Simple rules govern the citation of a single author, but then, as the number of authors increases, so does the complexity of the citation. Luckily, citing a source with six authors is actually easier than citing a source with three to five authors. The citation includes only the first author's name, even the first time you cite the source. The American Psychological Association, the creators and publishers of APA format, decided that citing six or more authors in the middle of a paper--even just for the first citation--would pose too much of a distraction.
Instructions
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1
Cite the last name of the source's first author, then type a space.
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2
Write the phrase "et al."--including the period--and then type another space.
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3
Insert a set of parentheses. Inside the parentheses, write the source's publication date.
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4
Type the beginning parenthesis.
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5
Write the first author's last name, then type a space.
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6
Write the phrase "et al."--including the period--and then immediately type a comma, without first inserting a space. Add a space after the comma.
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7
Cite the source's year of publication.
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8
Add the ending parenthesis.