The pattern at a glance
- Channel is the creatorCreator. "Title of Video." YouTube, Day Mon. Year, URL.
- Uploaded by someone else"Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, Day Mon. Year, URL.Both patterns follow the MLA Style Center's post on citing YouTube videos.
- In-text(Creator) or ("Short Title"), plus a time range for a quotation: (Creator 00:02:15-00:02:30)
Creator or uploader: the one decision that matters
The MLA Style Center shows two kinds of YouTube entries. When the channel is the creator, as with a musician's official channel or an educational studio posting its own lessons, the channel name goes first as author. When the channel simply hosted someone else's work, the entry starts with the video title and the channel appears later as "uploaded by".
Most academic videos fall into the first group: TED-Ed, 3Blue1Brown and university channels produce what they post. A clip of a lecture reposted by a fan account belongs in the second group, and you should consider whether a more official copy exists before citing it.
What the generator prints and what to adjust
Our engine uses the official MLA 9 style file (CSL) with one correction for online videos: it leaves out the optional "Video." description and prints "uploaded by" before the channel when you fill in the uploader field. If the channel is only the uploader, leave the author empty and put the channel in "Uploaded by".
The engine also keeps https:// at the start of the URL. MLA 9 permits dropping the protocol; keeping it is also accepted, so follow your instructor's preference consistently across the Works Cited list.
Using videos as sources in an MLA paper
Videos are welcome sources in many humanities courses, especially when you analyse the video itself: a music video, a film clip, a lecture or a public talk. When you use a video only for information, check whether the argument also exists in written form, such as an article or a book, which readers can verify more easily.
Note the exact moment you refer to while watching, because MLA time stamps run in hours, minutes and seconds. Two quotations from the same video share one Works Cited entry; each gets its own time range in the text.
If the video belongs to a series, the series name can follow the title as an optional element. For streamed films and episodes on platforms such as Netflix, the film or episode is the source and the platform is the container.
Field by field: MLA video entry
The video form has five fields; this is what each becomes in MLA.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Author or channel | Creator element. Leave empty when the channel only uploaded the video. | Name under the player. |
| Title | Title of source in quotation marks, title case. | Above the channel name. |
| Platform | YouTube, the container, in italics. | The site. |
| Date | Upload date, day month year. | Description box. |
| URL | Location element. | Share link without &t= or &list= parameters. |
MLA YouTube citation examples
Two videos from channels that created their own content, formatted by the generator's MLA 9 engine.
Educational studio channel (TED-Ed)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
TED-Ed. “Why Does This Animal Never Age? - Raymond Adkins.” YouTube, 20 Oct. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPJ9KZqrl50.
In-text citation: (TED-Ed)
TED-Ed produced this lesson, so it is the creator. The educator's name in the title is part of the title, not a second author. MLA title case capitalises "Does", "This" and "Never".
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel TED-Ed, uploaded 20 October 2026; the title names the lesson's educator.
Independent creator's channel (3Blue1Brown)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
3Blue1Brown. “The Phone Number Puzzle.” YouTube, 25 Sept. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ausLKMojXaY.
In-text citation: (3Blue1Brown)
The channel name begins with a number and is kept exactly as shown. September is abbreviated to Sept. under MLA's month rules.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel 3Blue1Brown, uploaded 25 September 2026.
Formatted by the same citation engine that runs the generator above (citeproc-js with the official CSL style file). Italics follow the style.
MLA in-text citations for videos
Use the first element of the entry. Videos have no pages, so give a time range when you quote or point to a moment.
- Creator: (TED-Ed)
- Title first: ("Phone Number Puzzle")
- Time range: (3Blue1Brown 00:04:10-00:04:32)
- In the sentence: In "Why Does This Animal Never Age?", TED-Ed explains negligible senescence.
MLA video citation mistakes
- Always using "uploaded by". Use it only when the channel is not the creator.
- Italicising the video title. Video titles take quotation marks; YouTube is the italic container.
- Using minutes and seconds as a page. Write a time range in hours, minutes and seconds, not "p. 4".
- Citing a reupload when the original is available. Look for the creator's own channel and cite that version.
MLA YouTube citation FAQ
How do I cite a YouTube video in MLA 9?
If the channel created the video: Creator. "Title." YouTube, Day Mon. Year, URL. If not: "Title." YouTube, uploaded by Channel, Day Mon. Year, URL.
Is YouTube italicised in MLA?
Yes. YouTube is the container, and containers are italic.
Do I need an access date?
It is optional in MLA 9. Add one if the video could be removed or edited.
Why does the generator add "Video."?
The CSL style file adds a medium description for online videos. MLA treats such descriptions as optional, so you may keep or delete it.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.