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Humanities: Parenthetical Citations

Parenthetical Documentation (In-Text) Examples

The examples below illustrate how to make a reference within your paper based on the Works Cited list you have created.

Barsanti, Amy B. “A Collage of Western Women.” OAH Magazine of History

 

         Nov. 2005: 41-43. Print.

 

In-Text              According to Barsanti … (41)

 

 ***     

Davis, Rebecca L. " 'Not Marriage at All but Simple Harlotry': The Companionate

 

         Marriage Controversy." Journal of American History 94.4 (2008): n. pag.

 

         Web. 8 Aug. 2009.

 

In-Text              For women who choose to live with men outside of … (Davis)

 

***       

Jensen, Joan M., and Darlis A. Miller. "The Gentle Tamers Revisited: New

 

         Approaches to the History of Women in the American West." Pacific

 

         Historical Review 49.2 (1980): 173-213. Print.

 

In-Text              Historians now believe… (Jensen and Miller 199)

 

***       

“Montana: Same Sex Parental Rights.” New York Times 1 Oct. 2008, late ed.:

 

         A8. Print.

 

In-Text              Some states are moving toward parental rights… (“Montana” A8)

 

***       

Richards, Marjorie. Letter to the author. 4 Dec. 2008. MS.

 

In-Text              Richards noted in her letter that… [no citation needed here]

 

***      

---. Message to the author. 16 Mar. 2009. E-mail.

 

In-Text              Richards also believes that… (E-mail).

 

***       

United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. CDC. 

         Natl. Center for Health Statistics. Cohabitation, Marriage,

         Divorce, and Remarriage in the United States. Hyattsville: Dept. of Health

         and Human Services, 2002. Web. 14 July 2009.

 

In-Text              Statistics for 2009 indicate that… (US, CDC)

 

***      

---. ---. Office on Women’s Health. The Healthy Woman: A Complete Guide for All

         Ages. Washington: GPO, 2008. Print.

 

In-Text              The US Office on Women’s Health provides… (218).

 

More MLA Guides

TIps That Help

  • References made in the text must point to specific sources in the Works Cited list.
  • If the source has page numbers give the relevant number.
  • When citing an entire source or a source without page numbers, you will have no page number in the reference.
  • If you use an author’s name in the text, you need not repeat it in the parenthetical reference.
  • If a reference has no author (is listed by title in the Works Cited), include the title or shortened title (if the title is long) in the parenthetical reference.