The purpose of in text citiation is to link the borrowed material in the body of your writing to the works cited page or pages following. The general principle to make the least intrusion into the readabilty of your work. Below are examples of a variety of situations you may encounter in your writing. It is a good idea to use both embedded and parenthetic citations to keep your writing smooth and readable. Another matter of style is that authors are referred to by their surnames only except the first time mentioned. Also, do not use Dr., Mr., Mrs., or Ms. before the name or academic titles such as M.D., D.D.S., J.D., Ph.D., M.A., or B.A. after.
So, for example, if the source material is short (one page or less), it is appropriate to simply refer to the author's surname in the text:
Jones claims the optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive.
Note that web pages are always treated as single pages regardless of the number of sheets of paper needed to print it out.
If this source had been in a longer article, then place the page number where it is located in parenthesis at the end:
Jones claims the optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive (37).
Note that the parenthetical citiation is always located inside the end punctuation.
If you choose to leave the author out of your text, then place his surname and the page number at the end:
The optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive (Jones 37).
Do not place a comma after the authors name or use a "p." or pp."
However, if the source material is short (single page), simply list the author:
The optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive (Jones).
If the source was prepared by two or three authors, the parenthetical citation would look like this:
The optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive (Jones and Smith 37).
-or-
The optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive (Jones, Brown, and Smith 37).
-or in text-
Jones, Brown, and Smith belive the optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive.
If the source had four or more authors, you may simply list the first author and add et al:
The optimum solution will be both costly and time consumptive (Jones, et al. 37).
If the source is a corporation, organization, association, or governmental agency, you may choose to embed it in the text or use an abbreviated form in parentheses:
The American Red Cross claims the solution will be costly and time consumptive (37).
-or-
The solution will be costly and time consumptive (Amer. Red Cross 37).
Occasionally you may want to use a source that does not have an authorship credit (for example, some newspaper articles). In these cases, you may embed the full title of the piece in your body text or include an abbreviated version parenthetically:
The solution will be costly and time consumptive ("Org. Reports" 37).
-or in text-
In Saturday's article "Organization Reports Concerns," the American Red Cross expressed its concerns about the costliness and time consumptiveness of the optimum solution (37).
Be sure to list it exactly as it is indexed in the Works Cited.
Sometimes you may need to include a source that is only available indirectly. In these cases, place the abbreviation "qtd. in" before the author's name in the parenthetical:
Albert Smith claims the solution will be too costly and time consumptive (qtd. in Jones 37).
In this example, Smith made the claim but it was published in an article by Jones on page 37.
There are some source materials that do not have page numbers. In such cases, simply leave out the page number in the parenthetical citation but include the abbreviation 'n.pag.' in the Works Cited reference so the reader will be aware of it. You do not add the 'n.pag.' to sources that are never expected to be paginated e.g. movies, music, web pages, etc.
These general methods work for most applications, however, there are several special cases that use a slightly different method. These are presented below:
Dictionary or Encyclopedia definitions
Certain literary works (The Great Books)
Legal (these are cited in text only and do not appear on the works cited page)These suggestions do not cover all the possibilities but do address the majority you will likely encounter. If what you have doesn't fit any of these situations, consult the style manual or come to your Writing Center for assistance.
Learn about preparing the Works Cited.
—By Douglas E. Greathouse, M.A.
