Okay, buckle up. When you have four or more authors, MLA gives you a fantastic shortcut: et al. This fancy Latin phrase means “and others.” It’s like your citation’s superpower.
In the works cited list, you write the first author’s name (in reverse order), then a comma, then “et al.” For example: Johnson, Ryan, et al. That’s it! No need to list all 12 authors—your bibliography just got a whole lot lighter.
In-text, you write: (Johnson et al. 57). Simple, right? Just remember: “et al.” gets a period after “al” (because it’s an abbreviation), but no period after “et.” Treat it like a polite nod to the other authors—you’re still giving them credit, just not a full name tag.
Pro tip: If your source has three authors, don’t use “et al.” MLA is strict on that. Three authors = all names. Four authors = party time for “et al.”
PPT - MLA Citation Style PowerPoint Presentation, free download - ID
