what is the purpose of parenthetical documentation (also known as in-text citation)?
What Are Parenthetical In-text Citations? In MLA style papers, in-text citations, also called parenthetical citations, are used to document information from any sources used within the paper. The parenthetical citations direct readers to the full citations listed in the Works Cited page. In most cases, the parenthetical citations include the author's last name and the specific page number for the information cited.