One big whoops: forgetting the period after “al.” in “et al.” It’s not “et al” — it’s “et al.” with a dot. Missing that dot is like wearing mismatched socks: small, but noticeable. Also, don’t use a comma before “et al.” Your citation should look like (Smith et al. 88), not (Smith, et al. 88).
Another slip: listing every single author when there are seven. Stop! After three authors, et al. is your friend. Over-listing is like telling the whole story of how you met each author—it’s too much information for the reader.
