Mla in text citation two books same author

9th Edition8th Edition

If more than one work by an author is cited, include shortened titles for the works to distinguish them from each other.

Example if the author’s name is mentioned:

Obama has argued that the invasion was a bad idea (“Too Soon” 42), though he has acknowledged elsewhere that it led to much good (“A Stronger Country” 13).

Example if the author’s name and title are mentioned:

In “Too Soon,” Obama argued that the invasion was a bad idea (42).

Example if the author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence:

Photography, because it is both science and art, seems to be “a bridge discipline” (Barthes, “Of Loss and Cameras” 45).

Notice that when all three elements are used within the parenthetical citation, there is a comma added after the author’s name.

Mla in text citation two books same author
If more than one work by an author is cited, include shortened titles for the works to distinguish them from each other.

Example if the author’s name is mentioned:

Obama has argued that the invasion was a bad idea (“Too Soon” 42), though he has acknowledged elsewhere that it led to much good (“A Stronger Country” 13).

Example if the author’s name is not mentioned in the sentence:

Photography, because it is both science and art, seems to be “a bridge discipline” (Barthes, “Of Loss and Cameras” 45).

Citing Multiple Sources with the Same Author Name

Refer to the guidelines below if you are citing:

  • multiple works by the same author
  • works by different authors who share the same last name

  • Multiple Sources from Same Author
  • Different Author with Same Name

Differentiate between multiple works by the same author by including a shortened form of the title in your citation.

Example:

Two works by the author Margaret Atwood

  • (Atwood, Handmaid 129)
  • (Atwood, Alias 53)

If multiple authors share the same last name, include the author's first initial in your in-text citation

Example:

  • (E. McLeod 33)
  • (D. McLeod 112)

If multiple authors share the same last name and first initial, include the author's first name in your in-text citation

Example:

  • (Sarah Ryan 78)
  • (Scott Ryan 26)

Information on how to format the core elements is below. See also, these specific examples of source citations.

Author.

The author(s) name(s) should begin your citation entry. The first author's name should be reversed: begin with the last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name as presented in the work. If a source has two authors, include them in the order in which they are presented in the work. Reverse the name of the first author, but give the second name in normal order. If a source has three or more authors, reverse the first name and follow it with et al.:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book. Name of Publisher, Publication date.

First Author Last Name, First Author First Name, and Second Author First Name Second Author Last Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Container (journal), vol. number, no. number, Publication date, Location (pp. page numbers).

First Author Last Name, First Author First Name, et al. Title of Book. Name of Publisher, Publication date.

Title of Source. & Title of Container,

After author name, next is the title. Capitalizaiton and punctuation should be standardized, but everything else about the title should be as it is found in the source. The title is italicized if the source is self-contained (e.g. a book or a whole website), and it is put in quotation marks if it is part of a larger work (e.g. an article in a journal or magazine or an individual page/post/article on a website):

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Website. Publication date, Location (URL).

Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Container (journal), vol. number, no. number, Publication date, Location (pp. page numbers).

Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Title of Essay.” Title of Container (book), edited by Editor First Name Editor Last Name, Name of Publisher, Publication date, Location (pp. page numbers).

Other Contributors,

This element is needed when other people, aside from the author whose name appears at the start of the citation entry, need to be credited. Precede each name with a description of the role they played. Common descriptions include: Translated by, Adapted by, Directed by, Edited by, Illustrated by, Introduction by, Narrated by, Performance by.

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book. Other Contributors, Name of Publisher, Publication date.

"Title of TV show episode." Title of Container (TV show name), Other Contributors, season number, episode number, Name of Publisher, Publication date.

Version,

If a source has been published or released in more than one form (e.g. authorized version, revised edition, 7th edition, etc.), you must identify the version you used in your citation entry. 

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book. Other Contributors, Version, Name of Publisher, Publication date. 

Number,

If the source you are documenting is too long to be printed in a single volume, or is part of a journal or magazine, you must identify which of the numbered sequence you used.

Author Last Name, Author First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Container (journal), vol. number, no. number, Publication date, Location (pp. page numbers).

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book. Other Contributors, Version, vol. number, Name of Publisher, Year of publication. 

Publisher,

The publisher is the entity or organization(s) primarily responsible for producing the source or making it available to the public. If two or more organizations are equally responsible, cite each of them using a forward slash (/) between their names. 

 Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book. Other Contributors, Version, vol. number, Name of Publisher A / Name of Publisher B, Publication date. 

Publication Date,

Often the source will only give a year as the publication date (e.g. books), but if the publication date is more specific use the additional details in your citation entry. When citing a full date, remember to use the day-month-year format. When a source carries more than one publication date (often the case with information published online) cite the date that is most relevant to your use of the source. 

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of post." Title of Container (website), Publication date (day Month. year), Location (URL).

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of article." Title of Container (magazine), Publication date (Month. year), Location (pp. page numbers).

Location.

What you use to specify a work's location will depend on how it is published. Print sources generally use page numbers, websites use URLs, some publishers assign DOIs (digital object identifiers). If you are citing a television show or song that is from a CD, you might use the disc number. Use the information that will help your reader find that source again.

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of post." Title of Container (website), Publication date (day Month. year), Location (URL).

First Author Last Name, First Author First Name, and Second Author First Name Second Author Last Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Container (journal), vol. number, no. number, Publication dateLocation (Database name, doi: number).

How do you cite two books by the same author MLA?

To cite two or more works by the same author(s), give the author name(s) in the first entry only. In the entries for subsequent works, in place of the author name(s), type three hyphens (---) followed by a period, and then the title and the rest of the citation as per the rules in this section.

How do you in

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.

What do you do if your author wrote 2 books for the citation?

Two or More Books by the Same Author Provide the author's name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period. Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. St. Martin's, 1997.

How do you in

Citing Multiple Works.
When citing multiple works parenthetically, place the citations in alphabetical order, separating them with semicolons..
(Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Shulman, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017).
Arrange two or more works by the same authors by year of publication..