MLA Documentation Guide

Citing books, articles, and other sources parenthetically in your paper

Author's name in text
Magny develops this argument (67-69).
Author's name in reference
This argument has been developed elsewhere (Magny 67-69).
Quotation found in indirect or "secondhand" source
The philosopher Alain states that "admiration is not pleasure but a kind of attention. . ." (qtd. in Magny 66).
Material found in indirect source
Alain's words seem to dissociate admiration from pleasure (in Magny 66).
Two authors' names in reference
The most notorious foreign lobby in Washington is the "Sugar Mafia" (Howe and Trott 134).
Reference to volume and page in multivolume work
As a painter Andrea was "faultless" (Freedberg 1: 98).
Reference to whole volume
In his second volume, Freedberg gives an account of Andrea's whole painting career.
Two works by same author on list of works cited
Frye connects Burgess' A Clockwork Orange to romance tradition (Secular Scripture 110).
Two locations in same source
Dabundo deals with this problem (22, 31).
Two sources cited
This controversy has been addressed more than once (Dabundo 27; Magny 69).
Personal interview; name given in text
Parsons talked about the need for physical education teachers to understand the relationship between physical activity and fitness.
Corporate author
Many different types of organizations in the United States are involved in mediation and dispute resolution (Natl. Inst. for Dispute Resolution).
Electronic source that uses paragraph numbers
The semiconductor workplace is highly toxic (Ross, par. 35).
Electronic source that uses chapter and section numbers
"Once we start using a tool extensively, it also starts using us" (Rawlins, ch. 1, sec. 1).