PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Instagram post or Reel

How to Cite an Instagram Post or Reel in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for an Instagram post or Reel starts with the account's name and its handle in square brackets, then the caption in quotation marks as the title, Instagram in italics, the day, month, and year it was posted, and the post's URL without https://. The in-text citation is the name alone: (National Institutes of Health).

The format

Account Name [@handle]. "Caption of the post." Instagram, Day Month Year, www.instagram.com/handle/p/#/.

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Choose Social Media, then A social media post. Set the role to Username (screen name), type the handle with its @ in the Name box, and the person's name in First and Last. For an organization like the National Institutes of Health, type its full name in Last and leave First empty. Paste the caption into Post Content, type Instagram in Platform Name, pick the posting date, and paste the post's URL. Leave Description of attached content empty, since MLA doesn't need it. Want an access date? Click Today under Retrieval Date, and PERRLA adds it to the end of the entry.

Pasting a post's link into PERRLA's reference search? Instagram shares only its preview text with outside tools, so the result needs fixing before you save it. Set the role to Username (screen name) and type the account's name and handle, replace Post Content with the caption itself (not the like count in front of it), and add the date. Filling in the form yourself is usually faster.

Citing a profile instead? Paste the profile's link, or the link to one of its tabs, like instagram.com/who/reels/. PERRLA sets up the profile reference with the handle, the tab name as the title, Instagram, and today's date. For MLA, clear Page Description, which MLA doesn't use. If the account's name doesn't come through, type it in next to the handle.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Account name and handle

MLA uses the name on the account as the author: the name in bold on the profile, above the bio. For an organization, give its full name. When the handle is different from that name, add it in square brackets after the name, starting with the @ sign, and end with a period.

National Institutes of Health [@nihgov].

For a person, give the name last name first. The account @nihdirector_jay is named Jay Bhattacharya, so the entry starts Bhattacharya, Jay [@nihdirector_jay]. If the handle simply repeats the name (Alicia Keys and @aliciakeys), MLA lets you leave the handle out, since the URL already points to the account.

2. Caption as the title

Instagram posts don't have titles, so the caption stands in for one. Put it in quotation marks, exactly as the account wrote it: spelling, capitalization, punctuation, hashtags, and symbols like ®. The period goes inside the closing quotation mark.

"October is SIDS Awareness Month! Safe to Sleep® works with partners, … #SIDS #NIH."

A long caption can be shortened. Keep the opening words and end with an ellipsis (three spaced periods), then the period that closes the title. Unlike APA, MLA has no 20-word cutoff. Line breaks in the caption don't carry over: run the words together with single spaces.

Emojis are the exception. The MLA Style Center says to leave them out of the Works Cited entry. If an emoji matters to your point, describe it in your sentence instead.

No caption, or want to point to the picture itself? Describe it in your own words instead, with no quotation marks and no italics, like Photo of a Safe to Sleep campaign poster. Leave out comments, the like count, and the location tag.

3. Instagram as the container

Instagram is the container, the site that holds the post, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. A Reel, a photo, and a carousel all take the same container. MLA doesn't add a label like [Video] or [Photograph].

Instagram,

4. Date

Give the day, month, and year the post went up, in that order, followed by a comma. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

17 Oct. 2026,

Instagram shortens dates on recent posts to "4d" or "1w." On a computer, hover over the date to see the full date. A profile or a highlight has no single date, so give the date you viewed it at the end instead.

5. URL and access date

End with the link to the post itself, not the account's profile, and a period. A post link has /p/ in it, and a Reel link has /reel/. MLA drops the https:// from the front.

www.instagram.com/nihgov/p/Del8YWXFzoA/.

Cut anything after a question mark, like ?igsh= or ?utm_source=, since those only track who shared it. Instagram lets accounts edit a caption after posting, with no sign that it changed, so MLA suggests adding the date you viewed the post when that could matter: Accessed 21 Oct. 2026. A profile or highlight should always get one.

Examples

An Instagram post from an organization

An NIH post for SIDS Awareness Month, built around a poster for the Safe to Sleep campaign. The whole caption is the title, with the ® symbol and all five hashtags, and the period goes inside the closing quotation mark. The blue heart emoji after the first sentence is left out, since MLA keeps emojis out of the Works Cited entry.

  • In-text citation(National Institutes of Health)
  • Narrative citationAs the National Institutes of Health reminds parents, …

An Instagram Reel, with an access date

A World Health Organization Reel on pre-eclampsia. A Reel is cited like any other post, with no [Video] label. Because a caption can be edited later, this entry ends with the date it was viewed.

  • In-text citation(World Health Organization)
  • Narrative citationAs the World Health Organization explains, …

A post from an individual, with a long caption

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya on grants for early-career researchers. His name goes last name first, with the handle in brackets. The caption runs over sixty words, so the title keeps the first sentence and ends with an ellipsis. The post is a collab that also appears on NIH's profile, but the caption sits under Bhattacharya's name, so he is the author.

  • In-text citation(Bhattacharya)
  • Narrative citationAs Bhattacharya argues, …

An Instagram profile

To cite an account rather than one post, cite its profile. The title is the name of the tab you're citing (Posts, Reels, or Tagged), in quotation marks. A profile has no single date and changes over time, so the entry ends with the date you viewed it.

  • In-text citation(World Health Organization)
  • Narrative citationThe World Health Organization's Instagram Reels …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for an Instagram post gives the first word or words of the Works Cited entry, which is usually the account's name. Use the name, not the handle, and no date.

  • Organization: (National Institutes of Health)
  • Individual: (Bhattacharya)
  • Name in your sentence: no parenthetical is needed: The National Institutes of Health used SIDS Awareness Month to promote safe infant sleep.
  • A quote from what someone says in a Reel: add the time where the quote starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds, the way your player shows it: (Author 00:00:15).
  • Two entries from the same account: add a short version of each title, in quotation marks, after a comma. Cite both WHO entries above in one paper, and they become (World Health Organization, "Did you know?") and (World Health Organization, "Reels").

In your Works Cited list, an Instagram entry is alphabetized by the account's name, like any other source.

Common mistakes

  • National Institutes of Health [@nihgov]. (2026, October 17). October is SIDS Awareness Month! 💙 Safe to Sleep®… [Image]. Instagram.National Institutes of Health [@nihgov]. "October is SIDS Awareness Month! Safe to Sleep®…" Instagram, 17 Oct. 2026,That's APA. MLA puts the caption in quotation marks instead of italics, leaves out the emoji, italicizes Instagram, drops the bracketed label, and moves the date after the platform.
  • "172 likes, 1 comments - nihgov on October 17, 2026: October is SIDS Awareness Month!…""October is SIDS Awareness Month! Safe to Sleep®…"That line is the preview text Instagram hands to outside tools, with the like count and date added. The title is the caption alone, starting with its first word.
  • World Health Organization [@who]. "Did you know?…" [Reel]. Instagram,World Health Organization [@who]. "Did you know?…" Instagram,MLA doesn't label the kind of post. A Reel, a photo, and a carousel are all cited the same way.
  • (National Institutes of Health, 2026)(National Institutes of Health)MLA in-text citations don't use the year. An Instagram post has no page numbers, so the name stands alone, or the name and a time stamp for a Reel.
  • Instagram, 17 Oct. 2026, https://www.instagram.com/nihgov/p/Del8YWXFzoA/?igsh=MWx4Instagram, 17 Oct. 2026, www.instagram.com/nihgov/p/Del8YWXFzoA/.MLA drops https:// from the URL. Cut the tracking code after the question mark, and end the entry with a period.

Quick checklist

  • Account name, then the @handle in square brackets if it's different
  • The caption in quotation marks, as written, minus any emojis
  • A long caption shortened with an ellipsis at the end
  • Instagram in italics, then the day, month, and year
  • No [Video], [Photograph], or Reel label
  • The post's own link, without https:// or tracking codes, ending with a period
  • An access date for a profile or highlight, or a caption that could change

Questions students ask

How do I cite an Instagram Reel in MLA 9?

The same way as any Instagram post: World Health Organization [@who]. "Did you know?…" Instagram, 9 Oct. 2026, followed by the Reel's link. MLA adds no [Video] label. To quote something said in it, add the time stamp to the in-text citation.

How do I cite an Instagram Story or a highlight?

MLA lets you cite a Story even after it disappears: describe the image or video in place of a title, then give Instagram, the date it was posted, and the Story's URL. If the account saved the Story to a highlight, cite the highlight instead, with its name in quotation marks as the title and the date you viewed it at the end.

Who is the author of a collab post?

MLA hasn't published a rule for collab posts, so credit the account that wrote the caption, which is the account the caption sits under and the first name in the header. Your reader can find the post from either account. If both accounts matter to your point, say so in your sentence.

What if the post has no caption?

Describe the post in place of the title, with no quotation marks and no italics: Account Name [@handle]. Photo of a hospital vaccination clinic. Instagram, … MLA uses a description for any untitled source.

Do I cite the post, or the article in the link in bio?

Cite what you used. If you're writing about the post itself, like how NIH talks to parents about safe sleep, cite the post. If you're using the research or guidance it points to, follow the link in bio, read the source, and cite that instead.

Can I cite an Instagram post in a nursing paper?

Yes, when the post itself is your evidence, like a health campaign's message or how an agency explains a condition to the public. For clinical facts, cite the study or guideline behind the post, and check with your instructor if you're not sure a social media source will count.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including 5.28–5.29 on descriptions and text from the work as the title) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing social media, citing Instagram (posts, profiles, highlights, and stories), access dates for social media posts, emojis in titles of posts, and URLs (no https://). Example posts are the APA guide's verified sources, read on Instagram on October 21, 2026 (each caption, account name, handle, and date from the post page and its date stamp); Jay Bhattacharya's account name re-checked on his profile on October 27, 2026. The access dates are the October 21 viewing.

PERRLA builds the Instagram entry from your details, with the handle in brackets, the caption in quotation marks, and the date in MLA order.

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