1. Basic Citation for Short Quotation:  Signed Source with One Author or Editor  (Book, Magazine, Encyclopedia, Newspaper)
Place the citation at the end of the sentence that contains the material being documented.  The citation should appear after the text of the sentence but before the end mark.  After the last quotation mark (or word, if the source is a paraphrase) leave two spaces, then type or write a parenthesis.  Next give the author's or editor's last name, leave two spaces, then put the page reference, parenthesis, then a period.
 

 Example (author’s name not used in text of paper)

Note:  It is not necessary to indicate the difference between authors and editors in your in-text citation.  Your Works Cited page entry will perform that function.

If you are able to use the name of the author of the material you are quoting or paraphrasing in your text, then the in-text documentation consists of the page number(s) only.  Note that there are two spaces preceding the parenthesis.
 

 Example (author's name used in text of paper)
In Frost's poem "After Apple Picking," critic Walter Beacham also feels that the reference to sleep indicates the narrator's fear of "the thought of death" because "he is uncertain of whether he has satisfied his earthly duties"  (7).

2.   Basic Citation for Long Direct Quotation
If a quotation runs to more than four typed or written lines in your paper (regardless of the length of the quote in the original source) then it is treated differently.  It is usually introduced by a sentence ending in a colon. Then the quote itself begins on a new line, indented ten spaces (or one inch) from the left margin.  The right margin remains the same as the rest of the paper. The quote is typed double spaced with no quotation marks.
Place the period after the last word of the quotation for long direct quotes.  Space twice, and then place the citation, with two spaces between author’s name and page numbers.
 

Example (long direct quotation)
Evidently, Steinbeck’s concern for the migrants was genuine, as one critic eloquently stated:

What one remembers most of all is Steinbeck’s sympathy for the migrants--not pity, for that would mean he was putting himself above them; not love, for that would blind him to their faults, but rather a deep fellow feeling.  It makes him notice everything that sets them apart from the rest of the world and sets one migrant apart from all others.  This is never more evident than in Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men.  (Cowley  28)

Examples (direct quote, two sources by the same author)
Steinbeck is frequently identified as a "proletarian writer of the 1930s" interested in the "socioeconomic and political problems of the Great Depression"  (Lisca, Nature  87). It is fervently hoped that migrant workers may be given "the right to live decently"  (Lisca, "Grapes”  81).

Examples (paraphrase, two sources by the same author)
Because spiritual values were a major aspect of Indian life, tribal members held great respect for, and put much faith in, shamans.  Women often became shamans; in fact, in some tribes only women could hold this position  (Georgakas, Red  99).  Although women could not become chiefs in certain tribes, they often had the deciding voice in the final selection of a chief  (Georgakas, Broken  6).

4.  A Work Used Has Two or More Authors or Editors
After the quotation mark, leave two spaces, then write or type a parenthesis. If two authors are used, list the last names of the authors in the order they are listed in your source, separating the names with the word ‘and.’ Use no intervening punctuation between the names.  After the last name, leave two spaces, then put the page number or numbers, a parenthesis, and a period.
 

Example (a source with two authors)
"The social history of the United States between 1940 and 1965 was marked by greater variety than during any other generation since the Civil War, but movements towards social equality and conformity dominated the period”  (Malone and Rauch  223).

If three authors are used, list the last names of the authors in the order they are listed in your source. Separate the first two names with a comma and one space.  Use a comma and the word 'and' before the name of the last author. After the last name, leave two spaces, then put the page number or numbers, a parenthesis, and a period.
 

Example (a source with three authors)
“A writer is an artist in a sense.  Instead of brushes and paints, he uses words to create his pictures.  He asks you to use your senses to make an image in your mind"  (Swinburne, Pastva, and Owen  16).

If more than three authors are used, give the first author's last name followed by et al., without any intervening punctuation.  Then leave two spaces and give the page number, a parenthesis, and a period.
 

Example (a source with more than three authors)
"Documenting contemporary music's rapid evolution on its many fronts is no simple task.  Because of the constantly changing face of the charts, contemporary music is rightly and wrongly regarded as disposable"  (Ward et al.  12).

5.   A Source Used is a Multivolume Work
When citing from more than one volume of a multivolume work, leave two spaces after the quotation mark or word if your material is a paraphrase.  Type or write a parenthesis, give the author's or editor's last name, and the volume number followed by a colon.  Leave one space, then give the page number or numbers of the quoted material followed by a parenthesis and a period.
 

Example (multivolume work)
"The Great Depression generated swift and drastic change in literature and the arts"  (Rauch 5: 274).

Example (magazine article with no author listed, full title)
"In the aftermath, architects must balance traditional aesthetic aspirations with the demand that buildings be safe, even from terrorists"  ("Architects and Oklahoma City”  32).

Example (newspaper article with no author listed, shortened title)
"McDade's fund-raising success underscores the influence he retains in Washington despite his legal troubles"  ("McDade Raises”  A-10).

Example (encyclopedia article with no author listed)
"Woodrow Wilson had to sacrifice his Fourteen Points, but in turn, obtained the inclusion of the League of Nations in the treaty"  ("Versailles, Treaty of"  1322).

7.  A Quote Taken from Another Source
Whenever you can, cite material from the original source, not a secondhand one. However, at times you may have to cite a quotation by someone that is given in another source.  After the quotation mark, leave two spaces, put a parenthesis, then the abbreviation qtd. in (for quoted in), leave two spaces, then write or type the author's name, leave two spaces, then put the page number (s), followed by a parenthesis and a period.
 

Example (indirect quote)
Emerson's own tribute to Walt Whitman remains prophetic: "I hail you at the beginning of a great career"  (qtd. in  Bradley  ix).

8.  A Quotation Taken from an Interview
     When you use a quotation from an interview, you must cite it.  There are three kinds of interviews: published or
      recorded interviews, interviews broadcast on television or radio, and interviews conducted by the researcher.
     For an interview, cite the name of the person interviewed, leave two spaces, then write or type the word interview
     with a small ‘i’.
 

Example (interview)
One World War II veteran who entered Nagasaki after the atomic bombing noted that the city “had a stark look, a gray cast over everything”  (Schade  interview).

9.   Citing from Literary Works
      A. Citing from Novels

In a reference to a prose work that is available in several editions, provide more information than just the author and page number used.  A section or chapter reference is necessary.  This would enable a reader to find your quotation in other editions of the novel.  Give the author's name first (unless it is referred to in your text), leave two spaces, then give the page number, followed by a semi-colon.  Leave two spaces, then give the chapter (ch.) or the section (sec.).

Example (short passage)
Early in Lord of the Flies, Simon demonstrates his need for a hideaway separate from the others:  "He bent down and wormed his way into the center of the mat.  The creepers and the bushes were so close that he left his sweat on them and they pulled together behind him"  (Golding  52;  ch.3).
This tells the reader that the passage is by William Golding and from page 52, chapter 3.

Example (short passage, author mentioned in your text)
Another character in The Scarlet Letter who strongly impacts upon Hester Prynne is her illegitimate daughter, Pearl. Hawthorne attributes Pearl's sometimes erratic and even violent character to the "warfare in Hester's spirit at that epoch” that eventually becomes "perpetuated in Pearl"  (86;  ch. 6).
This tells the reader that the passage is from page 86, chapter 6, of The Scarlet Letter. The author’s name is not needed because it appears in the text.

Example (using character dialogue in a short passage)
When quoting character dialogue, use double and then single quotation marks, separated by one space. In The Pearl, the pearl's sacredness becomes evident when Kino declares:  “ ’This pearl has become my soul.  If I give it up I shall lose my soul’ "  (Steinbeck 87;  ch.5).  Thus we see the pearl beginning to
consume Kino's spirit.
This tells the reader that the author is John Steinbeck and the passage spoken by Kino is from page 87, chapter 5.

     B.  Citing from Short Stories

Short story quotations are handled in the same way as quotations from novels, except that no chapter or section would be mentioned.  The in-text citation would then consist of the author's last name and the page of the story.

Example  (short passage, author's name used in text)
Violent figurative language in Kurt Vonnegut's story, "Harrison Bergeron," serves to underscore the author's use of satire toward a society which sees mediocrity as positive and excellence as negative:  "The photograph of Harrison Bergeron on the screen jumped again and again, as though dancing to the tune of an earthquake"  (671).
This tells the reader that the passage is from page 671 in the collection that contains this story.

    C.   Citing from Poetry

Short poetry passages of one to three lines should be incorporated into your text within quotation marks.  Use a slash (/) with a space on each side to separate more than one line.  Note that in poetry, the in-text citation is the author's name (unless incorporated into your text) plus the line number or numbers used from the poem, not the page number.

Example (short poetry quotation incorporated into your text)
In "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," Walt Whitman's distaste for analytical evaluation of the universe becomes evident when he states, "When I heard the learn'd astronomer / When the proofs, the figures were raised in columns before me /. . .How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick"  (1-2, 5).
This tells the reader that the passage is lines 1, 2, and 5 of the poem.
Note: The ellipsis (three spaced periods) indicates omitted lines.

Example (poetry passage of more than three lines)
In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the narrator begins simply enough:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   (Frost 1-4)

As the speaker stands, watching the snow falling into the quiet darkness, his horse shakes the harness bells, as if to wake his master from a "mesmerized" state   (Warren  114).
This tells the reader that the poetry passage is written by Robert Frost and encompasses lines 1 to 4, and that a secondary source was also used from material written by Robert Penn Warren on page 114.

     D.   Citing from Drama, Modern and Classic

If you quote a statement from one character in a play, the rules are the same as with any long direct quote.  If the reference is four lines or shorter when you write or type it out, insert it within the text of your paper using quotation marks. If it is longer than four lines, indent it one inch or ten spaces from the left hand margin and do not use quotation marks.

In modern drama, cite your reference by using the author's last name and the page number or numbers.

Example (direct quote [four lines or shorter] from one character in a modern play)
In The Glass Menagerie the reader sees Jim, the 'gentleman caller,  'slowly drawing Laura Wingfield out       of the cocoon she has built around herself.  When he accidentally breaks Laura's favorite glass animal, her response demonstrates Laura's new-found assuredness:  "Oh, I don't have favorites -- (Pause) much.  It's no tragedy.  Glass breaks so easily.  No matter how careful you are.  The traffic jars the shelves and things fall off them"   (Williams  613).
This tells the reader that the author of the play is Tennessee Williams, and that the passage is from page 613.

In classic drama (Shakespeare, for example) the lines, as in poetry, are separated within your text by a slash (/).  For in-text citation of a classic play do not use page numbers.  Instead, cite by using the title of the play, the act, scene, and line numbers, with periods and one space separating the various numbers. Instructors may prefer the use of Arabic (King Lear 4. 1.  52-53) or Roman numerals (King Lear IV.  i.
52-53).

Example (direct quote four lines or shorter from one character in a classic play)
Macbeth demonstrates his continued belief in the witches' prophecies when he exclaims:  "They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly / But, bearlike, I must fight the course.  What's he / that was not born of woman?  Such a one / Am I to fear, or none"  (5. 7.  1-4).
This tells the reader the passage is from Act 5, Scene 7, lines 1-4.
Note: The play title is not mentioned in the in-text citation because the name of the character quoted (Macbeth) is the same as the title of the play itself, and is thus self-explanatory.

If you quote a passage from a play that is a dialogue between two or more characters, set the quotation one inch or ten spaces from the left margin of your text.  Begin each part of dialogue with the appropriate character's name in all capital letters: MACBETH or LAURA.  Follow the name with a period and two spaces, then start the quotation.  Indent all remaining lines of that character's speech three more spaces.

Example (a classic drama dialogue between two characters)

Macbeth's doubts begin to surface immediately after he murders Duncan:
MACBETH.  This is a sorry sight.    [Looking at his hands]
LADY MACBETH.  A foolish thought to say a sorry sight.
MACBETH. There's one did laugh in sleep, and one cried “Murder!'
   That they did wake each other.  I stood and heard them;
   But they did say their prayers, and addressed them
   Again to sleep.  (2. 2. 21-26)

This tells the reader that the quotation is from Act 2, Scene 2, lines 21-26.

Example (a modern drama dialogue between two characters)
Even in the following rather simplistic scene between Tom and his mother Amanda, the difference in their personalities is clearly shown:

TOM.  All right, I'll guess.  You want to know when the
   gentleman caller's coming  -- he's coming tomorrow.
AMANDA.  Tomorrow?  Oh, no, I can't do anything about
   tomorrow.  I can't do anything about tomorrow.
TOM.  Why not?
AMANDA.  That doesn't give me any time.
TOM.  Time for what?
AMANDA.  Time for preparations.  Oh, you should have phoned
   me the minute you asked him -- the minute he accepted.
TOM.  You don't have to make any fuss.
AMANDA.  Of course, I have to make a fuss!
.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .
TOM.  Mother!  This boy is no one to make a fuss over.  (Williams  591)

This tells the reader that Williams is the author and the quote is from page 591.
 Note: The line of spaced periods approximately as long as the quoted lines from the play shows that a line or lines have been omitted from the text of the play.

10.  Citing from an Electronic / Online Source

For in-text citation, use whatever name appears first in your Works Cited entry.  Use a page number if given.    For example, if Stephen Galloway is the author of an article on CD-ROM, in-text would be  (Galloway 42).
If a corporate name is given first with no page number, then that name is alone in parentheses  (PEPSICO). If an article is given with no author and no page, list the title of the article in quotation marks for your in-text citation ("U.S. Population by Age”).
Note: See entries 18, 19 and 21 in section IV.D. for full Works Cited examples of the three above sources.
The above examples are the most commonly used citation forms.  For sources used less frequently, ask your teacher or librarian for the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, fourth edition.