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MLA Citation Guide (MLA 8th Edition): Social Media

Please use this LibGuide for quick reference help regarding the Modern Language Associations (MLA) citation format. Content courtesy of Seneca University Libraries: http://seneca.libguides.com/mla.

Blog Post

Author's Last Name, First Name or Username if real name not provided. "Title of Blog Post." Name of Blog, Blog Network/Publisher if given, Day Month Year of blog post, URL of blog post. Accessed Day Month Year blog was visited.

Works Cited List Example

Naish, Darren. "If Bigfoot Were Real." Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blogs, 27 June 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/. Accessed 28 June 2016.

In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name)

(Naish)

Note: Blog posts have no page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings so this information is left out of the in-text citation.

Podcast

Host's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Podcast Episode." Title of Overall Podcast, Episode Number if Given, Web Site Hosting If Different From Podcast Title, Day Month Year of Episode, URL of episode. Accessed Day Month Year podcast was downloaded/played.

Works Cited List Example

Orton, Tyler, and Patrick Blennerhassett. "Lessons From the Brexit." BIV Podcast, Episode 18, Business Vancouver, 28 June 2016, www.biv.com/article/2016/6/biv-podcast-episode-18-lessons-brexit/. Accessed 2 July 2016.

In-Text Citation Example

(Host's Last Name)

(Orton and Blennerhassett)

Note: Because podcasts do not have page numbers this information is left out of the in-text citation.

Streaming Video From a Website (YouTube, Vimeo, Hulu, etc.) - Known Author

Last Name, First Name of video creator or Username of Creator. "Title of Video." Title of the Hosting Website, Day Month Year of Publication, URL of video. Accessed Day Month Year video was viewed.

Works Cited List Example

Sethi, Ramit. "How to Write a Winning Resume, With Ramit Sethi." YouTube, 23 June 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0fjkKCsM1w. Accessed 28 June 2016.

In-Text Citation Example

(Last Name of Video Creator)

(Sethi)

Note: Because videos do not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, this information is left out of the in-text citation.

Streaming Video From a Library Database (Films on Demand, SeneMA, etc.)

"Title of Video." Publisher/Production Company, Date. Title of Library Database. 

Works Cited List Example

"Secret Life of Twins." BBC, 2015. Films on Demand.

 Note: Typically films are cited without an author. 

Example

("Words From Title")

("Secret")

 Note: Because videos do not have page numbers this information is left out of the in-text citation.

Note: While MLA 8th edition recommends including URLs, Seneca Libraries recommends that URLs be left out when citing a work found in a library database. Because library databases require a login most URLs will stop working after the session ends.

Twitter (Tweets)

Twitter Handle (First Name Last Name if Known). "The entire tweet word-for-word." Twitter, Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL.

Works Cited List Example

@ReallyVirtual (Sohaib Athar). "Helicopter hovering above Abbottad at 1AM is a rare event." Twitter,  4 Jan. 2013, 3:58 p.m. twitter.com/reallyvirtual/status/64780730286358528?lang=en.

 Note: Write out the actual Tweet in the citation and keep spelling and grammar the same as in the original, even if there are errors.When quoting the Tweet, beside grammatical and spelling errors in the original Tweet, write [sic] in square brackets to indicate the errors are not your own. E.g., if the Tweet was "It isn't you're fault the media is violent", write: "It isn't you're [sic] fault the media is violent."

In-Text Citation Example

(Twitter handle)

(@ReallyVirtual)

 

Wikipedia

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.

 Note: The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article.

Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check your assignment.

Works Cited List Example

"Body Image." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image. Accessed 28 June 2016.

Citation Example

("Title of Entry")

("Body Image")

Note: If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.

Facebook

Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. Description of Post. Facebook, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year post was viewed.

Works Cited List Example

Rick Mercer Report. Spread the Net Challenge Winners 2016. Facebook, 23 Mar. 2016, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/rickmercerreport. Accessed 26 June 2016. 

 Note: As Facebook posts can be lengthy, describe the post instead of reposting its content. To find the time of a Facebook post, hover your mouse next to the date of the post over the clock icon. It may not be possible to link directly to the specific post itself.

In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name or Account Name)

(Rick Mercer Report)