When citing a source with two authors, you simply list their last names, separated by "and" – e.g., (Smith and Johnson 24). It's like introducing your friends to each other, you want to make sure everyone knows who's who. For three or more authors, you list only the first author's name, followed by "et al." – e.g., (Williams et al. 42).
But what if you have multiple sources with the same last name? This is where first names come into play, helping to avoid confusion. You'd cite the sources like this: (John Smith 12) and (Jane Smith 34). It's like distinguishing between two friends with the same last name, you want to make sure you're talking about the right person.
