by Thomas Maldonado

 

In-Text Citations: MLA vs. APA 

As a university student, you’re expected to be a writer. In some of your courses, you will be tasked to write essays about topics that are either assigned to you or about topics that you have the privilege of choosing for yourself. In most cases, if your essay requires the use of outside sources from the library or internet, the instructor expects to see your sources mentioned in your essay as proof that you’re engaging the topic. There’s a reference method used to mention sources in your essay academically referred to as an ‘in-text citation.’

Properly defined, an in-text citation is when you quote a source either verbatim or by paraphrasing. It’s better for you to paraphrase in your own words, but there are times when a direct quote is needed to show the exact words expressed in a source either for emphasis or for other rhetorical purposes.

There are two types of in-text citation formats used in both MLA and APA: (1) narrative and (2) parenthetical. In this post, we’ll give a brief overview of the narrative in-text citation and how it differs in MLA and APA formatting styles.

The main difference between MLA and APA is that MLA relies on a page number system while APA relies on a publication year system. MLA is also used mostly in essay writing about literature whereas APA is commonly used in the social sciences. Whenever you mention a source in your essay, you must use an in-text citation to give credit to the author(s) of that source.

 

Narrative In-Text Citations in MLA Format

A narrative in-text citation is used to quote a source (directly or indirectly) using the authors surname. If there’s no author indicated then the name of the organization, company name or other identifying marker will suffice.

Take for example, the text below from an online article titled “The COVID-19 Vaccine Has Measurable Economic Benefits” written by Christian E. Weller:

“Getting a vast swath of people in the United States and abroad vaccinated is the most effective way of thwarting the resurgence of the current pandemic and stopping future ones. President Joe Biden included $15 billion to support vaccine manufacturing and distribution, among other related efforts, in his signature American Rescue Plan that passed Congress in March 2021. His proposed American Jobs Plan includes $30 billion to help speed up the development of new vaccines in the event of future pandemics.”

If you wanted to use the statistical information using a narrative in-text citation in MLA format, as a direct quote, then the author’s surname (here it is Weller) is mentioned at the beginning of the sentence followed by an action verb and a direct quote:

• Weller states that, “President Joe Biden included $15 billion to support vaccine manufacturing and distribution, among other related efforts, in his signature American Rescue Plan that passed Congress in March 2021” (1).

Notice that the author’s surname is mentioned first, followed by the action verb ‘states’ in the present tense and then the direct quote. Also notice that the end quotation mark follows after the direct quote, then the period comes after the parentheses and page number. The page number is important in MLA as we mentioned that it’s one of the identifying differences between MLA style and APA. If your source is from the Internet, and there are no page numbers, then you do not need to include what is not available; simply leave it. For example:

• Weller states that, “President Joe Biden included $15 billion to support vaccine manufacturing and distribution, among other related efforts, in his signature American Rescue Plan that passed Congress in March 2021”.

If your instructor doesn’t want you to use a direct quote and to paraphrase instead, then you must do so using as little exact language from the text as possible. Here’s an example:

• Weller outlines that when President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, approved by Congress last year in March, he gave $15 billion for vaccine manufacture, distribution, and other similar causes (1).

If you do use exact words in your paraphrase, such as key words or phrases, then this is called a ‘mosaic paraphrase.’ In a mosaic paraphrase, you must use single quotes to show what key words or phrases that you are ‘borrowing’ from the author.

• Weller outlines that when President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, ‘passed’ by ‘Congress in March 2021,’ he gave $15 billion for vaccine manufacture and distribution, ‘among other related efforts’ (1).

Do not forget to add your in-text citations to the works cited page so that the reader knows where to find full information about the source. The “Works Cited” is placed at the end of the essay, double-spaced with hanging indentation, should be formatted accordingly:

Weller, Christian E. "The COVID-19 Vaccine Has Measurable Economic Benefits." APA narrative in-text citations are similar to MLA, the only difference is that you’ll use the publication year and a page number. In APA, year is mandatory, but page number is conditional; you should use page number if you borrow some direct quotes from the text. Unless your instructor wants you to cite the page number as proof to use in a discussion board post or for another assignment, you don’t have to cite the page number if you paraphrase or don’t use direct quotes.

Using the same Weller passage that we cited in the MLA section, the narrative in-text citation should be cited as follows:

• Weller (2022) states that, “President Joe Biden included $15 billion to support vaccine manufacturing and distribution, among other related efforts, in his signature American Rescue Plan that passed Congress in March 2021” (p. 1).

Notice the publication year placed inside of the parentheses immediately after the author’s surname. In an indirect quote or paraphrase, the narrative in-text citation remains the same (the author’s surname and publication date) and the quoted text is written in your own words:

• Weller (2022) outlines that when President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, approved by Congress last year in March, he gave $15 billion for vaccine manufacture, distribution, and other similar causes.

Be conscious of how your rewording the quote; avoid mosaic paraphrasing as much as possible. As we mentioned in the MLA section, don’t forget to add your in-text citations to the references page so that the reader knows where to find full information about the source. The references citation placed at the end of the essay, double-spaced with hanging indentation, should be formatted accordingly:

Weller, C. E. (2022). The COVID-19 Vaccine Has Measurable Economic Benefits.

 

Conclusion


This is not a comprehensive tool. It’s meant as a basic reference tool to help you practice in-text citations in MLA and APA formats. Every citing scenario can change. For a more detailed section, reference writing sites like Purdue OWL, MLA Style or APA Style.

Nevertheless, with practice, it will get easier and less stressful to use narrative in-text citations. It’s always better to master these basics than to rely on citation tools that aren’t always accurate. As you develop in your academic writing, feel free to explore writing strategies that work best for you.

Lastly, when you’re looking for sources to use in your essays, be sure of the following:

• You’re looking for sources from university or college databases (Google Scholar is credible);
• Your sources have an author(s) or organization;
• Try to avoid sites that only post information without an author(s) or sources;
• Check with your instructor if Wikipedia is approved;
• Avoid Googling to find an article(s) – sometimes you’ll find good information but most of the time you’ll find unreliable sources;
• When not sure, ask your instructor.