Miller claims that “this, that, and the other thing are true” (34).

• Miller claims that =  signal phrase
• “this, that, and the other thing” = the quoted material
• (34) = the parenthetical citation

In discussing the act of reading, Donald Hall, an American writer and scholar, states “it seems to me possible to name four kinds of reading, each with a characteristic manner and purpose” (15).

• The words in bold show the author’s full name and a bit of description of who the author is

Huynh and Maroko indicate that neighborhoods are not static but dynamic entities that can experience change across a number of dimensions (212). 

• Only author last names are used in the signal phrase because this is not the first time these authors have been cited in the essay
• Because author last names are in the signal phrase, they are not also needed in the the parenthetical citation

 In one study of the effects of gentrification upon health, the researchers conclude that “the health implications of gentrification have not been explored comprehensively, despite the likelihood of its effect on neighborhood socioeconomic status” (Huynh and Maroko 212). 

• Author last names are included in the in-text citation because they were not used in a signal phrase at the beginning of the sentence

Option 1:

The article, “Poverty in the United States: Census Population Report,” reveals that the official poverty rate rose from 13.2% in 2008 to 14.3% in 2009 (298).

• The article title forms the signal phrase (in bold)
• Note that the article title is written in Title Case – the first letter of each keyword is capitalized – and is inside of quotation marks, as MLA requires

Option 2:

If you do not mention the article title in the signal phrase, then you must place a shortened version of the title in your parenthetical citation:

Census Bureau data indicate that nearly 44 million Americans lived below the poverty line in 2009 (“Poverty” 298).

• Note that the name of the article title – “Poverty in the United States: Census Population Report” – is shortened to “Poverty” inside of the citation.
• To shorten an article title for this type of citation, use the first word or first few words of the article title

Option 1: 

In discussing the pedagogic approach that St, Louis area schools took in the aftermath of the 2014 Ferguson violence, Jonathan Zimmerman and Emily Roberston, in their article, “The Case for Contentious Curricula,” note that, “the major focus of concern remained the psychological well-being of the students, not their intellectual or political growth”.

• Note that there is a signal phrase that names the authors and the article they wrote (in bold)
• Note, also, that after the quoted material, there is no parenthetical citation. Just the signal phrase and the quotation of material taken from their article suffices.

Option 2: 

Whereas the approaches may have varied from progressive action to silence, “the major focus of concern remained the psychological well-being of the students, not their intellectual or political growth” (Zimmerman and Roberston) 

• Since there is no signal phrase before the quoted material, the authors’ names – but no page numbers –  are in the parenthetical citation

Option 1: 

Focusing on the economic woes of long-haul truckers, the article, “The Trouble with Trucking” points out that “over the past several decades, inflation-adjusted driver pay has fallen sharply.”

• Notice the signal phrase (in bold) that is based on the article title
• Note, also, that after the quoted material, there is no parenthetical citation. Just the signal phrase and the quotation of material taken from their article suffices.

Option 2:

The economic woes of long-haul truckers can be summed up this way: “Over the past several decades, inflation-adjusted driver pay has fallen sharply” (“The Trouble”).

• Note that, because there is no signal phrase to introduce the quoted material, the first couple of words in the article title is placed inside of the citation.

If your source has one or two authors, the authors’ names must appear in either your signal phrase or in-text citation

• Signh and Remenyi opine that “the extent of cheating at universities is hard to gauge” (36).
• While speculation abounds about how widespread the problem is, “the extent of cheating at universities is hard to gauge” (Singh and Remenyi 36).

If your source has more than two authors, list only the first author followed by the abbreviation “et al.” (short for the Latin phrase et ailii, literally, “and others”).

• Brenda Bustillos et al. note that “when a campus roadway configuration is changed, introducing new parking facilities or other transportation services also changes campus circulation patterns” (5).
• One major problem is that “when a campus roadway configuration is changed, introducing new parking facilities or other transportation services also changes campus circulation patterns” (Bustillos et al. 5).