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MLA 8th ed. Style Guide: Emails, Social Media

This MLA Style Guide has basic examples for citations. For more complex examples, please see the MLA Handbook, 8th edition.

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Essential Elements

1. Name of author (if available). Use name given as author, including online usernames. If real name is known, add that in a parenthesis beside the pseudonym. 

2. Title of article in quotations marks. For untitled short messages such as a tweet, reproduce the entire message and put it in quotation marks.

3. Title of container (italicized)

4. Date of publication and time posted if given

6. URL

Sample Citations - Magazine Articles

Email

Use standardized capitalization for email citations.

Example:

Hatch, Nathan O. “A Message from President Hatch.” Received by Joy M. Gambill, 11 June 2016.


Twitter

If messages are short and untitled, reproduce the full text (using quotation marks) in place of a title. Include a time posted with the date if it is listed. 

@abananasfoster (Amanda Foster). “Learning all about nested containers in the new MLA 8th edition.  	Loving 	the ‘Practice template’ in the back - #mla8th.” Twitter, 9 June 2016, 11:24 a.m., twitter.com/abananasfoster/status/740927611904397313.


Facebook

If messages are short and untitled, reproduce the full text (using quotation marks) in place of a title.

Trump, Donald J. “Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting  	Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest  	Washington Post.” Facebook, 13 June 2016, 4:37 p.m., www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/?rf=112489378765207.