To cite multiple authors in APA style, follow these guidelines based on the number of authors:

In-Text Citation

• Two authors: Always cite both authors' last names every time you reference the source. Use an ampersand (&) in parenthetical citations and "and" in narrative citations.
  • Parenthetical: (Reiss & White, 2013)
  • Narrative: Reiss and White (2013)
• Three or more authors: Cite only the first author's last name followed by "et al." in every citation, even the first one.
  • Parenthetical: (Harris et al., 2020)
  • Narrative: Harris et al. (2020)
• If citing multiple works with similar author groups that cause ambiguity, include as many author names as needed to differentiate them.

Reference List

• Two authors: List both authors' last names and initials, separated by a comma, with an ampersand (&) before the last author.
  • Example: Reiss, M. J., & White, J. (2013).
• Three to twenty authors: List all authors' names separated by commas, with an ampersand before the last author.
  • Example: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year).
• For more than twenty authors, list the first 19 authors, then an ellipsis (...), then the final author's name.

Additional Notes

• Use commas to separate author names.
• Use "et al." (with a period after "al.") to mean "and others."
• In parenthetical citations, use "&" before the last author; in narrative citations, use "and."
• Always match the year in the in-text citation to the reference list.
• For group authors, spell out the full name first time and abbreviate thereafter.

Examples

Number of Authors| In-Text Citation (Parenthetical)| In-Text Citation (Narrative)| Reference List Example
---|---|---|---
1 author| (Luna, 2020)| Luna (2020)| Luna, A. (2020).
2 authors| (Reiss & White, 2013)| Reiss and White (2013)| Reiss, M. J., & White, J. (2013).
3+ authors| (Harris et al., 2020)| Harris et al. (2020)| Harris, A., Cook, B., & Lee, C. (2020).

These rules follow the APA 7th edition guidelines