LibGuides: Citation Guide- MLA: Citing Other Formats

Digital Files (PDFs, MP3s, JPEGs)

Determine the type of work to cite (e.g., article, image, sound recording) and cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g., PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow traditional parameters for citation, give the author’s name, the name of the work, the date of creation, and the location.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006.

Smith, George. “Pax Americana: Strife in a Time of Peace.” 2005. Microsoft Word file.

Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project. Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. CWPA, NCTE, and NWP, 2011, wpacouncil.org/files/framework-for-success-postsecondary-writing.pdf.

Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review, vol. 30, no. 4, 1968, pp. 509-22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org.iii/stable/4334841.

Social Media

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.

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.

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)

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)

Personal Communication

The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as an email thread or an interview you conducted with someone else. In this case the work isn't published anywhere, someone else couldn't find and read the full interview or email on their own.

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information.

For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name. Day Month Year of interview.

Works Cited List Example

Myers, Elizabeth. Interview. By Bob Jones. 12 Mar. 2016.

In-Text Citation Example

(Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed)

Example: (Myers)

Note: If the name of the person who was interviewed is mentioned in the sentence leading into the quote or paraphrased content, you do not need to repeat it in the in-text citation:

Myers explained that "media violence is dangerous because it has been eroticized

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. "Subject Line of Email." Received by Name of Person Who Received Email, Day Month Year of Email. Email Interview.

Works Cited List Example

Smith, Paula. "Re: Food and Family." Received by Joseph Tan, 20 May 2016. Email Interview.

Note: The words Email Interview are added to the citation to specify that it is an interview.

In-Text Citation Example

(Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed)

Example: (Smith)

Note:If the name of the person who was interviewed is mentioned in the sentence leading into the quote or paraphrased content, you do not need to repeat it in the in-text citation:

Smith asserted that food builds relationships because of a cultural appreciation inherent in enjoying a meal with family.

Learn more: See MLA Handbook, p. 29 for citing emails

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Personal Interview. Day Month Year of interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name. Telephone Interview.

Ball, William. Interview. By Hyun Jae Lee. 30 Jan. 2016. Telephone Interview.

In-Text Citation Example

(Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed)

Example: (Ball)

Note:If the name of the person who was interviewed is mentioned in the sentence leading into the quote or paraphrased content, you do not need to repeat it in the in-text citation:

Ball state that "infections are often contracted while patients are recovering in the hospital."

Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Access Date.

Works Cited List Example

Highlights from the Competition Bureau’s Workshop on Emerging Competition Issues. Competition Bureau of Canada, 4 Mar. 2016, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf/$FILE/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2016.

In-Text Citation Example

(Title of Document)

Example: (Highlights)

Note: You can use a shortened form of the title by listing the first word or words of the full title.

Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date.

Works Cited List Example

Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report. 7th ed., Statistics Canada, 2015.

In-Text Citation Example

(Title)

Example: (Women in Canada 4)

Note: You can use a shortened form of the title by listing the first word or words of the full title

Citation Guide- MLA: Citing Other Formats

Digital Files (PDFs, MP3s, JPEGs)

Social Media

Personal Communication

Government Documents

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