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MLA Citation Style

This guide provides basic instruction about the MLA Citation Style.

Author

In the Author element, list the primary creator of the work you are citing. The author of a work can be a writer, artist, or any other type of creator.

In the example below, Toni Morrison wrote the novel Song of Solomon and is, therefore, its author.

Ex. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. Vintage, 2004.

When a work is published without an author’s name, do not list the author as Anonymous. Instead, skip the Author element and begin the entry with the work’s title.

Ex. Lazarillo de Tormes. Medina del Campo, 1554.

From MLA Handbook, 9th ed., Ch. 5.3 Author: What It Is

More Than One Author

Two Authors

When a source has two authors, include them in the order in which they are presented in the work. Begin the citation by reversing the first author's name (last name, first name), follow it with a comma and the word and, and give the second author's name in normal order (first name, last name). 

Ex. Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

From MLA Handbook, 9th ed., Ch. 5.7 Two authors

Three or More Authors

When a source has three or more authors, reverse the first of the names as described above and follow it with a comma and the abbreviation et al. (“and others”).

Ex. Charon, Rita, et al. The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine. Oxford UP, 2017.

From MLA Handbook, 9th ed., Ch. 5.8 Three or more authors