Name:
Date:
Video I am citing:
How to use this worksheet. You are going to build one MLA citation for a YouTube video, one step at a time. It is easier than it looks — a citation is just facts about the video snapped into the right order.
- Do the steps in order. First you collect the facts, then you drop them into the formula, then you copy your finished line onto a Works Cited page.
- Every step has a Clarify hint. Try the step first; read the hint if you get stuck. It gives you a strategy, never the answer to copy.
- In MLA, the punctuation is part of the answer. The periods, commas, and quotation marks all matter — copy them exactly.
STEP 1
Gather Your "Information Gold"
Your job here is to collect four facts from the YouTube page. Just hunt and write them down — you build the citation later.
1.The Title — the big words right under the video:
2.The Uploader — the channel name next to the little circle picture:
3.The Date — look for the word "Published" or "Uploaded":
4.The Link — the web address up in the top bar of your browser:
Clarify — You are just collecting right now — don't write the citation yet. Copy each fact exactly as it appears on the screen, including capital letters and numbers. If a fact is hard to find, scroll a little below the video; the date and channel name usually live right there.
STEP 2
The Fill-in-the-Blanks Formula
Your job here is to snap your four facts into the MLA formula. Same facts, exact order, exact punctuation.
📐 The MLA Formula — this is the pattern every entry follows.
Channel Name. "Video Title." YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, Day Month Year, URL.
Here is the formula filled in with a real video — a train documentary. Notice how each fact drops into place:
✅ Worked Example
Media Archive. "All Aboard: 150 Years on the Right Track (1996) VHS." YouTube, uploaded by Media Archive, 5 June 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncl2WwYl5Rs.
Clarify — Copy the periods, commas, and quotation marks exactly — punctuation is part of MLA. The Video Title goes inside "quotation marks," the word YouTube is italic, and every piece ends with the comma or period you see in the example.
📝 Now You Try — drop your own Step 1 facts into the blanks.
. "." YouTube, uploaded by , , .
STEP 3
Putting It Together (The Works Cited Page)
Your job here is to place your finished line on a Works Cited page. This is the page that goes at the very end of a report.
•Center the title Works Cited at the top of its own section.
•Copy your finished formula from Step 2 on the line below it.
✅ Finished Model — this is exactly what it should look like.
Works Cited
Media Archive. "All Aboard: 150 Years on the Right Track (1996) VHS."
YouTube, uploaded by Media Archive, 5 June 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncl2WwYl5Rs.
Clarify — Match your entry to the model line by line. Read the model, then read yours: is the title centered? Is your channel name first? Did every comma and period land in the same spot? If a piece looks different, fix it now.
📝 Your Works Cited — write your own entry in the frame below.
STEP 4
In-Text Citation (for a Speech or Paper)
Your job here is to learn the short version. When you mention the source while talking or writing, you don't repeat the whole line — you just name it in parentheses.
•Put the channel name in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
✅ Two Formats to Know
Basic: (Media Archive)
With a specific time: (Media Archive 01:10:05)
Clarify — The name inside the parentheses must match the first word of your Works Cited entry — that way a reader can find the full source. Add the time stamp only when you are pointing to one exact moment in the video.
📝 Now You Try — write a sentence that mentions your video, then add your channel name in parentheses.
💡 Tips for You: Getting the Citation Right
- Copy, don't invent. Every fact in a citation comes straight off the YouTube page. If you're unsure, look again — don't guess.
- Punctuation counts. A missing comma or a lost quotation mark is a mistake in MLA. Treat the little marks as seriously as the words.
- Check against the model. Set your finished line right next to the worked example and compare them piece by piece.
Reflection
Which step was the easiest? Which piece of the formula was the trickiest to place? Name one thing you will double-check the next time you build a citation.
FOR MENTOR USE — STUDY THIS TOGETHER
Mentor Guide
How to teach MLA citation together with your student
1. What this worksheet builds
It teaches that a citation is just facts in a fixed order — collect four things, drop them into a formula, copy the result onto a Works Cited page. The real skills underneath are careful information-gathering and precise attention to punctuation. The goal is one correct, complete entry the student built themselves, not memorizing MLA rules. Accuracy through matching, not from memory.
2. Run it with gradual release: model one, do one together, let them do one
- Model one: Walk through the train example out loud — point to each fact on a real YouTube page and show where it lands in the formula.
- Do one together: Pick a second video and build the citation side by side, you asking "what goes next?" at each comma.
- Let them do one: Hand them a third video and let them work the four steps alone, stepping in only when they reach for a Clarify hint.
3. Color-coding for a struggling reader/writer
For a student with lower reading or writing comprehension, use a color-coding system. On the YouTube page, highlight the Channel Name in yellow, the Title in green, and the Date in blue. Then match those same colors to the matching blanks in the formula. The student is now just moving "the yellow word here, the green words there" — the color carries the meaning while the reading load stays low.
4. Supporting the writing
- Accept the information gathered orally first — let them read the facts off the screen and say them aloud, then write. Speaking removes the blank-page freeze.
- Punctuation can be traced or copied. If placing commas and quotation marks is hard, let them copy the model marks directly; correct placement now builds the habit.
- Don't stall on spelling of the URL or title — capture it, then check it against the screen in a second pass.
5. Reviewing it together
- Check the student's entry against the model line by line — channel name, title in quotes, italic YouTube, "uploaded by," date, URL, and the final period.
- Praise one specific thing that matched, then fix one thing that didn't.
- Read the finished entry aloud together — saying "quote, all aboard, close quote, period" out loud makes missing punctuation obvious.