PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
Personal communications include emails, letters, memos, chats, discussion board postings, and other communications that are private, not archived, or both. These sources contain unrecoverable information. Thus, while you would need to cite them in text as with any other source, you would not need to make entries on your reference page. Here are examples in the narrative format and the parenthetical format.
Narrative citation
A. B. Smith (personal communication, April 20, 2014) contends that her company only recruits graduates with strong communication skills.
Parenthetical citation
One business executive states that her company only recruits graduates with strong communication skills (A. B. Smith, personal communication, April 20, 2014).
- Use both the initial(s) and the last name for this particular type of source.
- Provide the full date.
Personal communications include emails, letters, memos, chats, discussion board postings, and other communications that are private, not archived, or both. These sources contain unrecoverable information. Thus, while you would need to cite them in text as with any other source, you would not need to make entries on your reference page. Here are examples in the narrative format and the parenthetical format.
Narrative citation
A. B. Smith (personal communication, April 20, 2014) contends that her company only recruits graduates with strong communication skills.
Parenthetical citation
One business executive states that her company only recruits graduates with strong communication skills (A. B. Smith, personal communication, April 20, 2014).
