Directions for In-Text Citations

Farrand 1

Sam Farrand

Mrs. Schlotthauer

Pre-AP English I (6th Hour)

5 October 2009

Directions for In-Text Citations

When you are citing from your sources within your text, these citations are called in-text citations. They can come in three forms: direct quote, paraphrase or imbedded quote. Within the text of this paper, you will see an example of each of these types of citations and how they are correctly cited according to your MLA works cited page.

You will begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence. Then you will provide evidence for your topic sentence by using a citation in one of the abovementioned forms. An example of a direct quote is as follows. “Oftentimes, people feel overly tired and worn out when suffering from depression” (Seabrook 34). This is an example of a direct quote with the author’s name appearing first in the works cited source citation. This example also shows that the source has a given page number. Another example of a direct quote that also contains a leader and page number is as follows. According to Seabrook, “many children suffer from severe bouts of depression without recognizing it as such” (35). When you lead with the author’s name or even the title of an article (the article not having an author), you do not have to include it in your citation. If your source does not provide a page number, then you simply do not include it. Examples of the above quotations are given below. “Oftentimes, people feel overly tired and worn out when suffering from depression” (Seabrook). This is if there is no page number given in the source. According to Seabrook, “many children suffer from severe bouts of depression without recognizing it as such.” There is no page number given, therefore Farrand 2 you do not have to use it in the citation and the sentence will simply be without a parenthetical citation.

When paraphrasing, you are simply taking the information given in your source and putting it into your own words. For example, if your quote says, “Children under the age of four should not take any sort of depression medication even if they are showing signs of depression”

(Wallace 124), then your paraphrase would look like this: Adolescents are discouraged from ingesting any form of depression drug before the age of four years even if they are exhibiting symptoms of depression (Wallace 124). The same rules apply for paraphrasing even if you add a leader to your paraphrased source citation as applied for direct quotations. For example: Wallace states, adolescents are discouraged from ingesting any form of depression drug before the age of four years even if they are exhibiting symptoms of depression (124).

Finally, when using both a direct quotation and your own words of expression within an in-text citation, you have created an imbedded quote. This may mean that you have started with your own words (not just a leader) and ended with a direct quotation or you have begun and ended a sentence with your own words and included a direct quotation in the middle of your sentence or you have begun the sentence with a direct quotation and ended with your own words…all are considered imbedded quotes. They are cited within the text like as follows.

After much thought and analysis, it is found that “children suffer least from depression as compared to most adults because they are faced with fewer challenges” and find that they can cope more easily with altered states of environment and accelerators (Wallace 233). If you use the author’s name as a leader then you don’t have to include it in the parenthetical citation. Example follows. According to Thomas Wallace in his book, Depression and How Farrand 3 it Affects Children, “children suffer least from depression as compared to most adults because they are faced with fewer challenges,” and researchers have found that children are far more adaptable to environment and accelerators than adults (233). These are all examples of how you will use in-text citations. Remember the following key points of in-text citations:

. The period ALWAYS follows the parenthetical citation – ALWAYS.

. The source citation (parenthetical citation) always comes at the end of the sentence no

matter where the direct quote is located in the sentence.

. The only time you will not have a parenthetical citation when using a direct quote,

paraphrase or imbedded quote is when you have used the author’s name or article title

(depending on the information given by the source and how it is cited/written on the

works cited page) as a leader in your in-text citation and when there is no page number

offered in the source information.

. You should never have a direct quote, paraphrase or imbedded quote in your paper

without a source citation that matches a source listed on your works cited page.

. If you use a source in your paper, it must be on the works cited page.

. If you have a source on your works cited page, it must be used in the paper.

. EXAMPLE QUOTES ARE BOLDED in the above instructions/guidelines.