I have had an essay accepted for publication. In my works-cited list, if there are two or more works by the same author, after the first entry should I use three hyphens or a 3-em dash in place of the author's name?

I have had an essay accepted for publication. In my works-cited list, if there are two or more works by the same author, after the first entry should I use three hyphens or a 3-em dash in place of the author’s name?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

Publishers usually have preparation guidelines, so you should ask your publisher what is preferred. The MLA accepts manuscripts with either hyphens or 3-em dashes. If an author uses three hyphens in an entry, we convert them to a 3-em dash before publication.