from The TeachThought staff
How do you cite a tweet MLA Style?
First, let’s be clear that while this isn’t exactly an Oxford library, and therefore may not be the first place you go for research, contrary to popular belief, there are things on Twitter that are worth quoting.
Long an indirect but powerful tool of torture in English classrooms and college campuses everywhere, the MLA (and other cohorts, including APA and Chicago) released a format for citing tweets in formal writing. We’ve pulled out some of the most common questions about citing tweets in MLA style, but you can check out their recommendations for additional guidance and related reading on research, citing, and citing tweets for research purposes.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines for citing content from X (formerly known as Twitter) focus on using the text of the post as the title, identifying the author by its handle, and ensuring that the URL is accessible.
The Basics: MLA Format 9th Edition
Since the platform has been rebranded, the title of the container is now Xhowever Twitter is acceptable if it refers to a historical post or if the URL still reads “twitter.com”.
The standard formula: @handle (Real Name). “The full text of the tweet goes here.” X, Day Month Year, URL.
1. Author and handle
- First handle: Begin the quote with the user’s handle (including the @ symbol).
- Real Name: If the user’s real name (or display name) is known and is different from the handle, enclose it in parentheses immediately after the handle.
- Example:
@neiltyson (Neil deGrasse Tyson).
2. “The Headline” (Twitter Text)
- Full text: Unlike articles with formal titles, the “title” of a post in X is the text of the post itself. Enclose the text in quotation marks.
- Capital letters: Do not change the capitalization of the original post; reproduce it exactly as written.
- hashtags: Include hashtags as they appear in the text.
3. Handling long posts
Although the character limit for X is extended, MLA offers truncation of the citation title text if the publication is too long.
- Ellipsis: Use the first sentence or meaningful phrase followed by an ellipsis (
...) at the end of the quote. - Hashtags in long posts: If you shorten the text, you don’t need to include the hashtags unless they’re part of the segment you saved.
4. Date and URL
- date: Specify the day, month (abbreviated) and year.
- Time: MLA 9th Edition generally does not require a timestamp for social media unless the post is part of a rapid sequence (such as a live thread) where a distinction is necessary.
- URL: Copy the direct link to the post. You can usually skip
https://prefix.
Citation examples
Standard Post (Short)
@NASA. “It’s a busy week for the station! The crew is preparing for a spacewalk and cargo mission.” XNovember 12, 2024,x.com/NASA/status/example123.
Short post (long)
@teachthought. “Critical thinking is not just a skill, it is a habit of mind that requires constant improvement. . . .” XMay 24, 2025,x.com/teachthought/status/example456.
Publish with a known author name
@StephenKing (Stephen King). “I’ve seen the future of horror and it’s called…” XOctober 10, 2023,twitter.com/StephenKing/status/example789.
Cite a topic (multiple authors) If a thread includes multiple contributors related to your work, please cite the specific publication you are citing. If you are referencing the conversation as a whole, list the primary author followed by him et al.
@edutopia and others. “How do you handle classroom management in a BYOD environment?” XAugust 15, 2024,x.com/edutopia/status/example321.
So there you have it – now you know how to cite a tweet in MLA style/format. We also have results and results from resources for using social media in the classroom also explore.
