YouTube Citation Generator

How to Use the YouTube Citation Generator

1. 1. Paste the video's link. A watch link, a youtu.be link, a Shorts link or an embed link all work. The generator asks YouTube for the video's title and the name of its channel.
2. 2. Add the date. YouTube's public lookup does not give the upload date. Choose Edit, type the date shown under the video as year-month-day, and update.
3. 3. Pick a style. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles.
4. 4. Apply the touch-ups. The result needs a few small fixes, listed below the examples.
5. 5. Copy the reference and the in-text citation. For a quotation, add a time stamp.

Who Is the Author of a YouTube Video?

The hardest part of citing a video is deciding who made it. The styles agree on a rule of thumb: credit the person or group who created it, and when that is unclear, credit the channel that posted it.

APA 7 (§10.12) names the channel as the author, as the APA Style handout does for the Above The Noise channel, and ends with the site name and the URL. MLA 9 copies the video's title exactly as it appears, in quotation marks, and adds uploaded by and the account name when the creator is not clear. Chicago 18 names the creator, quotes the title, then gives the date it was posted, the site, the running time and the URL, as in the Quick Guide's sample for a lecture on YouTube. Add the running time (1:01:45 in that sample) if you can read it on the player.

YouTube Citation Examples

A video from the Above The Noise channel, posted on October 18, 2017: the APA Style handout's own example. The MLA and Chicago lines apply their patterns.

A video where the creator is not clear, from the MLA Style Center: the title leads, and the account that posted it follows the container.

What the Generator Gives You

For a pasted link, the generator keeps the channel as a group author, so APA and MLA put it first without inverting the name. It also adds the word Video in each style. Three things need a touch-up. APA prints In YouTube; delete the In. MLA and Chicago print Video as a stray sentence; delete it. And MLA and Chicago print only the year of the date you add, so type the day and month back in. The copy is plain text, so italicize the title in APA and YouTube in MLA.

Which Tool Do You Need?

• A video on YouTube — this page.
• A feature film or documentary, even one uploaded to YouTube — the Movie Citation Generator.
• A TV episode — the TV Show Citation Generator.
• A TED talk on YouTube or ted.com — the TED Talk Citation Generator.
• A recorded webinar — the Webinar Citation Generator.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a YouTube video in APA 7?

Give the channel as the author, the upload date, the title in italics with [Video], then YouTube and the URL: Above The Noise. (2017, October 18). Can procrastination be a good thing? [Video]. YouTube. URL. In text: (Above The Noise, 2017).

How do I cite a YouTube video in MLA 9?

Name the creator, copy the title exactly as shown in quotation marks, then give YouTube in italics, the date and the URL: Above the Noise. “Can Procrastination Be a Good Thing?” YouTube, 18 Oct. 2017, URL. If the creator is unclear, begin with the title and add uploaded by and the account name.

How do I cite a YouTube video in Chicago style?

Use a note: Above the Noise, “Can Procrastination Be a Good Thing?,” posted October 18, 2017, YouTube, URL. When the uploader is not the creator, add by and the channel after the date. The bibliography entry begins with the author's name and uses periods. Add the running time before the URL where you can.

How do I add a time stamp to an in-text citation?

Put the time where the quotation starts, in hours:minutes:seconds as the player shows it. APA writes (Above The Noise, 2017, 1:15) and MLA writes (Above the Noise 1:15). Use a time stamp for a quotation or a paraphrase of a specific point.

What do I do if the video has no date?

APA uses n.d. in place of the date. MLA leaves the date out. YouTube shows the upload date beneath the video, so look there first; it may be hidden behind the description's More link.

Should I cite the person speaking or the channel?

In APA 7 the channel that posted the video is the author, and you name the speaker in your sentence. MLA and Chicago prefer the creator when it is clear, and add the uploader where that helps a reader find the video. If you cannot tell who made it, use the channel.

Which citation styles does the YouTube generator support?

All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.