How to Cite an Interview in MLA Style

The basics of MLA for an interview

MLA style, from the Modern Language Association, is the standard in literature, language, and the humanities. It focuses on the author and the page number so a reader can find the exact passage. When you cite an interview in MLA, the goal is to give a reader enough detail to find the exact source you used, in the order the style expects.

The tricky part is not the rules themselves but the small choices: what goes in italics, where the year sits, and how to handle missing pieces like an absent author or date. This guide walks through those decisions one at a time so you do not have to guess.

Before you start, gather the details about your source. Mla follows a predictable structure for an interview, so once you have the pieces, the citation mostly assembles itself.

Build the citation in MLA

1. 1
   Collect the source details

   Open an interview and note down each piece of information you can find: author, title, date, publisher, and any identifier. Writing them out first saves you from scrolling back and forth later.

2. 2
   Put them in the MLA order

   Arrange the pieces in the order MLA expects. The author comes first, then the date or title depending on the style, then the publishing details.

3. 3
   Format the italics and punctuation

   In MLA, the title of the larger work usually goes in italics, while smaller pieces like article titles stay in plain text. Match the punctuation exactly, since the style is strict about periods and commas.

4. 4
   Add the in-text reference

   Inside your paper, point to the source using MLA's in-text style, which is a parenthetical format with the author and page, like (Smith 24). Place it right after the idea or quote that came from the source.

5. 5
   Sort and check the final list

   Drop the finished entry into your reference list and check that it follows the style's ordering rule. Proofread the author names and dates, since those are the most common source of mistakes.

What to include for an interview

Common problems and how to handle them

• You conducted the interview yourself and it was never published.
• The interview is part of a larger work, like a TV episode or article.
• Only an audio or video recording exists, with no transcript.
• The interviewee asked to stay anonymous.
• When in doubt, favor the details a reader needs to actually find the source over strict rule-following that omits key facts.

Why details matter