How to Cite People in MLA Format

Information gathered via interviews is often as valuable a resource as published information.

Oftentimes, when writing academic papers, you will use sources published online, on video or in print somewhere. You may also find yourself in a situation where you need to cite information that someone told directly to you, whether it was a one-on-one interview or during a speech or lecture. It is important that you know how to cite people in MLA format in these instances to avoid plagiarism.

Instructions

1. Cite personal interviews by listing the interviewee's last name, first name, the words, "Personal Interview," and the date that you conducted the interview, in that order. A sample entry may read as follows: Smith, Jane. Personal Interview. 5 January 2011.

2. Follow the above format when citing interviews that did not actually take place in person; replace the "Personal" in "Personal Interview" with the medium you used to contact your interviewee. You would cite an interview conducted over e-mail, for instance, as follows: Smith, Jane. E-mail Interview. 5 January 2011.

3. Cite information gathered from lectures or speeches by listing the speaker's last and first name, the title of the speech in italics if applicable, the name of the meeting or organization where the speech took place, the city and state in which the speech occurred, the date of the speech and a descriptor such as, "Guest Lecture," or "Conference Presentation" that accurately describes the purpose of the speech. A sample citation may read as follows: Smith, Jane. The Socialization of Racial Stereotypes. California State University. Los Angeles, CA. 5 January 2011. Classroom Lecture.

   Note that "The Socialization of Racial Stereotypes" should be italicized in the above example since it is the title of the lecture.

4. Perform in-text citations for any of the aforementioned scenarios by either introducing the interviewee or speaker within the body text or by typing her last name in parentheses following a relevant fact or quotation. For example, you may type, "In an interview, Jane Smith explained that we come to internalize stereotypes about our racial identities through the process of socialization." Alternatively, you can write, "We, as social beings, learn to internalize racial stereotypes via the process of socialization (Smith)."

References

• Purdue OWL: MLA Works Cited: Other Common Sources
• Honolulu Community College Library: MLA Citation Examples Written by HCC Library