Top Tip #7 - When you can (OR can't) use "Et Al" as a referencing short-cut

When doing academic writing, students quickly learn the short-cuts.  Let's face it, we all like short-cuts.  They make our work more streamlined and are helpful in simplifying work.  The only problem with short-cuts is when they are not used correctly.  One such short-cut is often used incorrectly, namely the use of "Et al" when referencing.  Et Al means (and others) and is used after the first authors name to indicate that there are also other authors.  

"Et Al" can only be used when there are three or more authors to a source and it cannot be used in the Bibliography.  Details of ALL authors need to be in the Bibiliography

In the text of your document, the very first time you use this source, you also cannot use Et Al.  For the first instance of an in-text citation, ALL the authors must be included, no matter how many authors there are.  Only after this can Et Al be used in your in-text citations.