Infographic Citation in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard

Style rules checked October 23, 2026 · Next check by January 21, 2027 · AI-assisted source and citation checks; not human review

Examples in every style

Real APA infographic with no invented publication date

APA's public one-page Six Steps to Proper Citation Infographic is used as bibliographic metadata. The PDF cites a 2020 manual, but that is not taken as proof that the infographic itself was published in 2020; the example leaves its date absent.

Synthetic dated standalone infographic

Illustrative metadata only: a dated visual explanation with a named creator. No real image, survey or finding is claimed. The source details in this example are made up to show the format.

How the styles differ for this source

Edge cases

• The infographic has no formal title. Describe the work rather than inventing an official title. MLA's infographic-specific article explains this background principle and is explicitly marked eighth edition; use the current universal template for the entry. Style guide. Applies to MLA Handbook 9th edition.
• The visual sits inside an article. Identify the container instead of assuming the image URL alone identifies the consulted source. MLA's core-element guide explains the source/container distinction. Style guide. Applies to MLA Handbook 9th edition.
• A date in the artwork belongs to a cited source. Do not turn a source's year into the infographic's publication year. The real APA infographic cites a 2020 manual but supplies no separate publication date. Style guide. Applies to APA Style 7th edition, MLA Handbook 9th edition, Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography), Cite Them Right 12th edition (author-date/Harvard).
• You reproduce the infographic rather than merely discuss it. APA classifies infographics as figures and describes a figure note as a location for necessary explanatory and copyright information. A reference entry is not the complete figure presentation. Style guide. Applies to APA Style 7th edition.

Common mistakes

Citing Google Images as the creator

The search tool is not necessarily the author or source of the visual.

Not this: Google Images substituted for the named original creator

Do this (APA Style 7th edition, reference list entry): Rivera, A. (2025). Planning a source-checking workflow [Infographic].

Copying the manual's 2020 date as the infographic's own date

The real PDF distinguishes the visual's heading from its cited source. No separate year is assumed here.

Not this: Infographic dated 2020 only because its source manual is from 2020

Do this (MLA Handbook 9th edition, reference list entry): American Psychological Association. Six Steps to Proper Citation Infographic. Infographic. apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/six-steps-proper-citation.pdf. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Calling an untitled image a formally titled publication

A description should be identified as a description, not misrepresented as an official title.

Not this: Your invented description treated as a quoted official title

Do this (Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (notes and bibliography), reference list entry): Rivera, Alex. Planning a Source-Checking Workflow. Infographic. February 4, 2025.

Check before you cite

• Open the original visual and its containing page or PDF.
• Record its creator and distinguish a title from your own description.
• Verify that any date belongs to the visual itself.
• Identify whether the infographic is standalone or embedded in another work.
• Check reproduction rights and preserve required credit separately from the reference.

Is this the right source type?

An infographic is a designed explanation, not simply any chart returned by an image search. Open the original visual and ask who created it, whether it has an official title and whether the date on the page really belongs to that visual. A source cited inside the artwork can be older than the artwork itself. The real APA example makes that distinction visible: its one-page infographic cites a 2020 manual, but that citation is not evidence of a separate publication date for the infographic. This record therefore leaves the date unspecified instead of manufacturing precision. If the visual is embedded inside an article or report, keep the container information as well; the image file's address may omit the title, authorship and context readers need. The synthetic example shows a separate dated infographic and is clearly labelled as invented metadata. Neither example reproduces copyrighted artwork. If you include the actual visual in your assignment, consult the rights information and the figure requirements of the style you were assigned. A correctly formatted reference identifies a source, but it does not itself settle permission or replace a required figure note.

Frequently asked questions

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