could someone define and give an example of parenthetical citation

A parenthetical citation is a way to reference information from an external source in an academic or scholarly document. It is typically used when citing sources in a specific formatting style such as APA (American Psychological Association) or MLA (Modern Language Association).

To write a parenthetical citation, you generally include the author's last name and the year of publication within parentheses, followed by a punctuation mark. This information helps the reader identify the exact source from which the information was taken. If the source does not have an identifiable author, you can use the title of the article or document instead.

Here's an example of a parenthetical citation in APA style:

"The world's leading climate scientists have warned that global warming is primarily caused by human activities (Smith, 2019)."

In this example, "Smith" is the author's last name, and "2019" is the year of publication. The information in the parentheses corresponds to the complete citation listed in the reference list or bibliography at the end of the document.

It's important to note that the specific formatting of parenthetical citations may vary depending on the style guide being used. Therefore, it is recommended to consult the appropriate style guide to ensure accurate and consistent citations.