Jane Campus Student Blog

6. TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHORIf your list of works cited includes two or more works by the same author, mention the title of the work in the signal phrase or include a short version of the title in the parentheses.

On December 6, 2000, reporter Jamie Stockwell wrote that dis-
tracted driver Jason Jones had been charged with “two counts of
vehicular manslaughter . . . in the deaths of John and Carole Hall”
(“Phone” B1). The next day Stockwell reported the judge’s ruling:
Jones “was convicted of negligent driving and fined $500, the
maximum penalty allowed” (“Man” B4).

Titles of articles and other short works are placed in quotation marks, as in the example just given. Titles of books are italicized.

In the rare case when both the author’s name and a short title must be given in parentheses, separate them with a comma.

According to police reports, there were no skid marks indicating
that the distracted driver who killed John and Carole Hall had even
tried to stop (Stockwell, “Man” B4).

7. TWO OR THREE AUTHORSName the authors in a signal phrase, as in the following example, or include their last names in the parenthetical reference: (Redelmeier and Tibshirani 453).

Redelmeier and Tibshirani found that “the risk of a collision when
using a cellular telephone was four times higher than the risk
when a cellular telephone was not being used” (453).

When three authors are named in the parentheses, separate the names with commas: (Alton, Davies, and Rice 56).

8. FOUR OR MORE AUTHORSName all of the authors or include only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” (Latin for “and others”). Make sure that your citation matches the entry in the list of works cited (see item 2).

The study was extended for two years, and only after results were
reviewed by an independent panel did the researchers publish their
findings (Blaine et al. 35).

9. CORPORATE AUTHORWhen the author is a corporation, an organization, or a government agency, name the corporate author either in the signal phrase or in the parentheses.

Researchers at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis claim that
the risks of driving while phoning are small compared with other
driving risks (3-4).

In the list of works cited, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis is treated as the author and alphabetized under H.

When a government agency is treated as the author, it will be alphabetized in the list of works cited under the name of the government, such as “United States” (see item 3). For this reason, you must name the government in your in-text citation.

The United States Department of Transportation provides nation-
wide statistics on traffic fatalities.

10. AUTHORS WITH THE SAME LAST NAMEIf your list of works cited includes works by two or more authors with the same last name, include the author’s first name in the signal phrase or first initial in the parentheses.

Estimates of the number of accidents caused by distracted
drivers vary because little evidence is being collected
(D. Smith 7).

11. INDIRECT SOURCE (SOURCE QUOTED IN ANOTHER SOURCE)When a writer’s or a speaker’s quoted words appear in a source written by someone else, begin the parenthetical citation with the abbreviation “qtd. in.”

According to Richard Retting, “As the comforts of home and
the efficiency of the office creep into the automobile, it is
becoming increasingly attractive as a work space” (qtd. in
Kilgannon A23).

12. ENCYCLOPEDIA OR DICTIONARYUnless an encyclopedia or a dictionary has an author, it will be alphabetized in the list of works cited under the word or entry that you consulted — not under the title of the reference work itself (see item 13). Either in your text or in your parenthetical reference, mention the word or the entry. No page number is required, since readers can easily look up the word or entry.

The word crocodile has a surprisingly complex etymology
(“Crocodile”).

13. MULTIVOLUME WORKIf your paper cites more than one volume of a multivolume work, indicate in the parentheses the volume you are referring to, followed by a colon and the page number.

In his studies of gifted children, Terman describes a pattern of
accelerated language acquisition (2: 279).

If your paper cites only one volume of a multivolume work, you will include the volume number in the list of works cited and will not need to include it in the parentheses.

14. TWO OR MORE WORKSTo cite more than one source in the parentheses, give the citations in alphabetical order and separate them with a semicolon.

The effects of sleep deprivation have been well documented
(Cahill 42; Leduc 114; Vasquez 73).

Multiple citations can be distracting, however, so you should not overuse the technique. If you want to alert readers to several sources that discuss a particular topic, consider using an information note instead.

15. AN ENTIRE WORKUse the author’s name in a signal phrase or a parenthetical reference. There is of course no need to use a page number.

Robinson succinctly describes the status of the mountain lion con-
troversy in California.

16. WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGYPut the name of the author of the work (not the editor of the anthology) in the signal phrase or the parentheses.

In “A Jury of Her Peers,” Mrs. Hale describes both a style of quilt-
ing and a murder weapon when she utters the last words of the
story: “We call it—knot it, Mr. Henderson” (Glaspell 210).

In the list of works cited, the work is alphabetized under Glaspell, not under the name of the editor of the anthology.

Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” Literature and Its Writers: A
Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Ann Char-
ters and Samuel Charters. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2004. 194-210. Print.