Get the correct parenthetical and narrative in-text citation for APA, MLA and Chicago, including two-author and three-or-more-author rules.. In-Text Citation Helper is a free online tool from the ToolsRift Study & Education Tools collection. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing to install, no signup, and your data never leaves your device.
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How to use In-Text Citation Helper
Type the author surnames one per line, add the year and the page number if you have one, and pick your style. The correct parenthetical and narrative forms appear side by side with the rule that was applied.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between parenthetical and narrative?
A parenthetical citation puts everything in brackets at the end, such as (Smith & Jones, 2020). A narrative citation puts the authors in the sentence itself and only the rest in brackets, such as Smith and Jones (2020) argued that.
How are three or more authors handled?
APA uses the first author plus 'et al.' from three authors upward, MLA does the same from three authors, and Chicago author-date uses 'et al.' from four authors while listing two or three in full. The helper applies whichever rule matches the style you pick.
Do I need a page number?
For a direct quotation, yes, in every style. For a paraphrase APA and Chicago make it optional but recommended, while MLA expects a page number whenever the source has them.
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