APA 7th edition uses a simple rule for multiple authors: list both names every time for two-author works, and use “et al.” after the first author’s surname for works with three or more authors. The details depend on whether you’re weaving the citation into your sentence or placing it in parentheses at the end.
Two Authors
When a source has two authors, include both surnames every time you cite it. The only thing that changes is how you connect the names. In a narrative citation, where the authors’ names appear as part of your sentence, spell out the word “and.” In a parenthetical citation, where the names sit inside parentheses, use an ampersand (&) instead.
Narrative: Smith and Jones (2022) found that sleep quality declined over the semester.
Parenthetical: Sleep quality declined over the semester (Smith & Jones, 2022).
This pattern never changes no matter how many times you cite the same two-author source. Every mention includes both names.
Three or More Authors
For any work with three or more authors, cite only the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” starting with the very first citation. This is a change from APA 6th edition, which required listing up to five authors on the first mention. The 7th edition simplified the rule so you never have to list a long string of names in the body of your paper.
Narrative: Johnson et al. (2021) reported higher engagement in hybrid classrooms.
Parenthetical: Higher engagement was reported in hybrid classrooms (Johnson et al., 2021).
Note that “et al.” is not italicized and always has a period after “al” because it’s an abbreviation of the Latin “et alia” (and others). There is no period after “et.”
When “Et Al.” Creates Ambiguity
Sometimes two different sources shorten to the same in-text citation. If you’re citing Johnson, Lee, and Park (2021) and also Johnson, Chen, and Davis (2021), both would normally appear as Johnson et al. (2021), leaving the reader unable to tell them apart. APA requires you to resolve this by including enough additional surnames to distinguish the two citations.
Johnson, Lee, et al. (2021) found one result.
Johnson, Chen, et al. (2021) found a different result.
Add as many co-author names as necessary until each citation is unique, then follow the remaining names with “et al.” If the author lists are identical and only the year differs, no extra names are needed because the year already tells them apart.
Ampersand vs. “And”
The ampersand rule applies only inside parentheses. Whenever author names appear in the running text of your sentence (narrative style), use the word “and.” Whenever they appear inside parentheses (parenthetical style), use the ampersand symbol. This holds true for two-author works and for the rare disambiguation cases where you list more than one name before “et al.”
Narrative: According to Rivera and Thomas (2023), the intervention was effective.
Parenthetical: The intervention was effective (Rivera & Thomas, 2023).
Group and Organization Authors
When an organization is the author, such as a government agency, university, or professional association, use the full organization name in place of an individual author’s surname. You can abbreviate the name if the abbreviation is well known and you’ll reference the source at least three times in your paper.
Introduce the abbreviation on the first citation. How you do this depends on the citation format:
- Narrative first mention: The American Psychological Association (APA, 2017) published guidelines on the topic.
- Parenthetical first mention: Guidelines were published on the topic (American Psychological Association [APA], 2017).
After the first mention, use just the abbreviation: (APA, 2017) or APA (2017). In your reference list, always spell out the full organization name regardless of whether you abbreviated it in the text.
If two different organizations share the same abbreviation, spell out both names every time you cite them. Using the shared abbreviation would leave readers guessing which group you mean.
Quick Reference
- 1 author: (Taylor, 2020) or Taylor (2020)
- 2 authors: (Taylor & Morgan, 2020) or Taylor and Morgan (2020)
- 3+ authors: (Taylor et al., 2020) or Taylor et al. (2020)
- Organization: Full name on first use, abbreviation on subsequent uses if it appears three or more times
Every in-text citation must correspond to a full entry in your reference list. The reference list entry always includes all authors, no matter how many there are, so that readers can locate the source.