting them.
• Create a good paraphrase but forget to include an in-text citation.
• Create a good paraphrase but cite the wrong source.

Other MLA considerations

The Modern Language Association advises that summaries, paraphrases, and direct quotations can all be used to back up your argument. However, direct quotations should be used infrequently. Try to save them for experts who are speaking on the topic.

Although you are putting a paraphrase into your own words, you still need to cite it because the ideas are not your own. MLA style asks for the author’s last name and the page number where you found the information.

Key takeaways

• The ability to paraphrase is of the utmost importance in regard to academic integrity.
• To paraphrase well, read the original a few times, consider the context, jot down the key ideas, compose your paraphrase, compare your paraphrase to the original, and add an in-text citation.
• The MLA advises using in-text citations in order to give proper credit to a paraphrase’s original source.

Published October 28, 2020. Updated July 18, 2021.

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How to Cite a Paraphrased Statement

Last Updated: December 9, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Jennifer Mueller is a wikiHow Content Creator. She specializes in reviewing, fact-checking, and evaluating wikiHow's content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. Jennifer holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 44,074 times. Learn more...

When you write a research paper, you integrate material from outside sources with your own thoughts or ideas about a topic. Generally, use an in-text citation for anything other than your original words. A paraphrased statement, generally, is cited the same way a direct quote would be. The in-text citation directs your readers to the reference list at the end of your paper, which provides a more detailed description of the source material used. The specific format of your in-text citations and your reference list varies depending on which citation style you use. [1] X Research source

Placing Citations in Text

• You don't have to cite commonly known and accepted facts. However, you always need to cite ideas. If you're not sure whether a fact is commonly known or not, err on the side of caution and provide a citation.
• In most cases, the in-text citation falls at the end of the sentence that contains the information from the source. Some citation styles, however, require the citation immediately after the paraphrased information, even if that happens to be in the middle of a sentence.

• Modern Language Association (MLA) style uses an author-page number format for parenthetical citations in the body of your paper. If the source isn't paginated, simply leave that part out and include only the author's last name.
• American Psychological Association (APA) style uses an author-date format for parenthetical citations in the body of your paper. [4] X Research source
• The Chicago style accepts 2 different methods of in-text citation. You may either use the author-date format, similar to APA style, or you may have footnotes and a bibliography. Chicago-style footnotes include the same information as the full citation in the bibliography, but with slightly different formatting. [5] X Research source

• The only exception to this rule is a longer block quote set off from the rest of your text. A block quote only requires one citation, at the very end.
• Generally, you want to avoid having several sentences in a row that paraphrase from the same source. Type a sentence paraphrasing from the source, then add your own thoughts or analysis of that information in the next sentence.

• You can also use this format to indicate several sources with more information about a topic that is related to your topic, but beyond the scope of your research. You generally don't have to include full citations to such sources in your reference list.

• If the source is not paginated, some styles require you to use an abbreviation, such as "n.p." Check your style guide to be sure.
• MLA and Chicago, among other styles, do not require the abbreviation "p." or "pp." before page numbers. However, APA and others do.
• If you're citing a video or audio recording that has a runtime, include the timestamp range for the specific material you're quoting. [10] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• Example sentence with signal phrase, APA style: Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199).
• Same sentence without signal phrase, APA style: Research has shown that "students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Creating a Reference List

• Your reference list (also called a bibliography or "Works Cited") includes a full citation for every research source you used for your research project. If you compile the list before you start writing, the writing process will be less disjointed, and you'll run less of a risk of leaving something off.
• Once you finish writing your paper, go through it and place a mark next to each reference on your reference list that appears in an in-text citation. If any of the sources on your reference list are unmarked, remove them from your reference list.

• Look over the rules before you start building your reference list, especially if you're using a different style for the first time.
• If the rules seem confusing, ask your instructor or a reference librarian for a sample reference list written using that style.

• For most common citation styles, sources are listed in alphabetical order by the first word in the full citation (usually the author's last name). If you happen to use more than one work by the same author, list them in chronological order starting with the earliest publication date.
• In rare instances, you may need to include a source in your references that you never cited in the text of your paper. For example, if you're writing a paper about dictatorial regimes and describe them as "Orwellian," you may want to include George Orwell's novel 1984 in your reference list, even though you never cited the novel directly. [15] X Research source

Quoting or Paraphrasing a Source

• Try to avoid looking at the source at all while you're writing. You might inadvertently plagiarize the original content – especially if the author is a particularly efficient writer. Look at the original passage after you've finished your paraphrase to ensure your wording is sufficiently different.

• For example, suppose your source says "Students have difficulty with new citation styles, usually because they didn't buy a copy of the style guide or ask their instructors enough questions." You can move the start to the middle and paraphrase to say "When students don't have their own copy of the style guide, they have more difficulty adapting to a new citation style."

• For example, suppose your source equates EU import rules with "trade protectionism" rather than "reasonable consumer protection." An effective paraphrase could state "EU import rules seem to benefit EU companies more than consumers."
• After you've changed the structure of the original passage, go back to the source and underline all phrases in your paraphrase that are identical to the original. Try to change as many of these as possible.
• You can use a thesaurus to find alternate words, but stay away from direct synonyms. For example, if the original source uses the word "feline," changing that word to "cat" won't necessarily help improve your paraphrase.

• Example: It would be easy for US companies to conclude that EU import restrictions and labeling rules amount to "trade protectionism," because they do little to assist consumers.

• Different styles vary in how long a direct quote can be before you have to set it off as a block quote. Generally, you can quote in line with your text if the quote is fewer than 40 words, or the equivalent of a line or two of text.

• When you use a block quote, you only need a citation at the end of the block, regardless of how many sentences you quote.
• Generally, block quotes should be limited. Only use them if absolutely necessary, and try to limit the length to 3 or 4 sentences at the most.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://pitt.libguides.com/citationhelp
• ↑ https://libanswers.snhu.edu/faq/102912
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing
• ↑ http://liu.cwp.libguides.com/c.php?g=45846&p=291624
• ↑ http://askus.baker.edu/faq/217530
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/mlacitation/intext
• ↑ https://butlercc.libguides.com/mla/intext
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
• ↑ https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/integrity/pages/cite/
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.html

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Citations - MLA: In-Text Citations - Quotations & Paraphrasing

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On This Page

• About In-text Citations

Paraphrasing

• In-Text Citation for One, Two, or More Authors/Editors

Unknown Author

Repeated use of sources, long quotations.

• In-Text Citation for More Than One Source

Citing a Source that you Found in Another Source (Secondary Source)

Order of authors, physician credentials, about in-text citations.

In MLA, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations point the reader to the full citation on the works cited list at the end of the paper.

Create in-text citations for the following:

• Direct quotes

If you're using information from a single source more than once in succession (i.e., no other sources referred to in between), you can use a simplified in-text citation.

Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Smith 15). It revolves around the idea that the cell is a "fundamental unit of life" (17). Many important scientists have contributed to the evolution of cell biology. Mattias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, for example, were scientists who formulated cell theory in 1838 (20). 

 Note: If using this simplified in-text citation creates ambiguity regarding the source being referred to, use the full in-text citation format.

What Is a Long Quotation?

If your quotation extends to more than four lines as you're typing your essay, it is a long quotation.

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

• The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
• The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
• There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
• The period at the end of the quotation comes  before  your in-text citation as opposed to  after , as it does with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of  Lord of the Flies  the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too . (Golding 186)

Direct Quote  - Add an in-text citation at the end of the quote with the author name and page number:

Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).

Authors Name in the Sentence & with a Direct Quote -  If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name in the in-text citation, instead include the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or paraphrased section. For example:

Hunt explains that mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (358).

No Page Numbers & with a Direct Quote -  When you quote from electronic sources that do not provide page numbers (like Web pages), cite the author name only.

"Three phases of the separation response: protest, despair, and detachment" (Garelli).

  Note: The period goes outside the brackets, at the end of your in-text citation.

In-Text Citation For One, Two, or More Authors/Editors

Author Known: 

• "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8).

In-Text Citation For More Than One Source

If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon.

(Smith 42; Bennett 71). 

( It Takes Two ; Brock 43).

 Note: The sources within the in-text citation do not need to be in alphabetical order for MLA style.

When creating an in-text citation or full citation, the authors should be listed in the original order displayed on the item (book, article, ...). 

Do not include academic credentials (e.g., MD, MPH, PhD,. DDS) when citing doctors in the in-text or full citation. 

The writer may refer to the physician by Dr. (name), when writing a paraphrase or inserting a direct quotation, although, it is not required.

Using the medical credential in the sentence:

Dr. Higgins, said the reason behind the complication was "direct quote here" (257). 

Dr. Price realized that nutrition was tied to health outcomes and encountered this observation in various regions of the world during his travels (390). 

Omitting the medical credential from the sentence:

He sad the reason behind the complication was "direct quote here" (Higgins 257). 

Price observed that nutrition was tied to health outcomes and encountered this in various regions of the world during his travels (390). 

When you write information or ideas from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion.

Paraphrasing from One Page

Include a full in-text citation with the author name and page number (if there is one). For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 65).

Hunt discussed mother-infant attachment becoming a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (65).

Paraphrasing from Multiple Pages

If the paraphrased information/idea is from several pages, include them. For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 50, 55, 65-71).

Author Unknown:

• If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks. This is a paraphrase ("Trouble" 22).
• Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.
• If the title in the Works Cited list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.
• If the title in the Works Cited list is in quotation marks, put quotation marks around the words from the title in the in-text citation.

( Cell Biology  12)

("Nursing" 12)

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person’s work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. ( This may be called a secondary source.) 

For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay.

• The basic rule: in your Works Cited and in-text citation you will still cite  Kirkey NOT Smith.
• A dd the words “qtd. in” to your in-text citation.  

Examples of in-text citations :

According to a study by Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (A.10).

Example of Works Cited list citation:

Kirkey, Susan. "Euthanasia."  The Montreal Gazette , 9 Feb. 2013, p. A.10.  Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies.

• << Previous: Works Quoted in Another Source (Secondary Source)
• Next: Formatting - Essay, Works Cited, Appendix, & Sample Paper >>
• Last Updated: Feb 2, 2024 1:03 PM
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APA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Works Quoted in Another Source

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Work Quoted in Another Source

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person’s work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. ( This may be called a secondary source.)  For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay.

• If it is possible to retrieve the original source of the quotation (in this case, Smith), verify the quote and cite the original source.
• You will add the words “as cited in” to your in-text citation. Examples below.

Examples of in-text citations:

According to a study by Smith (as cited in Kirkey, 2013) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

Smith (as cited in Kirkey, 2013) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (p. 34).

Example of Reference list citation:

Kirkey, S. (2013, Feb 9). Euthanasia.   The Montreal Gazette , p A10. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies database.

• << Previous: When Creating Digital Assignments
• Next: In-Text Citation >>
• Last Updated: Jan 8, 2024 10:23 AM
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MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style are covered throughout the  MLA Handbook  and in chapter 7 of the  MLA Style Manual . Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.

Basic in-text citation rules

In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using parenthetical citations . This method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period). However, as the examples below will illustrate, there are situations where it makes sense to put the parenthetical elsewhere in the sentence, or even to leave information out.

General Guidelines

• The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1) upon the source medium (e.g. print, web, DVD) and (2) upon the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
• Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry on the Works Cited page.

In-text citations: Author-page style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.

In-text citations for print sources with known author

For print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name) and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence, you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method . University of California Press, 1966.

In-text citations for print sources by a corporate author

When a source has a corporate author, it is acceptable to use the name of the corporation followed by the page number for the in-text citation. You should also use abbreviations (e.g., nat'l for national) where appropriate, so as to avoid interrupting the flow of reading with overly long parenthetical citations.

In-text citations for sources with non-standard labeling systems

If a source uses a labeling or numbering system other than page numbers, such as a script or poetry, precede the citation with said label. When citing a poem, for instance, the parenthetical would begin with the word “line”, and then the line number or range. For example, the examination of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” would be cited as such:

The speaker makes an ardent call for the exploration of the connection between the violence of nature and the divinity of creation. “In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes," they ask in reference to the tiger as they attempt to reconcile their intimidation with their relationship to creationism (lines 5-6).

Longer labels, such as chapters (ch.) and scenes (sc.), should be abbreviated.

In-text citations for print sources with no known author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name, following these guidelines.

Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.

Titles longer than a standard noun phrase should be shortened into a noun phrase by excluding articles. For example, To the Lighthouse would be shortened to Lighthouse .

If the title cannot be easily shortened into a noun phrase, the title should be cut after the first clause, phrase, or punctuation:

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title appears in the parenthetical citation, and the full title of the article appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry on the Works Cited page. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The Works Cited entry appears as follows:

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs . 1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

If the title of the work begins with a quotation mark, such as a title that refers to another work, that quote or quoted title can be used as the shortened title. The single quotation marks must be included in the parenthetical, rather than the double quotation.

Parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages, used in conjunction, allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.

Author-page citation for classic and literary works with multiple editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work, like Marx and Engels's  The Communist Manifesto . In such cases, give the page number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section (sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Author-page citation for works in an anthology, periodical, or collection

When you cite a work that appears inside a larger source (for instance, an article in a periodical or an essay in a collection), cite the author of the  internal source (i.e., the article or essay). For example, to cite Albert Einstein's article "A Brief Outline of the Theory of Relativity," which was published in  Nature  in 1921, you might write something like this:

See also our page on documenting periodicals in the Works Cited .

Citing authors with same last names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:

Citing a work by multiple authors

For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Corresponding Works Cited entry:

Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.” Representations , vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1

For a source with three or more authors, list only the first author’s last name, and replace the additional names with et al.

Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine , vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333.

Citing multiple works by the same author

If you cite more than one work by an author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others. Put short titles of books in italics and short titles of articles in quotation marks.

Citing two articles by the same author :

Citing two books by the same author :

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by a shortened title of the work, and, when appropriate, the page number(s):

Citing multivolume works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page number in parentheses.)

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter, and verse. For example:

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation:

John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

Citing indirect sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited within another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Citing transcripts, plays, or screenplays

Sources that take the form of a dialogue involving two or more participants have special guidelines for their quotation and citation. Each line of dialogue should begin with the speaker's name written in all capitals and indented half an inch. A period follows the name (e.g., JAMES.) . After the period, write the dialogue. Each successive line after the first should receive an additional indentation. When another person begins speaking, start a new line with that person's name indented only half an inch. Repeat this pattern each time the speaker changes. You can include stage directions in the quote if they appear in the original source.

Conclude with a parenthetical that explains where to find the excerpt in the source. Usually, the author and title of the source can be given in a signal phrase before quoting the excerpt, so the concluding parenthetical will often just contain location information like page numbers or act/scene indicators.

Here is an example from O'Neill's  The Iceman Cometh.

WILLIE. (Pleadingly) Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY. Den grab it. It's right under your nose.

WILLIE. (Avidly) Thanks. (He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.) (1.1)

Citing non-print or sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work published on the Internet, you may have to cite sources you found in digital environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's  Evaluating Sources of Information  resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source on your Works Cited page.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. However, these sorts of entries often do not require a page number in the parenthetical citation. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

• Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
• Do not provide paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
• Unless you must list the Web site name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like  CNN.com  or  Forbes.com,  as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

Miscellaneous non-print sources

Two types of non-print sources you may encounter are films and lectures/presentations:

In the two examples above “Herzog” (a film’s director) and “Yates” (a presentor) lead the reader to the first item in each citation’s respective entry on the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo . Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der Autoren, 1982.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed: Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton, 2002. Address.

Electronic sources

Electronic sources may include web pages and online news or magazine articles:

In the first example (an online magazine article), the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry on the Works Cited page (see below).

In the second example (a web page), a parenthetical citation is not necessary because the page does not list an author, and the title of the article, “MLA Formatting and Style Guide,” is used as a signal phrase within the sentence. If the title of the article was not named in the sentence, an abbreviated version would appear in a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Taylor, Rumsey. "Fitzcarraldo." Slant , 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009. 

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL , 2 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Accessed 2 April 2018.

Multiple citations

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon:

Time-based media sources

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

When a citation is not needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations, or common knowledge (For example, it is expected that U.S. citizens know that George Washington was the first President.). Remember that citing sources is a rhetorical task, and, as such, can vary based on your audience. If you’re writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, you may need to deal with expectations of what constitutes “common knowledge” that differ from common norms.

Other Sources

The MLA Handbook describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the handbook does not describe, making the best way to proceed can be unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of MLA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard MLA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source. For example, Norquest College provides guidelines for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers⁠ —an author category that does not appear in the MLA Handbook . In cases like this, however, it's a good idea to ask your instructor or supervisor whether using third-party citation guidelines might present problems.

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• Referencing Books in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples

Referencing Books in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples

Published on 12 May 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 7 November 2022.

To reference a book in Harvard style , you need an in-text citation and a corresponding entry in your reference list or bibliography .

A basic book reference looks like this:

Try our free reference generator to create accurate Harvard references for all your sources:

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Table of contents

Edition or volume of a book, edited or translated book, book chapter, dictionary or encyclopedia, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

If the book you’re citing is a second or later edition (i.e. when the edition is stated on the title page or cover), specify this in your reference. Abbreviate ‘edition’ to ‘edn’ or ‘revised edition’ to ‘rev ed’.

When referencing a book published in multiple volumes, include the total number of volumes in your reference.

If you’re just referencing one volume, omit the total number but include the number and subtitle of the particular volume you’re referencing as part of the title.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

If a book specifies an editor and/or translator, this information should be included in the reference.

When a book has an editor in addition to the main author, the editor’s name is included later in the reference.

When the editor is the main author (i.e. when it’s their name on the cover), their name comes first. Use “ed.” for a single editor and “eds.” if there are multiple editors.

If you use a specific chapter or work from an edited collection, follow the format for referencing a book chapter instead.

When you reference a book that has been translated from another language, include the original language and the translator’s name.

Unlike other names, the translator’s name is not inverted: the initial comes first.

If a book contains chapters or works by various different authors, such as a collection of essays or an anthology of short stories, reference the specific chapter or work, followed by details of the book.

The chapter title appears in quotation marks, while the book title is italicized. At the end of the reference, specify the page range on which the chapter appears.

If a book is entirely written by one author, always reference the whole book, even if you only discuss one chapter.

Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works very often don’t list specific authors. In these cases, they are cited and referenced using their titles in the author position:

Where a reference work does have an author, it can be referenced like a normal book. Where different sections of a reference work are attributed to different authors, they can be referenced like chapters in an edited book.

When an ebook is presented like a printed book, with page numbers and publication details included, you can reference it in the same format as you would the print version.

Otherwise, the ebook format differs slightly: I nclude a link to where you found or purchased it online instead of publisher information. This link is generally just to the store or database you used, not the specific book.

In addition, in-text citations will have to use something other than page numbers when necessary, such as a percentage or location number. Use whatever marker is available on your device.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard style , when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33).

You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased . If you refer to the general ideas or findings of the source as a whole, you don’t need to include a page number.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

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Web publishers brace for carnage as Google adds AI answers

The tech giant is rolling out AI-generated answers that displace links to human-written websites, threatening millions of creators

Kimber Matherne’s thriving food blog draws millions of visitors each month searching for last-minute dinner ideas.

But the mother of three says decisions made at Google, more than 2,000 miles from her home in the Florida panhandle, are threatening her business. About 40 percent of visits to her blog, Easy Family Recipes , come through the search engine, which has for more than two decades served as the clearinghouse of the internet, sending users to hundreds of millions of websites each day.

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As the tech giant gears up for Google I/O, its annual developer conference, this week, creators like Matherne are worried about the expanding reach of its new search tool that incorporates artificial intelligence. The product, dubbed “Search Generative Experience,” or SGE, directly answers queries with complex, multi-paragraph replies that push links to other websites further down the page, where they’re less likely to be seen.

The shift stands to shake the very foundations of the web.

The rollout threatens the survival of the millions of creators and publishers who rely on the service for traffic. Some experts argue the addition of AI will boost the tech giant’s already tight grip on the internet, ultimately ushering in a system where information is provided by just a handful of large companies.

“Their goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to find the information they want,” Matherne said. “But if you cut out the people who are the lifeblood of creating that information — that have the real human connection to it — then that’s a disservice to the world.”

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Google calls its AI answers “overviews” but they often just paraphrase directly from websites. One search for how to fix a leaky toilet provided an AI answer with several tips, including tightening tank bolts. At the bottom of the answer, Google linked to The Spruce, a home improvement and gardening website owned by web publisher Dotdash Meredith, which also owns Investopedia and Travel + Leisure. Google’s AI tips lifted a phrase from The Spruce’s article word-for-word.

A spokesperson for Dotdash Meredith declined to comment.

The links Google provides are often half-covered, requiring a user to click to expand the box to see them all. It’s unclear which of the claims made by the AI come from which link.

Tech research firm Gartner predicts traffic to the web from search engines will fall 25 percent by 2026. Ross Hudgens, CEO of search engine optimization consultancy Siege Media, said he estimates at least a 10 to 20 percent hit, and more for some publishers. “Some people are going to just get bludgeoned,” he said.

Raptive, which provides digital media, audience and advertising services to about 5,000 websites, including Easy Family Recipes, estimates changes to search could result in about $2 billion in losses to creators — with some websites losing up to two-thirds of their traffic. Raptive arrived at these figures by analyzing thousands of keywords that feed into its network, and conducting a side-by-side comparison of traditional Google search and the pilot version of Google SGE.

Michael Sanchez, the co-founder and CEO of Raptive, says that the changes coming to Google could “deliver tremendous damage” to the internet as we know it. “What was already not a level playing field … could tip its way to where the open internet starts to become in danger of surviving for the long term,” he said.

When Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai announced the broader rollout during an earnings call last month, he said the company is making the change in a “measured” way, while “also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.” Company executives have long argued that Google needs a healthy web to give people a reason to use its service, and doesn’t want to hurt publishers. A Google spokesperson declined to comment further.

“I think we got to see an incredible blossoming of the internet, we got to see something that was really open and freewheeling and wild and very exciting for the whole world,” said Selena Deckelmann, the chief product and technology officer for Wikimedia, the foundation that oversees Wikipedia.

“Now, we’re just in this moment where I think that the profits are driving people in a direction that I’m not sure makes a ton of sense,” Deckelmann said. “This is a moment to take stock of that and say, ‘What is the internet we actually want?’”

People who rely on the web to make a living are worried.

Jake Boly, a strength coach based in Austin, has spent three years building up his website of workout shoe reviews. But last year, his traffic from Google dropped 96 percent. Google still seems to find value in his work, citing his page on AI-generated answers about shoes. The problem is, people read Google’s summary and don’t visit his site anymore, Boly said.

“My content is good enough to scrape and summarize,” he said. “But it’s not good enough to show in your normal search results, which is how I make money and stay afloat.”

Google first said it would begin experimenting with generative AI in search last year, several months after OpenAI released ChatGPT. At the time, tech pundits speculated that AI chatbots could replace Google search as the place to find information. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Google’s biggest competitor, Microsoft, added an AI chatbot to his company’s search engine and in February 2023 goaded Google to “ come out and show that they can dance .”

The search giant started dancing. Though it had invented much of the AI technology enabling chatbots and had used it to power tools like Google Translate, it started putting generative AI tech into its other products. Google Docs, YouTube’s video-editing tools and the company’s voice assistant all got AI upgrades.

But search is Google’s most important product, accounting for about 57 percent of its $80 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year. Over the years, search ads have been the cash cow Google needed to build its other businesses, like YouTube and cloud storage, and to stay competitive by buying up other companies .

Google has largely avoided AI answers for the moneymaking searches that host ads, said Andy Taylor, vice president of research at internet marketing firm Tinuiti.

When it does show an AI answer on “commercial” searches, it shows up below the row of advertisements. That could force websites to buy ads just to maintain their position at the top of search results.

Google has been testing the AI answers publicly for the past year, showing them to a small percentage of its billions of users as it tries to improve the technology.

Still, it routinely makes mistakes. A review by The Washington Post published in April found that Google’s AI answers were long-winded, sometimes misunderstood the question and made up fake answers.

The bar for success is high. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a novel product, consumers have spent years with Google and expect search results to be fast and accurate. The rush into generative AI might also run up against legal problems. The underlying tech behind OpenAI, Google, Meta and Microsoft’s AI was trained on millions of news articles, blog posts, e-books, recipes, social media comments and Wikipedia pages that were scraped from the internet without paying or asking permission of their original authors.

OpenAI and Microsoft have faced a string of lawsuits over alleged theft of copyrighted works .

“If journalists did that to each other, we’d call that plagiarism,” said Frank Pine, the executive editor of MediaNews Group, which publishes dozens of newspapers around the United States, including the Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and the Boston Herald. Several of the company’s papers sued OpenAI and Microsoft in April, alleging the companies used its news articles to train their AI.

If news organizations let tech companies, including Google, use their content to make AI summaries without payment or permission, it would be “calamitous” for the journalism industry, Pine said. The change could have an even bigger effect on newspapers than the loss of their classifieds businesses in the mid-2000s or Meta’s more recent pivot away from promoting news to its users, he said.

The move to AI answers, and the centralization of the web into a few portals isn’t slowing down. OpenAI has signed deals with web publishers — including Dotdash Meredith — to show their content prominently in its chatbot.

Matherne, of Easy Family Recipes, says she’s bracing for the changes by investing in social media channels and email newsletters.

“The internet’s kind of a scary place right now,” Matherne said. “You don’t know what to expect.”

A previous version of this story said MediaNews Group sued OpenAI and Microsoft. In fact, it was several of the company's newspapers that sued the tech companies. This story has been corrected.