How to mla cite more than one author

The general format below refers to a book with more than three authors. 

If you are dealing with a book that has more than three editors instead of authors, insert the names of the editors into the place where the authors' names are now, followed by a comma and the word "eds." without the quotation marks (as per the example).  The rest of the format remains the same.

Either use the first author surname et al. or cite all names. Be consistent!

The Parenthetical Citation format should match the Works Citedentry, whether you are using et al. or all of the names of the authors or editors. 

General Format 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Author Surname et al. page number)

OR

(Author Surname, Author Surname, Author Surname, and Author Surname page

number)

Works Cited:

Example

Parenthetical Citation:

(Plag et al. 33)

OR

(Plag, Braun, Lappe, and Schramm 33)

Works Cited:

Each citation style handles this situation a little bit differently! Here are specific examples of how it works in the three major citation styles:

APA Style

In-Text Citations:

When an author or author(s) published multiple sources in the same year, include a lowercase letter immediately following the date. Begin this lettering with "a" and continue in alphabetical order.

Same Author and Date

MLA Style

In the Works Cited (Per the MLA Handbook (9th edition), p. 221: To cite two or more works by the same author, give the name in the first entry only. Thereafter, in place of the name, type three hyphens, followed by a period and the title. The three hyphens stand for exactly the same name as in the preceding entry. This sort of label does not affect the order in which the entries appear; works listed under the same name are alphabetized by title.

For in-text citations (Per the MLA Handbook (9th edition), p. 235: Including only the author name and page number in a parenthetical citation is insufficient if more than one work appears under that author's name in the work cited list.  In that case, include a shortened version of the source's title.

For example

In-Text Citations

MLA: Multiple Sources by Same Author

Works Cited

Haynes, Stephen R. The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation. Oxford University Press, 2012.

---. Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery. Oxford University Press, 2007.

NOTE: When alphabetizing by title ignore articles like A, An, and The. This is why The Last Segregated Hour is listed before Noah's Curse.

For additional examples and tips on multiple sources by the same author in MLA Style, check out the MLA Style Center's "How do I distinguish works by an author that have the same title?" 

Chicago Style

Per the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition):

Notes and Bibliography method (see section 14.68: The 3-em dash for one repeated name for caveats please refer to 14.67).

For successive entries [in a bibliography] by the same author, editor, translator, or compiler, a 3-em dash (followed by a period or comma, depending on the presence of an abbreviation such as ed.) replaces the name after the first appearance.

For example: (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):

Judt, Tony. A Grand Illusion? An Essay on Europe. New York: Hill and Wang, 1996.

———. Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century. New York: Penguin Press, 2008.

In a bibliography, titles by the same author are normally listed alphabetically.

Author-Date References (see section 15.18: Chronological order for repeated names in a reference list) 

For successive entries by the same author(s), translator(s), editor(s), or compiler(s), a 3-em dash replaces the name(s) after the first appearance. The entries are arranged chronologically by year of publication in ascending order, not alphabetized by title. Undated works designated n.d. or forthcoming follow all dated works.

For example: (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):

Schuman, Howard, and Jacqueline Scott. 1987. “Problems in the Use of Survey Questions to  Measure Public Opinion.” Science 236:957-59.

———. 1989. “Generations and Collective Memories.” American Sociological Review 54:359-81.

Two or more works by the same author in the same year must be differentiated by the addition of a, b, and so forth (regardless of whether they were authored, edited, compiled or translated), and are listed alphabetically by title. Text citations consist of author and year plus letter.

Fogel, Robert William. 2004a. The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700-2100: Europe, America, and the Third World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

———. 2004b. ”Technophysio Evolution and the Measurement of Economic Growth.” Journal of Evolutionary Economics 14 (2): 217-21. Doi:10.1007/s00191-004-0188-x.          

(Fogel 2004b, 218)

(Fogel 2004a, 45-46)

For additional information on citing multiple sources by the same author in Chicago style, please refer to the Chicago Manual of Style. 

More information:

• Citing Your Sources (Shapiro Library)

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite multiple sources by the same author in your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

To access academic support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

Online Students

To access help with citation and more, visit Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:

• The Complete Guide to Using Academic Support via Brightspace This link opens in a new window
• Accessing Writing STEM Help This link opens in a new window

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

The Modern Language Association of America. (2016). MLA Handbook. New York: Modern Language Association of America.

University of Chicago. (2017). The Chicago Manual of Style. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

How do you cite multiple authors in MLA?

How do you cite multiple authors?