Parenthetical References – Examples in MLA Style
To provide credit score to resources, the most effective way to cite sources is to use Parenthetical references or Parenthetical documentation. The writer’s last name and page number(s) are located in parentheses inside the text. For instance, in their Preface, Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy point out that “learning Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) is like learning any new language, computer or human” (xi). In your Bibliography or Works Cited page, you must list the complete source details such as the author’s name, book title, publication date, and publishing company. If you cite another paragraph from the same work, it is recommended to add only the page number(s) for the citation. If you are citing multiple articles by the same author, distinguish them by including a date after the author’s last name or by adding the last name after the last name.
When mentioning authors with the same last name, use their first names or initials to differentiate them, e.g., (John Smith 52), (Jane Smith 90), (M. Smith 115).
For a work with more than three authors or editors, use et al. (a Latin expression meaning “and others”), e.g., (Carmichael et al. 25).
When quoting from a web page, your citation for a parenthetical reference follows the same format as any regular citations for author, editor, title, etc., with one exception. If no page reference is available on a web page, indicate the author’s last name, or the short title if no author is stated, without any page reference, e.g., (Meyer) or (User Saints Index). A corresponding entry should be made in your Bibliography.
To cite information obtained from the internet, write in your text, e.g.:
On May 2, 2002, approximately 4,500 students took the challenging University of Waterloo, Physics Department, Sir Isaac Newton (SIN) exam. Amazingly, there were three perfect papers! Team members from Don Mills Collegiate Institute broke Waterloo’s SIN record not only for completing the first place but both students on the team had perfect tests (“SIN 2002”).
The best way to cite sources is by using Parenthetical references or Parenthetical documentation. This involves placing the author’s last name and page number(s) in parentheses within the text to credit sources. For instance, “Learning Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) is like learning any new language, computer or human” (Musciano and Kennedy xi).
In your Bibliography or Works Cited page, you must list the author’s full name, book title, edition number, place of publication, publisher, and year of publication. If you need to cite another paragraph from the same work or if the author or authors are clearly indicated in your text, you only need to add the page number(s) for the citation. When citing multiple articles by the same author, you should differentiate the articles by adding a date after the author’s last name or by adding the last name after the first name or initial.
To indicate a work with more than three authors or editors, use et al. (meaning “and others”). If you are citing a webpage, your citation for a parenthetical reference follows the same format as any regular citation for author, editor, title, etc., with the exception that you do not include a page reference if none is available. Corresponding entries must be made in your Bibliography.
When citing information obtained from the internet, include the date of access and the URL in your text. The corresponding entry should be included in your Bibliography. If your citation refers to a webpage with four or more authors, list the first author followed by “et al.” In addition, avoid assigning paragraph or screen numbers when citing sources, unless they are clearly numbered by the author or Webmaster.
It is not advisable to cite screen or paragraph numbers when referencing online sources because such numbers can be inaccurate and unreliable. Unlike printed materials that have page numbers, the display of text on an online page can vary greatly among users depending on various factors such as screen size, font size and type, pixel settings, printing orientation, paper size, image display preferences, line spacing, margin settings, browser type and version, and other variables. All these variables can affect the appearance of the printed page or screen, making it difficult to assign a specific screen or paragraph number for a particular citation.
It is not practical to expect readers to count paragraphs, pages, or screens to locate a citation on a web page, even if users choose the same variables. Assigning paragraph, page, or screen numbers to citations without electronic reference markers or clear guidelines on what constitutes a screen could lead to confusion. It is more reasonable to use significant sections or headings in parenthetical references instead of paragraph, page, or screen numbers. For example, (Harris et al. Arts/Humanities) can help readers easily locate the source of a quotation regardless of their browser or font size.
The emergence of the internet has revolutionized the way we document sources, but it’s important to remember that using common sense, consistency, and good judgment are still the key elements of creating effective citations. The main goal of documenting sources is to communicate to the reader, in a standardized way, the sources you have used with enough detail for them to be identified and located.
If you need further guidance on how to write a bibliography, you can find additional resources here.