What is Parenthetical Documentation?

Parenthetical documentation (or in-text citation or text citation) is a writing style used to acknowledge the sources of information in a paper or other written work. It involves including a brief, parenthetical reference within the text of the paper, usually at the end of a sentence, that provides enough information for readers to identify the source in a list of references at the end of the work.

Basic Format:

Author's Last Name (Publication Year)

Examples

> According to Smith (2023), the research suggests...

> The study concluded that "climate change is a complex phenomenon" (Jones & Brown, 2021, p. 55).

Multiple Authors:

> When there are two authors use an ampersand (&) (Smith, 2023)

> When there are three or more authors, include only the first author followed by "et al." (Brown et al., 2021)

Direct Quotations:

> If you are quoting someone directly, the page number must be included at the end of the parenthesis as well (Jones & Brown, 2021, p. 55).

Paraphrasing:

> If you paraphrase a source, the citation should include the author's last name and the publication year (Smith, 2023).

Multiple Works:

> If citing multiple works, separate them with semicolons (Smith, 2023; Jones & Brown, 2021).