Uncommon Sources
This section will cover a wide variety of sources found in academic papers. These sources will be listed alphabetically in a list below to easily jump to which source you need. Additionally, this guide covers many uncommon sources, but not all. For any sources not in this guide, visit the Purdue OWL’s MLA Works Cited: Other Common Sources.
Artwork/Photography (Museum Website)
Artist Name: Last name, first name.
Title: Title of Artwork.
Date: Year of creation,
Publisher: Name of museum, Location (if location is not in the museum’s name).
Link: URL of painting on museum website.
Rubens, Peter. Saturn Devouring a Son. 1636-1638, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saturn-devouring-a-son/d022fed3-6069-4786-b59f-4399a2d74e50.
For citing artwork in a text itself, visit the Figures section of this guide.
Dissertation/Masters Thesis
Author Name: Last name, first name.
Title: Title of Dissertation/thesis.
Date: Year.
Publication Information: Name of Institution, PhD dissertation/Master’s Thesis.
Database/Archive: Name of Database/Archive (if necessary).
Link: URL of dissertation
Angeli, Elizabeth. Networks of Communication in Emergency Medical Services. 2012. Purdue University, PhD dissertation. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI3544643/.
Film
Title: Title of film.
Director Name: Directed by First name Last name,
Actor Information: performances by First name Last name,
Publisher: Production company,
Date: Year of release.
Whiplash. Directed by Damian Chazelle, performances by J.K. Simmons, Miles Teller, and Paul Reiser. Sony Pictures Classics, 2014.
Instagram Post
Text
Author Name: Last name, First name OR Organization.
Account Information: [@username].
*Title: “Full text of post.”
Publisher: Instagram,
Date: Date Month. Year.
Link: URL.
CLT Writing Resources Center [@clt_wrc]. “Website link in bio 🔗 We look forward to seeing you soon! ⛏️🤙 #niners #unccharlotte #unccharlotte49ers #charlotte #charlottenc #writing #tutor #writingresourcescenter #wrc.” Instagram, 14 Mar. 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DHL4itaJR6s/?img_index=1.
*When citing the words of an Instagram post, the full caption is required, including hashtags and emojis. Simply copy and paste the caption into the title section of the citation.
Photos/Videos
Author Name: Last name, First name OR Organization.
Account Information: [@username].
*Title: Photos/Videos of Description of post.
Publisher: Instagram,
Date: Date Month. Year.
Link: URL.
CLT Writing Resources Center [@clt_wrc]. Chicago style. Instagram, 17 Feb. 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DGMCpdhpiIO/.
*When citing Instagram photos, videos, or Reels, simply write a small summary of the post in place of the title.
Online Dictionary/Thesaurus/Encyclopedia Entry
Title: “Title of Entry.”
Author Name: Name of dictionary/encyclopedia,
Publication Information: Publisher.
Date: Year,
Link: URL
Accessed Date: Accessed Date Month. Year.
“Interrobang.” Merriam-Webster. Encyclopædia Britannica. n.d., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interrobang. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024
Most online dictionaries/thesaurus/encyclopedias constantly update, so if there is no Date on the cite, include an Accessed Date in the citation.
Online News Article
Author Name: Last name, First name.
Title: “Title of Article.”
Website: News Website,
Date: Year, Month. Date.
Link: URL.
McIntyre, Hugh. “Chappell Roan Sweeps The Country Charts, Owning (Almost) All Of Them.” Forbes, 30 Mar. 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/03/30/chappell-roan-sweeps-the-country-charts-owning-almost-all-of-them/.
Wikipedia Article
Title: “Title of Page.”
Publication Information: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation.
Date: Date Month Year last updated.
Link: URL of archived version of page.
“Writing Center.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation. 15 July 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Writing_center&oldid=1234695548.
To access the link of the archived version of the Wikipedia page, click the Tools ( ) button on the right-hand side of the page. Under the dropdown menu, click Permanent link. This will create a permanent link to the page and provide the date of the last edit.
X (Twitter) Tweet
Author Name: @Account username.
Title: “Full Tweet.”
Publisher: X.
Date: Date Month. Year, time of posting
Link: URL.
[@CLT_WRC]. “Happy last day of class, Niners! After today, April 29th, the Writing Resources Center will switch to our new exam schedule. Make sure to make an appointment! #charlotte #writing #tutors #tutoring #writing #finals #exams #niners.” X. 29 April 2024, 12:15 pm. https://x.com/CLT_WRC/status/1784979763859525928.
Youtube/Streaming Video
Author Name: Last name, First name (if applicable).
Title: “Title of video.”
Publisher: Streaming service,
Uploader: uploaded by Uploader/Company name,
Date: Date Month Year.
Link: URL.
“Schlatt interviews the biggest New Yorkers on the planet.” YouTube, uploaded by Schlatt & Co, 18 Aug. 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yucC6suqWbc.
If the author’s name is the same as the uploader, then only include the account name after the publisher. If the author’s name is different from the uploader, then include the author’s name at the start of the citation.