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DePasquale - IB History IA: In-text Citations

Use this guide to assist you with your research.

In-Text Citations

  • In-text citations are used to reference sources in the body of a research paper. They point the reader to specific citations on the Works Cited page.
  • An in-text citation is written within the same sentence being cited. In-text citations reference the author within the text, or in parentheses at the end of the cited sentence. The parenthetical citation displays the author's name and page number where the information is found.
  • If there's no author listed, the writer will cite the piece of information that comes first in the citation on the Works Cited page so the reader can quickly locate it. 

Noodletools

Once citation information is entered into Noodletools, the site will provide the user with a parenthetical citation for the source.

In-Text / Parenthetical Citation Examples

Example 1: Web Source - No Author Listed - Direct Quote
In-Text/ Parenthetical Citation Citation

The NAACP is "dedicated to eliminating the severe racial inequalities that continue to plague our education system" (Education).     

“Education.” NAACP, www.naacp.org/issues/education/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.                                                                                

Example 2: Web Source - No Author Listed 
In-Text / Parenthetical Citation Citation

Despite what the law stated, public facilities for blacks were nearly always inferior to those for whites, when they existed at all. In addition, blacks were systematically denied the right to vote in most of the rural South through the selective application of literacy test and other racially motived criteria (Jim Crow Laws).                     

“Jim Crow Laws.” PBS, WGBH Educational Foundation, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.

Example 3: Web Source : Author Listed - Direct Quote
In-Text / Parenthetical Citation  Citation

"Within the next week," Dr. Charles Steele explains, "at least two nonviolent centers will be opened in the Cleveland area to help citizens practice safe protesting."                     

*Note - Author is mentioned in the sentence so you do not need a parenthetical citation. Because it is a webpage, there is no page # listed in parenthesis either.                                                                                                                                                                                  

Steele, Dr. Charles. “Change Come To Cleveland as 20 Pastors and SCLC Meet.” Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 8 May 2015, nationalsclc.org/change-come-to-cleveland-as-20-pastors-and-sclc-meet/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.                                                                    

Example 4: Print Source : Author Listed - Direct Quote
In-Text / Parenthetical Citation  Citation

According to Michael J. Klarman, "Between 1900 and 1950, Supreme Court justices grew more committed to racial equality and invalidated a variety of schemes that had segregated and disfranchised southern blacks" (4).         

Klarman, Michael J. From Jim Crow to Civil Rights : the Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality. Oxford University Press, 2004.                                                                                                                                                                                               

Example 5: Print Source : Author Listed 
In-Text / Parenthetical Citation  Citation

The NAACP, founded in 1909, fought against segregation and the notorious Jim Crow laws, utilizing citizen committees and hundreds of lawyers to fight against these racial inequities (Cates 118).                                                                               

Cates, David. Plessy v. Ferguson : Segregation and the Separate but Equal Policy. ABDO Pub., 2013.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Additional Resource

 Check out Purdue Owl's extensive coverage of in-text citations in MLA format.