I'm writing an essay involving analysis of a short story. I need to put in-text citations after quotes, etc. The short story was read online so there is no page number, etc. How do I cite this-I'm really confused. I looked in Purdue Online Writing Lab but that's not helping. Do I put the author's name of the short story and the website or what? Thank you I appreciate the help.

You need to have each source of information cited in TWO places:

1. the Works Cited page that is placed after the last page of your paper, and
2. in parentheses in the text of your paper, immediately after the quotation or paraphrase.

For example, this would go on the Works Cited page (with proper indentation for the second and following lines):

Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago, 1903. Project Bartleby. Ed. Steven van Leeuwen. Dec. 1995. Columbia U. 2 Dec. 2003
<www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/dubois/>.

... and this would go immediately after the quotation or whatever:
(Du Bois)

The information in parentheses in the text needs to be as brief as possible. That's why there's a Works Cited page – for all the details of the listing.

When citing a short story that was read online without page numbers, you can use other identifying information, such as the author's name and the title of the story. The Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) offer guidelines for citing online sources without page numbers. Here's how you can do it in both styles:

MLA Style:
In MLA style, you typically include the author's last name and the title of the work in the in-text citation. Since you mentioned that it was an online short story, you can also include the name of the website in your citation. If there is no author mentioned, you can start the citation with the title of the short story. Here are a few examples in MLA format:

- Example with author: (Smith, "Short Story Title")
- Example without author: ("Short Story Title")

In the Works Cited section, you would include the full citation for the online short story, including details like the title, author, website, and URL.

APA Style:
In APA style, when citing a source without page numbers, you can use paragraph numbers if provided. However, not all online sources provide paragraph numbers. In the absence of page or paragraph numbers, you can use section headings, timestamps, or other relevant information. If no specific information is available, you can simply provide the author's name and the year. Here's how you can cite an online short story using APA format:

- Example with paragraph number: (Smith, 2019, para. 4)
- Example without paragraph numbers: (Smith, 2019)

In the reference list, include the full citation for the online short story, including the author's name, year, title, website name, and URL.

Remember to always consult the specific style guide recommended by your instructor or institution for detailed information on formatting your citations.