Citing Multiple Sources in a Paragraph or Sentence

Powered by Chegg

When researching a paper, you’ll usually find several sources related to your topic and want to reference all of them in your paper. However, it can be tricky to develop an even distribution of your own original ideas and information from sources found through research. It is tempting to simply regurgitate information back to back. This is not a good idea, however, as it does not present the most professional and well-developed piece of writing.

Instead, try some of the following ways to cite multiple sources in the same paragraph without sounding clunky.

Different Authors

If one idea in your paper corresponds to information in more than one source, you can reference both sources in the same sentence and in-text citation parenthesis. For example, an in-text citation in APA format in this situation would look like this:

Two studies (Miller, 2015; Smith, 2016) have concluded that…

If you are making completely different references in the same paragraph, try to spread them out by including a sentence or two of how that source relates to your idea in between references.

Same Author

To cite multiple sources by the same author in the same paragraph, include the title of the work you are referencing along with the other information within the in-text citation parenthesis. Here is how that would look in MLA format:

  • (Haynes, Noah’s Curse 85)
  • (Haynes, The Last Segregated Hour 57)

General Guidelines

Be sure to include an in-text citation for each source you directly quote, paraphrase, or otherwise reference.

If multiple sentences reference the same work and the same central idea, you can use one parenthetical citation for that entire block of writing, instead of including one after each sentence.

Always be sure to check your citation styles’ rules for citing multiple works in the same paragraph, or consult your librarian or teacher for help.

 

How do I format parenthetical citations for multiple sentences that reference the same source?

Section 6.45 of the MLA handbook deals with citing single sources in the text. When making multiple references to a single source within the same paragraph, you do not need to make a full parenthetical citation for each instance. The initial citation can be in narrative format with an eventual parenthetical page reference. It may also be a parenthetical citation with the author’s name, or a title if no author, and a page number. The first reference to a source in your paper should be in narrative format with the author’s first and last name.

After the initial complete in-text citation, parenthetically cite the specific page number at the end of each sentence in which you further reference the source. Citing the page number is important to ensure that the reader understands that the same source is being referenced.

Example

Jenny Kreames argues that Sylvia Plath’s work The Bell Jar is a much underrated, autobiographical classic, which should be read by all young people (54). Plath has committed to truthfulness throughout her work as can be seen from her writing graphically about her mental illnesses (68). It is ironic that Plath commits suicide three years after her work was published.

 

If there is not another intervening source or your own ideas or comments, a single parenthetical citation after the last instance where you have referred to the same source can be used within the paragraph, citing all relevant pages.

Example

Jenny Kreames argues that Sylvia Plath’s work The Bell Jar is a much underrated, autobiographical classic, which should be read by all young people. Plath has committed to truthfulness throughout her work as can be seen from her writing graphically about her mental illnesses (54, 68). It is ironic that Plath commits suicide three years after her work was published.

If another source is cited within the paragraph, but the first source is referenced again after that, then return to the complete in-text citation format for the first source. Parenthetically cited page numbers can follow after the re-introduction of the complete in-text citation. When beginning a new paragraph with that same source, follow the same procedure with an initial complete in-text citation.

How do I create an in-text citation for multiple sources that have no publishing date and are written by the same author?

In APA (section 8.19), a source with no publishing date uses the notation “n.d.” which stands for “no date.”

 

Template and example:

(Author Surname, n.d.)

(Sato, n.d.)

 

To cite multiple sources by the same author that have no publishing date, you add a dash and a letter after n.d.

Examples:

(Sato, n.d.-a)

(Sato, n.d.-b)

(Sato, n.d.-c)

 

Here’s an example where one parenthetical citation cites two works:

(Sato, n.d.-a, n.d.-b)

 

 

How do I format an in-text citation for an author who has multiple sources in MLA style?

When an author has multiple sources within the same paper, MLA style requires you to also include the title (if necessary, a shortened version) to distinguish the various works for each author. That way, you can list all the sources and the readers will be clear on which source you are referring to at any given point in your paper.

Parenthetical Citation Format

(Author Last Name, Work Name page number).

Citation in Prose Format

Author Last Name writes… (Work Name page number).

Author Last Name writes in Work Name… (page number).

Example

(D’Clio, The Merryweather 45)

D’Clio writes … (Sunshine and Rockstars 652).

D’Clio writes in Sunshine and Rockstars about … (652).

 

If more than one reference is made by the same author and the same source within a single sentence, use the different page numbers in parentheses to distinguish them.

Example

(Orienssen 75, 95)

How do I format a footnote for a sentence that cites multiple authors in Chicago style (notes-bibliography)?

Only one note is allowed to be cited at a location in a sentence. However, multiple sources can be included in the same note. The sources should be included in the same order in which they are mentioned in the sentence and be separated by semicolons.

Example:

Sometimes he even referred to this institute as a “research laboratory.”1

  1. James H. Breasted, “Editor’s Forward,” in Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1, Historical Records of Assyria from the Earliest Times to Sargon, ed. Daniel D. Luckenbill (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926), viii; James H. Breasted, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago: A Beginning and a Program (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1922), 22–23; James H. Breasted, A History of Egypt: From the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest (New York: Scribners, 1905).