In MLA format, what should you include in parentheses after a direct quote?

• A. Include the author's last name and page number in parentheses after the quoted material.
• B. Include only the page number in parentheses.
• C. Include the year in parentheses.
• D. Include the author's full name in parentheses.

Answer: (C)

In MLA styling, the purpose of the parenthetical citation after a direct quote is to point readers to the exact source in your Works Cited list. The standard form is to include the author's last name and the page number in parentheses right after the quoted material. If you’ve already mentioned the author in your sentence, you would place only the page number in parentheses after the quote. The year isn’t used in MLA in-text citations; years belong in the Works Cited entry rather than in the parenthetical citation. If you need to distinguish between works by the same author, you can add a shortened title to the citation (for example, (Author, Shortened Title 45)) but you still don’t include the year there. The main idea is to give enough information for readers to locate the exact source without cluttering the citation with unnecessary details.