3 Ways to Cite a YouTube Video

Books, newspapers and journal articles are usually the first and only things that come to mind when thinking of sources for academic assignments. However, obtaining information through traditional means is no longer the sole option in the digital age. YouTube in particular has tons of accessible content, from short educational videos to full-length documentaries on a wide range of subjects.

Citing YouTube, as well as other websites, in an academic paper is actually no more difficult that citing a book. We’ve put together the structures to help you correctly cite YouTube videos in APA, MLA and Chicago style formatting on an example of the How to separate fact and fiction online from the TED channel.

APA Format

1. Write the real name of the creator in last-name, first-initial format. In case the name is not available, use the creator’s username instead. If both real name and username are known, write them out, keeping name in the same last-name, first-initial format and putting username in the brackets.
2. Indicate the publishing date in year-month-day format. Enclose the date in parentheses and add a period.
3. Add the title of the video, capitalizing only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns. Put the title in italics Title of the video.
4. Specify the source format — “video file”. Add these words to brackets, followed by a period.
5. Insert the video URL, introducing it with the phrase “Retrieved from.” Don’t add a period after the link.

Example:

Nolan, M. (2012, December 11). Markham Nolan: How to separate fact and fiction online [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNV4yIyXXX0

MLA 8 Format

1. Write the real name of the creator or author in Last name, First name format and end it with a period.
2. Indicate the name of the video, putting the title in quotation marks and following it with a period. Capitalize the first letter of all major words.
3. Specify the title of the website (YouTube), italicize it, and follow with a comma.
4. Add the publisher’s name (YouTube channel name), follow with a comma. Perform this step only in case the names of the publisher and author differ.
5. List the publishing date in day-month-year format, follow with a comma.
6. Conclude by inserting the video URL, then add a period.

Example:

Nolan, Markham. “How to separate fact and fiction online.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 11 December 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNV4yIyXXX0.

Chicago Style

1. State the name of the individual or the company who published the video in Last name, First name format.
2. Add the title of the video, enclose it in quotation marks and follow with a comma.
3. Indicate the source as a YouTube video and add a comma.
4. Specify the length of the video, separating the minutes and seconds with a colon. Follow with a comma.
5. List the publishing date in month-day-year format, end with a period.
6. Finish by inserting the URL, then add a period.

Example:

Nolan, Markham. “How to separate fact and fiction online.” Youtube video, 13:29. December 11, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNV4yIyXXX0.

That’s it for the YouTube video citing guidelines!

If you want to get your favorite educational shows and documentaries downloaded from YouTube to watch offline, follow the steps below:

1. Download and install 4K Video Downloader. It's available for macOS, Windows and Linux.
2. Copy the video link from the browser.
3. Press Paste Url.
4. Select a quality type in the download window and click Download.
5. Then it remains only to wait until the downloading is completed and play downloaded video!

Get more useful instructions on downloading and working with YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo, Twitch, Tumblr and other popular sites on our Help page.