The author is the person or group of persons that created a source.
You may notice that instead of a person as an author, the author may be a corporation, organization, or government agency. Also, sometimes editors are listed in the author element because they are the person who created a source.
One author
Last name, first name.
Example: Angelou, Maya.
Two authors
Last name, first name, and First name Last name. (Order as listed on the source.)
Example: Kilmeade, Brian, and Don Yaeger.
Three or more authors
Last name, first name, et al. (Include the name of the first author listed. Et al means "and others.")
Hughes, John, et al.
No author/creator listed
Skip this part of the citation and start with the title of the source. Do NOT list the author as "Anonymous."
Performer, director, etc. in a film or television show
List the name (last name first) and provide a descriptive label of the person's role.
Example: Scorsese, Martin, director.
Corporation, organization, or agency
List the name of the corporation, organization, or agency.
Example: Texas Education Agency.
Corporation, organization, or agency that is ALSO the publisher
If the organization is also the publisher, skip the author field and list the organization only in the publisher field.
Example (full citation):
"Alcohol Use and Your Health." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 July 2016, www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm.
Online usernames
List the user name in the author field.
Example: @BBCBreaking
One editor
Last name, First name, editor.
Example: Pinsky, Robert, editor.
Two editors
Last name, First name, and First name Last name, editors.
Example: Arth, Marvin, and Helen Ashmore, editors.
Three or more editors
Last name, First name, et al., editors.
Example: Curbera, Guillermo P., et al., editors.
Kilmeade, Brian, and Don Yaeger. George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution. Sentinel, 2013.
Gouveia, Sidney, et al. “Forest Structure Drives Global Diversity of Primates.” Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 83, no. 6, Nov. 2014, pp. 1523-30.
Bozeman Science. “A Tour of the Cell.” YouTube, 24 Feb. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9pqST72is.
Morton, Oliver. Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet. Harper Publishers, 2008.
Pinsky, Robert, editor. The Best of the Best American Poetry. Scribner, 2013.
The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming, performance by Judy Garland, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 25 Aug. 1939.
@TechCrunch. "Google's Project Fi gets a group plan tcrn.ch/2e3cXKh by @fredericl." Twitter, 11 Oct. 2016, 9:00 a.m., twitter.com/TechCrunch/status/785872688417951744.
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