Subject Guides: MLA Style Guide 9th Edition: Multiple Sources with the Same Author Name

Citing Multiple Sources with the Same Author Name

Refer to the guidelines below if you are citing:

multiple works by the same author
works by different authors who share the same last name

Same Name

Multiple Sources from Same Author
Different Author with Same Name

Differentiate between multiple works by the same author by including a shortened form of the title in your citation.

Example:

Two works by the author Margaret Atwood

(Atwood, Handmaid 129)
(Atwood, Alias 53)

If multiple authors share the same last name, include the author's full name in prose each time they are cited. For parenthetical references use the author's first initial and last name.

Example:

Kimberley Budd argued that the Schrodinger's cat metaphor is meant to highlight the absurdity of quantum superposition (32), while Jason Budd argues that Schrodinger's metaphor was written as an illustration of how quantum superposition works (41).
(K. Budd 32)
(J. Budd 41)

If multiple authors share the same last name and first initial, include the author's first name in your parenthetical citation as well as the prose:

Example:

(Sarah Ryan 78)
(Scott Ryan 26)