How to Cite an Open Letter

APA Style

• 1

  Cite the author's last name, year of publication and the page number in parentheses. For example:

  (Grant, 2001, p. C6)

• 2

  Position your citation directly after you quote or paraphrase. For example:

  One open letter to McDonald's requested "more options, and less calories from fat" (Grant, 2001, p. C6).

  If you mention the name of the author in the text, omit the author's last name from your citation. List the year of publication after the author's name, and the page number after the quoted or paraphrased passage. For example:

  In an open letter to McDonald's, Grant (2001) requested "more options, and less calories from fat" (p. C6).

• 3

  Arrange your reference list entry as follows:

  Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of open letter. Name of Newspaper (in italics), p. page number.

  For example:

  Grant, A. (2001, January 9). An open letter to McDonald's. The New York Times, p. C6.

MLA Style

• 4

  Cite the author's last name and the page number in parentheses. For example:

  (Grant C6)

• 5

  Position your citation directly after you quote or paraphrase. For example:

  One open letter to McDonald's requested "more options, and less calories from fat" (Grant C6).

  If you mention the name of the author in the text, omit the author's last name from your citation. For example:

  In an open letter to McDonald's, Grant requested "more options, and less calories from fat" (C6).

• 6

  Arrange your reference list entry as follows:

  Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Open Letter." Name of Newspaper (in italics) Day Mon. Year of Publication: page number. Medium of Publication.

  For example:

  Grant, Andrew. "An open letter to McDonald's. The New York Times 9 Jan. 2001: C6. Print.

  If the open letter appears in a newspaper that does not have wide distribution, list the city and state of publication in brackets after the name of the paper. For example:

  Grant, Andrew. "An open letter to McDonald's. The Orono Times [Orono, ME] 9 Jan. 2001: C6. Print.