MLA 9 YouTube video citation format
Creator/Uploader. “Video Title.” Platform, Day Month Year, URL.
Example (YouTube):
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. “The Fermi Paradox — Where Are All the Aliens?” YouTube, 3 May 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhvQGsMEc.
Example (named creator, different from channel)
Morrison, Toni. “On Writing.” YouTube, uploaded by PEN America, 12 Sept. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=example.
Key rules for video citations
- Author field: use the channel/uploader name if no individual creator is identified
- Title: in quotation marks
- Platform: italicised (YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, etc.)
- Date: Day Month Year of upload
- URL: the full video URL
Using the autocite feature
Paste the YouTube or Vimeo URL into the Autocite URL tab. The generator uses the platform’s oEmbed API to fetch the title, uploader name, and upload date automatically — no manual typing needed.
In-text citation
(Kurzgesagt) or, if you reference a specific timestamp: (Kurzgesagt, 3:24)
MLA 9 has no formal rule for video timestamps; use your best judgment and note the timestamp in parentheses if precision matters.