Every style

Two authors, three, or et al.

Every style names one or two authors in full and shortens longer lists to the first author and “et al.,” Latin for “and others.” Where each style draws the line is different, and it is often different in the text and in the list at the end.

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On this page
  1. The rules at a glance
  2. Two authors, in each style
  3. Three or more authors
  4. Writing et al. correctly
  5. Special cases
  6. Common mistakes
  7. Questions

Updated

The rules at a glance

MLA 9
In the text and in Works Cited: one or two authors named; three or more, the first and et al.
APA 7
In the text: one or two named; three or more, the first and et al. In References: up to 20 authors named; 21 or more, the first 19, an ellipsis, then the last (APA 7, 9.8).
Chicago 18
In notes and author-date citations: one or two named; three or more, the first and et al. In the bibliography: up to six named; seven or more, the first three and et al.
Harvard
In the text: up to three named; four or more, the first and et al., in italics. In the reference list: every author, as Cite Them Right sets it out.
IEEE
The text is a number, so names appear only in the list: up to six; seven or more, the first and et al.

Two authors, in each style

A journal article by Shelley Hershner and Ronald Chervin, page 75, as Format writes it:

MLA 9

(Hershner and Chervin 75)

APA 7

(Hershner & Chervin, 2014, p. 75)

Chicago short note

Hershner and Chervin, “Causes and Consequences,” 75.

Harvard

(Hershner and Chervin, 2014, p. 75)

MLA and Chicago join the names with “and”; APA uses an ampersand (&) inside parentheses and “and” in your sentence: Hershner and Chervin (2014) found.

Three or more authors

A chapter by Laurent Aron, Marion Botella and Todd Lubart, page 350:

MLA 9: et al. from three

(Aron et al. 350)

APA 7: et al. from three

(Aron et al., 2019, p. 350)

Chicago short note: et al. from three

Aron et al., “Culinary Arts,” 350.

Harvard: all three until there are four

(Aron, Botella and Lubart, 2019, p. 350)

The same chapter in the list at the end. MLA shortens it there too; APA and Chicago name all three:

MLA Works Cited

Aron, Laurent, et al. “Culinary Arts: Talent and Their Development.” The Psychology of High Performance: Developing Human Potential into Domain-Specific Talent, edited by Rena F. Subotnik et al., American Psychological Association, 2019, pp. 345-59, https://doi.org/10.1037/0000120-016.

APA References

Aron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. F. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent (pp. 345–359). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000120-016

Chicago bibliography

Aron, Laurent, Marion Botella, and Todd Lubart. “Culinary Arts: Talent and Their Development.” In The Psychology of High Performance: Developing Human Potential into Domain-Specific Talent, edited by Rena F. Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, and Frank C. Worrell, 345–59. American Psychological Association, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000120-016.

Writing et al. correctly

  • One period, after “al.” only: et al. The “et” is a whole word.
  • Not italic in MLA, APA, Chicago or IEEE. Cite Them Right is the exception and italicizes it.
  • Commas: MLA writes (Aron et al. 350); APA writes (Aron et al., 2019, p. 350), with a comma before the year.
  • In a sentence: Aron et al. (2019) describe, or Aron and colleagues (2019) describe in APA.
  • Plural verb: et al. means several people, so “Aron et al. argue,” not “argues.”

Special cases

  • Two sources that shorten to the same et al. in APA: write out as many names as it takes to tell them apart, then et al.
  • An organization as author is one author, however long its name: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024).
  • Two authors with the same last name in different sources: add initials in the text, (L. Aron, 2019), so the reader knows which.
  • Editors follow the same counting: MLA writes “edited by Rena F. Subotnik et al.” for three or more.

Format applies these rules for you: add every author once, and each style shortens the list where it should, in the text and at the end. Switch styles and the et al. moves with it.

Cite a source with several authors

Common mistakes

  1. et. al. There is no period after et.
  2. et al. in an APA reference for three authors. APA names up to 20 authors in References. The shortening is for the text only.
  3. APA 6 rules. APA 6 named three to five authors in the first citation. APA 7 uses et al. from three authors, from the first citation.
  4. “and” inside APA parentheses. Inside parentheses, APA uses &: (Hershner & Chervin, 2014).

Questions

When do you use et al. in APA?

In the text, for three or more authors, from the first citation. The reference names up to 20.

When do you use et al. in MLA?

For three or more authors, in the text and in Works Cited.

Is et al. italicized?

Not in MLA, APA, Chicago or IEEE. Cite Them Right Harvard italicizes it.