How to Cite YouTube and Other Videos in MLA and APA

With the advent of YouTube, Vimeo, and other great video sites, you can find short videos and how-to-videos online from a wide range of experts. This means you might need to know how to cite a video or YouTube as part of your essay. Make your video citations “fabulous” by following a few simple tricks for citing a YouTube video in MLA or APA.

 

Citing a Video in MLA and APA

When it comes to citing a video in MLA or APA, style matters. This is professional writing, after all. However, basically, each style is looking to answer the same questions.

• Who uploaded it?
• Where can you find it?
• When did you access it?
• What is it?

If you can answer these basic questions, then you’re well on your way to beautiful, professional reference MLA and APA video citations. Now, all you need is formatting.

How to Cite a Video in MLA

Since MLA is one of the most common styles used in both high schools and colleges, you often use it to cite videos. Why? Because MLA is a style that makes humanities articles easy to cite. And there are a lot of videos. This is why MLA also breaks down how to cite a video file in the works cited list.  First, the components:

• Author, producer, director, etc.
• Title of the video in italics or quotation marks (This will depend on if the video is considered a film or an episode per MLA style sheet.)
• Where you found it in italics (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
• Who uploaded it
• Day, month, year it was uploaded
• URL

Since MLA can get a bit tricky, check out a couple of different examples.

 

MLA Video Example With Author:

Example MLA without Author:

How to Cite a Video In-Text MLA

Now to look at in-text citations for videos in MLA. You never just cite your sources in the works cited! You have to give credit where credit is due in your article, too. If not, your teacher can consider it plagiarism, and no one wants that. To create an in-text citation in MLA, use the author and timestamp.

In-Text Citation MLA Video Example – Author

In-Text Citation MLA Video Example – Without Author

 

Citing Videos in MLA for Streaming Services

Knowing how to cite a physical DVD or BluRay is important, but a lot of videos are now offered through streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Hulu. When it comes to a streaming service, your citation looks like:

 

Streaming Video Example MLA – Works Cited

Streaming Video Example MLA – In-Text Citation

How to Cite a Video in APA

Like MLA, you might need to cite a video in APA style. However, APA is used for social science papers and gives them a nice flow, tone, and, most of all, uniformity. To create citations for your APA Reference page for online videos, you need:

• Author name, director, screen name, etc.
• Year, month, and day it was uploaded
• Title of the video in italics
• Medium in brackets [Video]
• URL or DOI

Make APA video citations a breeze by following the basic format for a  video source APA citation:

 

Example Citation for Video

How to Cite a Video In-Text in APA

In addition to citing the APA video on your reference list, include a citation in the text to show your audience where the information came from.

 

Example – APA In-Text Quotation for Video

 

Example APA – In-Text Paraphrase

 

How to Cite a Youtube Video

Since YouTube is the most common video website out there, you’ll find that you might end up citing this nine times out of ten. So, it makes sense to look at specific YouTube examples in each different style. Remember, in APA style, you do not put a period after the URL, but you do include one in MLA.

Citing a Youtube Video in MLA Examples

When creating your MLA paper, you might find yourself needing to cite some Youtube videos. These come up enough that the MLA style guide gives specific examples. Check out these Youtube examples in MLA format.

Citing a Youtube Video MLA With Author

Citing a Youtube Video MLA Example Without Author

How to Cite a Youtube Video APA Example

MLA isn’t the only style to discuss how to cite a Youtube video. APA breaks down the format for citing a YouTube video in their APA 7 format.

APA YouTube Example Author – Reference 

APA YouTube Example Screenname – Reference 

The Art of  Citing a Video

Videos can be a fun way to spice up your paper. Whether you are using a video from YouTube, Vimeo, or any other website, make sure to get your citation and formatting right the first time. And if your teacher calls for a different format, be sure to follow that.