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How to cite in APA when there are multiple authors

This article covers how to cite a reference in APA style (7th ed.) when there are multiple authors. Broadly speaking, in an APA style “the author” refers to the person(s) or group(s) who should be given credit for the work being referenced.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

In-text citations when there are multiple authors

Reference list entries when there are multiple authors, troubleshooting.

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in text. Unless you are citing a source with no author in APA , the structure in parenthetical citations includes placing the author’s last name/surname, followed by a comma, and the publication year in parentheses. In narrative citations, this information is incorporated into the sentence.

Parenthetical citation for one author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Curtis, 2020)

Narrative citation for one author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Curtis (2020)

Two authors

For a work with two authors, include both authors’ last names in every in-text citation, whether narrative or parenthetical. In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between the authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for two authors:

(1st Author & 2nd Author, Year Published)

(Curtis & Williams, 2020)

Narrative citation for two authors:

1st Author & 2nd Author (Year Published)

Curtis & Williams (2020)

Three or more authors

When citing a journal paper in APA with three or more authors, only enter the last name of the first author listed and add “et al.” after it. “Et al.” is Latin for the phrase “and others,” which is why it is used as a substitute for two or more authors’ last names.

Parenthetical citation for three or more authors:

(1st Author et al., Year Published)

(Harris et al., 2020)

Narrative citation for three or more authors:

1st Author et al. (Year Published)

Harris et al. (2020)

Here is a page with more information on when to use “et al.” in APA style .

Group authors

The same guidelines for in-text citations apply when the authors of a source are a distinct group or organization such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group. To confirm whether a reference was written by individual author(s) or a group, check the cover or title page.

Hint: for an online resource, the author could be the name of the organization hosting the webpage or website, rather than the name of just one content contributor.

Before using an abbreviated group name as the author of your citation, spell out the abbreviation and define the group one time first in the text. Afterward, use the abbreviation of the group name throughout the rest of the paper.

Group author in-text citation examples:

First parenthetical citation with group abbreviation included: (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU], 2020)

Subsequent parenthetical citations: (AJCU, 2020)

First narrative citation with group abbreviation included: The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities [AJCU] (2020)

Subsequent narrative citations: The AJCU (2020)

Avoiding ambiguity in in-text citations

Sometimes, in-text citations that have three or more authors, some of whom have the same last name, and the same publication year can look like they are the same reference when using the et al. abbreviation. For example, Curtis et al. (2020) could refer to

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Tyler (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, Key, Smith, and Esparza (2020)

To avoid this ambiguity and confusion for the reader, write out as many names as possible for the in-text citation until the references are distinguished, and then add “et. al” to abbreviate the other authors’ names.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, et al. (2020)

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, Maxey, et al. (2020)

When only the final author is different, list all of the names in every citation to avoid any confusion.

Curtis, Acres, Thomas, Henderson, and Esparza (2020)

APA has slightly different reference structures for different source types (e.g., book, website, journal article, etc.), but each structure generally includes the following:

Author last name, Author initials. (Date Published). Title. URL or DOI if available .

Need more help with citing a particular source? Find further guidance in this APA citations guide.

One or two authors

For references with one or two authors, cite using the four-part structure.

Two individual authors example:

Smith, J., & Jones, S. (1994). Making a movie star. Behind the Scenes Stories: A Journal of Celebrity Life, 44 (2), 192–200. https://doi.org/l4nds0r

One group author example:

The American Marine Society. (2003). Whale mating patterns in the new millennium. The American Marine Society Magazine , 17-20 . https://fams.gov/article/2003/whale-mating-patterns-in-the-new-millennium

2 – 20 authors

In APA 7th ed., up to 20 authors should be included in a reference list entry. Write out the last name and first initial(s) for each contributor.

2–20 authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., Fountain, A. (2020). Styling royalty. London Bridge Press.

21+ authors

For references with more than 20 authors, after listing the 19th author replace any additional author names with an ellipsis ( … ) followed by the final listed author’s last name and first initial(s).

21+ authors example:

Wright, A., Komal, G., Siddharth, D., Boyd, G., Cayson, N., Beverley, K., Travers, K., Begum, A., Redmond, M., Mills, M., Cherry, D., Finley, B., Fox, M., Ferry, F., Almond, B., Howell, E., Gould, T., Berger, B., Bostock, T., . . . Booker, T. (2020). Eating well: Tips from 23 lifestyle authors. Food Magazine. https://foodmag.com/article/2020/tips-from-22-lifestyle-authors

Solution #1: How to order the names of multiple authors in an APA reference

Authors should be cited in the exact order that they are listed by the source, even if they have not been listed alphabetically.

Solution #2: How to cite an article with more than 20 authors in APA style

If an article has more than 20 authors, all authors do not need to be listed in the reference. Instead, name the first 19, then use an ellipsis (…), then add the name of the final author listed. The ellipsis acts as a substitute for all the names between the first 19 and the final authors. No ampersand (&) is needed before the final name.

For example:

Richards, B.A., Lillicrap, T. P., Beaudoin, P., Bengio, Y., Bogacz, R., Christensen, A., Clopath, C.

Costa, R. P., de Berker, A., Ganguli, S., Gillon, C. J., Hafner, D., Kepecs, A., Kriegeskorte,

N., Latham, P., Lindsay, G. W., Miller, K. D., Naud, R., Pack, C. C., … Kording, K. P. (2019). A deep learning framework for neuroscience. Nature Neuroscience ,  22 (11), 1761–1770. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0520-2

When making an in-text citation, only write the first author’s last name followed by “et. al.” This applies to both parenthetical and narrative citations.

(Richard et al., 2019)

Richard et al. (2019)

Solution #3: How to cite an article written by an organization in APA style

• Organization as author

When an article is written by an organization, use the typical four-part APA structure (author, date, title, publisher) and cite the organization as the author.

American Nurses Association. (2019). 2018 Annual Report, American Nurse Today, 14 (6), 29-36.

https://www.nursingworld.org/~49d621/globalassets/docs/ana/ana-annual-report-for-

• Organization as author and publisher

If the organization that authored an article is also its publisher , omit the publisher’s name in the citation.

• In-text citation when an organization is an author

Use the organization’s name as the author. For example:

American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

If an organization’s name is long, abbreviate it by doing the following:

• First, write the organization’s name in full the first time, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis.
• After this, you may use the abbreviation without including the complete name.

1 st in-text narrative citation: American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

1 st in-text parenthetical citation: (American Nurses Association [ANA] (2019)

After this distinction is made, abbreviations in-text can be used as demonstrated below:

Narrative citations: The ANA (2019)

Parenthetical citations: (ANA, 2019)

Published October 28, 2020.

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To cite a source with multiple authors and an edition number in APA style, you need to know the names of the authors, title of the book, edition number, and publisher. The in-text citation of a book with multiple authors and an edition number is similar to citing a journal or a book reference with multiple authors. An example of a book reference with three authors and an edition number, along with a template, is given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname et al. (Publication Year)

LeBuffe et al. (2012)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(LeBuffe et al., 2012)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., & Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Book title (edition number). Publisher

LeBuffe, P. A., Naglieri, J. A., & Manderth, A. (2012). Devereux early childhood assessment for preschoolers (2nd ed.). Kaplan Early Learning Company.

Use numerals to indicate an edition number. The word “edition” is abbreviated as “ed.” Italicize the book title and follow sentence case for capitalization.

Citing a source that has multiple authors with the same last name and same initials is the same as citing a source with different authors. There is no need to add the initials of the authors in in-text citations as all surnames (although the same) appear in a single source. Examples of a book reference with three authors with the same last name and initials and their templates are given below:

Dunn et al. (2007)

(Dunn et al., 2007)

Author Surname, F. & Author Surname, F. (Publication Year). Book title. Publisher.

Dunn, L. M., Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (2007). Peabody picture vocabulary test-IV. American Guidance Service.

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• Writing Tips

How to Cite Multiple Authors in APA style

3-minute read

• 18th June 2023

According to the Guinness Book of World Records , the highest number of authors to work on a single peer-reviewed academic paper is 15,025. While you may not ever encounter a source with that many authors during your own research , you’ll probably come across works with more than one author.

In this post, we’ll show you how to cite multiple authors in APA style, both in the text and on the reference page.

Creating a Reference List Entry for Two Authors

To write a reference list entry for a work with two authors, follow this basic format when listing the authors:

List the authors by their last names and initials, and use a comma followed by an ampersand to separate the two names. Here’s an example of what this might look like for a book entry:

Citing 3–20 Authors on a Reference Page

APA 7 differs from APA 6 on how to cite 3–20 authors on a reference page. APA 6 requires listing up to six names in full, followed by an ellipsis and the final author’s name. APA 7 requires that you list all the authors’ names, with an ampersand separating the last two. Follow this basic format for up to 20 authors in APA 7:

Here’s what this might look like for a book on the reference page:

Citing More than 20 Authors on a Reference Page

In APA 7, if a work contains 21 or more authors, list the surnames and initials of the first 19, followed by a comma, an ellipsis, and the name of the final author. Follow this basic format:

Note that you should not use an ampersand in this scenario, only an ellipsis.

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How to Cite Multiple Authors in the Text

When writing a narrative citation for a work with two authors, use “and” between the authors’ names rather than an ampersand. Immediately follow the authors’ names with the year of publication in parentheses. For example:

However, for a parenthetical citation , use an ampersand between the authors’ names, followed immediately by a comma and the year of publication. For example:

When citing a work with three or more authors, include the first named author, followed by “et al.” and the year of publication. In a narrative citation, this will look like:

And here’s an example of this in a parenthetical citation:

For direct quotations, you should also include the page number(s) along with the names and year.

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How to Reference Single and Multiple Authors in APA Format

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

• Multiple Authors

APA format establishes a number of clear rules for how to list reference works using author information. How you reference different sources varies depending on the number of authors to whom the source is attributed. For example, the way that you reference a single author will differ somewhat from how you reference a source with multiple authors.

Before you create a reference section for a psychology paper, it is important to know how to properly list books, articles, and other sources as well as in-text citations in APA format. The following guidelines can help you prepare a reference section for your APA format paper.

These guidelines are sometimes referred to as APA 7 since the guidebook for APA formatting is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition .

APA Format for No Author

Articles and other works that do not provide an author attribution should begin with the title of the work . If the title is a book, list the title in italics. The volume number, issue number (if available), and page numbers should follow journal titles, while book titles should be followed by the publisher's name.

For example:

• A student guide to APA format. (1997). Psychology Weekly, 8, 13-27.
• The ultimate APA format guidebook. (2006). Student Press.

For in-text citations or those referenced within the body of the text, you will also use the title, either in italics (for books) or in quotation marks (for articles). For example: Using proper APA format ("A student guide to APA format," 1997).

APA Format for One Author

Works by a single author should list the author's last name and initials. The date of publication should be enclosed in parentheses and followed by the title of the article or book. Books and journal titles should be listed in italics. The volume number, issue number, and page numbers of the article should follow journal titles, while book titles should be followed by the name of the publisher.

• McCrae, R. R. (1993). Moderated analyses of longitudinal personality stability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65 (3), 577-585.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.

One-author in-text citations should include the surname without any suffixes (Jr.) and the date of publication in parenthesis. For example: As Bandura (1997) mentions... or (Bandura, 1977). If you are citing different authors with the same last name, include the first initial: (A. Alper, 2004) and (B. Alper, 2005).

APA Format for Multiple Authors

The APA format for multiple authors varies depending on how many authors a publication has.

Two Authors

Works by two authors should list the last names and first initials separated by an ampersand (&). These names should be followed by the date of publication enclosed in parentheses.

If the work is a journal article, the title of the article should immediately follow the publication date. Next, the title of the book or journal should be listed in italics. If the reference is a journal article, provide the volume number, issue number, and page numbers. For books, list the name of the publisher.

• Kanfer, F. H., & Busemeyer, J. R. (1982). The use of problem-solving and decision-making in behavior therapy . Clinical Psychology Review, 2 (2) , 239-266.
• Buss, A. H., & Pomin, R. (1975). A temperament theory of personality development . Erlbaum.

In-text citations of works by two authors should include the surnames of both authors separated by the word "and" or by an ampersand if using parenthesis. For example: Studies by Buss and Pomin (1975) support... or (Buss & Pomin, 1975).

Three to 20 Authors

According to APA 7 guidelines, works by three to 20 authors are cited by listing the last names and first initials of each author separated by an ampersand. Author names should be followed by the date of publication enclosed in parentheses.

If the work is a journal article, include the title of the article immediately following the publication date. The title of the book or journal should then be listed in italics. If the reference is a journal article, provide the volume number, issue number, and page numbers. For books, list the name of the publisher.

• Abma, J. C., Chandra, A., Mosher, W. D., Peterson, L. S., & Piccinino, L. J. (1997). Fertility, family planning, and women’s health: New data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Vital and Health Statistics, 23 (9), 1-67.
• Alper, S., Schloss, P. J., Etscheidt, S. K., & Macfarlane, C. A. (1995). Inclusion: Are we abandoning or helping students? Corwin Press.

In-text citations for works by three or more authors should list the first author's name, followed by "et al." in every citation. For example: Alper, et al. (1995) supports...or (Alper, et al, 1995).

However, if you are citing multiple works by similar groups of authors, you may need to include multiple names to avoid confusion. For example: Alper, Schloss, Etscheidt, et al. (1995) discovered...or (Alper, Schloss, Etscheidt, et al., 1995).

Whether citing a source with three, five, seven, or 20 authors, the APA format is the same.

More Than 20 Authors

When a work is credited to more than 20 authors, the reference is listed by providing the names of the first 19 authors followed by . . . and then the final author. The remainder of the reference follows the same format as that for 20 or fewer authors.

Authors' last names and initials are followed by the date of publication enclosed in parentheses. The name of the article is listed immediately after the publication date. The title of the journal or the book title should be provided in italics. The volume number, issue number, and page number should follow journal titles, while book titles should be followed by the publisher's name.

• Pegion, K., Kirtman, B. P., Becker, E., Collins, D. C., LaJoie, E., Burgman, R., Bell, R., DelSole, R., Min, D., Zhu, Y., Li, W., Sinsky, E., Guan, H., Gottschalck, J., Metzger, E. J., Barton, N. P., Achuthavarier, D., Marshak, J., Koster, R., . . . Kim, H. (2019). The subseasonal experiment (SubX): A multimodel subseasonal prediction experiment.  Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society ,  100 (10), 2043-2061.
• Arlo, A., Black, B., Clark, C., Davidson, D., Emerson, E., Fischer, F., Grahmann, G., Habib, H., Ianelli, I., Juarez, J., Kobayashi, K., Lee, L., Martin, M., Naim, N., Odelsson, O., Pierce, P., Qiang, Q., Reed, R., Scofield, S., . . . Thatcher, T. (2001). Instructive falsehoods: Examples and sources . Thommel-Reed.

In-text citations should list the first author's name, followed by "et al." in every citation. You can read more about a few different aspects of referencing sources in APA format if you have book references , article references , and electronic sources .

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i cite a website with no author in apa format.

If a website has no author, cite the title (or the first few words of the reference list entry) followed by the year. APA website citations will also include the website name and URL.

How do I cite a publication with no author in APA format?

If there's no author, the title of the work is listed first followed by the volume number, issue number (if available), and page numbers. If it's a book, the title should be in italics and followed by the publisher's name.

How do I cite an author with two last names?

Works by an author with two last names should list both names. If the name is hyphenated, include both names and the hyphen.

American Psychological Association.  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. In-text citations: Author/authors .

Purdue Online Writing Lab. Reference list: Author/authors .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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APA 7th Edition Citation Guide Multiple Authors

Source with two authors.

Rules for citing more than one author apply to all sources, regardless of format. Below is an example of a book with two authors.

Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use an ampersand (&) for parenthetical citations.

Reference Page Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Format the remainder according to resource type.

Reference Page Example:

Loveless, D., & Griffith, B. (2014).  Critical pedagogy for a polymodal world . Birkhäuser.

In-text Citation Examples:

According to Loveless and Griffith (2014) ... ...(Loveless & Griffith, 2014). ...(Loveless & Griffith, 2014, p. 121).

Source with Three to Twenty Authors

For all sources with three to twenty authors, include all of the authors on your References page. 

For in-text citations, sources with three or more authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C. (Year of Publication).  Format the remainder according to resource type .

Somerville, I., Purcell, A., & Morrison, F. (2011). Public relations education in a divided society: PR, terrorism and critical pedagogy in post-conflict Northern Ireland.  Public Relations Review, 37 (5), 548-555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.008

According to Somerville et al. (2011) ... ... (Somerville et al., 2011). ... (Somerville et al., 2011, p. 549).

Source with Twenty-One or More Authors

For sources with twenty-one or more authors, write out the first twenty authors on the References page, add an ellipsis (...), and end with the last author. 

For in-text citations, sources with more than twenty authors can be abbreviated to only the first author's last name followed by "et al." For example, (Author et al., Year).

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., Author, T. T., . . . Author, Z. Z. (Year of Publication).  Format the remainder according to resource type .

Aad, G., Abbott, B., Abdallah, J., Abdinov, O., Aben, R., Abolins, M., AbouZeid, O. S., Abramowicz, H., Abreu, H., Abreu, R., Abulaiti, Y., Acharya, B. S., Adamczyk, L., Adams, D. L., Adelman, J., Adomeit, S., Adye, T., Affolder, A. A., Agatonovic-Jovin, T., Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A., Alen, S. P., . . . Woods, N. (2015). Combined measurement of the Higgs boson mass in pp collisions at √s=7 and 8 TeV with the ATLAS and CMS experiments.  Physical Review Letters, 114 (19), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.191803

According to Aad et al. (2015) ... ... (Aad et al., 2015). ... (Aad et al., 2015, p. 20).

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How do I Cite a Source with Multiple Authors in APA Style?

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

Note : This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which was released in October 2019.

If you are citing a source that has multiple authors, follow these basic steps.

Parenthetical (citation at the end of a sentence)

• General Format: (Author, Publication Date)
• For Example: (Jones, 2018)

Narrative (incorporated into the text as part of the sentence)

• General Format: Author (Publication Date)
• For Example: Jones (2018)

Two Authors

• General Format: (Author & Author, Publication Date)
• For Example: (Williams & Milner, 2016)
• General Format: Author and Author (Publication Date)
• For Example: Williams and Milner (2016)

Three or More Authors

For any source with more than two authors, APA (7th) in-text citation is shortened by using “et al.” (meaning “and others”) after the first author’s name.

• General Format: (Author et al., Publication Date)
• For Example: (Smith et al., 2013)
• General Format: Author et al. (Publication Date)
• For Example: Smith et al. (2013)

Note: For APA Style 6th Edition, only use et al. when citing 6 or more authors.

In-text citations are covered in Chapter 8 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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APA 7th Edition Citation Guide

• APA 7th Edition Home
• Formatting the Paper Itself
• When and What to Cite

In-Text: Multiple Authors

• In-Text: First and Subsequent Citations
• In-Text: Authors and Dates Matching
• In-Text: Direct Quotations
• In-Text: Secondary Sources
• Reference Examples: Print
• Reference Examples: Electronic
• Reference Examples: Audiovisual Media
• Step 1: Author (Names)
• Step 2: Date
• Step 3: Titles
• Step 4: Source
• Help and Training
• Related Guides

This citation guide is based on The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed., 2020). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

Content in this guide was copied with permission from Bethel University (TN) Library .

How to Use This Guide

Citations in APA style include two parts: (1) in-text citations, which are connected to (2) reference list citations.

This guide will help you create in-text citations that correlate with the corresponding reference list citations. Please see Reference Examples  for more details on the reference list.

Note: All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper except for Personal Communications and similar unrecoverable sources.

Multiple Authors

If you are citing a source that has multiple authors, follow these basic steps.

Two Authors

Always cite both authors' names in-text every time you reference them.

Johnson and Smith (2009) found...

Three or More Authors

If a document has three or more authors, simply provide the last name of the first author with "et al." from the first citation to the last.

Thomas et al. (2007) likened abnormal psychology to...

... distractions (Thomas et al., 2007).

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• Last Updated: Feb 16, 2024 4:01 PM
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How to Cite Multiple Authors in APA

Last Updated: July 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Cara Barker, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Cara Barker is an Assistant Professor and Research and Instruction Librarian at Hunter Library at Western Carolina University. She received her Masters in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. She has over 16 years of experience working with libraries across the United States. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 159,536 times.

In many social science disciplines, you'll use the citation method of the American Psychological Association (APA) to identify the references you used in your paper. When writing a research paper, you may encounter works that have more than 1 author. To cite multiple authors in APA style, include the names of all authors unless there are more than 6.

Cite Multiple Authors in APA Template

Citing 2 to 6 Authors

• For instance, an author named Francis Leanne Montgomery would be listed as "Montgomery, F. L."
• If the author's middle name or initial is not provided, just use their first initial. For example, "Powell, J."
• Separate names of authors with commas. Check to make sure you have a comma after each last name and after each set of initials. For example: "Sunshine, S. J., Summers, P. T., & Autumnwood, S."

• Alphabetize entries in your reference list by the last name of the first author listed.

• The ampersand is always preceded by a comma. For example: "Sunshine, S. J., & Davis, T."

• For example: "Sunshine, S. J., Summers, P. T., & Autumnwood, S. (2010)."
• There is no comma between the last author's initial and the opening parenthesis.

• If the work also has a subtitle, include it after a colon. You'll also capitalize the first word of the subtitle.
• The title may be in italics, depending on the type of work you're citing. This stays the same regardless of the number of authors. For example, a book title would be italicized, but an article in a scholarly journal would not be italicized.

• For example, if you're citing a book written by 3 authors, your citation might be "Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association."

Citing 7 or More Authors

• Keep the names of the authors in the order they are listed on the title page of the book.

• Check your word processing app for an ellipsis style function – it looks like it's just a string of 3 periods, but they are spaced further apart than regular periods.

• For example: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D."
• For example: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D. (2015)."
• For instance: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D. (2015). Creating APA citations for multiple authors."

• For instance: "Sunshine, S. P., Brown, J. B., Honey, T., Smith, R., Grandin, T., Petty, L., . . . Sullivan, T.D. (2015). Creating APA citations for multiple authors. London: Johnson Publishing Group."

Writing In-Text Citations

• Use an ampersand (&) before the last author's name if you are doing a parenthetical citation. If you're incorporating the authors' names into your text, you would spell out the word "and." For example: "(Sunshine, Clark, & Lane, 2010)" or "This truth is reflected in the work of Sunshine, Clark, and Lane."
• If the work has more than 5 authors, you would simply list the last name of the first author, followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." For example: "(Lane et al., 2014)".

• For example, a parenthetical in-text citation might read "(Sunshine, Summers, & Autumnwood, 1984)."

• For example: "(Sunshine et al., 2010)."

• For example: "(Lane, Clark, & Winters, 2016, p. 92)."

• Use the word "and" immediately before the last author's name. Make sure you have a comma after the next-to-last authors' name as well.
• For example: "According to Sunshine, Summers, and Autumnwood (2010), pizza is a great afternoon snack."
• If there are more than 5 authors, use the first authors' name followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." when you mention them in your text, just as you would in the parenthetical citation. For example, "Sunshine et al. (2010) further described the value of pizza."

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA/journal-article-7-or-more-authors
• ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7/authors
• ↑ https://research.moreheadstate.edu/c.php?g=107001&p=695202
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext

About This Article

To cite multiple authors in APA in text, list the last names of the authors in parentheses at the end of the sentence you're sourcing, followed by the year of publication. You should also use an ampersand instead of writing out "and" before the last author's name. For example, you would write, "(Smith, Clark, & Lane, 2018)." However, if there are more than 5 authors, only list the first author's last name, followed by the Latin abbreviation "et al." Regardless of how many authors there are, you should use "et al." for all subsequent in-text citations. For more tips from our Librarian co-author, like how to cite multiple authors in your bibliography, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• APA Style - 7th edition
• Specific Rules for Authors & Titles

APA Style - 7th edition: Specific Rules for Authors & Titles

• Basic Information

Rules for Writing Author and Editor Information

Rules for writing titles.

• Media Sources
• Internet Sources
• In-text Citations
• Reference Lists

There are certain things to keep in mind when writing the author's name according to APA style. Authors may be individual people, multiple people, groups (institutions or organizations), or a combination of people and groups. 

• You must include all the authors up to 20 for individual items. For example, if you are using an article that has 19 authors you must list them all out on your reference page. 
• Use initials for the first and middle names of authors. Use one space between initials.
• All names are inverted (last name, first initial).
• Do not hyphenate a name unless it is hyphenated on the item.
• Separate the author's names with a comma and use the ampersand symbol "&"  before the last author listed.
• Spell out the name of any organization that is listed as an author.
• If there is no author listed, the item title moves in front of the publication date and is used.

An item that you use may have an editor instead of an author or in the case of audiovisual materials a writer or director.

• For editors follow the same rules above and put the abbreviation (Ed.) or (Eds.) behind the name(s). 
• For audiovisual materials follow the same rules as above and put the specialized role (Writer) (Director) behind the name. 

Zhang, Y. H.  (one author)

Arnec, A., & Lavbic, D. (two authors)​

Kent State University (organization as author)

Barr, M. J. (Ed.). (1 editor)

Powell, R. R., & Westbrook, L. (Eds.). (2 editors)

here are certain things to keep in mind when writing a title according to APA style.

• Book titles are italicized and written using sentence case (only the first word of a title, subtitle, or proper noun are capitalized).
• Book chapter titles are written using sentence case and are not italicized.
• Journal titles are italicized and written using title case (all the important words are capitalized).
• Article titles are written using sentence case and are not italicized.
• Webpages and websites are italicized and written using sentence case.

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (book title, American Psychological Association is a proper noun so it is capitalized)

Student perspective of plagiarism (book chapter title)

Internet plagiarism in higher education: Tendencies, trigging factors and reasons among teacher candidates (article title, Tendencies is the first word of a sub-title so it is capitalized)

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (journal title)

• << Previous: Basic Information
• Next: Books >>
• Last Updated: Jul 14, 2023 4:23 PM
• URL: https://libguides.library.kent.edu/apa7

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APA Style Guide: In-text Examples

• About In-text Citations
• In-text Examples
• How to Paraphrase
• What to Include
• Volume/Issue
• Non-Routine Information
• Place of Publication
• Retrieval Statement
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with No Author
• Book with Organization as Author
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Classical Works
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multi-Volume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Patents & Laws
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Social Media
• Technical/Company Reports
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets)
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your References
• Annotated Bibliography
• Avoid Plagiarism

Content Note

Two authors

Three-five authors

Six or more authors

Multiple works by the same author

Authors with same surname

Organizations as authors

Works without authors

Works with anonymous listed as author

Works without dates

Works without pagination

Personal communications

Secondary sources

Direct quotations

Multiple citations by the same author in one paragraph

In-Text Examples

One author  

Give the author's name and the year of publication. If the author's name is stated in the sentence, always place the year in parentheses immediately after the name.

(Clark, 1998).

Clark's (1998) study shows that . . .

Two authors  

Give both names separated by the word   and   when including the names in the text of a sentence. For citations in parentheses use an ampersand (&).

Flannigan and McBride (2001) state the results...

(Flannigan & McBride, 2001).

Three-five authors  

Give all the authors names for the first in-text citation, then use et al. for subsequent citations.

(FIRST citation)   Sawyer, Jimmerson, Bradley, Connors, and Ramirez (2010)...

Sawyer et al. (2010)...

(FIRST citation)   (Sawyer, Jimmerson, Bradley, Connors, & Ramirez, 2010).

(Sawyer et al., 2010).

Six or more authors  

Give only the first author's name followed by   et al.   (not in italics) and the year for all in-text citations.

Martinez et al. (1990) describe...

(Martinez et al., 1990)

If the first author's name and the years of publications are the same for several references, include enough additional co-author names to eliminate ambiguity. Include a comma after the last name.

(Martinez, Fuentes, et al., 1990).

(Martinez, Aguilar, et al., 1990).

Multiple works by the same author  

For works published in the same year by the same author, add alphabetic designators to the year in both the in-text reference and reference list.

(Anderson, 1997a, 1997b).

For works published in different years by the same author, place years in chronological sequence separated by commas.

       (McBride, 2003, 2007).

Authors with the same surname  

When authors of 2 works published in the same year have the same surname, include the initials of the author in the in-text citation and separate the names by a semicolon and space. When using initials in the text of a sentence do not invert the first name.

J. Dawson (1986) and T. Dawson (1986) accept the...

(Dawson, J., 1986; Dawson, T., 1986)

Organizations as authors  

If an organizational author is referenced only once or twice in a document, the full organizational name is acceptable. A shortened form can be used in the in-text reference if the organization has a familiar abbreviation. If using an abbreviated name for an organization, spell out the full name the first time referenced and give the abbreviation.

FIRST citation   National Library of Medicine (NLM, 2005)...

NLM (2005) started...

FIRST citation   (National Library of Medicine [NLM], 2005).

(NLM, 2005).

Works without authors  

Begin the in-text reference with the first word or first few words of the title, followed by a comma (a lengthy title may be shortened). Titles of an article, chapter or web page should be placed in double quotation marks. Titles of a periodical, book, report, or brochure should be italicized.

ARTICLE title   ("A New Deal," 2003).

BOOK title   ( The Open Box , 1823).

LONG book title   ( Handbook of Geriatric , 2000).

Reference: Handbook of geriatric drug therapy. (2000). Springhouse, PA: Springhouse.

Works with Anonymous listed as author  

When a title lists the author of a work as Anonymous give the word Anonymous as the author's name in-text and in the reference list. Do not use the term Anonymous for works without authors listed.

Anonymous (1983) said...

(Anonymous, 1983).  

Works without dates  

Place the abbreviation n.d. (for no date) in place of the year for in-text citations and the reference list.

Brigmeyer (n.d.) associates...

(Brigmeyer, n.d.).

Works without Pagination (when using a direct quote)

Use the abbreviation para. to indicate a numbered paragraph rather than a page number.

Horowitz (2011) says, "those who..." (para. 3).

He says, "those who..." (Horowitz, 2011, para. 3).

When no page numbers or paragraph numbers are present, use a heading title and the number of the paragraph after the heading. Click here to see the sample reference below.

Kona (2010) says of George Carlin's humor that, "comedy is a disguise for unmasking other faces" ("The Carlinesque in George Carlin," para 2).

The author likens George Carlin's humor to "a disguise for unmasking other faces" (Kona, 2010, "The Carlinesque of George Carlin," para. 2).

Personal communications  

Personal communications (interviews, e-mail correspondence, lectures, etc.) should be used sparingly. When citing personal communications only cite this material in text, do not include personal communication citations in the reference list. They are excluded from the reference list because this is unrecoverable data. Give the name of the speaker and the exact date.

A. M. Raulson (personal communication, January 28, 2007) says...

(T. J. Mavin, personal communication, April 15, 2009).  

Secondary Sources

Sometimes you need to reference an idea using secondhand knowledge. This should be done rarely, it is always better to read the original work to get the most objective meaning. You ALWAYS cite the material you have in front of you, never use another author's references to cite material you have not accessed. When a work is out of print or hard to find, you may wish to use that author's idea in your paper. You need to give credit to the original author/thinker, but you cite the material you found it in, this way the reader can find the material as well. If you reference an out of print/hard to find item, your reader will not be able to find the same material.

Rawlings said (as cited in Belleville, 2006, p. 8), "We need above all...a certain remoteness from urban confusion."

In the reference list cite the work YOU read:

Belleville, B. (2006). Losing it all to sprawl: How progress ate my cracker landscape . Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.

Direct Quotations

Direct quotes should be used sparingly in any research paper. Use direct quotes to emphasize a particularly original turn of phrase or when technical lingo does not allow for proper rephrasing. When directly quoting, enclose the entire quote in quotation marks, copy the original wording exactly, and provide a page/line/paragraph number (when available).

Moffett (2010) goes into great detail about the predatory and army-like nature of a colony of ants ensnaring its meal, "the more the worm or grasshopper struggles, the more the masses converge on it...all the little ant jaws hold their prey taut" (p.39).

Block quotations are direct quotations that contain 40 words or more. When quoting more than 40 words, do not use quotation marks; instead, set off the direct quote starting it on a new line and indenting a half inch from the margin.

The authors categorize chronic neck pain,

when symptoms are present for 3 or more months, with either recurrent (multiple episodes separated by periods of recovery) or persistent (no periods of recovery) pain. Strong evidence suggests that biomechanical factors, including repetitive movements, prolonged computer use, and poor workstation design, are associated with the development of neck pain. (Bruflat, Balter, McGuire, Fethk, & Maluf, 2012, p. 1349)

Multiple Citations by the Same Author in One Paragraph

Sometimes you might use the same soure of information for an entire paragraph. In this case, you do not need to reference the author and year at the end of each sentence. You would want to provide the full in-text citation at the beginning and the end of the paragraph, but the sentences in between can reference just the author or organization. If you place the author's name in parentheses, then provide the year too.

According to Spitzer's (2010) study the effects of radiation on humans presents...Spitzer's study developed the guidelines needed to test...The most important find in Spitzer's study was that....Spitzer concluded the benefit of radiation...The evidence that proves these guidelines work...(Spitzer, 2010).

Chart of In-Text Examples

American Psychological Association. (2009). Crediting sources: Citing references in text. Publication manual of the American psychological association (6th ed., p. 177) Washington, D.C.: Author.

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• Last Updated: Oct 27, 2022 9:47 AM
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Et tu, Et al.? How to Cite Multiple Authors in Academic Writing

You’ve done your research, you’ve made your bibliography, and you’re ready to write. But after a short time, you find yourself stuck. In-text citations are driving you crazy! Do you really have to list all six authors of the paper you are referencing? What if the first two authors are the same on two different papers? Is it the same regardless of citation style? Read on to remove your confusion about multiple authors in-text citations.

Single Author In-text Citations: A Refresher

There are three major styles of citation : APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian. APA is used most often by Education, Psychology, and Sciences,  MLA is favored by the Humanities, and Chicago by Business, History, and Fine Arts. As the guidelines for author in-text citations vary slightly among the three, it is important to know the difference.

APA requires two types of information: the author’s last name and the date of publication of the work you are citing. If you are citing a direct quote, you must also add the page number.

There was no direct causal relationship found between the two events (Burnett, 1995)

Burnett (1995) noted that “Subsequent investigation revealed that the two events had no direct causal relationship to one another,” (p.147).

MLA style requires only the author and page number, as seen in the example below. There is no difference in citation style between a direct quote or a paraphrase.

It is still unknown whether caffeine delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (Grant, 204).

Chicago style requires all three whether you are paraphrasing or not.

A daily serving of broccoli was found to help patients recover more quickly from scurvy (Poblanski 2015, 99-100).

Citing Multiple Authors: How should you use “et al.”?

“Et al.” is a Latin term that means “and others,” and is used for in-text citations of works with multiple authors. The guidelines for using “et al.” vary slightly among the three major formatting styles.

MLA uses “et al.” for works with three or more authors, while Chicago calls for using it with four or more authors. APA format requires that you cite all of the authors at the first mention if there are three, four, or five , and use “et al.” afterward. If there are at least six authors, then you may use “et al.” from the first mention. In all cases, you should use the last name of the first author followed by “et al.” in your in-text citation.

For a paper written by Henderson, Watts, and Kirkland, the MLA citation would look like this:

Peanut butter is a rich source of protein (Henderson, et al. 328).

According to Henderson et al., peanut butter is a rich source of protein (328).

For a paper written by Rhyu, Lee, McSnyder, and Xi, the Chicago citation would look like this:

• Japanese wartime aggression remains a controversial topic in much of East Asia (Rhyu et al. 2012, 45).

According to Rhyu et al. (2012), Japanese wartime aggression remains a controversial topic in much of East Asia (45).

For the same paper cited in APA format, the first citation would be as follows:

• Japanese wartime aggression remains a controversial topic in much of East Asia (Rhyu, Lee, McSnyder, and Xi, 2012).

Additional in-text citations of the same paper in APA format would look like this:

South Korea’s state history textbook controversy of 2014 is a good example of this debate (Rhyu et al. 2012).

Same Authors, Same Year, Different Article

“Et al.” can create ambiguity in some situations. Take the following example of two publications.

• Lee, J. N., Lebowski, B., Kelly, J., & Ryan, T. (2000). “Intellectual Property Law in FTA Negotiations.” Journal of East Asian Affairs, 13, 14–25.
• Lee, J. N., Lebowski, B., Kelly, J., & Ryan, T. (2000). “Multinational Corporate Influence in the WTO.” Journal of World Trade, 67, 38-55.

Each citation style solves this problem a little differently. MLA adds the name of the text in parentheses, while APA and Chicago recommend adding a letter after the year to distinguish between the works.

MLA : Lee et al. point out that FTA negotiations have gone far beyond the original scope of goods and services trade to incorporate regulatory measures (“Intellectual Property Law in FTA Negotiations,” 20).

APA/Chicago : Lee et al. (2000a) point out that FTA negotiations have gone far beyond the original scope of goods and services trade to incorporate regulatory measures.

Note that in the bibliography of your paper, if you are using APA or Chicago style and you distinguish two papers this way, your bibliography should reflect this. For example:

• Lee, J. N., Lebowski, B., Kelly, J., & Ryan, T. (2000a). “Intellectual Property Law in FTA Negotiations.” Journal of East Asian Affairs, 13, 14–25.
• Lee, J. N., Lebowski, B., Kelly, J., & Ryan, T. (2000b). “Multinational Corporate Influence in the WTO.” Journal of World Trade, 67, 38-55.

Et al. is Always Plural

One last thing to note about “et al.” is that it is plural: it can never refer to only one author. What should we do in the following situation? We are citing the following two papers in APA format.

• Lee, J. N., Lebowski, B., Kelly, J., Ryan, T, & Grant, R. (2000). Pharmaceutical Access and Intellectual Property Law in the WTO. Pacific Review, 15, 177–209.

The first in-text citation of these two papers would be as follows.

• (Lee, Lebowski, & Ryan, 2000)
• (Lee, Lebowski, Ryan, & Grant, 2000)

However, if we write (Lee et al., 2000), we are left with two identical citations. We cannot use (Lee, Lebowski, & Ryan et al. 2000), because “et al.” should refer to two more people. So, we must write all four names each time we cite it.

How do you make sure to use et al. correctly? What else confuses you about citations? Let us know in the comments!

I just want to use forum to thank Enago academy for delivering this resource material to us free of charge. I have this question also and that is ‘when an author is citing another author in an in-text citing who was cited by an author in a text, what is the new standard for this citation in APA?’ Emengini steve Emeka

Dear Emeka Emengini,

Thank you for getting in touch with Enago Academy. The following APA blog post nicely addresses your original query: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2010/05/secondary-sources-aka-how-to-cite-a-source-you-found-in-another-source.html

It is generally a good idea to cite the original source. Secondary sources may be cited only under certain circumstances, as outlined in the above APA blog post. Enago Academy had posted a related article on the APA style guide earlier this year. In case you have more questions for us, please route them through the Q&A Forum. It’s a FREE service for authors. Make sure you share this with your colleagues too. Have a wonderful week ahead and season’s greetings!

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In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

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Though the APA's author-date system for citations is fairly straightforward, author categories can vary significantly from the standard "one author, one source" configuration. There are also additional rules for citing authors of indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

A Work by One Author 

The APA manual recommends the use of the author-date citation structure for in-text citation references. This structure requires that any in-text citation (i.e., within the body of the text) be accompanied by a corresponding reference list entry. In the in-text citation provide the surname of the author but do not include suffixes such as "Jr.". 

Citing Non-Standard Author Categories

A work by two authors.

Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

A Work by Three or More Authors

List only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources.

In  et al. , et  should not be followed by a period. Only "al" should be followed by a period.

If you’re citing multiple works with similar groups of authors, and the shortened “et al” citation form of each source would be the same, you’ll need to avoid ambiguity by writing out more names. If you cited works with these authors:

They would be cited in-text as follows to avoid ambiguity:

Since et al. is plural, it should always be a substitute for more than one name. In the case that et al. would stand in for just one author, write the author’s name instead.

Unknown Author

If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks. APA style calls for capitalizing important words in titles when they are written in the text (but not when they are written in reference lists).

Note : In the rare case that "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author

If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source, just as you would an individual person.

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, you may include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations. However, if you cite work from multiple organizations whose abbreviations are the same, do not use abbreviations (to avoid ambiguity).

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses

When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon.

If you cite multiple works by the same author in the same parenthetical citation, give the author’s name only once and follow with dates. No date citations go first, then years, then in-press citations.

Authors with the Same Last Name

To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords

When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

Personal Communication

For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

If using a footnote to reference personal communication, handle citations the same way.

Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples

When citing information you learned from a conversation with an Indigenous person who was not your research participant, use a variation of the personal communication citation above. Include the person’s full name, nation or Indigenous group, location, and any other relevant details before the “personal communication, date” part of the citation.

Citing Indirect Sources

Generally, writers should endeavor to read primary sources (original sources) and cite those rather than secondary sources (works that report on original sources). Sometimes, however, this is impossible. If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses. If you know the year of the original source, include it in the citation.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Unknown Author and Unknown Date

If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. Use the heading or section name, an abbreviated heading or section name, a paragraph number (para. 1), or a combination of these.

Note:  Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination. Do not use Kindle location numbers; instead, use the page number (available in many Kindle books) or the method above. 

Other Sources

The  APA Publication Manual  describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the manual does not describe, making the best way to proceed unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of APA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard APA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite. For example, a sensible way to cite a virtual reality program would be to mimic the APA's guidelines for computer software.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source.

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How to Introduce an Author in an Essay: Tips for MLA and APA

How to Introduce an Author in an Essay

When writing an essay, you are required to cite and reference any outside source that has been used. Any information that is not general knowledge should be cited. If you do not cite and reference such information, then your essay will be plagiarized.

Plagiarism is when you copy another author’s text or information to your essay. By doing so, you are assuming ownership of another author’s intellectual property, which is an academic crime.

As such, you must cite the owner of the outside information within your essay to avoid plagiarism.

This brings in the issue of the ways used to introduce an author in an essay. Introducing an author is part of acknowledging that you have borrowed from their work and is part of citations.

When you do not wish to create a standard in-text citation such as (Mathew, 2021) in APA or (Mathew 25) in MLA, you can introduce the authors as part of a statement.

The next section of this article will explore the various ways of introducing an author in an essay.

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5 ways to effectively introduce an author in an essay.

You can effectively introduce an author in an essay by mentioning their name and text, use a prefix like ‘according to’, mentioning their stance, referring to their book in the beginning, or reporting the argument then the name.

The choice that you make depends on the context and content of the citation. Let us explore these in detail.

1. Mention Their Name and Book

This is one of the various ways to introduce an author in an essay. In this case, you will have to mention either their surname as you start your sentence.

The author’s name is then followed by the book, article, research, or any formal peer-reviewed text they have written, and then continue stating what they have said.

For example, let us imagine that an author known as Seth McFarlane has written a book or text titled “The Root Causes of Socioeconomic Inequality in the United States.”

If you want to introduce them in your essay, you can say that Seth McFarlane stated in his book “The Root Causes of Socioeconomic Inequality in the United States” that…

You can also use their surname, which is McFarlane. In this case, the statement will look like this: McFarlane stated in his book titled “The Root Causes of Socioeconomic Inequality in the United States” that…

However, once you have introduced the author, there is no need to repeat the same statement elsewhere. You should formally cite them using either APA or MLA format, as discussed in this article.

2. Use “According to” Pretext

This is also a widely accepted method used to introduce an author in an essay. It is commonly used because it links the previous point or information with the author and his argument.

As noted, when writing an essay and you have not conducted primary research/study by yourself, then you will have to use other sources as evidence of your claims. To introduce the source’s author, you can use the phrase “according to…” 

For example, let us imagine our author is still Seth McFarlane and the title of his book or text is still “The Root Causes of Socioeconomic Inequality in the United States.”

To introduce the author, you can say: “According to Seth McFarlane, one of the root causes of socioeconomic inequality in the United States is racial inequality and racism in general.”

From the above example, you have noticed that the text that follows the “according to Seth McFarlane” phrase has to be a factual statement that the author has stated in their book.

It is a form of citation. It should be noted that you do not have to use their full name. You can use their surname.

3. Mention Their Name and What They Said

Mentioning the author’s name and what they said in their book or text is also a viable way of introducing an author in your essay. In this case, you do not have to write the title of their work. You only need to either paraphrase or quote (“…”) what they said.

For example, if you want to back up an argument in which you have stated that socioeconomic inequality is caused by racial inequality and racism in the United States, you introduce an author who corroborates the claim.

You can state that “Seth McFarlane also notes that one of the root causes of socioeconomic inequality in the United States is racial inequality and racism in general”. 

4. Use the phrase “In His Book, (The Author) Argues That…”

This is a good strategy to introduce an author in your essay while still maintaining the continuity or flow of your arguments.

In this case, you do not have to mention the book’s title or text.

You only need to note the author’s name so that the readers can know who authored your source of information.

For example, if you use this method, your statement will look like this: “In his book, Seth McFarlane argues that the root cause of socioeconomic inequality in the United States is racial inequality and racism in general”. 

5. Present the Argument, Then the Author Who Made It

Though this method is not widely used, it can also be applied when you want to introduce an author in your essay. It should be noted that this is not the same as presenting the arguments and then putting a formal APA or MLA in-text citation at the end. 

To introduce the author using this strategy, your statement will look like this: “The root cause of socioeconomic inequality in the United States is racial inequality and racism in general, Seth McFarlane notes”. 

How to Cite Authors in an Essay

If you have not introduced the authors within your text, you should cite them using MLA or APA format to ensure that you acknowledge the source of the information. While other citation formats can be used, MLA and APA are the most common formats in academic essay writing.

How to Cite Authors in MLA

When it comes to citing authors in MLA format, you should include their surname followed by the page number from which you have read the information.

Since this should be an in-text citation, you should put it into brackets at the end of the statement.

It would look like this: The root cause of socioeconomic inequality in the United States is racial inequality and racism in general (McFarlane 23). 

How to Cite Authors in APA

Concerning the APA format, you include the author’s surname followed by the year their book or text was published.

This is also put into brackets. The statement would look like this:

“The root cause of socioeconomic inequality in the United States is racial inequality and racism in general (McFarlane, 2021).

Note that a comma separates the surname and year of publication. This makes the citation complete and gives the year and the author.

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Dos and Don’ts of Introducing an Author in an Essay

When it comes to the Dos, always introduce the author using their surname followed by what they said. While you can use their first and last names to introduce the authors, it is advisable to use their surnames to avoid including unnecessary long names.

Plagiarism-checking tools may also match long names, and your paper will be considered as plagiarized.

When the authors are more than two, do not introduce them all.

Imagine more than seven people have co-authored a book, and you introduce them all.

This would not make sense. You should only include the surname of the first author followed by ‘et al.’

Concerning the don’ts, avoid using the full names of the author(s) when introducing them in an essay.

Secondly, once you have introduced the author(s), don’t introduce them again. Instead, use in-text citations to acknowledge them.

Finally, don’t write the full names of all the authors. Just use ‘et al. to show that there are more authors. Read our guide on how to use references in the introductory paragraphs for more.

Josh Jasen or JJ as we fondly call him, is a senior academic editor at Grade Bees in charge of the writing department. When not managing complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In his spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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RECOMMENDED READS

• 5 Steps to Getting Started with Llama 2
• The Llama Ecosystem: Past, Present, and Future
• Introducing Code Llama, a state-of-the-art large language model for coding
• Meta and Microsoft Introduce the Next Generation of Llama
• Today, we’re introducing Meta Llama 3, the next generation of our state-of-the-art open source large language model.
• Llama 3 models will soon be available on AWS, Databricks, Google Cloud, Hugging Face, Kaggle, IBM WatsonX, Microsoft Azure, NVIDIA NIM, and Snowflake, and with support from hardware platforms offered by AMD, AWS, Dell, Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm.
• We’re dedicated to developing Llama 3 in a responsible way, and we’re offering various resources to help others use it responsibly as well. This includes introducing new trust and safety tools with Llama Guard 2, Code Shield, and CyberSec Eval 2.
• In the coming months, we expect to introduce new capabilities, longer context windows, additional model sizes, and enhanced performance, and we’ll share the Llama 3 research paper.
• Meta AI, built with Llama 3 technology, is now one of the world’s leading AI assistants that can boost your intelligence and lighten your load—helping you learn, get things done, create content, and connect to make the most out of every moment. You can try Meta AI here .

Today, we’re excited to share the first two models of the next generation of Llama, Meta Llama 3, available for broad use. This release features pretrained and instruction-fine-tuned language models with 8B and 70B parameters that can support a broad range of use cases. This next generation of Llama demonstrates state-of-the-art performance on a wide range of industry benchmarks and offers new capabilities, including improved reasoning. We believe these are the best open source models of their class, period. In support of our longstanding open approach, we’re putting Llama 3 in the hands of the community. We want to kickstart the next wave of innovation in AI across the stack—from applications to developer tools to evals to inference optimizations and more. We can’t wait to see what you build and look forward to your feedback.

Our goals for Llama 3

With Llama 3, we set out to build the best open models that are on par with the best proprietary models available today. We wanted to address developer feedback to increase the overall helpfulness of Llama 3 and are doing so while continuing to play a leading role on responsible use and deployment of LLMs. We are embracing the open source ethos of releasing early and often to enable the community to get access to these models while they are still in development. The text-based models we are releasing today are the first in the Llama 3 collection of models. Our goal in the near future is to make Llama 3 multilingual and multimodal, have longer context, and continue to improve overall performance across core LLM capabilities such as reasoning and coding.

State-of-the-art performance

Our new 8B and 70B parameter Llama 3 models are a major leap over Llama 2 and establish a new state-of-the-art for LLM models at those scales. Thanks to improvements in pretraining and post-training, our pretrained and instruction-fine-tuned models are the best models existing today at the 8B and 70B parameter scale. Improvements in our post-training procedures substantially reduced false refusal rates, improved alignment, and increased diversity in model responses. We also saw greatly improved capabilities like reasoning, code generation, and instruction following making Llama 3 more steerable.

*Please see evaluation details for setting and parameters with which these evaluations are calculated.

In the development of Llama 3, we looked at model performance on standard benchmarks and also sought to optimize for performance for real-world scenarios. To this end, we developed a new high-quality human evaluation set. This evaluation set contains 1,800 prompts that cover 12 key use cases: asking for advice, brainstorming, classification, closed question answering, coding, creative writing, extraction, inhabiting a character/persona, open question answering, reasoning, rewriting, and summarization. To prevent accidental overfitting of our models on this evaluation set, even our own modeling teams do not have access to it. The chart below shows aggregated results of our human evaluations across of these categories and prompts against Claude Sonnet, Mistral Medium, and GPT-3.5.

Preference rankings by human annotators based on this evaluation set highlight the strong performance of our 70B instruction-following model compared to competing models of comparable size in real-world scenarios.

Our pretrained model also establishes a new state-of-the-art for LLM models at those scales.

To develop a great language model, we believe it’s important to innovate, scale, and optimize for simplicity. We adopted this design philosophy throughout the Llama 3 project with a focus on four key ingredients: the model architecture, the pretraining data, scaling up pretraining, and instruction fine-tuning.

Model architecture

In line with our design philosophy, we opted for a relatively standard decoder-only transformer architecture in Llama 3. Compared to Llama 2, we made several key improvements. Llama 3 uses a tokenizer with a vocabulary of 128K tokens that encodes language much more efficiently, which leads to substantially improved model performance. To improve the inference efficiency of Llama 3 models, we’ve adopted grouped query attention (GQA) across both the 8B and 70B sizes. We trained the models on sequences of 8,192 tokens, using a mask to ensure self-attention does not cross document boundaries.

Training data

To train the best language model, the curation of a large, high-quality training dataset is paramount. In line with our design principles, we invested heavily in pretraining data. Llama 3 is pretrained on over 15T tokens that were all collected from publicly available sources. Our training dataset is seven times larger than that used for Llama 2, and it includes four times more code. To prepare for upcoming multilingual use cases, over 5% of the Llama 3 pretraining dataset consists of high-quality non-English data that covers over 30 languages. However, we do not expect the same level of performance in these languages as in English.

To ensure Llama 3 is trained on data of the highest quality, we developed a series of data-filtering pipelines. These pipelines include using heuristic filters, NSFW filters, semantic deduplication approaches, and text classifiers to predict data quality. We found that previous generations of Llama are surprisingly good at identifying high-quality data, hence we used Llama 2 to generate the training data for the text-quality classifiers that are powering Llama 3.

We also performed extensive experiments to evaluate the best ways of mixing data from different sources in our final pretraining dataset. These experiments enabled us to select a data mix that ensures that Llama 3 performs well across use cases including trivia questions, STEM, coding, historical knowledge, etc.

Scaling up pretraining

To effectively leverage our pretraining data in Llama 3 models, we put substantial effort into scaling up pretraining. Specifically, we have developed a series of detailed scaling laws for downstream benchmark evaluations. These scaling laws enable us to select an optimal data mix and to make informed decisions on how to best use our training compute. Importantly, scaling laws allow us to predict the performance of our largest models on key tasks (for example, code generation as evaluated on the HumanEval benchmark—see above) before we actually train the models. This helps us ensure strong performance of our final models across a variety of use cases and capabilities.

We made several new observations on scaling behavior during the development of Llama 3. For example, while the Chinchilla-optimal amount of training compute for an 8B parameter model corresponds to ~200B tokens, we found that model performance continues to improve even after the model is trained on two orders of magnitude more data. Both our 8B and 70B parameter models continued to improve log-linearly after we trained them on up to 15T tokens. Larger models can match the performance of these smaller models with less training compute, but smaller models are generally preferred because they are much more efficient during inference.

To train our largest Llama 3 models, we combined three types of parallelization: data parallelization, model parallelization, and pipeline parallelization. Our most efficient implementation achieves a compute utilization of over 400 TFLOPS per GPU when trained on 16K GPUs simultaneously. We performed training runs on two custom-built 24K GPU clusters . To maximize GPU uptime, we developed an advanced new training stack that automates error detection, handling, and maintenance. We also greatly improved our hardware reliability and detection mechanisms for silent data corruption, and we developed new scalable storage systems that reduce overheads of checkpointing and rollback. Those improvements resulted in an overall effective training time of more than 95%. Combined, these improvements increased the efficiency of Llama 3 training by ~three times compared to Llama 2.

Instruction fine-tuning

To fully unlock the potential of our pretrained models in chat use cases, we innovated on our approach to instruction-tuning as well. Our approach to post-training is a combination of supervised fine-tuning (SFT), rejection sampling, proximal policy optimization (PPO), and direct preference optimization (DPO). The quality of the prompts that are used in SFT and the preference rankings that are used in PPO and DPO has an outsized influence on the performance of aligned models. Some of our biggest improvements in model quality came from carefully curating this data and performing multiple rounds of quality assurance on annotations provided by human annotators.

Learning from preference rankings via PPO and DPO also greatly improved the performance of Llama 3 on reasoning and coding tasks. We found that if you ask a model a reasoning question that it struggles to answer, the model will sometimes produce the right reasoning trace: The model knows how to produce the right answer, but it does not know how to select it. Training on preference rankings enables the model to learn how to select it.

Building with Llama 3

Our vision is to enable developers to customize Llama 3 to support relevant use cases and to make it easier to adopt best practices and improve the open ecosystem. With this release, we’re providing new trust and safety tools including updated components with both Llama Guard 2 and Cybersec Eval 2, and the introduction of Code Shield—an inference time guardrail for filtering insecure code produced by LLMs.

We’ve also co-developed Llama 3 with torchtune , the new PyTorch-native library for easily authoring, fine-tuning, and experimenting with LLMs. torchtune provides memory efficient and hackable training recipes written entirely in PyTorch. The library is integrated with popular platforms such as Hugging Face, Weights & Biases, and EleutherAI and even supports Executorch for enabling efficient inference to be run on a wide variety of mobile and edge devices. For everything from prompt engineering to using Llama 3 with LangChain we have a comprehensive getting started guide and takes you from downloading Llama 3 all the way to deployment at scale within your generative AI application.

A system-level approach to responsibility

We have designed Llama 3 models to be maximally helpful while ensuring an industry leading approach to responsibly deploying them. To achieve this, we have adopted a new, system-level approach to the responsible development and deployment of Llama. We envision Llama models as part of a broader system that puts the developer in the driver’s seat. Llama models will serve as a foundational piece of a system that developers design with their unique end goals in mind.

Instruction fine-tuning also plays a major role in ensuring the safety of our models. Our instruction-fine-tuned models have been red-teamed (tested) for safety through internal and external efforts. ​​Our red teaming approach leverages human experts and automation methods to generate adversarial prompts that try to elicit problematic responses. For instance, we apply comprehensive testing to assess risks of misuse related to Chemical, Biological, Cyber Security, and other risk areas. All of these efforts are iterative and used to inform safety fine-tuning of the models being released. You can read more about our efforts in the model card .

Llama Guard models are meant to be a foundation for prompt and response safety and can easily be fine-tuned to create a new taxonomy depending on application needs. As a starting point, the new Llama Guard 2 uses the recently announced MLCommons taxonomy, in an effort to support the emergence of industry standards in this important area. Additionally, CyberSecEval 2 expands on its predecessor by adding measures of an LLM’s propensity to allow for abuse of its code interpreter, offensive cybersecurity capabilities, and susceptibility to prompt injection attacks (learn more in our technical paper ). Finally, we’re introducing Code Shield which adds support for inference-time filtering of insecure code produced by LLMs. This offers mitigation of risks around insecure code suggestions, code interpreter abuse prevention, and secure command execution.

With the speed at which the generative AI space is moving, we believe an open approach is an important way to bring the ecosystem together and mitigate these potential harms. As part of that, we’re updating our Responsible Use Guide (RUG) that provides a comprehensive guide to responsible development with LLMs. As we outlined in the RUG, we recommend that all inputs and outputs be checked and filtered in accordance with content guidelines appropriate to the application. Additionally, many cloud service providers offer content moderation APIs and other tools for responsible deployment, and we encourage developers to also consider using these options.

Deploying Llama 3 at scale

Llama 3 will soon be available on all major platforms including cloud providers, model API providers, and much more. Llama 3 will be everywhere .

Our benchmarks show the tokenizer offers improved token efficiency, yielding up to 15% fewer tokens compared to Llama 2. Also, Group Query Attention (GQA) now has been added to Llama 3 8B as well. As a result, we observed that despite the model having 1B more parameters compared to Llama 2 7B, the improved tokenizer efficiency and GQA contribute to maintaining the inference efficiency on par with Llama 2 7B.

For examples of how to leverage all of these capabilities, check out Llama Recipes which contains all of our open source code that can be leveraged for everything from fine-tuning to deployment to model evaluation.

What’s next for Llama 3?

The Llama 3 8B and 70B models mark the beginning of what we plan to release for Llama 3. And there’s a lot more to come.

Our largest models are over 400B parameters and, while these models are still training, our team is excited about how they’re trending. Over the coming months, we’ll release multiple models with new capabilities including multimodality, the ability to converse in multiple languages, a much longer context window, and stronger overall capabilities. We will also publish a detailed research paper once we are done training Llama 3.

To give you a sneak preview for where these models are today as they continue training, we thought we could share some snapshots of how our largest LLM model is trending. Please note that this data is based on an early checkpoint of Llama 3 that is still training and these capabilities are not supported as part of the models released today.

We’re committed to the continued growth and development of an open AI ecosystem for releasing our models responsibly. We have long believed that openness leads to better, safer products, faster innovation, and a healthier overall market. This is good for Meta, and it is good for society. We’re taking a community-first approach with Llama 3, and starting today, these models are available on the leading cloud, hosting, and hardware platforms with many more to come.

Try Meta Llama 3 today

We’ve integrated our latest models into Meta AI, which we believe is the world’s leading AI assistant. It’s now built with Llama 3 technology and it’s available in more countries across our apps.

You can use Meta AI on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and the web to get things done, learn, create, and connect with the things that matter to you. You can read more about the Meta AI experience here .

Visit the Llama 3 website to download the models and reference the Getting Started Guide for the latest list of all available platforms.

You’ll also soon be able to test multimodal Meta AI on our Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

As always, we look forward to seeing all the amazing products and experiences you will build with Meta Llama 3.

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