If the authors name is not given then use the first word or words of the title.

How to do in text citations for plays in mla format. Put the citation in the text using parentheses. When citing plays by William Shakespeare you may abbreviate the title of a work if you will cite it frequently in your writing. Include an in-text citation when you refer to summarize paraphrase or quote from another source.

An MLA in-text citation contains the authors last name and a page number. If you are quoting dialogue from one speaker place the citation at the end of the quoted dialogue in the text. In an essay on Macbeth you could write the following.

For every in-text citation in your paper there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list. If you have included the authors name within the body of your text you dont need to include it in the citation. MLA in-text citation style uses the authors last name and the page number from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken for example.

Use the full title at its first mention in your text followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. This means that the authors last name and the page numbers from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. When quoting a conversation between two or more characters in a play start the quote on a new line indented 12 an inch from the left margin.

If the source does not use page numbers do. Also note the source format as Web You do not need a URL to cite a Web source in MLA but you need to indicate the date you last accessed the Web page. When citing verse plays with line numbers provided use those instead of page numbers separating division numbers with a period see example above.

The format for citing a song in MLA depends on the medium in which you listened to it. Instead specify the act scene and line numbers of the quoted material separated by periods eg. Do the same for the next speaker s as necessary.