How do I cite a name like Queen Elizabeth I, John of Gaunt, and Catherine of Aragon?

Use the first name. Some categories of personal names lack a last name–for example, some rulers and members of the nobility and many premodern people, whose name… Read More

Do you have to provide the author’s name in a parenthetical citation for a work of common literature such as The Iliad?

Yes, unless you have already mentioned the author’s name in your prose. Just because a work is famous doesn’t mean you can omit the name of its… Read More

What should I include in parentheses if the author’s name is provided in a signal phrase and the source has no page numbers or other kind of part number?

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When a source has no page numbers or any other kind of part number, no number should be given in a parenthetical… Read More

How do I cite an author’s name known only by initials?

If a source is written by an author who is known only by initials, you have several options. Treat the Initials as a Unit One… Read More

How should Native American names be treated in works-cited-list entries?

If you are citing a work by a Native American author and the author’s name consists of a first name and a last name, invert… Read More

In works-cited-list entries for a work by more than one author, why is only the name of the first author inverted?

In a works-cited-list entry for a work by more than one author, the first name is inverted because the entry is alphabetized under the first… Read More

How do I cite an author who has transitioned?

Authors may write and publish under different names—by adopting pseud­onyms or changing their names. When you are aware that an author has published under different… Read More

How do I style the names of contests?

Names of titled contests are set roman without quotation marks: The American Association for the Advancement of Science announced the tenth annual Dance Your Ph.D. contest. When… Read More

If I refer to two people with the same last name in my writing, should I repeat their full names each time I mention them?

If you refer to two people with the same last name, repeat their full names for subsequent mentions whenever your reader might not be certain… Read More

When I am citing a biographical entry in a reference book that reverses the person’s name in the entry title (e.g., “Roosevelt, Teddy”), should I reverse the name in the works-cited list?

Yes. Read More