How to Cite an Email Message in MLA
An email citation should include the name of the writer, a description of the message including who it was sent to, and the date it was sent.
Works cited entry structure:
Sender’s Last, First M. Email to [recipient name]. Date.
Example:
Cloyd, Allison M. Email to Emily Gover. 23 July 2014.
*Note: If you are the sender of the email, you should include your name in the author field. If you are the recipient of the email, you can include your name within the description, or you can include “Email to the author” in the description field instead.
In-text citation example:
(Cloyd)
- How do I cite an email in MLA format?
-
To cite an e-mail in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the name of the sender, name of the recipient, and email received date. The templates for an in-text citation and works-cited-list entry of an e-mail, along with examples, are given below:
In-text citation template and example:
In parenthetical citations, use the sender’s surname.
Parenthetical: (Irwin)
Works-cited-list entry template and example:
Template:
Sender’s Surname, First Name. E-mail to Receiver’s Name. Date of receipt of the e-mail.
Example:
Irwin, Bill. Email to Jennifer Cavenaugh. 31 July 2021.
- If I cite an email in MLA, do I need to include both the sender name and recipient's name?
-
In MLA style, an in-text citation for an e-mail only includes the sender’s name. However, the works cited entry includes both names. cite an e-mail in MLA style,
In-text citation template and example:
In parenthetical citations, use the sender’s surname.
Parenthetical: (Beckett)
Works-cited-list entry template and example:
Template:
Sender’s Surname, First Name. E-mail to Receiver’s Name. Date of receipt of the e-mail.
Example:
Beckett, John. E-mail to the author. 13 June 2003.