In-text citations were developed to maintain the flow of reading, eliminating the need to check footnotes at the bottom of the page, and to make publication of journals more efficient. When the author is mentioned in the discussion, the page number in parentheses is added at the end of the sentence.
Example: Ehrman argues persuasively that the Bible has been altered in places for theological reasons (151).
In the Works Cited section (the bibliography) at the end of the paper, Bart Ehrman's book, Misquoting Jesus, should be placed in alphabetical order.
If the author is not mentioned in the ongoing text, then the parenthetical citation should have the author's last name and the page number.
Example: The last 12 verses of the Gospel of Mark were added by scribes (Ehrman 63-65).
When the same author has more than one book in the bibliography or there are several authors with the same last name, a shortened version of the title is included in the citation.
Example: When the women come to the tomb of Jesus they find it empty and flee (Ehrman, Misquoting 64).
The citation of books follows this pattern:
Author's name [surname, given name]. Title. Place of publication: publisher, date. Publication medium.
Example: Ehrman, Bart D. Misquoting Jesus. New York: Harper One, 2005. Print.
The inclusion at the end of the citation of the medium, "Print" in the example, is an adaptation to the large role the Internet is playing in all aspects of research and publication.
The citation of articles follows this pattern:
Author's name [surname, given name]. "Article title." Title of periodical Volume number.issue number date of publication in parentheses: Pages. Publication medium.
Example: Gregory, Caspar R. "Tischendorf." Bibliotheca Sacra 33 (1876): 153-193. Print.
For an additional example, check out the Long Island University MLA Citation Style web page. It uses a color coding system for each element of a citation and provides examples of all the possible formats.
The citation of web pages follows this pattern:
Author of web page [surname, given name (if available)]. "Article Title." Title of web page. Publisher or sponsor of the site, date of publication [day, month, and year]; Web. Date of access (day, month, and year). <URL>.
Example: Memorial Library. "MLA Citation Style." C.W. Post Campus. Long Island University, 28 Oct 2010; Web. Accessed 23 Mar 2011. < http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm>
These formats cover the major types of citations used by authors. However, many more situations and types of resources exist. The MLA Handbook provides a detailed listing of all possible variations and situations.