If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for “and others”) in place of the subsequent authors’ names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).
Contents
In MLA Style, if a source has two authors, name both authors in your in-text citation and Works Cited entry. If there are three or more authors, name only the first author, followed by et al. Moore, Jason W. Moore, Jason W., and Raj Patel.
Multiple Authors
- 2 Authors: Always cite both authors’ names in-text everytime you reference them. Example: Johnson and Smith (2009) found…
- 6 or More Authors: If a document has six or more authors, simply provide the last name of the first author with “et al.” from the first citation to the last. Example: Thomas et al.
In MLA style, up to two authors are included in a citation. For sources with more than two authors, the citation is shortened with “et al.” In the Works Cited list, the first author’s name is inverted (surname followed by first name).If no author at all is specified, start your citation with the source title instead.
If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for “and others”) in place of the subsequent authors’ names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).
Citing Works With Three or More Authors
Include only the last name of the first author, followed by “et al.” and the year published in all narrative and parenthetical citations APA. Note: The reference entry should list the names of up to 20 authors.
In MLA style, always use “et al.” for sources with three or more authors. This applies both to in-text citations and in the Works Cited list.
Use the word “and” between the authors’ names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses. In subsequent citations, only use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” in the signal phrase or in parentheses.
Writers sometimes use the surname of the first author followed by et al. at the first mention of a work that has three, four, or five authors. Only when a work has six or more authors should the first in-text citation consist of the first author followed by et al.
10).
- If more than one author have the same last name, include all the author’s first initials in all text citations:
- If both authors have the same surname and first initial, provide the authors’ full name:
- If citing multiple works by the same author, include the short form of the source’s title.
The author’s name is always the first thing listed in a works cited entry, unless there is no author. Entries on your works cited page should be listed in alphabetical order according to the author’s last name. The first (or only) author’s name is listed as Last Name, First Name.
How do you cite multiple last names?
Formatting Names With Multiple Parts
If the surname is hyphenated, include both names and the hyphen in the reference list entry and in-text citation. If the surname has two parts separated by a space and no hyphen, include both names in the reference list entry and in-text citation.
When mentioning the authors in the text, give all of the authors’ names or list the first author and write “and others”. For the parenthetical citation and Works Cited citation, give the first author’s name followed by et al.
In a Chicago style footnote, list up to three authors. If there are more than three, name only the first author, followed by “et al.” In the bibliography, list up to 10 authors. If there are more than 10, list the first seven followed by “et al.”
Include last name of both authors connected by the word ‘and’, followed by the page number (no comma before the page number) in parentheses. Include the first author’s last name followed by ‘et al. ‘ and the page number (no comma before the page number) in parentheses.
General Use of Et Al.
Specifically, articles with one or two authors include all names in every in-text citation; articles with three, four, or five authors include all names in the first in-text citation but are abbreviated to the first author name plus et al.
NOTE: Although the first in-text citation for a work with three to five authors/editors includes all of the names of the authors/editors, subsequent citations include only the first author’s/editor’s surname, followed by ‘et al. ‘ and the year.
If the work has four or more authors/editors the abbreviation ‘et al. ‘ should be used after the first author’s name. It is also acceptable to use ‘et al. ‘ after the first author if the work has three authors.
Is et al italicized in Harvard?
To use “et al.” in your references, state the name of the first listed author and follow it by “et al.” in italics in the author section of the citation.
If the source has three or more authors, you should include “and” before the final author name. Format your reference as: Family name, INITIAL(S)., Family name, INITIAL(S). and Family name, INITIAL(S). Year.
Can you cite multiple sources in one sentence MLA?
The MLA Style Center
If you directly cite two sources that make the same point, you must make clear to your reader the source of each quotation. Johnson argues that “mint chip ice cream is better than chocolate ice cream” (10). Smith agrees: “Chocolate ice cream is not as good as mint chip ice cream” (30).