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How to Cite an Interview in MLA | Format & Examples

Published on August 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on March 5, 2024.

When citing an interview in MLA style , the name of the person being interviewed appears as the author in the in-text citation.

In the Works Cited entry, the interviewee’s name is followed by the title of the interview in quotation marks. If there is no title, use the description “Interview” (with no styling or quotation marks).

If you conducted the interview yourself, add your own name and the date on which the interview took place. If you found the interview in a published source, include the name of the interviewer and full details of the source.

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Citing a personal interview in mla, citing a published interview in mla.

To cite an interview that you conducted yourself, start the Works Cited entry with the name of the interviewee. Then simply describe it with the word “Interview,” followed by your own name (or “the author”) and the date on which the interview took place.

In the parenthetical citation , you only need to include the interviewee’s last name.

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To cite an interview that you found in a published source (e.g., in a newspaper , book , podcast , or video ), treat the person being interviewed as the author, and put the title of the interview in quotation marks. Then include full details of the source according to the MLA core elements .

In the parenthetical citation, include the interviewee’s last name and (if available) the page number.

Interview in an online magazine

For an interview published in an online magazine, newspaper, or blog, you add the name of the publication, the date it was posted, and the URL.

Read more about MLA online article citations .

Interview in a book

For an interview that appears as a chapter or section in a book, you need to include the book’s title; the author(s) or editor(s); the publisher; the publication year; and the page range on which the interview appears.

If the author or editor of the book is the same as the interviewer, you can leave out this part of the citation to avoid repetition.

Read more about how to cite a book in MLA or use our free MLA Citation Generator to automatically create MLA citations.

Interview in a journal

For an interview published in an academic journal, you need to include the journal name, volume and number, the date or year, and the page range. If you accessed the interview on an online database, include the name of the database and the DOI or stable URL.

Read more about MLA journal citations .

Online video of an interview

If you accessed a video or audio recording of the interview online, include the platform or website, the user who uploaded the interview, the date it was uploaded, and the URL.

In the in-text citation, you can use a timestamp or range of timestamps to specify the relevant part of the recording.

Read more about citing a YouTube video in MLA .

Our MLA citation generator makes it easy to cite published interviews in any format.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2024, March 05). How to Cite an Interview in MLA | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/interview-citation/

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite an Interview in MLA

How to Cite an Interview in MLA

Here’s a quick overview of how to cite an interview in MLA style 9th edition.

Interview – Published in a magazine, newspaper, website, or on TV/radio.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

Citing an interview in print

Citing a personal interview, interview in-text citations, troubleshooting, interview citation structure:.

Interviewee Last, First M. “Interview Title.” Interview by First M. Last. Magazine Name, Date Month Year, pp. page number(s).

Interview Citation Example:

Obama, Michelle. “Oprah Talks to Michelle Obama.” Interview by Oprah Winfrey. O, The Oprah Magazine, Apr. 2009, pp. 116-125.

Personal Interview Citation Structure:

Last Name of Interviewee, First Name M. Type of Interview (Personal Interview, Phone Interview, Skype Interview, etc.). Date.

Personal Interview Citation Example:

Cloyd, Allison. Personal interview. 24 July 2014.

Interview In-text Citation Structure:

(Interviewee Last Name Page #)

Interview In-text Citation Example:

(Obama 118)

Solution #1: How to create citations for different types of interviews

Interviews include interactions in both writing a speaking.

Written interviews include published and unpublished renditions of in-person interviews and email interviews, which all follow slightly different formats.

Published interview in print

To write a published interview citation:

• Write the author’s name in last name, first name format.
• Write the interview title in quotation marks.
• Write “Interview by” followed by the full first name and last name of the interviewer.
• List the title of the periodical or journal in italics followed by a comma.
• After the comma, write the date the source was published followed by another comma.
• Lastly, write the page span abbreviated as “pp.” followed a period.

Works cited entry example:

Johnson, Crystal. “Crystal’s Everyday Life.” Interview by Elizabeth Miller. The Hypothetical Interviewers’ Column, May 2020, pp. 19-20.

Published interview found online

To write a published interview citation found online:

• Type the URL followed by a period.
• Lastly, type “accessed” and list the date that the source was found.

Johnson, Crystal. “Crystal’s Everyday Life.” Interview by Elizabeth Miller. The Hypothetical Interviewers’ Column , May 2020, http://hypothetical_interviewers_com_CJohnson. Accessed 1 May 2021.

Note: If the interview you’re trying to cite is formatted as a video posted on YouTube, this guide on citing a YouTube video in MLA  can help!

Interview via email

To write an email citation:

• Write the interviewee’s name in last name, first name format.
• Write a brief description of the interview title in quotation marks.
• Type “Received by” followed by the full name of the interviewer and a comma.
• After the comma, write the date of the interaction followed by a period.
• Lastly, write “Email interview” followed by a period.

Adams, Tyler. “Re: Job Application for the Writing Center.” Received by Howard Smith, 21 November 2021. Email Interview.

Spoken, in-person interview

Spoken interviews include in-person interviews, online interviews, and telephone interviews, which all follow similar guidelines.

• Write the name of the interviewee in first name, last name format with a period.
• Write the type of interview conducted with a period.
• Follow this information with the date and a period.

Example of an in-person interview works cited example:

Johnson, Crystal. Personal Interview. 20 May 2021.

Example of an online interview works cited example:

Johnson, Crystal. Facebook Video Interview. 20 May 2021.

Example of a telephone interview works cited example:

Johnson, Crystal. Telephone Interview. 20 May 2021.

Solution #2: Referencing interviews with missing information

Interview missing an author

If the source is missing an author, skip this information and write the title in quotation marks with a period. Follow this information with the name of the journal or periodical in italics and a period. List the date of the publication followed by a comma and the page span of the material.

“The Daily Life of Crystal.” The Hypothetical Interviewers’ Column , May 2020, pp. 19-20.

Interview without a title

When an interview is missing a title, rename it with a brief description of the interview.

Johnson, Crystal. “Crystal Discusses her Routine.” Interview by Elizabeth Miller. The      Hypothetical Interviewers’ Column , May 2020, pp. 19-20.

Interview without a date

If an interview found online is missing a date, skip this information and continue writing the URL and access date.

Johnson, Crystal. “The Daily Life of Crystal.” Interview by Elizabeth Miller. The Hypothetical    Interviewers’ Column, http://hypothetical_interviewers_com_CJohnson. Accessed 2 May 2020.

Interview without pages

If a reference is missing pages, simply do not list them. Instead, follow the date with a period.

Johnson, Crystal. “The Daily Life of Crystal.” Interview by Elizabeth Miller. The Hypothetical Interviewers’ Column , May 2020.

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To cite an interview with two or more people in MLA style, you need to have the name of the interviewees, title of the interview, and year. The templates for an in-text citation and works-cited-list entry of an interview with two or more people, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Cite the names of the interviewees in the same way as you would cite multiple authors. The below example is for three interviewees.

(Interviewee’s Surname et al.)

(Sethusankar et al.)

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

Interviewee Surname, First Name, et al. Interview. Conducted by Interviewer’s Name, Publisher, Publication Date.

Sethusankar, Krishnan, et al. Interview with College Professors . Conducted by Kirubakaran, Ajantha Publishers, 2021.

To cite an interview on television, radio, or podcast in MLA format, you need to have the name of the interviewee, title of the interview, name of the host, name of the TV channel, radio, or podcast, and year. The templates for an in-text citation and works-cited-list entry of an interview on television, radio, or podcast along with examples are given below:

(Interviewee’s Surname)

Interviewee Surname, First Name, “Title of the Interview.” Title of the show , hosted by Interviewer’s Name, TV Channel, Day Month Year.

Singh, Amarinder. “Hammers ‘Incapable’ Sidhu.” Captain Speaks to Arnab , hosted by Arnab Goswami, Republic World, 18 Sept. 2021.

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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Interviews and Emails (Personal Communications)

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Interview (in person), citing elders, email interview, telephone interview, abbreviating months.

In your works cited list, abbreviate months as follows: 

January = Jan. February = Feb. March = Mar. April = Apr. May = May June = June July = July August = Aug. September = Sept. October = Oct. November = Nov. December = Dec.

Spell out months fully in the body of your paper. 

When is personal communication (in person, emails, and telephone) used in citation?

The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as an email thread or an interview you conducted with someone else. In this case the work isn't published anywhere; someone else couldn't find and read the full interview or email on their own.

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information.

For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

Note : For your Works Cited list, all citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name, Day Month Year of interview. 

Last name, First names, Elder, Nation/Community.  Topic/subject of communication if applicable . Personal communication, Date Month Year. Territorial Acknowledgement of where the information was shared/collected.

This citation template was developed by Norquest College  in the spirit of wahkôhtowin and reconciliation. It was expanded upon by Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library and the KPU the Elder in Residence, Lekeyten. 

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. "Subject Line of Email." Received by Name of Person Who Received Email, Day Month Year of Email. Email Interview.

Learn more: See  MLA Handbook , p. 124 for citing emails, p. 211 for descriptions at the end of citations.

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Interview. Day Month Year of interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name. Telephone Interview.

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Personal Communication

The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as a conversation, phone call, an email thread or interview you conducted. Personal communications are not published anywhere so someone else can not find and read the full interview or email on their own.

You may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In these cases, cite them according to where you found the information. Do not use the "Personal Communications" category. For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited as a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

Interview: Email

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. "Subject Line of Email." Received by Name of Person Who Received Email. Day Month Year of Email. Email Interview.

Smith, Paula. "Re: Food and Family." Received by Joseph Tan. 20 May 2016. Email Interview.

Interview: In Person or Telephone

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Description of Interview. Day Month Year of interview. Type of Interview.

Myers, Elizabeth. The Dangers of Violence in the Media. 12 Mar. 2016. Personal Interview.

Ball, William. Best Practices for the Care of Hospital Patients. 30 Jan. 2016. Telephone Interview.

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How to cite an interview in MLA

To cite a personal interview in a reference entry in MLA style 9th edition include the following elements:

• Interviewee name(s): Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
• Title of the interview: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
• Interviewer name(s): Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
• Title of the source: Container titles are italicized and followed by a comma.
• Date of publication: Give the day, month and year of publication. All months, excluding June and July, are abbreviated as three letters (e.g. 9 Aug. 2019.)
• page numbers: Give the full page range preceded by pp. If only one page, precede with one p.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a personal interview in MLA style 9th edition:

Interviewee name(s) . " Title of the interview ." Interviewer name(s) . Title of the source , Date of publication , pp. page numbers .

Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:

An MLA interview citation

Ngozi Adichie, Chimamanda . " A Conversation with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ." Interview by Susan VanZanten . Image Journal , no. 65 , Undated , https://imagejournal.org/article/conversation-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/ .

An MLA interview citation with an anonymous subject

Respondent #3. . " Using Feminist Methods and Restorative Justice to Interview Capital Offenders’ Family Members ." Interview by Elizabeth Beck and Sarah Britto . vol. 21 , no. 1 , Feb. 1 2006 , pp. 59-70 .

This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9 th edition).

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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Personal Communications (Interviews, Emails, etc.)

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Personal Communications

What is a personal communication.

The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as an email thread or an interview you conducted with someone else. In this case the work isn't published anywhere, someone else couldn't find and read the full interview or email on their own.

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information.

For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

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What are personal Communications?

The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as an email thread or an interview you conducted with someone else. In this case the work isn't published anywhere, someone else couldn't find and read the full interview or email on their own.

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information.

For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

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The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as an email thread or an interview you conducted with someone else. In this case the work isn't published anywhere, someone else couldn't find and read the full interview or email on their own.

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information.

For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

Personal Interview (In Person, Zoom, etc.)

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Description of Interview. Day Month Year of interview.

For in-text citations, use ( Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed)

Email (Including Email Interviews)

Last Name of the Author of the Message, First Name. "Subject Line of Email." Received by Name of Person Who Received Email,  Day Month Year of Email.

For in-text citations, use (Last Name of Person Who Sent the Message)

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MLA Interview Citation

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How to cite an interview in a bibliography using MLA

The citation format for an interview depends on how it was conducted and whether it was published.

Published Interview:

Begin your citation with the name of the person interviewed. This person’s name should be reversed, with a comma after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the person’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For a published interview with a title, include the title after the name of the person interviewed. If the interview is from a publication, program, or recording, place the title, along with a period, in quotation marks.

The entry format of a published interview also depends on whether the interviewer’s name is given or not. When you don’t know the interviewer’s name, omit it from the entry.

Interviewer’s Name Not Given:

Interviewee Last Name, First Name. “Interview Title.” Publication Title , Publication Date, Location Details (website URL, page number). Interview.

Interviewer’s Name Given:

Interviewee Last Name, First Name. “Interview Title.” Interview by First Name Last Name. Publication Title , Publication Date, Location Details (website URL, page number).

Interview with a Title:

For a published interview with a title, include the interview title after the name of the person interviewed. Use quotation marks around the interview title, followed by a period. Include the publication or broadcast program’s title in italics after the interview title.

Jolie, Angelina. “Being a Mother.”  The New York Times , 30. Jan. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/interview/angelina-jolie-being-a-mother.html. Interview.

Interview without a Title:

If there is no interview title or if the interview was published independently, italicize the publication title and follow it with a period. If the interviewer’s name is known, include “Interview by” after the interview title details. Do not reverse the interviewer’s name (Interview by First Name Last Name).

Jolie, Angelina. 60 Minutes. Interview by Steve Kroft. CBS, 3 Feb. 2009.

Conclude the citation with publication information related to the medium in which the interview was published. See the Citation Guide entries for these works (e.g. radio/TV programs, magazines, newspapers, books) for specific guidelines. For books, there are minor changes to the publication information formatting. The author name(s) should not be reversed, should be preceded by the word “By”, and should come after the book title. Treat an interview in a book like a chapter and include the page numbers where it appears.

Jolie, Angelina. Interview by Steve Kroft. 60 Minutes . CBS. WCBS, New York: 3 Feb. 2009.

Jolie, Angelina. Interview by John Smith. Newsweek 3 Feb. 2009: B22+.

Jolie, Angelina. Interview by John Smith. Discussions with a Star . By Jane Doe. Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2009. 28-47.

Unpublished Interview:

Interviewee Last Name, First Name. Interview. Conducted by Interviewer First Name Last Name, Date Conducted.

Hill, Joe. Interview. Conducted by Jane Doe, 22 Oct. 2020.

Begin your citation with the name of the person interviewed. This person’s name should be reversed, with after the last name and a period after the first name (or any middle name). A suffix, such as a roman numeral or Jr./Sr. should appear after the person’s given name, preceded by a comma.

For a personally conducted interview, after the person interviewed, state the type of interview (e.g. personal interview, telephone interview, etc.), followed by a period. Conclude the citation with the date the interview was conducted, followed by a period. For the interview date, write the complete date in the international format (i.e., day-month-year). With the exception of May, June, and July, abbreviate month names (four letters for September, three letters for all other months) and follow the date with a period.

Interviewee Name. Interview type with the author. Date Conducted.

Jolie, Angelina. Telephone interview with the author. 11 Feb. 2009.

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To provide a works-cited entry for an unpublished interview, use the following format as per the MLA handbook.

Last Name, First Name. Interview. Conducted by Name, Date Month. Year.

O’Connor, Mary. Interview. Conducted by Mary Skiemer, 23 Nov. 2003.

For an interview that does not have the interviewer’s name, place the interviewee’s name at the beginning of the citation.

Interviewee’s Last Name, First Name. “Title.” Publication Title , Date, Location (URL, p xx). Interview.

Helper, Sidrah. “Sidrah: Chronicles of a Housemaid.” Angelic Publishers , 28 Mar. 2022, www.angelicpub.net/2022/hosuemaidchronicles.html. Interview.

If the interview is from a printed book, use the format below.

Interviewee’s Last Name, First Name. “Chapter Title.” Title of Book, edited by First Name, Last Name (if applicable), Publisher Name, Year, pp. xx-xx.

Pedro, Silva. “A Cook’s Journey.” Interviews with Great Chefs , edited by Stephen Smith. Grove Publishers, 2004, pp. 23-40.

Citations - MLA: Pesonal Communication (Interviews, Emails, & Telephone)

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• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Journal Articles
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Pesonal Communication (Interviews, Emails, & Telephone)
• Religious Texts
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• When Creating Digital Assignments
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Click and View: How Do I Cite?

• Personal (In Person) Interview

Email Interview

Telephone interview, when is personal communication (in person, emails, and telephone) used in citation.

The category "Personal Communications" is used in situations where you are taking information from a source such as an email thread or an interview you conducted with someone else. In this case the work isn't published anywhere, someone else couldn't find and read the full interview or email on their own.

Sometimes you may find interviews with people in journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. In those cases don't use the "Personal Communications" category. Instead, cite them according to where you found the information.

For example, an interview in a magazine would be cited like a magazine article. That way anyone reading your assignment could easily track down the interview for themselves by finding the same magazine article.

Personal Interview (In Person)

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Description of Interview. Day Month Year of interview. Personal Interview.

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. "Subject Line of Email." Received by Name of Person Who Received Email. Day Month Year of Email. Email Interview.

Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Description of Interview. Day Month Year of interview. Telephone Interview.

This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries.

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MLA 8 Citation Guide

• TITLE of SOURCE
• TITLE of CONTAINER
• OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
• PUBLICATION DATE
• Works Cited
• Journal Article with One Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three or More Authors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Reference Work
• Basic Web Page
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government or Agency Document
• YouTube Video
• Electronic Image
• Figures and Charts
• Class Lecture/Notes
• Secondary Sources

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Interviews (p. 179)

Personal interviews in MLA Style  are i ncluded in the Works Cited list. unlike in APA Style

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.

     (Smith Interview)

Published interview

Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock. Mississippi Review , vol. 27, no. 3, 1999, pp. 129-50.

Online Only Interview

Inkievich, Craig. Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach. Skewed & Reviewed , 27 Apr. 2009, www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/1056940-skewed-%2526-reviewed-interviews-craig . Accessed 15 Mar. 2009.

Purdue Owl on "Other Sources " in MLA 8 style

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• Swisher Library

MLA Guide 9th ed.

Citing an interview.

• Formatting the Author and Title
• Citing a Book or Ebook
• Citing Part of a Book or Ebook
• Citing a Journal Article
• Citing a Magazine or Newspaper Article
• Citing a Website
• Citing an Online Video or Image
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Format : Interviewee. Interview. Conducted by Interviewer, Date of Interview.

*Note: for published interviews, follow MLA format for published materials.

Example : Smith, Jane. Interview. Conducted by  John Doe, 24 Oct. 2017.

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• Citing an Interview/Podcast

Citing an Interview or Podcast

If you listen to an interview or a podcast for an assignment, you will need to cite it. Use the examples in the tabbed boxes below to cite these sources correctly according to MLA.

Personal Interview:

Format:  Interviewee. Interview. Conducted by Interviewer, Date of Interview.

Example :  Smith, Jane. Interview. By John Doe, 24 Oct. 2015.

Published Interview:

*Note:  for published interviews, follow MLA format for published materials, and add "interview conducted by" or "conducted by" (if 'interview' is understood) as an 'other contributor.' See  MLA Style Center: Interviews  for more information. 

Website Example :  Parikh, Kirit S. "India's Water Crisis: Causes and Cures." Interview conducted by Sonia Lutra.  The National Bureau of Asian Research , 12 Aug. 2013, www.nbr.org/publication/indias-water-crisis-causes-and-cures/.

Citing a Podcast

Format:  Host(s), host. "Episode Title."  Podcast Name , season number, episode number, Publisher, Publication Date, URL.

Example:  Fischer, Jenna and Angela Kinsey, hosts.   "Two Weeks."  Office Ladies,  episode 97, Earwolf Podcast Network, 27 Oct. 2021, www.officeladies.com/episodes/2021/27/10/episode-97-two-weeks.

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• Citing an Article Written for a Database
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• Citing Images in a Project
• Citing Artistic Works/Performances
• Citing a Play
• Citing a Poem
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• Plagiarism and grammar
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Cite an Interview in MLA

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?
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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Interviews and Personal Communication

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This section contains information on The Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the seventeenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style , which was issued in 2017.

In citations for interviews and personal communications, the name of the person interviewed or the person from whom the communication is received should be listed first. This is followed by the name of the interviewer or recipient, if given, and supplemented by details regarding the place and date of the interview/communication. Unpublished interviews and personal communications (such as face-to-face or telephone conversations, letters, emails, or text messages) are best cited in-text or in notes rather than in the bibliography. Published interviews should be cited like periodical articles or book chapters.

Interviews with anonymous sources can be cited without including the name of the source–e.g. “anonymous informant #3” or “recreational psilocybin user”–but you must explain in the text why you are not giving the name of your source.

Unpublished Interviews

Note: If the interview is unpublished, but there is a transcript or recording available, you should include information as to where said transcript/recording can be found. This can be as simple as a URL, or as complex as a location in an institutional archive; the latter is shown in the example below.

Published or Broadcast Interviews

An interview published in a print medium is cited much like a periodical, as seen in the first example. An interview broadcast on television, radio, or similar has its own format, as follows:

This is shown in the second example.

Personal Communications

Personal communications are usually referenced within the text or a note. They rarely appear as bibliographic entries. Do not include the e-mail address or other contact information through which the communication was conducted unless it is necessary and you have the source’s permission.

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In MLA Style, referring to the works of others in your text is done using  parenthetical citations . 

his method involves providing relevant source information in parentheses whenever a sentence uses a quotation or paraphrase. Usually, the simplest way to do this is to put all of the source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence (i.e., just before the period).

IN-TEXT CITATIONS: AUTHOR-PAGE STYLE

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

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