Found in 2-4% of dissertations using MLA format. If you're writing (Smith & Jones 45), you're importing APA habits into the wrong style guide.
Replace "&" with "and" in all citations.
MLA never uses the ampersand (&) in citations — not in-text, not in your Works Cited list, not anywhere. Where APA uses '&' inside parentheses, MLA always uses the full word 'and.' This applies to parenthetical citations: (Smith and Jones 45), narrative citations: Smith and Jones argue that..., and Works Cited entries.
This rule exists because MLA prioritizes readability and treats citations as part of the natural sentence flow. The ampersand is a symbol, and MLA prefers words. It's a philosophical difference between the two styles: APA treats citations as compact data references; MLA treats them as readable text elements.
The most common source of this error is students who learned APA in other courses or who copy citation formats from APA-style papers. If you're switching to MLA for your dissertation, do a global find-and-replace for '&' in your citations. This one mechanical fix can eliminate dozens of formatting errors in minutes.
MLA never uses ampersands—always spell out "and" for multiple authors. Using "&" immediately marks your work as incorrectly formatted.
(Smith & Jones 23)
(Smith and Jones 23)
MLA parenthetical citations always use 'and,' never '&.'
(Smith & Jones 45)
(Smith and Jones 45)
MLA narrative citations also use 'and' — the ampersand ban is total.
Smith & Jones argue that student engagement increased.
Smith and Jones argue that student engagement increased.
MLA Works Cited entries use 'and' between authors, plus full first names.
Works Cited: Smith, J., & Jones, K. "Title." Journal, 2020.
Works Cited: Smith, John, and Karen Jones. "Title." Journal, 2020.
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