How to Cite Wikipedia in APA, MLA, and Chicago

To cite Wikipedia accurately, cite the specific article revision you read—not only the live page. Record the entry title, the revision date, and its permanent URL. APA 7, MLA 9, and Chicago 18 then arrange those details differently. The examples below use the same archived revision throughout, so you can see exactly what changes from one style to another.

How to Cite Wikipedia: Quick Answer

Start by opening the article’s View history page and selecting the revision you consulted. Its URL contains an oldid number and points to that revision’s main text. Then use the rule for your assigned style:

• APA 7: begin with the entry title because there is no named author. Use the selected revision’s full date, Wikipedia, and the permanent URL. Do not add a retrieval date when the archived revision is available.
• MLA 9: begin an unsigned entry with its title, then give Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, the publisher, the revision date, and the URL. An access date is optional but can help document when you consulted an online work.
• Chicago 18: a formal note starts with the page title. A bibliography or author-date entry is normally filed under the website owner or sponsor, the Wikimedia Foundation. Use the last-modified date when it is available.

Do not list a volunteer editor’s username as the article author. Wikipedia’s history identifies contributors, but a typical encyclopedia-entry citation treats the page as an unsigned, collaboratively edited work.

How to Find the Exact Wikipedia Revision You Used

1. Open the Wikipedia article and finish checking the text you intend to quote or paraphrase.
2. Select View history near the top of the article.
3. Choose the date and time of the revision you actually read. If you are citing the current revision, the Permanent link item under Tools opens that version directly.
4. Copy the URL from the selected revision. A standard English Wikipedia permanent URL looks like https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Article_title&oldid=REVISION_ID.
5. Record the revision date separately. Also record your access date if MLA requires it or if you must fall back to a live, unarchived page.

Wikipedia’s own permanent-link help explains that the link preserves the revision’s main text. Its page-history guide explains how to open a particular revision and compare edits. One limitation matters: images, templates, and transcluded material can still change, so “permanent” does not guarantee a pixel-for-pixel historical snapshot of every page element.

How to Cite Wikipedia in APA 7th Edition

APA’s dedicated Wikipedia example begins with the entry title, followed by the date of the archived revision. The larger reference work, Wikipedia, follows the word “In.” Use sentence case for the title in the reference list and do not put a period after the URL.

This worked reference is the archived revision used in the official APA Style Wikipedia example. Because the URL resolves to an archived version, APA does not add a retrieval date. If a wiki does not provide permanent archived versions, use the live entry URL and add Retrieved Month Day, Year, from before it.

The in-text citation uses the entry title in place of an author. Put the title in title case and quotation marks because the entry is part of a larger reference work. When the title is long, shorten it to the first words that still point unambiguously to the reference-list entry. You can enter the details in the APA citation generator, but retain the oldid URL and compare the result with the template above.

How to Cite Wikipedia in MLA 9th Edition

MLA says an unsigned reference-work entry begins with the entry title, not with “Anonymous” and not with an invented group author. The title is in quotation marks and title case. The encyclopedia is the container, the Wikimedia Foundation is the publisher, and the selected revision’s date supplies the publication date for the version used.

The MLA Style Center’s guidance for an unsigned entry in a reference work starts the entry with its title, and its current online-work guidance uses the core-elements template. MLA treats an access date as an optional element; retain it if your instructor, journal, or project requires it. Wikipedia has no stable page numbers, so a normal MLA parenthetical citation keys to the entry title alone. Use the MLA citation generator as a formatter, then verify that the title—not “Wikipedia contributors”—occupies the first slot.

How to Cite Wikipedia in Chicago 18th Edition

Chicago offers notes and bibliography and author-date. The current Chicago quick guide treats a Wikipedia page as website content: use the page title, owner or sponsor, last-modified date, and URL. If there is no publication or revision date, use an access date instead.

Chicago Notes and Bibliography

Chicago Author-Date

The official Chicago 18 notes-bibliography quick guide places a web-page title first in a note and files the bibliography entry under the site’s owner or sponsor. Its author-date quick guide uses that sponsor in the author position. This is why the examples use “Wikimedia Foundation,” rather than “Wikipedia contributors,” as the bibliography or reference-list lead. The Chicago citation generator can format the punctuation, but check that you selected the Chicago system required by your assignment.

Which Date, Author, and URL Should You Use?

Date

Use the timestamp of the archived revision you consulted as the page’s revision or last-modified date. Do not substitute the day you happened to read the article. The access date is a separate fact: APA needs it only when no permanent archived version exists; MLA permits it as an optional element; Chicago uses it when a publication or revision date is unavailable.

Author

Do not select one editor from the history and turn that person into the article’s author. For APA and MLA, an unsigned Wikipedia entry begins with its title. Under Chicago’s current web-page model, the formal note begins with the title, while the bibliography or author-date entry can be filed under the site owner, the Wikimedia Foundation.

URL

Prefer the permanent revision URL when you need readers to inspect the same version. A clean live URL such as /wiki/Oil_painting can show different text later. A permanent URL containing oldid=929802398 keeps the cited revision’s main article text available. This version control is useful across styles, but only APA’s dedicated Wikipedia guidance specifically requires an archived version when Wikipedia provides one.

Should You Cite Wikipedia in an Academic Paper?

Wikipedia can be cited when your assignment permits it, but a correct citation does not make every claim on the page suitable evidence. Wikipedia is commonly used as a tertiary starting point: it summarizes material and points readers to other sources. Check your course or publication policy, evaluate the cited claim, and follow the article’s footnotes to the original study, report, book, or dataset whenever that source is available.

If you cite an underlying source, cite the source you actually read—not merely the reference as it appears on Wikipedia. Our guide to primary and secondary sources can help you choose stronger evidence, while the guide to citing an encyclopedia entry covers signed and stable reference works.

Common Wikipedia Citation Mistakes

• Using a fabricated revision ID: copy the real permanent URL from Wikipedia; never type a sample oldid into a final paper.
• Calling an editor the author: the history records contributions, not a conventional article byline.
• Confusing revision and access dates: the revision date describes the version; the access date records when you consulted it.
• Using one rule for every style: APA starts with the entry title, MLA follows its container model, and Chicago distinguishes notes from bibliography or author-date entries.
• Citing the summary instead of the evidence: when the original source supports your claim and you have read it, cite that original source.

Frequently Asked Questions

What link should I use when citing Wikipedia?

Use the permanent URL for the exact revision you read. Open View history, select the revision’s date and time, and copy the URL containing its oldid. You can also use Tools → Permanent link for the current revision.

Who is the author of a Wikipedia article?

A standard Wikipedia entry has no individual byline. APA and MLA begin an unsigned entry with its title. Chicago begins a formal note with the title and can file the bibliography or author-date entry under the website owner, the Wikimedia Foundation. Do not list a volunteer editor as the sole author.

Do I need an access or retrieval date for Wikipedia?

It depends on the style and URL. APA omits the retrieval date when you cite an archived revision, but uses one when no permanent version is available. MLA access dates are optional unless your instructor requires one. Chicago uses an access date when no publication or revision date is listed.

Can I cite Wikipedia in a research paper?

Yes, if your assignment or publication policy allows it. However, use Wikipedia carefully as a starting point and follow its citations to stronger primary or secondary sources when those sources support the claim you need.

Official Sources Used for This Guide

• APA Style: Wikipedia references
• MLA Style Center: entries in reference works, online works, and access dates
• Chicago 18: notes and bibliography and author-date
• Wikipedia: permanent links and page history