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MLA Style Guide

Repeated Use of the Same Source

If you are referring to the same source multiple times, with no intervening sources, you may use the following methods to make your citations more concise:

Method Example

1.

Give one parenthetical citation at the end of the paragraph including the author's name and listing the page numbers.

 

Romeo and Juliet presents an opposition between two worlds: "the world of the everyday...and the world of romance." Although the two lovers are part of the world of romance, their language of love nevertheless becomes "fully responsive to the tang of actuality" (Zender 138, 141).

2.

Give a full parenthetical citation after the first borrowing, and give only the page number in parenthesis after the second borrowing.

 

Romeo and Juliet presents an opposition between two worlds: "the world of the everyday," associated with the adults in the play, and "the world of romance," associated with the two lovers (Zender 138).  Romeo and Juliette's language of love nevertheless becomes "fully responsive to the tang of actuality" (141).

3.

State the author's name in the text of your paragraph, and give only page numbers in parenthetical references.

 

According to Karl F. Zender, Romeo and Juliet presents an opposition between two worlds: "the world of the everyday," associated with the adults in the play, and "the world of romance," associated with the two lovers (138).  Romeo and Juliette's language of love nevertheless becomes "fully responsive to the tang of actuality" (141).  

*Examples are from the MLA Handbook, eighth edition, section 3.5