- 1). Type the source author's last name and the source's page number in parentheses immediately following the quote or paraphrase in your essay. For example, (Smith 17). This is known as parenthetical citation.
- 2). Cite a source that has three or fewer authors using the same parenthetical method as Step 1, or for a source with more than three authors, list only the first author's last name, followed by "et al." and then the page number the quote is found on.
- 3). Provide the author's name in the paraphrase to avoid listing him or her in the parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example, by writing, "Bush describes his presidency as 'joyful,'" you can avoid listing "Bush" in the parentheses at the end of the sentence and merely list the page number of the source.
- 4). Cite multiple sources of the same quote or idea by expanding the parenthetical reference to include both authors and page numbers separated by a semicolon. For example, (Twain 32; Orwell 271).
- 5). Provide the author's name, film title, article title, or website name in parentheses in order to cite an electronic source. Use only the abbreviated main website's URL if you must cite it in-text, such as simply "http://www.nytimes.com" and use the article's full URL in your Works Cited page at the conclusion of your essay.
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