Lesson Topic 3: Parenthetical Citations

Parenthetical citations, otherwise known as in-text citations, are used to document external sources used within a document. The parenthetical citations direct readers to the full bibliographic information located on the works cited page at the end of the document. Whenever you use information in an essay that did not originate in your brain, you must cite this information within the paper as well as on the Works Cited page.

Just listing the source at the end of your paper is not enough. It is necessary to cite the information by inserting parentheses immediately following the outside information. To create an in-text citation, just place the author's last name and page number in parentheses.

For example: (Williams 23).

Note that the period to close the sentence comes after the parentheses.

If your source does not have an author, then you cite the title of the work, article, or website.

For example: (Everything you Want to Know About MLA 3).

Below is a presentation that will provide you with additional information regarding parenthetical citations.

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