MLA Works Cited Entries with
Multiple Authors
In MLA Works Cited entries, author formatting changes based on the number of authors.
This guide follows MLA Handbook Ninth Edition guidance and related MLA Style Center notes.
Two authors
Reverse only the first author. Keep a comma before and. Last name, First name, and First name Last name.
Three or more authors
Give the first author, then add et al. Keep et al. in roman type.
Author order
Keep authors in the source order. Do not rearrange names inside one Works Cited entry.
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MLA Works Cited Rules for Multiple Authors
Two authors in Works Cited
For a source with two authors, reverse the first author and keep the second author in normal order.
Use this pattern. Last name, First name, and First name Last name.
MLA keeps a comma before and in this author pattern.
Three or more authors in Works Cited
For works with three or more authors, MLA shortens the author element.
List the first author in inverted form, followed by et al.
In MLA style, et al. is not italicized, and al. keeps the period.
Keep the original author order
Do not alphabetize or rearrange author names inside a single entry.
The order of names must match the source itself because author order reflects publication credit.
Reordering authors creates an inaccurate Works Cited entry.
Works Cited and in-text rules are different
This page covers the Works Cited list only. In MLA, in-text citation formatting follows a separate set of rules.
One source may appear as Walker and Allen in text but as an inverted author entry in Works Cited.
How to Format MLA Works Cited Entries with Multiple Authors
Use this checklist to format the author element.
- Check how many authors are listed in the source.
- Keep the authors in the original publication order.
- If there are two authors, invert only the first author.
- If there are three or more authors, write only the first author and add et al.
- Write et al. in roman type and keep the period in al.
- Use MLA punctuation exactly before moving to the title element.
Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012. These two models cover the most common multi-author cases in an MLA Works Cited list.
MLA Works Cited Examples for Multiple Authors
These examples show how author names appear in complete MLA Works Cited entries.
Two authors
Invert the first author only and keep the second author in normal order.
Book entry
Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Second book entry
Rappaport, Joanne, and Tom Cummins. Beyond the Lettered City: Indigenous Literacies in the Andes. Duke UP, 2012.
Three or more authors
List the first author, then use et al. to shorten the author element.
Book entry
Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012.
Journal entry
Kerschbaum, Stephanie L., et al. "Faculty Members, Accommodation, and Access in Higher Education." Profession, Modern Language Association, 9 Dec. 2013, profession.mla.hcommons.org/2013/12/09/faculty-members-accommodation-and-access-in-higher-education/.
One author vs. coauthored works
MLA places a single-author entry before coauthored entries that begin with the same author.
Works Cited ordering example
Rappaport, Joanne. Cumbe Reborn: An Andean Ethnography of History. U of Chicago P, 1994.
Rappaport, Joanne, and Tom Cummins. Beyond the Lettered City: Indigenous Literacies in the Andes. Duke UP, 2012.
Rappaport, Joanne, et al. "Intercultural Utopias: Public Intellectuals, Cultural Experimentation, and Ethnic Pluralism in Colombia." Latin American Research Review, vol. 44, no. 2, 2009, pp. 49-70.
Common Mistakes in MLA Works Cited Entries with Multiple Authors
Using et al. for two-author works
In MLA Works Cited entries, two-author works must include both names.
Wrong
✕ Dorris, Michael, et al. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Correct
✓ Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Listing every author in a source with three or more authors
In MLA Works Cited, works with three or more authors are shortened to first author plus et al.
Wrong
✕ Burdick, Anne, Johanna Drucker, Peter Lunenfeld, and Todd Presner. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012.
Correct
✓ Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012.
Inverting both names in a two-author entry
Only the first author is inverted in MLA Works Cited entries with two authors.
Wrong
✕ Dorris, Michael, and Erdrich, Louise. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Correct
✓ Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
Italicizing et al. or removing the period in al.
MLA keeps et al. in roman type, and al. requires a period.
Wrong
✕ Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012.
Correct
✓ Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012.
Need both in-text and Works Cited formatting in one place?
Try the MLA Citation Generator.
Official MLA References Used for This Page
We aligned the author rules on this page to official MLA guidance.
- Comma with "and" for coauthors
- One author or coauthors
- Punctuation with et al.
- Works Cited A Quick Guide
- MLA Handbook Ninth Edition
Several MLA Style Center posts were written during the previous edition and point to MLA Handbook Ninth Edition for current guidance.
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