First, the big secret: MLA for two authors is almost insultingly simple. You just write the last name of the first author, then a comma, then their first name. Then you slap down the word “and,” not a comma, and then the second author’s first name and last name.
Example: Smith, John, and Jane Doe. See? It’s like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich—except the jelly is a last name, and the peanut butter is a comma. Nobody gets hurt.
Fun fact: If you use an ampersand (&) in MLA, the ghost of the style guide’s founder will haunt your keyboard with red pen corrections. Ampersands are for APA weirdos. We’re classy here.
Your Works Cited Entry: The Little Engine That Could
Here’s the full magic spell for your Works Cited page. It looks like this: Smith, John, and Jane Doe. Then the book title in italics, the publisher, and the year. That’s it.
For example: How to Win Arguments with Your Cat. Crazy Cat Press, 2026. Boom. You’re basically a scholar now. John and Jane are proud of you, even if they’re fictional.
Surprising fact: According to a study by the MLA (yes, they study themselves), citations with two authors are 47% less likely to cause a panic attack than citing a single author. That’s science. I might have made that up, but it feels true.
