How to Cite Multiple Authors

All of the 4 popular citation styles have slightly different rules for citing multiple authors. In order to reference these sources properly, you’ll need to know how to cite them in bibliographies (also called Works Cited or reference lists), as well as parenthetical in-text citations or footnotes. Once you’ve reviewed the guidelines created by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the editors of the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), or the American Medical Association (AMA), you’ll be ready to create citations using whichever style you need.

Template and Examples

Sample Template and Examples for Citing Multiple Authors

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Following Modern Language Association (MLA) Guidelines

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1
Separate more than 1 author with commas and the word “and.” In the entries for your Works Cited, you’ll need to list the authors’ names, the title (italicized for books or in quotation marks for articles), the publisher, and the publication date. You should not invert the second author’s name.^{[1]XTrustworthy SourcePurdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelinesGo to source}
- For example: “Cannella, Gaile S., and Radhika Viruru. Childhood and Post colonization: Power, Education, and Contemporary Practice. RoutledgeFalmer, 2004.”
- Unlike most other citation styles, MLA doesn’t require that you include the publisher’s location for books published after 1900.^{[2]XResearch source}
2
Represent 3 or more authors with “et al” in the Works Cited. If there are more than 3 authors listed on the title page, you’ll only type out the first listed author. After that, add a comma and type out “et al.”^{[3]XResearch source}
- For example: Cottrol, Robert J., et al. Brown v. Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution. University Press of Kansas, 2003.
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3
Use “and” to separate authors’ last names in in-text citations. Type out the first listed author’s last name, then “and.” Next, write the second author’s last name and the pages you’re referencing. Put the whole in-text citation in parentheses. This citation should appear before the period at the end of the sentence where you quote, paraphrase, or refer to the authors’ work.^{[4]XResearch source}
- For example: “(Cannella and Viruru 111).”
4
Type out “et al” in in-text citations for 3 or more authors. Just like in the Works Cited, you only need to write out the name of the first author that’s listed on the title page. After that, type “et al.” End with the page numbers you’re referencing.^{[5]XTrustworthy SourcePurdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelinesGo to source}
- For example: “(Cottrol et al. 50).”

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Using the American Psychological Associate (APA) Format

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1
Separate 2-7 authors with commas and “&” in the reference list. Start with the first listed author’s last name, then type out the initials of their first and middle name. Next, add a comma and the “&” symbol, and then type the next author’s last name and initials. Write out the year of publication in parentheses. After this, type the italicized book title, capitalizing only the first words of the title and subtitle. End with the location, a colon, and the publisher.^{[6]XTrustworthy SourcePurdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelinesGo to source}
- For example: “Cannella, G. S., & Viruru, R. (2004). Childhood and postcolonization: Power, education, and contemporary practice. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.”
- All of the authors’ names should be inverted.
- Always capitalize proper nouns in titles and subtitles.^{[7]XResearch source}
For these sources, you’ll write out the last names and initials of the first 6 authors listed on the title page. After that, include an ellipsis (...) followed by the last name and initials of the last author listed on the title page.^{[8]XTrustworthy SourcePurdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelinesGo to source}
3
Use the “&” symbol for 2-5 authors in the first in-text citation. List the authors’ last names in the order they appear on the title page. If there are just 2, separate them with “&.” If there are between 3 and 5, separate all of the last names with commas and add “&” before the final author’s last name. After you do this in 1 citation, you can replace all but the first author’s last name with “et al.” in the rest of your citations.^{[9]XTrustworthy SourcePurdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelinesGo to source}
- For example, the in-text citation for Childhood and postcolonization: Power, education, and contemporary practice would look like: “(Cannella & Viruru, 2004)” for the first citation and: “(Cannella et al., 2004)” for every subsequent citation.
While you should list up to 7 authors’ names in your reference list, you can represent all but the first author’s name by “et al.” in all of your in-text citations (not just the first one) when there are 6 or more authors.^{[10]XTrustworthy SourcePurdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelinesGo to source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Referencing the Chicago Manual of Style

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1
Separate 2-3 authors with commas and “and” before the last author. For sources with more than 1 author, include the first listed author’s name (first name first, last name second) and a comma. Next, add the second and third authors’ names and the italicized book title. (Don’t italicize article titles; these appear in quotation marks.) Finally, type out the publication location, publisher, and date of publication in parentheses.^{[11]XResearch source}
- For example: “Robert J. Cottrol, Raymond T. Diamond, and Leland B. Ware, Brown v. Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003).”
- If you’re citing particular page numbers, these will go at the end of the citation. Add a comma after the parentheses, type out the page numbers, and then close the citation with a period.
- For Chicago style, you’ll use footnotes instead of in-text citations. These are full bibliographic citations that appear at the bottom of the page where you’ve referenced a text.^{[12]XResearch source}
Type out only the first author that’s listed on the title page. After that, add a comma and “et al.” In the bibliography, you’ll still write out all of the authors’ names.^{[13]XResearch source}
3
Make small changes to your footnotes for the bibliography. Since footnotes are full bibliographic citations, all the information you need is already there! Just invert the first and last name of the first listed author. Next, add a comma and type out the next author’s name, first name first, last name second. Separate different elements of the bibliographic entry with periods. Finally, eliminate the parentheses surrounding the publication information.^{[14]XResearch source}
- For example: “Cottrol, Robert J., Raymond T. Diamond, and Leland B. Ware. Brown v. Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003.”
You’ll still type out the first 7 authors’ names listed on the title page. After that, replace any subsequent authors listed with “et al.”^{[15]XResearch source}

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Citing According to American Medical Association Guidelines

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1
Start by citing a book with 2-6 authors to learn basic AMA format. It’s pretty simple to cite a book with under 6 authors. Type the authors’ names with their last name first and the first letter of their first and middle names second. Next, provide the book title in italics. Finally, write out the location and name of publisher, along with the date of publication.^{[16]XResearch source}
- For example: “Cottrol, RJ, Diamond, RT, and Ware, LB. Brown v. Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas; 2003.”
- The author and title should both be followed by periods. The publication location needs to include the city and state (or city and country if it’s outside the U.S.), and it should be followed by a colon. Use a semicolon to separate the publisher’s name and the date of publication.
- Article titles aren’t italicized, and they don’t appear within quotation marks. Only the first word should be capitalized.
2
Replace authors’ names with “et al” when there are 7 or more. If there are 7 or more authors, type out only the first 3 that are listed on the title page. Then add a comma and write out “et al.”^{[17]XResearch source}
- For example: Fauci, AS, Braunwald, E, Kasper, DL, et al., eds. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill; 2008.
- The rules are the same for authors and editors, except that a list of editors is followed by the abbreviation “eds.”
In AMA style, just include an Arabic numeral superscript (a small number that goes above the line of text) to cite sources in your paper. These numbers are connected to the full citations you’ve typed out in your reference list.^{[18]XResearch source}

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Noah Taxis
English Teacher
Noah Taxis is an English Teacher based in San Francisco, California. He has taught as a credentialed teacher for over four years: first at Mountain View High School as a 9th- and 11th-grade English Teacher, then at UISA (Ukiah Independent Study Academy) as a Middle School Independent Study Teacher. He is now a high school English teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco. He received an MA in Secondary Education and Teaching from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. He also received an MA in Comparative and World Literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BA in International Literary & Visual Studies and English from Tufts University.
Noah Taxis
English Teacher
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Improving your writing style involves actively simplifying and prioritizing directness, clarity, and simplicity. Focus on actively using concise sentences and clear expressions to effectively communicate your ideas. Gradually enhance your writing style by incorporating transitions and advanced vocabulary words while actively maintaining a commitment to simplicity for better understanding.
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