Must FixCitationFound in 5-10% of dissertations

MLA Citation Format: Author and Page — No Comma, No Date

Found in 5-10% of dissertations using MLA format. If you're adding commas or dates inside parenthetical citations, you're mixing up your style guides — and your committee will notice.

FIX

Use author and page number without comma or date: (Smith 45).

What This Issue Is

MLA citation format is fundamentally different from APA: you cite author and page number, not author and year. The correct format is (Smith 45), not (Smith, 2020, p. 45) and not (Smith, 45). No comma between author and page. No date. No "p." before the number. Just author space page number inside parentheses.

This catches many dissertation writers who learned APA in earlier courses and then switch to MLA for their program. The muscle memory of putting a comma after the author name is strong, and APA habits die hard. But MLA's streamlined format has a purpose: it directs readers to the specific page in the Works Cited entry, where they'll find the full publication details including the date.

For sources without page numbers — increasingly common with web sources and digital texts — MLA allows you to omit the page number entirely: (Smith). If the source has paragraph numbers, you can use those: (Smith, par. 5). Note that paragraph citations DO use a comma, which is the one exception to the no-comma rule. For sources with no numbering at all, the author name alone is sufficient.

Why Your Committee Flags It

MLA uses author-page format, not author-date. Including the year or using commas violates MLA 9th edition style and signals unfamiliarity with the format.

Before & After Examples

Before

(Anderson, 2022, p. 45)

After

(Anderson 45)

No comma between author and page number in MLA.

Before

(Smith, 45)

After

(Smith 45)

MLA does not include dates or 'p.' in parenthetical citations.

Before

(Smith, 2020, p. 45)

After

(Smith 45)

MLA narrative citations don't include publication year in the text.

Before

According to Smith (2020), the results indicated improvement (p. 45).

After

According to Smith, the results indicated improvement (45).

Self-Check Checklist

Tap each item as you review your chapter.

Related Checks

Should Fix

Ampersand Ban (use "and")

2-4% of dissertations

Must Fix

Et Al. Format

2-3% of dissertations

Should Fix

Number Spelling (one-two words)

1-2% of dissertations

Should Fix

Citation Name Consistency

2-5% of dissertations

Must Fix

Unsupported Claims

8-12% of dissertations

Frequently Asked Questions

MLA uses author and page number with no punctuation between them: (Smith 45). For two authors: (Smith and Jones 45). For three or more: (Smith et al. 45). No dates, no commas between author and page, no 'p.' before the page number.
No. MLA in-text citations never include the publication date. The date appears only in your Works Cited list. This is the biggest difference from APA, where the date is the primary in-text identifier. In MLA, the page number serves that purpose.
If the source has no page numbers (common for websites and digital texts), cite just the author name: (Smith). If paragraph numbers are available, use them with 'par.': (Smith, par. 5). Don't make up page numbers or use section headings in place of page numbers unless your instructor specifically requires it.
Three big differences: (1) No dates in-text — just author and page. (2) No comma between author and page number. (3) Use 'and' instead of '&' for multiple authors. MLA also uses 'Works Cited' instead of 'References' and has different rules for et al. (three or more authors, not two).

Sources

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