Parenthetical Citations

Background Notes

What is a parenthetical citation?

Parenthetical means inside parentheses (like this).Citation means a reference to a source and/or an author.By using parenthetical citations, you avoid plagiarism, passing off someone else’s thoughts as your own.

What goes inside a parenthetical citation?

First, the author’s last name (if known) or a key word from the source title if no author is listedAfter that, the page number where you found the information

For example: (Miller 845) For example: (“Talk” 23)

Author’s Last Name Page NumberNo author listed; Key Word from Article Title

Page Number

Where do I put the parenthetical citation?

The parenthetical citation is placed at the END of the sentence, AFTER the quotation marks of your direct quote, BEFORE the end punctuation (period, question mark) of the sentence.

Soon Bethany wanted to surf again: “’Sure I was scared… but I was more scared of not surfing,’” author Sian Griffith describes Bethany’s heart in her article “Hey, Shark, Get Out of My Wave” (1).

Citation is after the quote marks

Citation is before the period

Rules1. If you use an author’s name in the same sentence of your direct quotation, only include the page number in your parenthetical citation.

Soon Bethany wanted to surf again: “’Sure I was scared… but I was more scared of not surfing,’” author Sian Griffith describes Bethany’s heart in her article “Hey, Shark, Get Out of My Wave” (1).

Author mentioned in signal phrase. Page number only

within citation

Rules2. If you use the same source in the same paragraph twice or more in a row, leave out the author’s name AFTER your first citation.“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in” (Twain 15). Another famous quotation about dogs reads, “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man” (16).

First citation: Author and Page Number

2nd Citation in a row, same source: Page Number only within citation

Rules 3. If your source is a website or does not contain page numbers, only include the author’s last name (if known/not included in signal phrase) or part of the article title (if no author is known) WITHOUT a page number.

Sample For example, “In the Keep it in Kilgore program, the 600

children at Kilgore Intermediate School bring the plastic shopping bags their families accumulate to the school […]” (Verespej). Author’s last name only; no page on

source and author not mentioned in signal phrase

Putting It All TogetherView this video that illustrates how to use signal phrases to introduce direct quotations and parenthetical citations to give proper credit to a resource.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LZwjVSuFHM