How To Do A Works Cited In A Blog Post

You thought that your citation game was strong. But, you've hit a blog. Don't stress. Blog style citations typically break down the who, when, what and where of the blog you used. Just so you are prepared for anything that comes your way, learn the formats for MLA 8, APA 6, Chicago 17 and Harvard.

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Citing a Blog in MLA

Humanities writing your game? Then, MLA style is what you are looking for. Citing blogs in your MLA Works Cited page gets a bit more in-depth. These citations include:

Author name (name, screen name, handle, etc.): If both the author's name and screen name are available, list the author's name in brackets after the screen name (e.g., Crashtastic [Jennifer Betts]).
Post title in quotations
Name of the website in italics
Version, if available
Sponsor or publisher affiliated with the blog
URL or DOI
Access date

Example

Timothy McAdoo. "How to Cite a Blog Post in APA Style." APA Style. American Psychological Association, blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2016/04/how-to-cite-a-blog-post-in-apa-style.html2018, 30 November, 2018

How to Cite a Blog in APA

Listen up social science, education or psychology writers. Because, this is for you. Blog citations in your APA reference list will follow: who, when, what and where.

Who: This could be the author name or a screen name. While author name is preferred, you have to use what you have.
When: The date of the post (e.g., 2018, November 30).
What: The title of the post (only the first letter will be capitalized). Then, add the medium (e.g., blog) in brackets.
Where: This is easy. For this part, just provide the URL.

Examples

McAdoo, T. (2016, April 5). How to cite a blog post in APA style [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2016/04/how-to-cite-a-blog-post-in-apa-style.html

Freakonomics. (2018, November 29). How to be happy [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-be-happy_radio/

No writer? No problem! Learn how to cite a blog with no author in a click.

Chicago Blog Citations

Student writing blog citation for bibliography

Chicago style is an all-around formatting style that can be used for humanities and social science writing. While not as in-depth as MLA, it does ask for a little more information than APA.

Author: This can include the first and last name if available or the screen name.
Title of the post in quotation marks
Blog title
Medium in brackets, if blog isn't in the name
Publisher or sponsor, if available
Date (month, date, year)
URL

Example

McAdoo, Timothy, "How to Cite a Blog Post in APA Style," APA Style (blog), American Psychological Association, April 5, 2016, https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2016/04/how-to-cite-a-blog-post-in-apa-style.html.

Harvard Style Blog Citations

Harvard blog citations really aren't that different than their other style cousins. They look for the same info and tell you that you will be citing a blog. Check out the format.

Author: last, first or screen name.
Year published in parentheses
Title of the blog
Medium in brackets (e.g. [Blog])
Blog title in italics
URL
Accessed date (day, month, year) in parentheses

Example

McAdoo, Timothy. (2016). How to cite a blog in APA format [Blog]. APA style. Available at: https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2016/04/how-to-cite-a-blog-post-in-apa-style.html (Accessed: 30 November, 2018)

Perfect Blog Citations Every Time

Whew, that was a lot! However, now you have the tools for perfection. Whether you need to cite a blog in MLA, APA, Chicago or Harvard, follow the rules above and you will become a blog citing master.

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