Parenthetical References

A parenthetical reference is inserted into the text at the point of the reference. It tells the reader where the reference originated by page number and author's (or originator's) last name. The full citation is given at the end of the paper in a works cited section.

Examples

Book, Single author:
The gleam of gold, of "wonderful things" visible in the candlelight, promised an astounding archaeological find (Carter 35).

Book, Multiple authors:
Smog forming in the Los Angeles valley is visible in photographs (Apt, Helfert, and Wilkinson 190).

Website:
Beethoven has been called the "first politically motivated composer," for he was "caught up in the whole ferment of ideas that came out of the French Revolution" (Gardiner, screens 2-3).

Online encyclopedia:
Euclid's Elements is the most complete record of ancient geometry; only a few fragments of earlier studies exist ("Geometry", sec. 9).

Gale Student resource center:
Caffeine is unlikely to result in convulsions or death because it affects the brain much more quickly than it does any other nerves ("Caffeine", paragraph 9).

Facts on File:
Aware, also known as mancala, is considered to be one of the oldest games in the world (Page, screen 1).

Magazine through Newsbank:
Scientist John Collinge and his team argue that genetic variations 500,000 years ago may still protect some peoples from the effects of prion-caused degenerative diseases (Bower, paragraph 2)

The works cited page for this document would look like this:

(Go to this page for help putting together a Works Cited page)

Works cited

Apt, Jay, Michael Helfert, and Justin Wilkinson. Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1996.

Bower, B. "Cannibalism's DNA Trail." Science Week. 12 April 2003. 20 Jan. 2004. < http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:SLCC&rft_val_format=
info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=
0FA9890960B0A2CC&svc_dat=InfoWeb:newcat&req_dat=0FD976A1EAC68A61 >

"Caffeine." Gale Encyclopedia of Science. 2nd ed. 6 vols. Gale Group, 2001.
Reproduced in Student Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 20 Jan. 2004. < http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SRC >.

Carter, Howard. The Tomb of Tutankhamen. New York: Excalibur Books, 1972.

Gardiner, John Eliot. "The Importance of Beethoven." Interview. Charlie Rose. PBS. 25 July 1996. Transcript. Broadcast News. CD-ROM. Primary Source Media. July 1996. 23 screens.

"Geometry." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 20 Jan. 2004.
< http://school.eb.com/eb/article?eu=138423 >.

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1999.

Page, Willie F. "Aware." Encyclopedia of African History and Culture. Vol. 1, Ancient Africa. New York: Facts On File, Inc. Ancient History & Culture.
< http://www.factsonfile.com >.