Punctuation is your friend, but be careful. The period goes after the parentheses, not before. It’s (Smith, 2026). not (Smith, 2026.) That period is a picky little diva. Respect it.
Also, never, ever use a comma between the author and year in MLA. It’s (Smith 2026), not (Smith, 2026). Wait—actually, MLA does use a comma now in its 9th edition! Oh, the chaos! Check your style guide. It’s a tiny war, and you get to pick your side. (Seriously, just use a comma. It looks cleaner.)
Final Pep Talk
You will never remember all these rules perfectly. Nobody does. That’s why we have cheat sheets and Google. The point is to try. Every (Author, Year) you add is a tiny victory against chaos.
So go forth! Cite a book from 1978. Cite a tweet from last Tuesday. Make the reader smile with (Beyoncé, 2016). Because at the end of the day, this is just a game of giving credit where credit is due. And you, my friend, are a credit-giving superhero.
Now go write something brilliant. (You, 2026).
