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I'm writing a group paper and I was wondering whether there's a correct way to list multiple authors at the top of the first page in MLA format. Normally the header would look something like:

My Name
Instructor's Name
Course Name
12 February 2013

But if there's three of us, should it be something like:

Group Member 1, Group Member 2, Group Member 3
Instructor's Name
Course Name
12 February 2013

Or should they be separated by semicolons? Is there even any standard to follow at all? If our group had a name I'd use that, but it doesn't.

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  • I am in the same situation. What would you do for the page numbers that need to be "last name #"?
    – user16159
    Dec 12, 2015 at 1:39
  • The above example looks correct to me, but I believe that the names should be in alphabetical order unless the instructor has stated otherwise.
    – user31093
    Apr 28, 2018 at 21:13

5 Answers 5

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I just checked my copy of MLA Handbook and I find no guidance on this case. The only example it gives has a single name. (I'll readily yield to someone who can point out that I missed something.) Given that, I'd just say, "Do something sensible." It's conventional in other instances, like footnotes, to separate names with commas, so that's what I'd do.

Of course if your instructor has given specific guidance, or if your school has a style sheet, I'd follow that.

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From memory (and this is quite a long time ago - since finishing my first degree I've used Turabian style rather than MLA), you are correct to use full names (first name before surname), in alphabetical order, separated by commas on a single line.

Do you have a copy of the MLA Style Manual? I'd strongly recommend it if you are going to be using MLA style frequently. You can buy it on Amazon or at a decent bookshop.

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As far as I'm know, the MLA format is used to

  1. Cite essays, research papers, and other works in MLA
  2. Distinguish the works of the other authors
  3. Prepare a list of all cited sources (a.k.a. Bibliography or Works Cited in MLA)

MLA is commonly met in publications related to humanities and some social sciences.

I don't recall any restrictions about listing authors.

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I think that it shoud be something like this, with each name on its own line:

Paul Rosenburg
Sally Seashell
James Dickenbottham

Peter Demento, Ph.D.

PSYC-169 Intro to Wetness

31 December 2018

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  • Welcome to Writing.SE Professor Dumbledore! Your answer contains the kernel of a great answer, but could you please edit it to mention where you got your info from? Thanks!
    – White Eagle
    Apr 9, 2018 at 22:16
  • why did you answer a question from 5 years, and 1 month ago?
    – David Doyle
    Apr 9, 2018 at 23:36
  • 3
    @DavidDoyle There's no restriction on answering old questions in StackExchange - in fact, it's encouraged in cases where new information has come out and made the existing answers obsolete. However, you have to actually bring something new and meaningful to the table, and I'm not convinced that this answer does that.
    – F1Krazy ♦
    Apr 10, 2018 at 8:17
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Purdue Owl says, "In the case of a group project, list all names of the contributors, giving each name its own line in the header, followed by the remaining MLA header requirements"

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