Here’s the part that nobody tells you. Mastering this tiny skill makes you look unshakeably confident. When you quote two authors correctly, you are showing your teacher (and yourself) that you can handle complexity with grace and a smile. It’s like knowing the secret handshake.
Plus, quoting multiple authors allows you to build a mini-debate on the page. You can have one author disagree with another! That’s way more exciting than just reporting facts. You become the director of a fascinating intellectual drama, not just a recorder of information.
MLA Citation Styles
The Little Traps (And How to Avoid Them)
Just keep your punctuation outside the parentheses. For example: ...the study proved the opposite (Garcia & Lee 102). Notice how the period goes after the closing parenthesis? Yes, it feels backward, but it’s the law of the land. You’ll get used to it quickly.
Also, never write “pg.” or “p.” for the page number in MLA. Just the number. It’s a minimalist thing. You’re basically being an artistic minimalist while also being a citation wizard. How cool is that?
