How to Cite a Personal Communication

Emails, letters, phone calls, and private correspondence.

What You'll Need

Subject/Description

Short title

Sender/Author

Recipient(s)

Date

Communication Type

Record the communicator name, type (email, letter, conversation), and date. Personal communications are often cited in-text only.

APA 7th edition

Cited in the text only. This style gives it no entry in the reference list.

In-text (J. Smith, personal communication, January 15, 2024)

MLA 9th edition

Smith, Jane. “Re: Research Collaboration Inquiry.” Email. 15 Jan. 2024.

In-text (Smith)

Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography)

Cited in the notes only. This style gives it no entry in the bibliography.

Footnote Jane Smith, “Re: Research Collaboration Inquiry,” Email to John Doe, January 15, 2024.

Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th edition)

Smith, J. (2024) ‘Re: Research collaboration inquiry’.

In-text (Smith, 2024)

IEEE

[1]

J. Smith, “Re: Research collaboration inquiry,” Jan. 15, 2024.

In-text [1]

Numbered by order of appearance in your document.

Vancouver

Smith J. Re: Research collaboration inquiry. 2024.

In-text (1)

Numbered by order of appearance in your document.