how to write a bibliography youtube video

Generate accurate MLA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• How to cite a YouTube video in MLA

How to Cite a YouTube Video in MLA | Format & Examples

Published on April 18, 2019 by Courtney Gahan . Revised on June 16, 2022 by Shona McCombes.

The MLA Works Cited entry for an online video contains the video’s creator, the title, the website or platform in italics (e.g. YouTube ), the channel or user that uploaded the video, the upload date, and the URL.

If the video was uploaded by the same person or organization that created it, or if no clear creator can be identified, omit the author element and start with the video’s title instead.

The in-text citation should match the first element of the Works Cited (either the creator’s name, or a short version of the title). You can also include a timestamp in place of a page number.

Table of contents

Finding information for an mla youtube citation, citing videos with the same creator and uploader, citing videos with a different creator and uploader, timestamps in youtube citations, frequently asked questions about mla style.

On YouTube, all the information you need can be found below the video.

The name of the channel that uploaded the video should be written the same as it is on YouTube, but the title of the video should follow standard MLA capitalization rules .

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

YouTube videos are often uploaded by the person or organization that created them. In this case, their name should only appear once. Start the citation with the title, and list the channel name in the other contributors  element.

In the example below, the video was both created and uploaded by the organization BBC News, so the reference starts with the title. A shortened version of the title appears in the in-text citation.

Sometimes, you might want to cite a video that has been uploaded by someone other than the creator.

In this case, if you know who created the video, list them as author at the start of the Works Cited and in the in-text citation.

You should also use this format if you are citing an interview uploaded to YouTube, using the interviewee’s name as the author.

If you directly quote from a video, or you want to refer to a specific section, you can include a timestamp in your in-text citation.

What can proofreading do for your paper?

Scribbr editors not only correct grammar and spelling mistakes, but also strengthen your writing by making sure your paper is free of vague language, redundant words, and awkward phrasing.

See editing example

You must include an MLA in-text citation every time you quote or paraphrase from a source (e.g. a book , movie , website , or article ).

If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title . Use a shortened version of the title in your MLA in-text citation .

If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g. a chapter number, or a timestamp for a video or audio source) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation. If the source has no numbered divisions, cite only the author’s name (or the title).

If you already named the author or title in your sentence, and there is no locator available, you don’t need a parenthetical citation:

• Rajaram  argues that representations of migration are shaped by “cultural, political, and ideological interests.”
• The homepage of The Correspondent describes it as “a movement for radically different news.”

Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.

This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .

The fastest and most accurate way to create MLA citations is by using Scribbr’s MLA Citation Generator .

Search by book title, page URL, or journal DOI to automatically generate flawless citations, or cite manually using the simple citation forms.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Gahan, C. (2022, June 16). How to Cite a YouTube Video in MLA | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 4, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/youtube-citation/

Is this article helpful?

Courtney Gahan

Other students also liked, how to cite a movie in mla, how to cite an image in mla, how to cite a song in mla, what is your plagiarism score.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Chicago Style / Chicago Style YouTube Citation

How to Cite a YouTube Video in Chicago/Turabian

Citing a YouTube video in Chicago style is much like citing other multimedia. In this guide, you’ll find more on how to create a Chicago YouTube video citation in notes-bibliography style, using the 17th edition of the  Chicago Manual of Style.

Guide Overview

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

• Citing the video in the text
• Creating a full citation
• Citing other online videos
• Including additional video information
• What you need

Citing the Video in the Text

With YouTube videos, it is often sufficient to just cite the video in-text . You’ll only need to include a full citation in your bibliography or reference list if you cite it frequently or if it is integral to your argument.

For notes and bibliography, this can mean simply a footnote or information woven into the text.

For this type of citation, you need to include at least the name and date of the video, as well as the author or creator. Here’s an example of weaving information into your text:

In his TED talk titled “An Ode to Living on Earth,” uploaded to YouTube on April 22, 2020, artist Oliver Jeffers offers a poetic exploration of what it means to be human.

Creating a Full Citation

For a brief citation, the reader can easily use the in-text citation to find this video on YouTube and no further reference is needed. However, if you are writing an entire essay about this video or are citing it frequently, you will need a more formal, full citation.

You want to make sure you include as much information as possible about the video itself and then where to find it (URL). The citation structure is flexible based on what information you can find.

You should include the following information:

• Name of the video author/creator
• Video title
• Organization or entity responsible (usually for publishing the video)
• Date uploaded
• Medium (example: YouTube video)
• Video duration

1. Oliver Jeffers, “An Ode to Living on Earth,” TED, April 22, 2020, YouTube video, 10:47, https://youtu.be/zpn6MCmoK0g.

Bibliography: 

Jeffers, Oliver. “An Ode to Living on Earth.” TED. April 22, 2020. YouTube video, 10:47. https://youtu.be/zpn6MCmoK0g.

Citing Other Online Videos

You can cite any type of online video by following the same principles as a YouTube video. Provide as much information as you can and use information that is relevant for your use of the video in your research. Here’s one example using a New York Times video:

1. Larry Buchanan et al., “Where Are All the Bob Ross Paintings? We Found Them,” New York Times , July 12, 2019, video, 10:50, https://www.nytimes.com/video/arts/100000005865824/bob-ross-paintings-mystery.html.

Buchanan, Larry, Aaron Byrd, Alicia DeSantis, and Emily Rhyne. “Where Are All the Bob Ross Paintings? We Found Them.” New York Times , July 12, 2019. Video, 10:50. https://www.nytimes.com/video/arts/100000005865824/bob-ross-paintings-mystery.html.

Including Additional Video Information

Citations for online multimedia are a little more fluid than materials like books and journal articles. You should follow the general structure outlined above and include information that is important for your research. Let’s review a few examples.

Unknown Creator

For YouTube videos without a specific person who is the creator, you can just use the channel name for the author. The channel name is often the organization or entity responsible for the creation of the video. Here’s an example:

1. Chatham Rabbits, “Good Things (Outweigh the Bad),” June 20, 2018, YouTube video, 4:21, https://youtu.be/Ja2_rC1EXyY.

Chatham Rabbits. “Good Things (Outweigh the Bad).” June 20, 2018. YouTube video, 4:21. https://youtu.be/Ja2_rC1EXyY.

If all you have is a username, use that in the place of the author, making sure to transcribe the username just as it appears on YouTube:

1. HelloMaphie, “Making Slime Underwater Challenge,” August 18, 2018, YouTube video, 10:07, https://youtu.be/Gwo3q_U9nmA.

HelloMaphie. “Making Slime Underwater Challenge.” August 18, 2018. YouTube video, 10:07. https://youtu.be/Gwo3q_U9nmA.

Focusing on One Contributor

If the director or producer of a video is important, include this information after the title, just like you would include information about the editor or translator after the title of a book.

1. NBC News, “Exclusive: Full Interview With Russian President Vladimir Putin,” interview by Keir Simmons, June 14, 2021, YouTube video, 1:22:52, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6pJd6O_NT0.

Bibliography:

NBC News. “Exclusive: Full Interview With Russian President Vladimir Putin.” Interview by Keir Simmons. June 14, 2021. YouTube video, 1:22:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6pJd6O_NT0.

Highlighting the Creation or Upload Date

It might be important to include the dates of the video’s creation and the date it was uploaded. If so, you can alter the citation to include this, using phrases such as “created” or “posted” before the dates to clarify.

Event Information

If the event the video is depicting is important, include that information after the title and before the date. Do your best to adapt a known structure in Chicago style and make it work for the information you feel is important to your research. See CMOS 14.267 and Turabian 17.10.3.3 and 19.10.3.3 for more examples and information about adapting citations for multimedia.

1. CNET, “Amazon’s Entire 2021 Event in 11 Minutes (Supercut),” Amazon 2021 Fall Product Event, September 28, 2021, YouTube video, 10:56, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6iQRVepq0.

CNET, “Amazon’s Entire 2021 Event in 11 Minutes (Supercut).” Amazon 2021 Fall Product Event. September 28, 2021. YouTube video, 10:56. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6iQRVepq0.

If you are citing a video multiple times, you might think about including timestamps where you would typically cite the page number(s) referenced. For example, for a shortened note you would use: Jeffers, “Ode,” at 2:06-2:40.

What You Need

A citation for a YouTube video generally includes information on the following:

• Author/creator name
• Publication or creation date
• Publishing/creating entity (if applicable)
• Information about the medium

This information is usually easy to find on a YouTube video. You can get a condensed link for a YouTube video to make your citation look nicer by clicking on “share” and then copying the shortened link that appears on the screen.

The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017. https://doi.org/10.7208/cmos17.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Written by Janice Hansen. Janice has a doctorate in literature and a master’s degree in library science. She spends a lot of time with rare books and citations.

Chicago Formatting Guide

Chicago Formatting

• Book Chapter
• Conference Paper
• Musical Recording

Citation Examples

• Thesis or Dissertation
• Encyclopedia
• Sheet Music
• YouTube Video

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Chicago Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started