A work is considered
anonymous
if the author or sponsoring organization (see 3.5 and 3.7 above) is unknown. Some people use the word “anonymous” or “anon”, whereas others list the reference by title. I would recommend the latter: Title (in italics) (Year of publication) Place of publication: Publisher.
How do you reference anonymously?
Write “
Anonymous
” in place of the author's name in the parenthetical reference if it is used in the source, for example: (“Anonymous, 2008). Cite the source by its title if neither an author's name nor the word “anonymous” is present. Use an abbreviated title if the title is long.
If the work does not have an author,
cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses
. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.
When a source has no known author,
use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name
. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number if it is available.
How do you cite an unknown year?
So, an unknown year will not affect an MLA in-text citation. APA uses an author-year format for in-text citations.
Insert the abbreviation “n.d.” in place of an unknown year
to maintain this format, even if you have a month and date for the source in your reference list.
If a source is missing both the author or publication date, the citation will include the title,
“n.d.” for “no date
,” and the source. Make sure that there is no identifiable author. Sometimes the author is a company or other group rather than an individual.
Only when a work has
six or more authors
should the first in-text citation consist of the first author followed by et al. With five or fewer authors, all the author surnames should be spelled out at first mention.
How do you cite if you don't know the date?
If a source is missing both the author or publication date, the citation will include the title,
“n.d.” for “no date
,” and the source. Make sure that there is no identifiable author. Sometimes the author is a company or other group rather than an individual.
How is a reference list arranged?
- For APA the reference list is arranged in alphabetical order of authors' surnames.
- Arrange by first author's name, then by second author if you have the same first author, etc. …
- If a reference has no author, list it alphabetically according to the title.
How do you cite an unknown year in MLA?
No Date. If no date is provided, skip that information. It's recommended that
you add the date you accessed the work at the end of the citation
. Access date is given by putting the word “Accessed” followed by the Day Month (Shortened) Year the work was accessed/viewed.
When a work has 3-5 authors, cite
all the names the first time the reference occurs
; in subsequent citations, use the surname of the first author followed by et al. When a work has 6 or more authors, use the surname of the first author followed by et al. every time the reference occurs in the text.
What if there is no date for APA in-text citation?
If there is definitely no date posted or date updated, APA uses the
abbreviation n.d.
(short for “no date”) in the parenthesis where the date would normally go in your citation: (n.d.)
How do you in-text cite in APA with no date?
For a work with no date,
use “n.d.” in both the reference list entry
and the in-text citation.
What is the difference between APA 6th edition and 7th edition?
APA 6th ed. … APA 7th ed. includes the surnames and initials of up to and including 20 authors in the reference list. For works with more than 21 authors, use an
ellipsis between the 19th
and final author.
