Citation Styles Playbook

*Social media citations usually only appear as in-text citations (view first example). If the social media citation is a central part of the paper, then a formal reference list entry may be added. Otherwise, the citation should only appear in the sentence. Quote up to 160 characters of the post in the title.

Example of Twitter citation: 

Conan O'Briens' tweet was characteristically deadpan: "In honor of Earth Day, I'm recycling my tweets (@ConanOBrien, April 22, 2015)."

Only use a formal citation if the social media post is examined extensively.

IN-TEXT CITATION: (Creator's last name Year)

• (Biden 2022)

REFERENCE LIST: Creator’s last name, first name (@username). “Title.” Social media platform, Month Day, Year. URL.

• Biden, Joe (@JoeBiden). 2022. “This year, eight Democratic women governors were elected or reelected– the most in U.S. history.” Twitter, December 23, 2022. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1606446055318511618.

*For more information, see Chicago Manual of Style section 15.52

IN-TEXT CITATION: (Creator's last name Year)

• (Piedmont Virginia Community College 2023)

REFERENCE LIST: Creator's last name, first name. "Title of Post." Social media platform, Month Day, Year. URL.

• Piedmont Virginia Community College. 2023. "Join us as we celebrate black history month and commemorate countless pioneers, innovators, history- and way-makers whose lives and contributions are a huge part of America's story." Facebook, February 1, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/PiedmontVaCC.

*Chicago Manual of Style section 15.52

IN-TEXT CITATION: (Creator's last name Year)

• (Smithsonian 2022)

REFERENCE LIST: Creator’s last name, first name (screenname if available). “Title.” Social media platform, Month Day, Year. URL.

• Smithsonian (@smithsonian). 2022. “This pigeon is wearing a sweater, but it’s not to keep warm.” Instagram photo, December 7, 2022. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4mp23LQC6/?hl=en.

*Chicago Manual of Style section 15.52