Parentheticals

 **Long quotes in text:** If your quotation runs more than four lines in your paper, set it off as a block quotation. Begin a new line and indent one inch from the left margin. A block quote does not require quotation marks. Although other types of punctuation are sometimes used, writers generally introduce a block quote with a colon. Unlike quoting in text, the ending punctuation in a block quote follows the text, not the parenthetic reference. Uniform standards are being developed to address the changes in information. Sites devoted to cybercitation issues are popping up all over the Web. These sites vary in their interpretation of how MLA applies to online sources, but the patterns in each example are similar. What is most important in documenting electronic resources, is to give the reader as much essential information as possible (e.g. author, title, publication data) to identify the source you are citing. Remember to check [|http://www.mla.org] for more information. **:** One of the most frequently asked questions these days is "How do I prepare a **parenthetical note** for a Web page if a Web page has no page numbers?" The MLA has an answer: "For any type of source, you must include information in your text that directs readers to the correct entry in the works-cited list. . .Web documents generally do not have fixed page numbers or any kind of section numbering. **If your source lacks numbering, omit numbers from your parenthetical references.** If your source includes fixed page numbers or section numbering (such as numbering of paragraphs), cite the relevant numbers. Give the appropriate abbreviation before the numbers (Moulthrop, pars. 19-20)." (Pars. is the abbreviation for paragraphs.) For a document on the Web, the page numbers of a printout should normally not be cited, because the pagination may vary in different printouts."
 * Please see examples of in-text documentation in our [| Research Guide.] **