How to Cite Wikipedia
Updated July 2026
First, the honest part: most instructors don't accept Wikipedia as a source. It's a tertiary source that changes constantly. But it's an excellent map — its references section points to the citable primary sources you actually want.
If you do need to cite it (or your assignment allows it), here's how — and how to use it as a launchpad instead.
The format
APA: Title of article. (Year, Month Day). In Wikipedia. https://permanent-link MLA: “Title of Article.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Mon. Year, URL.
Wikipedia has no individual author, so the title leads in both styles. The date is the last-edited date of the specific version you read.
Use the permanent version link
Wikipedia articles change by the minute, so cite the exact version you saw. Click "View history", open the dated revision you used, and copy that URL — it's permanent. APA specifically wants this archived/permanent link rather than the live article URL, because the live page will have changed by the time anyone checks your citation.
The better move: cite the primary source
Scroll to the article's References section. The claim you want to cite almost always traces to a journal article, book, or report listed there — cite that instead. It's stronger evidence, it's a source your instructor will accept, and if it has a DOI you can build the citation in seconds. Treat Wikipedia as the index, not the source.
In-text citations
APA: ("Article Title," 2024) — shortened title in quotes since there's no author. MLA: ("Article Title"). No page numbers exist, so don't invent them.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- Can I cite Wikipedia in an academic paper?
- Usually not as a source — most instructors disallow it because it's tertiary and unstable. Check your assignment. Either way, use its reference list to find citable primary sources.
- What date do I use for a Wikipedia citation?
- The last-edited date of the specific version you read, found via the article's View history tab. Pair it with that version's permanent link.
- Who is the author of a Wikipedia article?
- There's no individual author, so the title takes the author position in both APA and MLA. The Wikimedia Foundation is the publisher in MLA.
- Why does APA want the version-history URL?
- Because the live article changes constantly. The permanent version link points to exactly what you read, so the citation stays verifiable.