Most in-text citations in  MLA format refer to the author and page

(Author page)

example: (Johnson 25)

If  you are citing a source with more than one author (but less than four) then you must list all the authors and the page

example: (Smith, Thomas, and Jenkins 20)

If you are citing a source with more than three authors  you need to provide the first author listed in the full citation followed by an et al

example: (Cassidy et al. 899)

If there is no paging provided for your source (such as website) or your source doesn't use paging  (like a video or audio recording) then your citation would just consist of the author's last name

example: (Franks)

If you work doesn't have an author you'll need to state part of the title in your in-text citation. Make sure that the title is put in double quotes (" ")

For example the full citation for The Library of Congress's African American Pamphlets homepage is:

"African American Pamphlets Home Page." American Memory. The Library of Congress, 19 Oct. 1998. Web. 19 May 2015.

The in-text citation should give enough information to find this citation on the work cited page

The citation starts with: "African American Pamphlets Home Page"

so the in-text would be ("African American Pamphlets Home Page")