Et Al. Meaning: How to Use Et Al. in Citations

"Et al." is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "et alia," which means "and others." In academic citations, it is used to shorten in-text citations and reference list entries when a source has multiple authors. Instead of listing every author's name each time you cite the source, you write the first author's name followed by "et al." to represent the remaining authors.

The abbreviation is always written as "et al." with a period after "al" (because "al" is an abbreviation of "alia") but no period after "et" (because "et" is a complete Latin word meaning "and"). It is not italicised in modern usage, even though it comes from Latin. Getting these small formatting details right signals attention to detail in your academic writing.

APA 7 simplified the rules for "et al." compared to previous editions. The current rule is straightforward: for works with three or more authors, use the first author's name followed by "et al." in every in-text citation, including the first one. This was a significant change from APA 6, which required listing all authors (up to five) in the first citation.

(Smith & Johnson, 2023)

(Smith et al., 2023)

In the APA reference list, list up to 20 authors. For 21 or more authors, list the first 19, then use an ellipsis (...), and then the last author's name. Never use "et al." in the reference list entry in APA — it is only for in-text citations.

MLA uses "et al." for works with three or more authors, both in the in-text citation and in the Works Cited entry. This is different from APA, which never uses "et al." in the reference list. In MLA, you have the option of listing all authors or using "et al." — but once you choose one approach, be consistent throughout your paper.

(Smith et al. 45)

Smith, John, et al. Research Methods in Modern Psychology. Oxford UP, 2023.

Note that MLA does not place a comma before "et al." in the in-text citation, unlike APA. In the Works Cited entry, a comma follows the first author's name, and "et al." replaces the remaining authors. The period after "al." is followed by the title, with no additional punctuation.

Chicago style has different rules depending on which system you use. In the Notes-Bibliography system, list all authors in the first footnote citation (up to three), then use the first author's last name and "et al." for subsequent citations. For four or more authors, use "et al." from the first citation.

In the Author-Date system, use "et al." in the in-text citation for four or more authors. For one to three authors, list all names in the in-text citation. In the reference list, list up to ten authors; for eleven or more, list the first seven followed by "et al."

1. John Smith, Maria Johnson, and Robert Williams, Research Methods (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023), 45.

5. Smith, Johnson, and Williams, Research Methods, 72.

(Smith et al. 2023, 45)

• Forgetting the period after "al" — it is always "et al." with a period, never "et al" without one
• Adding a period after "et" — "et" is a complete word and does not take a period
• Italicising "et al." — modern style guides do not require italics for this abbreviation
• Using "et al." for two authors — no major style uses "et al." for sources with only two authors; always list both names
• Using "et al." in the APA reference list — APA never uses "et al." in reference list entries; list all authors (up to 20)
• Applying APA 6 rules to APA 7 — APA 7 uses "et al." from the first citation for 3+ authors, which is different from APA 6's threshold of 6+ authors

The rules for "et al." vary significantly across citation styles, and they have changed in recent editions. Always check the current edition of your required style guide, and use a citation generator to ensure your multi-author citations are formatted correctly.