First, the easy way: PERRLA
Add a LinkedIn post by hand: PERRLA's reference search reads LinkedIn pages and profiles, but not individual posts. Choose Social Media, then A social media post. For an organization, use the Group Author (Organization) role and type its name. For a person, use Username (screen name), type the first and last name in First and Last, and leave Name empty, since LinkedIn has no @handles. Paste the words you want as the title in Post Content: the whole post if it's short, or its opening words followed by a space and three spaced periods ( . . .) if it's long. Leave Description of attached content empty, since MLA doesn't describe attachments. Type LinkedIn in Platform Name, pick the date, and paste the post's URL. Want an access date? Click Today under Retrieval Date, and PERRLA adds it to the end of the entry.
Citing a company page or a profile? Paste its link (like linkedin.com/company/american-nurses-association) into the reference search, and PERRLA sets up the page with the name, Home as the title, LinkedIn, and today's date as the access date. For MLA, clear Page Description: the search fills it with LinkedIn page or LinkedIn profile, which MLA doesn't use and which would print at the end of your entry. Then type the copyright year from the bottom of the LinkedIn page (like 2026) in Publication Date, since a page has no posting date of its own. For a person's profile, make sure the name came in without degrees and credentials.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.
The parts of the works cited entry
1. Name on the account
MLA uses the name on the account as the author. An organization's page gets the organization's full name. A person gets last name, a comma, and first name. Leave off the degrees and credentials many people add to their LinkedIn name, and end with a period.
American Nurses Association.
Mensik Kennedy, Jennifer.
LinkedIn shows Jennifer Mensik Kennedy PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. The entry keeps her two-part last name together and drops PhD, RN, NEA-BC, and FAAN. LinkedIn has no @handles, so nothing goes in square brackets after the name, and the end of a profile's web address isn't a handle.
2. Post text as the title
LinkedIn posts don't have titles, so the post's own words stand in for one. Put them in quotation marks, exactly as written: spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and hashtags. The period goes inside the closing quotation mark.
"Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, and every step toward recovery . . . ."
Most LinkedIn posts run several paragraphs, so you'll usually shorten them. Keep the opening words, then add a space, an ellipsis (three periods with spaces between them), and the period that closes the title. MLA has no word limit, unlike APA's 20 words. Line breaks don't carry over, and MLA leaves emojis out of the entry. LinkedIn hides long posts behind …more, so open the post to see where the text really goes.
3. LinkedIn as the container
LinkedIn is the container, the site that holds the post, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. MLA doesn't add a label like [Post] or [Image attached], and it doesn't name a publisher, since the company that runs the site is also called LinkedIn.
LinkedIn,
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.).
16 Oct. 2026,
LinkedIn often shows only how long ago a post went up, like 1w or 2mo. Give the exact date whenever you can work it out. If you can't, MLA says to give the copyright year from the bottom of the page instead, and its own LinkedIn example does just that (2020). A company page or profile has no posting date, so it takes the copyright year too.
5. URL and access date
End with the link to the post itself, the one with /posts/ and activity in it, followed by a period. MLA drops the https:// from the front.
www.linkedin.com/posts/american-nurses-association_nurses-stand-beside-patients-through-the-activity-7516939885040132096-BHES.
To get it, open the post's menu (the three dots) and choose Copy link to post. Cut anything after a question mark, like ?utm_source=share, since that only tracks who shared it. An access date is optional: add one, like Accessed 27 Oct. 2026., if the post could be edited or deleted. It's worth adding to a page or profile too, since those change over time.
Examples
A post from an organization
The American Nurses Association's National Mammography Day reminder. The post runs four paragraphs, so the title keeps the first sentence and ends with an ellipsis. MLA's own LinkedIn example is a professional association's post, shortened the same way.
Works Cited
American Nurses Association. "Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, and every step toward recovery . . . ." LinkedIn, 16 Oct. 2026, www.linkedin.com/posts/american-nurses-association_nurses-stand-beside-patients-through-the-activity-7516939885040132096-BHES.
- In-text citation(American Nurses Association)
- Narrative citationAs the American Nurses Association reminds nurses, …
A post from a person with credentials in their name
ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy on receiving the American Association for Men in Nursing's President's Award. Her LinkedIn name ends with four credentials, and the entry drops all of them. Her last name is two words, so both go in the Last box, and her first name stays spelled out.
Works Cited
Mensik Kennedy, Jennifer. "I am deeply honored to receive the President’s Award from the American Association for Men in Nursing (AAMN) in recognition of my advocacy for the nursing profession . . . ." LinkedIn, 15 Oct. 2026, www.linkedin.com/posts/jennifer-mensik-kennedy_nursingleadership-menshealth-nursingadvocacy-activity-7516611607293210624-Z5Pz.
- In-text citation(Mensik Kennedy)
- Narrative citationAs Mensik Kennedy writes, …
A LinkedIn company page
To cite an organization's LinkedIn page rather than one post, use the name of the tab you're citing (Home, About, Posts, Jobs, Life, or People) as the title, in quotation marks. MLA cites other platforms' pages the same way, like a Facebook page's "Photos." A page has no posting date, so the entry gives the copyright year from the bottom of the page, the way MLA's own LinkedIn profile example does, and ends with the date you viewed it, since the page changes over time.
Works Cited
American Nurses Association. "Home." LinkedIn, 2026, www.linkedin.com/company/american-nurses-association/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.
- In-text citation(American Nurses Association)
- Narrative citationThe American Nurses Association's LinkedIn page …
In-text citations
An MLA 9 in-text citation for a LinkedIn post gives the first word or words of the Works Cited entry, which is the name on the account. Use the name without credentials, and no date.
- Organization: (American Nurses Association)
- Person: (Mensik Kennedy)
- Name in your sentence: no parenthetical is needed, because a post has no page numbers: Mensik Kennedy used the award to highlight AAMN's work on men's health nursing standards.
- Two entries from the same account: add a short version of each title, in quotation marks, after a comma. MLA shortens a title to its first noun and any words before it. Cite the ANA post and the ANA page in one paper, and they become (American Nurses Association, "Nurses") and (American Nurses Association, "Home").
To quote a post, put its words in quotation marks in your sentence and cite the name. In your Works Cited list, a LinkedIn entry is alphabetized by the name, like any other source.
Common mistakes
- American Nurses Association. (2026, October 16). Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis… [Image attached] [Post]. LinkedIn.American Nurses Association. "Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, and every step toward recovery . . . ." LinkedIn, 16 Oct. 2026,That's APA. MLA puts the post's text in quotation marks instead of italics, drops the bracketed labels, italicizes LinkedIn, and moves the date after the platform, written day, month, year.
- Mensik Kennedy, Jennifer, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. "I am deeply honored…"Mensik Kennedy, Jennifer. "I am deeply honored…"MLA leaves degrees and credentials out of the author's name, even when they're part of the name someone shows on LinkedIn.
- Kennedy, Jennifer Mensik. "I am deeply honored…"Mensik Kennedy, Jennifer. "I am deeply honored…"Some people have two-part last names. Write the name the way the account you're citing shows it, and keep both parts of the last name together in front.
- "Nurses Stand Beside Patients Through the Fear of a Diagnosis…""Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis…"Post text isn't a real title, so MLA copies it exactly as written, with the post's own capitalization. Don't switch it to title case.
- American Nurses Association [@american-nurses-association].American Nurses Association.LinkedIn accounts don't have @handles. The end of a page's web address isn't a screen name, and MLA's LinkedIn examples have nothing in brackets after the name.
- LinkedIn, 16 Oct. 2026, https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-nurses-association/posts/LinkedIn, 16 Oct. 2026, www.linkedin.com/posts/american-nurses-association_nurses-stand-beside-patients-through-the-activity-7516939885040132096-BHES.The URL goes to the post itself, without https://. A page's Posts tab shows whatever the page posted most recently, so your reader would never find the post.
Quick checklist
- The name on the account, last name first for a person, with no credentials
- The post's words in quotation marks, exactly as written
- A long post shortened with a space, three spaced periods, and the closing period
- LinkedIn in italics, then the day, month, and year
- No [Post] or [Image attached] labels, and no handle in brackets
- The post's own /posts/ link without https://, ending with a period
- Pages and profiles: the tab name as the title, the copyright year, and an access date
Questions students ask
What if LinkedIn only says "2mo" or "1yr"?
Give the exact date if you can work it out. If you can't, MLA says to use the copyright year from the bottom of the page in its place, the way MLA's own LinkedIn example gives just the year (2020).
How do I cite a LinkedIn article or newsletter?
An article has its own title, so use it: the author, the article's title in quotation marks, LinkedIn in italics, the date, and the URL. That's MLA's standard format for a work on a website. Check with your instructor if the assignment has its own rule.
How do I cite a job posting on LinkedIn?
The MLA Style Center treats a job ad like a web page: the job title in quotation marks, LinkedIn in italics, the URL, and the date you viewed it. It skips the company and the posting date, but always adds the access date, since job ads come down once the job is filled.
How do I cite a repost?
Cite the original post, credited to the person or organization that wrote it. A repost only shares someone else's words. If the reposter added their own text, and that's what you're using, cite their post with their text as the title.
Do I need an access date for a LinkedIn post?
No, MLA makes it optional. It's a good idea for a post whose text could be edited after it went up, and the MLA Style Center suggests one in that case, after the post's own date. For a company page or a profile, which has no date beyond the copyright year and changes over time, add one too.
Can I cite a LinkedIn post in a nursing paper?
Yes, when the post itself is what you're writing about, like how a professional organization promotes screening, or what a nursing leader said about an award. For clinical evidence, cite the study or guideline the post points to. Check whether your instructor accepts social media sources.
Related guides
Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including text from a work used as its title) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing LinkedIn (the Modern Language Association post and the Cobb profile), citing material posted on social media (shortening text with an ellipsis, account names and handles, the post's date or else the page's copyright date, publishers, URLs, and the World Wildlife Fund "Photos." page), access dates for social media posts (2025), access dates for online works, emojis in works-cited entries, shortened titles (the first noun and the words before it), the italicization of site names like Facebook, and citing digital job ads (October 15, 2026). Example posts are the APA guide's verified sources, re-read on LinkedIn on October 27, 2026: each post's text, author name, and date from the post page's published post data (ANA, 16 Oct. 2026, four paragraphs; Mensik Kennedy, 15 Oct. 2026, six paragraphs). The ANA company page was opened the same day, which is the access date given; its footer shows © 2026.