Contributor,

There may be people other than the author who have contributed to a work cited using the MLA style. When they are present, always include the following contributors in your citation :

  • Translators.
  • Editors responsible for putting together a collection of texts by other authors.
  • Editors responsible for special editions of a book or anthologies of works by a specific author.

You can also include other kinds of contributors if they are important to the source you are citing, like film directors, illustrators, famous actors, etc.

  • To include contributors in your citation, start with a word describing the role they played in the work followed by their name in the regular order (First Name Last Name).
  • If there are two contributors with the same role, include the word ‘and’ before the name of the last contributor.
  • If there are 3 or more names listed, include the first name followed by “et al.”
  • A comma is placed at the end.
  • Aside from translators and editors, you do not have to include all contributors.

Note that the descriptor starts with a capital letter if it follows directly after the title of the source.

Examples:

The examples found in the MLA section are based on the manual MLA Handbook, 9th ed., 2021.

adapted by Harry Saint-Martin,

edited by Josephine Chow and Mac Allan Smith,

translated by Jonah Katz,

illustrated by François Ayroles,

Sample citations

Schindler’s List. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Universal, 1993.

Zaatari, Zeina. “In the Belly of the Beast: Struggling for Nonviolent Belonging.” Arab and Arab American Feminisms: Gender, Violence and Belonging, edited by Rabab Abdulhadi et al., Syracuse UP, 2011, pp. 60-77.