Parenthetical citations – When Should They Be Used?

A parenthetical citation is a method to give credibility to a particular source you are paraphrasing or quoting. In general, it includes details like the date of publication, the author’s name, the book’s name, etc. It can be used in several citation styles, such as APA, Chicago, and MLA. As a student in Australia, you must write assignments using parenthetical citations. Therefore, it becomes essential for you to be aware of the parenthetical citation, examples, and types and how to use them. So, let’s get to know about it in the details below.

Meaning of Parenthetical Citation

A parenthetical citation is all about giving credibility to a source that you have used for information in your assignment. It would help to acknowledge the author of a direct quotation (including a block quote) or a paraphrase whenever you use the words. Although each style is unique in achieving this, a parenthetical reference example may speak volumes.

When should you use Parenthetical Citations?

While most parenthetical citations are included in the paragraph that follows the original quote, there are other places where they can be recorded. The final Reference lists, which may be located after your academic assignment, must also include bibliographical citations for all in-text citations.

The State of Rephrasing

Instead of using a straight quotation, let’s discuss what occurs when you can paraphrase material from a source. What standards should you be mindful of in this case, and how do parenthesis citations apply?

It is essential to cite even if you paraphrase some other author’s work. Let’s see how this might appear in practice using the samples from the MLA section above:

If you’re paraphrasing, be sure not to skip this phase. One of the cornerstones of scholarly work and integrity is giving appropriate acknowledgment to your sources when utilizing direct quotations; failing to do so is detrimental to both the author and you. After all, correctly referencing sources only strengthens and increases the credibility of your argument or conclusion.

Types of Parenthetical Citation

As we have said above, parenthetical citations are generally used in the form of MLA, APA, and Chicago. In this section, we will discuss this in detail.

MLA Parenthetical Citation

While using MLA in-text references, the author-page citation is used. This indicates that the author’s last name and a page range or number are included in parentheses.

Put “and” between the names of the two writers when there are two authors listed in a source. When there are two authors, you need to mention the name of the first author followed by “et al.”

When referencing several consecutive pages, use a page range when mentioning page numbers. If book pages are not consecutive, provide each page number that applies, separating them with commas.