apa format essay youtube

• Academic Writing / APA 7th Ed

New Video Tutorial: APA 7th Demystified!

by Purdue Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center · Published August 21, 2020 · Updated October 7, 2020

Bewildered by APA? Head spinning just thinking about the transition to the 7th edition of the Publication Manual ? Fear not! The Writing Center at Purdue Global has rolled out its updated video aptly titled “APA Demystified in Five Minutes.”

That’s right–in five minutes! Learn about the basic formatting of the header and title page for a student paper, the proper set-up of in-text citations, the differences between parenthetical and narrative citations, and the layout and purpose of the list of references.

If you need a brief orientation to or a general overview of the 7th edition of APA Style, this video is for you.

Until next week,

Kurtis Clements

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APA Style is a set of guidelines for effective scholarly communication that helps writers present their ideas in a clear, precise, and inclusive manner. It is used by millions of people worldwide in psychology, social sciences, and many other disciplines for the preparation of manuscripts for publication as well as for writing student papers, dissertations, and theses. APA Style is described in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , which is a reference book that contains comprehensive guidelines on how to set up a scholarly paper; format a title page, tables, figures, and other paper elements; create references and in-text citations; and write without bias, as well as on punctuation, grammar, and writing style. For more information, please see the APA Style website .

The primary reference for APA Style is the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . Information on the manual and its companion products, including the student-focused Concise Guide to APA Style and the digital Mastering APA Style Student Workbook , can be found on the APA Style website .

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / APA YouTube Citation

How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA

While doing research for a paper, you may find relevant YouTube videos that you want to cite. You may already know how to cite a website in APA , but it can be difficult to know how to cite YouTube in APA style. You may also want to cite quotes within the video, user comments, or entire YouTube accounts.

The guidelines of this page cover APA 7th edition and specifies what you need to know to cite any various YouTube video content in APA style. For similar but different media, like citing a movie in APA or a tv show,  you’ll need to visit another guide.

Guide Overview

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

Step-by-step instructions for a YouTube video citation in APA style

Basic youtube video citation structure.

• Video with creator’s real name and screen mame

Video without uploader’s real name OR video by an organization

Citing a youtube channel, citing a direct quote from a video, citing a comment on a youtube video, citing a ted talk found on youtube, a note on apa 7th edition, citing a youtube video in apa, what you need, troubleshooting.

• List the real last name of the video’s uploader, capitalizing the first letter. Place a comma after the last name and then list the first initial of their first name, followed by a period. If you find their middle initial, list it after the first initial and period, also followed by a period. If the creator’s name is unavailable, skip this step and begin your citation with the next step.
• Next, using brackets, list the screen name of the video’s uploader as it is spelled on the page. Place a period after the closing bracket.
• Then, in parentheses, put the full numerical year followed by a comma, the full written month starting with a capital letter and followed by a comma, and the numerical day that the video was posted. Close the parentheses and follow with a period.
• Put the title of the video in Italics and in sentence case (only capitalizing the first letter and proper nouns). Do not place a period after the title.
• After the title, put the word Video (for the source format), capitalized, in normal font, and in brackets. Place a period after the closing bracket.
• Put the word YouTube (for the website source name) as it is spelled here, followed by a period.
• List the full URL for the web page containing the YouTube video you are citing. Do not follow with a period.

Note that in your citation, you must indent any lines after the first line. APA-style in-text citations for quoting and paraphrasing are the same for YouTube videos.

Video with creator’s real name and screen name

If only the screen name is available, you put the screen name first in the citation and omit the “[Screen name]” part of the citation.

View Screenshot

Now that you know how to cite YouTube in APA style, you may need more specific information on citing channels, quotes, or comments.

Instead of citing one particular YouTube video, you may want to cite an entire YouTube channel. While the format is similar to citing a YouTube video, there are a few key differences you can see in the format guidelines below.

• You will always use “n.d.” for “no date” because YouTube channels are undated.
• If you are instead citing another tab of the account (Videos, Playlists, Channels, Discussion, About), put the correct tab name instead of the word “Home.”
• Use the words “YouTube Channel” instead of the name of any specific videos since you’re citing a whole channel (not just one video).

You may want to include a direct quote from a YouTube video within your paper. While your reference page citation for the quote will be the same as a citation for the whole video, your in-text citation will need a timestamp to help readers easily access the quote ( Publication Manual , p. 274). It is commonly accepted to only include a timestamp for the beginning of the quote, but you may use a timestamp range if you think it would be helpful.

While researching your topic, you may find that you want to include a comment left on a YouTube video. You will need to cite the comment itself rather than the YouTube video. The format for citing a YouTube comment is similar to citing a YouTube video with a few key differences.

TED Talks are often great sources of information, and they can be found on both the TED website and on YouTube. When citing a TED Talk found on YouTube, list TED as the author for the in-text citation and the reference page.

The 7th edition of the APA Manual came out in 2020, replacing the 6th edition that came out in 2009. There are a few changes in the newest manual that apply when you need to cite YouTube video APA style.

Notable 7th edition changes include:

• Omission of “Retrieved from” before URLs
• Addition of the website name
• Uses “Video” instead of “Video file.”
• In-text citation format is the same,

APA 6th Edition Reference Page Format:

Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. [Screen name]. (Year, Month Day). Title of the video [Video file]. Retrieved from URL

APA 7th Edition Reference Page Format:

Uploader Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. [Screen name]. (Year, Month Day). Title of the video [Video]. Name of website. URL

In-text Citation Format (6th AND 7th Edition): 

(Author/Creator Last Name OR Screen name, Year)

To cite YouTube videos in APA style, you will need certain information. If available, find the following to include in your citation:

• Name of the individual(s) or group who uploaded the video. If it’s an individual, use their real name.
• Video uploader’s screen name
• Date attached to the video (including year, month, date)
• Title of the video
• URL of the video’s webpage

If any of the above information is not available on the same page as the YouTube video, you may need to do a little more research to find it. For example, to find the real name of the video’s uploader, you can click on the screen name to view the creator’s account where you might find their real name in the bio.

If any of the information is not available, even after doing additional research, simply leave it out of the citation, but include the rest of the information following the order of the basic format below.

Who is the author?

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (2020, p. 344) clarifies that the uploader of the video is used as the “author” of the video, even if they are not the creator of it.

Further information on citing in APA can be found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association in Section 10.12.

Solution #1: How to cite a video when the uploader’s real name cannot be found

When you want to cite a video from YouTube, Vimeo, or any other video-hosting sites, but cannot find the uploader’s real name, use their username in place of their actual name in your APA works-cited citation.

If using a username in place of a typical name, keep the same format and case of the username as it is discovered online, and omit the bracketed “username” part of your APA citation in your bibliography.

Use the username in place of the author’s name for your in-text citation.

Example in-text citation:

(videogamedunkey, 2021)

Example reference:

videogamedunkey. (2021, September 21). Originality in video games [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOQzTtsr3AQ

American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10/1037/0000165-000

Published July 21, 2014. Updated April 16, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau.  Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a YouTube video, you need to have the name of the uploader or the screen name, the full date the video was uploaded, the title of the video, and the URL (uniform resource locator). If any of these details are not available, you can skip it and add only the available information. The templates for in-text citations and reference list entries of a YouTube video along with examples are given below.

In-text citation templates and examples:

Video uploader’s name or Screen name (publication year)

Seburn (2020)

Parenthetical:

(Video uploader’s name or Screen name, publication year)

(Seburn, 2020)

Note that month and day are not mentioned in in-text citations.

Reference list entry template and example:

Video uploader’s Surname F. M. [Screen name]. (Publication Year, Month Day). Video title  [Video]. YouTube. URL

Seburn, C. [Smart Screen]. (2020, May 20). Welcome to the smart student! (Introductory video)  [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/wz9kb_cQ57Y

If you want to include the screen name, include it in square brackets after the uploader’s name. Set the title of the video in italics and sentence case. The word “Video” follows the title in square brackets. Use the word “YouTube” before the URL.

To cite a movie in APA style , it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the director, the date, the title of the movie, and the name of the production company.

In-text citation template and example:

Director Surname (Year)

Coppola (1972)

(Director Surname, Year)

(Coppola, 1972)

Director’s Surname, F. M. (Director). (Year). Title of the movie [Film]. Production Company.

Coppola, F. F. (Director). (1972). The godfather [Film]. Alfran Productions.

To cite a TV series in APA style, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the executive producer, the date, the title of the TV series, and the name of the production company.

Executive Producer Surname(s) (Year/s)

Crane and Kauffman (1994–2004)

(Executive Producer Surnames, Year/s)

(Crane & Kauffman, 1994–2004)

Executive Producer’s Surname, F. M. (Executive Producers). (Year). Title of the TV show [TV series]. Production Company.

Crane, D., & Kauffman, M. (Executive Producers). (1994–2004). Friends [TV series]. Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions.

Streaming video

To cite a streaming video in APA style, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the person or group who uploaded the video (or their username), the year, month, and day the video was uploaded, the title of the video, the streaming service, and the URL.

Video uploader’s surname or username (Year)

Stanford (2010)

(Video uploader’s surname or username, Year)

(Stanford, 2010)

Video uploader’s Surname F. M. [Username]. (Publication Year, Month Day). Video title . [Video]. YouTube. URL

Stanford. [Smart Screen]. (2010, March 29). Introduction to human behavioral biology . [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA

If you want to include the username with the uploader’s full name, include it in square brackets after the uploader’s name. Set the title of the video in italics and sentence case. The word “[Video]” follows the title. Use the streaming service’s title, “YouTube,” before the URL.

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Reference List: Audiovisual Media

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. There is no equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style (i.e., this page was written from scratch), but the old resource for electronic sources, which covers similar ground,  can be found here .

The term "audiovisual media" refers to media that contain both audio components, visual components, or a combination of both. In general, the citation style for audiovisual media varies depending on whether the piece stands alone or is part of a larger work. The following examples provide sample references for some of the most common audiovisual sources. Please note: the following contains a list of the most commonly cited audiovisual sources. For a complete list of how to cite audiovisual sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Film or Video

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication).  Title of motion picture  [Film]. Production company.

Loyd, P. (Director). (2008). Mamma mia! [Film]. Universal Pictures. 

Film or Video in Another Language 

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication).  Title of motion picture in original language [Translated title]   [Film]. Production company.

Del Toro, G. (Director). (2006). El laberinto del fauno [Pan’s labyrinth] [Film]. Warner Bros. Pictures.

Executive Producer, P. P. (Executive Producer). (Date range of release). Title of series [TV series]. Production company(s).

Sherman-Palladino, A., Palladino, D. (Executive Producers). (2017-present). The marvelous Mrs. Maisel  [TV series] . Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions; Picrow, Amazon Studios.

TV Series Episode

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode (Season number, Episode number) [Tv series episode]. In P. Executive Producer (Executive Producer),  Series title . Production company(s). 

Korsh, A. (Writer & Director). (2019, September 25). One last con (Season 9, Episode 10) [TV series episode]. In D. Liman & D. Bartis (Executive Producers), Suits . Untitled Korsh Company; Universal Content Productions; Open 4 Business Productions. 

YouTube Video

Person or group who uploaded video. (Date of publication). Title of video [Video]. Website host. URL 

Tasty. (2018, March 7). 7 recipes you can make in 5 minutes [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5wHw6l11o

Music Album

Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of album [Album]. Record label.

The National. (2019). I am easy to find [Album]. 4AD.

Note: if you are referencing a re-recorded version of a classical work, list that album title in brackets following the name of the album.

Single Song or Track

Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album [Album]. Record label. 

Dacus, L. (2018). Night shift [Song]. On Historian [Album]. Matador Records.

Note: if the song is a piece of classical music, you can list the composer instead of the recording artist.

Note: if the song does not have an associated album, simply omit the section with the album.

Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Range of publication). Title of podcast [Audio podcast]. Production company. URL

Bae, P. (Executive Producer). (2017-present). The big loop [Audio podcast]. QRX. https://www.thebiglooppodcast.com/

Note: in place of the executive producer, you can also list the host of the podcast.

Note: if you did not access the podcast via an online source (e.g., if, you used a podcast app), omit the URL.

Single Podcast Episode

Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Date of publication). Title of podcast episode (Episode number) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast . Production company. URL

Koenig, S. (Host). (2014, October 3). The alibi (No. 1) [Audio podcast episode]. In Serial . WBEZ Chicago. https://serialpodcast.org/

Note: if you did not access the podcast via an online source (e.g., if you used a podcast app), omit the URL.

Artwork in a Museum or on a Museum Website

Artist, A. (Year of release). Title of artwork [medium]. Name of museum, City, State, Country. URL of museum

Hopper, E. (1942). Nighthawks [Painting]. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111628/nighthawks

Note: if the artwork is available via a museum website, cite that website at the end of the citation. If there is no associated website, simply omit the URL.

Note: if the artwork does not have a title, briefly describe the work and put that description in square brackets.

Photograph (not associated with a museum)

Photographer, P. (Year of publication). Title of photograph [Photograph]. Source. URL

Ryan, S. (2019). Sea smoke on Lake Michigan [Photograph]. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/world/year-in-pictures.html

Note: if the photograph does not have a title, describe the photograph and put that description in square brackets.

• Free Tools for Students
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Free APA Citation Generator

Generate citations in APA format quickly and automatically, with MyBib!

🤔 What is an APA Citation Generator?

An APA citation generator is a software tool that will automatically format academic citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) style.

It will usually request vital details about a source -- like the authors, title, and publish date -- and will output these details with the correct punctuation and layout required by the official APA style guide.

Formatted citations created by a generator can be copied into the bibliography of an academic paper as a way to give credit to the sources referenced in the main body of the paper.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an APA Citation Generator?

College-level and post-graduate students are most likely to use an APA citation generator, because APA style is the most favored style at these learning levels. Before college, in middle and high school, MLA style is more likely to be used. In other parts of the world styles such as Harvard (UK and Australia) and DIN 1505 (Europe) are used more often.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Like almost every other citation style, APA style can be cryptic and hard to understand when formatting citations. Citations can take an unreasonable amount of time to format manually, and it is easy to accidentally include errors. By using a citation generator to do this work you will:

• Save a considerable amount of time
• Ensure that your citations are consistent and formatted correctly
• Be rewarded with a higher grade

In academia, bibliographies are graded on their accuracy against the official APA rulebook, so it is important for students to ensure their citations are formatted correctly. Special attention should also be given to ensure the entire document (including main body) is structured according to the APA guidelines. Our complete APA format guide has everything you need know to make sure you get it right (including examples and diagrams).

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's APA Citation Generator?

Our APA generator was built with a focus on simplicity and speed. To generate a formatted reference list or bibliography just follow these steps:

• Start by searching for the source you want to cite in the search box at the top of the page.
• MyBib will automatically locate all the required information. If any is missing you can add it yourself.
• Your citation will be generated correctly with the information provided and added to your bibliography.
• Repeat for each citation, then download the formatted list and append it to the end of your paper.

MyBib supports the following for APA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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• Knowledge Base
• Citing sources
• How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago

How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago

Published on March 17, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

To cite a video from YouTube or another video sharing site, you need an in-text citation with a corresponding reference listing the uploader, the publication date, the video title, and the URL.

The format varies depending on the citation style you use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago style .

Use the interactive example generator below to explore the APA and MLA formats or use Scribbr’s Citation Generator .

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Table of contents

Citing a video in mla style, citing a video in apa style, citing a video in chicago style, where to find the information for a youtube citation, frequently asked questions about citations.

An MLA Works Cited entry for an online video begins with the name of the video’s author (the person who created it). The uploader is listed later, after the name of the site. The video title appears in quotation marks, the site name in italics.

In the in-text citation, list the author’s last name and the timestamp of the relevant part of the video.

Videos with the same author and uploader

When the person who created the video (the author) is the same person who uploaded it, MLA recommends starting the Works Cited entry with the title so as not to repeat the name in both the author and the uploader position.

This means that the in-text citation for a video like this begins with the title, shortened if it is a long title.

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In an APA Style reference entry for a video , the person or organization that uploaded the video is always listed in the author position, even if they didn’t create the video. The video title appears in italics, followed by “Video” in square brackets.

A timestamp may be used in the in-text citation to show the location of a particular quote .

Note that if the uploader’s real name is known and is different from the name of their channel, both should be included—the real name first, then the channel name in brackets.

To cite an online video in Chicago style , include a bibliography entry listing full details of the video, and a footnote where you cite it in the text.

The bibliography entry shows the video title in quotation marks, as well as specifying that the source is a video and stating its total length.

The footnote may list a timestamp if it’s necessary to highlight the location of a specific part of the video.

Chicago also offers an author-date citation style . An example of how to cite YouTube videos in this style can be found here .

All the key information needed to cite a YouTube video is displayed below the video itself on the site:

• The video title
• The uploader’s username
• The upload date
• The timestamp of the relevant part of the video
• The URL (it’s best to use the one given when you click on “Share”)

If the uploader’s name is not the same as their username, or if you need information about the video’s original creator, this information may be available in the description or in the video itself.

The image below shows where to find the relevant information below the video on YouTube; other video sites tend to follow a similar layout.

The main elements included in a YouTube video citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the author/uploader, the title of the video, the publication date, and the URL.

The format in which this information appears is different for each style.

All styles also recommend using timestamps as a locator in the in-text citation or Chicago footnote .

In APA , MLA , and Chicago style citations for sources that don’t list a specific author (e.g. many websites ), you can usually list the organization responsible for the source as the author.

If the organization is the same as the website or publisher, you shouldn’t repeat it twice in your reference:

• In APA and Chicago, omit the website or publisher name later in the reference.
• In MLA, omit the author element at the start of the reference, and cite the source title instead.

If there’s no appropriate organization to list as author, you will usually have to begin the citation and reference entry with the title of the source instead.

When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)

In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.

For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

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.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-video/

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APA 7th Ed. Manual

Free microsoft 365 access, tutorials and workshop recording, paper format: microsoft 365 and google docs, in-text citation, references list, more about dois and urls.

• Getting Research Help
• To give credit to others for their ideas
• To provide support for your argument
• To help your reader find and read the sources you used

When to Cite

• Paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly quoting from any source
• Acknowledging another person for an idea
• Using your own previous work

How to Cite

APA citation requires two parts:

• In-Text Citations : brief citations included within the text of your paper. They point your reader to the full citation at the end of your paper.
• References List : a page at the end of your paper listing all the sources you used.

The APA Publication Manual is the official guide to APA format.

All Merced College students have access to Microsoft 365 (formerly branded as Office 365), which includes Word, through student email.

• How to Use Microsoft 365 From Merced College's SSTC.
• Citing and Formatting in APA (7th ed.)

This interactive tutorial was created by Merced College Faculty Librarian Lindsay Davis and will guide you through:

• formatting a paper
• creating in-text citations
• pulling information from sources to create citations for a References page in APA 7th edition

The tutorial can be used as an assignment because there are quiz questions. Students can retake it as often as they wish, and after completing the tutorial, they can download a PDF certificate of completion with their name and score as a percentage.

• Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style

• paper elements, format, and organization   
• academic writing style  
• grammar and usage    
• bias-free language guidelines    
• mechanics of style
• tables and figures
• in-text citations, paraphrasing, and quotations
• reference list format and order

The tutorial doesn't contain checks for understanding. 

• Student Success APA 7 Workshop Recording
• Merced College Psychology instructor Susie Williamson gives a workshop about APA 7 formatting every semester.
• The latest recording is from Spring 2024.
• The next APA workshop is on September 24, 2024 from 1-2pm in LRC 156 and by Zoom .
• All upcoming workshops and recordings can be found on the Study Central Workshops page.

Paper format is covered in Chapter 2 of the  APA Publication Manual

• Paper Format From APA Style.
• APA General Format From Purdue OWL.
• APA Style From Excelsior OWL.

Watch the Video: Microsoft 365

Office 365 was rebranded to Microsoft 365 in 2020. The following "...video walks you step-by-step through setting up an Office 365 Word document in APA 7th edition format" ( lsccyfairlibrary , 4:25). 

Watch the Video: Google Docs

"APA format is easy in Google Drive! This video is based on the student guidelines for APA 7th edition, which came out near the end of 2019" ( Amy Whitson , 3:32). 

In-text citation is covered in Chapter 8 of the  APA Publication Manual

• In-Text Citations From APA Style.
• In-Text Citations: The Basics From Purdue OWL.
• APA In-Text Citations From Excelsior OWL.

Reference examples are covered in Chapter 10 of the  APA Publication Manual

• APA 7 Handout From the Merced College Library; the first page covers print resources, and the second page has electronic resources.
• Reference Examples From APA Style.
• Reference List: Basic Rules From Purdue OWL.
• APA References From Excelsior OWL.

DOI & URL Guidelines

• If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI.
• If the DOI is not available, treat the work as a print source. 
• Don't include the URL or database information. 
• Don't use a period after a DOI. 
• If the URL is no longer working, try to find an archived version using the  Internet Archive and use the archived URL. 
• Don't use a period after a URL. 
• Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL
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How to Cite a YouTube Video

Create citations for free.

Website Book Journal Video

While you might first think of books, newspapers, and journal articles as go-to sources for academic assignments, YouTube provides a wealth of informative, easily accessible videos. Yes, there is questionable content, but the site is also filled with educational channels, snippets from evening news programs, and even full-length documentaries on a range of interesting and scholarly subjects.

Since YouTube has a ton of information, citing a video retrieved from YouTube might seem more difficult than citing a book. But the process is fairly simple—and we’ve put together this helpful guide on how to cite a YouTube video using MLA format , APA format, and Chicago style.

If you’ve previously cited a video from another website, you’re in luck: The process for citing a video from YouTube is basically the same. To provide an example, we’ve cited a video from the CrashCourse YouTube channel—run by “Fault in Our Stars” author John Green—that offers educational videos on a slew of topics, including history, chemistry, and psychology. This particular video is about the US Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism. We’ve laid out how to cite the video in MLA format, APA format, and Chicago style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7FQsCcbD8

To properly cite a video from YouTube, you must consider the following pieces of information:

• Full name, username, or name of the company that posted the content
• Title of the video
• Title of the website (YouTube)
• Publisher of the video
• Date the video was posted
• Length or duration of the video
• URL or of the video

Use the following structure to cite a YouTube video in MLA 9:

Last name, First name (of the individual who posted the content) OR the name of the company OR the username. “Title of the Video.” Title of the Website , Name of the Publisher that uploaded the video (only include if it differs from the author or title), Date it was uploaded, URL.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in MLA 9 :

CrashCourse. “The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism: Crash Course US History #8.” YouTube , 21 Mar. 2013, youtu.be/bO7FQsCcbD8.

If you need help with in-text and parenthetical citations, CitationMachine.net can help. Our MLA citation generator is simple and easy to use!

Use the following structure to create an APA citation for a YouTube video :

Name of the Account OR Last Name, First initial of uploader [YouTube Account Name]. (Year, Month Day it was posted). Title of the video [Video]. YouTube. URL

Here’s how the above example would be cited in APA:

CrashCourse. (2013, March 21). The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism: Crash course in US History #8 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bO7FQsCcbD8

Use the following structure to cite a YouTube video in Chicago :

Last name, First name of the individual or the company who posted the content. “Title of Video.” YouTube video, length. Date published. URL.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in Chicago :

CrashCourse. “The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism: Crash Course in US History #8.” YouTube video, 13:03. March 21, 2013. https://youtu.be/bO7FQsCcbD8

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Including the name(s) of the video poster is discussed in reference examples 88 and 90 of the APA Publication Manual , 7 th edition. If the video is posted on the organization’s official website, then the speaker or presenter’s name would be listed in the author field. However, if the video is posted on YouTube or any other video sharing site, the name of the account that uploaded the video is listed as the author instead, to aid retrieval.

APA reference list template and examples:

Presenter’s Last Name, F. M. or Uploader’s Last Name, F. M. [Username*]. (Date posted). Title of the video [Video]. Publisher. URL

Cutts, S. (2016, October 18). Are you lost in the world like me? [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/209248444

Fogarty, M. [Grammar Girl]. (2016, September 30). How to diagram a sentence (absolute basics) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zznr-e6A4mQ

Iimjobs. (2020, March 2). Chegg – Life at Chegg | Showcase | iimjobs.com [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Nb3Ebtj9M

*Note: The username should be included if the account holder’s name and account name are both known and if including the username will help in retrieval.

Per the MLA Handbook , 9 th ed., the performer or creator is omitted if they are not mentioned in the source. Instead, the name of the uploader is included in the contributor field.

MLA works cited list template and example:

“Video Name.” Name of the Website , uploaded by Account Name, date video was posted, URL.

“Top 10 Unforgettable Buffy The Vampire Slayer Moments.” YouTube , uploaded by MsMojo, 1 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKq4SjCPzII.

As per the APA Publication Manual , 7 th edition, the in-text citation for a direct quote from a YouTube video should include the last name of the person who uploaded the video, the year the video was published, and a timestamp of the quote you are citing.

APA in-text citation template and example:

(Uploader Surname, year, HH:MM:SS)

(Cutts, 2016, 1:12:37)