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APA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Presentations and Class Notes
- Audiovisual Media
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- Presentations and Class Notes
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- In-Text Citation
- Reference List and Sample Papers
- Annotated Bibliography
- Citation Software
In-Text Citation or Reference List?
Handouts distributed in class and presentation slides such as PowerPoint should be cited both in-text and on the Reference list.
Your own notes from lectures are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the Reference list.
Presentation Slides from a Website
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of presentation [Lecture notes, PowerPoint Slides, etc.]. Publisher. URL
Kunka, J. L. (n.d.). Conquering the comma [PowerPoint presentation]. Purdue Online Writing Lab. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html#presentations
Presentation Slides from WebCampus (Canvas)
Instructor, I. I. (Year Presentation Was Created). Title of presentation [PowerPoint presentation]. WebCampus. URL
Graham, J. (2013). Introduction: Jean Watson [PowerPoint presentation]. WebCampus. https://unr.instructure.com/login/canvas
Note : The first letter of the word Watson is capitalized as it is part of a person's name.
Class Handouts from WebCampus (Canvas)
Instructor, I. I. (Year Handout Was Created if known). Title of handout [Class handout]. WebCampus. URL
Magowan , A. (2013). Career resources at the library [Class handout]. WebCampus. https://unr.instructure.com/login/canvas
Class Handout in Print
Instructor, I. I. (Year Handout Was Created if known). Title of handout [Class handout]. University Name, Course code.
Wood, D. (2013). Laboratory safety overview [Class handout]. University of Nevada, Reno, BIO173.
Class Lectures (Notes from)
Note : Your own notes from a lecture are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the Reference list. Put the citation right after a quote or paraphrased content from the class lecture.
(I. I. Instructor who gave lecture, personal communication, Month Day, Year lecture took place)
"Infections are often contracted while patients are recovering in the hospital" (J. D. Black, personal communication, May 30, 2012).
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Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Liberal Arts

General APA FAQs

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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).
N ote: This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .
The following FAQs address issues in APA citation and/or formatting. The entries in this section are based on frequently asked questions received by our former OWL Mail Tutors. Also, further information on APA style and citation can be found at the Purdue OWL’s APA Style and Formatting resource.
I’m writing an APA style paper, but I can’t get the header on the first page to be different than the subsequent pages. How do I set a different header on the first page?
In most current versions of Microsoft Word, you can make the header of the first page different from the header on the second and following pages. To do this, follow these steps:
1. After opening your version of Word, click on "Insert" at the top of the page. 2. Click on "Header" and choose the Header template you wish to use. Type in the text you would like for the first page. 3. When you type in your text in the header, you will see the "Design" tab is highlighted. There you can click on "Different first page." This will allow you to type in different text within your header beginning with page two.
If you do not have a version of Word which allows you to do this, you can simply type “Running Head: SHORTENED TITLE OF YOUR PAPER” at the upper most line on the first page without typing it inside the header. Then type the shortened title inside the header as you wish it to appear throughout your document.
Using APA, how do I cite an author if their work is referenced more than once in a single paragraph?
Here’s what the 6 th edition of the APA manual says: "Within a paragraph, when the name of the author is part of the narrative...you need not include the year in subsequent nonparenthetical references to a study as long as the study cannot be confused with other studies cited in the article. Do include the year in all parenthetical citations" (pg. 174). In other words, every time you bring up the author in a new paragraph, you should use the year, but you don’t have to within a paragraph, as long as it’s clear from your wording that you are discussing the same author. If you were giving a direct quotation that needed a parenthetical reference for the page number, then you’d include the year as well.
How do I cite a work that has no listed author in an APA-style paper?
According to the OWL website’s resource on APA-style citations, "When your essay includes parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the source’s title instead of an author’s name. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the source above would appear as follows: ( Merriam-Webster’s 1993)." The bibliographical citation is as follows:
Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10 th ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
What do I do if the source-type that I’m using doesn’t appear in any APA reference/style guides?
The APA manual models several different templates for references, but the forms given may not apply to all documents. In this case, the APA manual states that you should format the entry as best you can in accordance with their models: "Occasionally, however, you may need to use a reference for a source for which this chapter does not provide specific guidance. In such a case choose the example that is most like your source and follow that format...When in doubt, provide more information rather than less." (American Psychological Association, 2009 p. 193).
What do I do if a website is missing information required for an APA-style citation?
The APA Style Blog is a helpful source when it comes to citing websites with missing information. For example, if your website has no author, you can use the following example as a template for the citation for your reference page:
All 33 Chile miners freed in flawless rescue. (2010, October 13). Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news-americas/
As you can see, the title of the document is moved up to where the author’s name would be.
If your website has no date, you can put "n.d." instead. For example:
The College of William and Mary. (n.d.). College mission statement. Retrieved from http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/provost/mission/index.php
If I co-author a paper, how should the author’s names appear in an APA-style title page?
According to the 6 th edition of the APA manual, "The names of the authors should appear in the order of their contributions, centered between the side margins. For names with suffixes (e.g., Jr. and III), separate the suffix from the rest of the name with a space instead of a comma. The institutional affiliation should be centered under the author’s name, on the next line" (p. 24).
Some examples include the following:
Two authors, one affiliation:
Jamie R. Clark and Owen B. Engel Jr. Harvard University
Three authors, one affiliation:
Andrea Ferris, Brian Atkinson, and Rebecca Schultz University of Michigan
Two authors, two affiliations:
Paul Jacobs Rhodes College
Erin Gibson Vanderbilt University
Three authors, two affiliations:
Stacy Johnson and Madeline Ramirez Chicago Medical School
Brandon James Columbia University
I’m including an image in my APA style PowerPoint presentation. How do I properly cite the image that I’m going to use?
In the current digital age, you need to be careful not to infringe on copyrighted images found on the internet. See this series of posts from the APA Style Blog on navigating copyrighted images here.
If the image you are using is uninhibited by copyright, follow the guidelines below for proper citation:
Name of image creator, A. A. (Year images was made). Title of image in italics [medium of image - i.e file type]. Retrieved from http://.....
How do I cite unpublished works in APA?
Here is the relevant format from the APA manual, 6 th edition, p. 211:Unpublished manuscripts with a university cited:
Blackwell, E., & Conrod, P.J. (2003). A five dimensional measure of drinking motives . Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Manuscript in progress or submitted for publication:
Ting, J. Y., Florsheim, P., & Huang, W. (2008). Mental health help-seeking in ethnic minority populations: A theoretical perspective . Manuscript submitted for publication [or "Manuscript in preparation"].
Along with the format for the latter work, you can add the university where the author works (if indeed they are doing research as part of their position with a university or college).
I’m writing a paper about computer-aided writing instruction. How do I cite pieces of software in APA?
According to the 6 th edition of the APA manual, here is the general format for citing software:
Rightsholder, A.A. (Year). Title of program (Version number) [Description of form]. Location: Name of producer.
Alternatively, instead of using "Location:..." you can use "Retrieved from http://www...." If you can't find who the rightsholder is (i.e. the company or person who made the software), you can start the citation with the name of the program. Here’s another example from the manual:
Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (Version 2) [Computer software]. Englewood, NJ: Biostat.
The date may be excluded if it is not available. If you are citing a piece of software for a smartphone of a video game console, use the most descriptive term for the kind of software you’re using, i.e., [iPhone application].
How do I cite my professor’s classroom PowerPoint presentations in APA?
Your first choice is to follow the format for online PowerPoint presentation slides exemplified on this page of the Purdue OWL , and to simply not include the url:
You would reference this source in-text as you normally would by the author’s last name and date. Your second choice is to refer to the lecture as personal communication. For an example, please see this resource on the Purdue OWL .
Please note: personal communication is only cited in-text and not within your References list.
How do I cite lecture notes in my APA-style research paper?
The citation on the Reference page for the lecture notes would look like the following in APA:
Author. (year). In italics write the name or title of the lecture. Personal Collection of (the lecturer’s name), school or organization they teach for, city, state.
Berliner, A. (1959). Lecture on Reminiscences of Wundt and Leipsig. Personal Collection of A. Berliner, University of Akron, Akron OH.
How do I cite a work of art, like Salvador Dali’s The Ecumenical Council , in APA?
There is no “official” APA citation style for paintings or other works of art, but the APA Style Blog has addressed this question in one of its posts. You can access that post by clicking here .
As they say, "There are no guidelines for paintings, sculptures, or more complicated installations (e.g., a chair, a photo of a chair, and a definition of “chair”). So let’s use the Franken reference concept to model a few ways to handle art in your reference list."The basic format they suggest is below (using Wyeth’s painting Christina’s world as an example:
Wyeth, A. (1948). Christina’s world [Painting]. Retrieved from http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/index
I created and administered my own survey for a project. How would I cite this survey in an APA-style paper?
Since a survey you conducted yourself is not published elsewhere by someone else, you do not cite it in the same way you cite other materials. Instead, in your paper you describe your survey and make it clear that the data you’re referring to is from the survey, usually by saying so in introductory sentences. In your paper, you should include a short overview of your survey method: whom the survey was administered to, how it was administered, how many responses you got, and what kind of questions you asked. You should include a copy of the survey instrument (the full set of questions asked) as an appendix to your paper. You do not need to include your survey in your reference list.
How do I cite state bills in APA?
APA follows the guidelines for legal citations in the United States as outlined in The Bluebook ® . You can access a version of The Bluebook by clicking here .
However, guidelines for references to legal materials can also be found on pages 216-224 in the 6 th edition of the Publication Manual of the APA .
The following sample reference to a statute in a state code and its explanation can be found on page 220:
Mental Care and Treatment Act, 4 Kan. Stat. Ann.§§ 59-2901-2941 (1983 & Supp. 1992).
Explanation: This Kansas act can be found in codified version between sections 2901 and 2941 in Chapter 59 of volume 4 of the 1983 edition of Kansas Statutes Annotated. Two amendments to the act and additional references are provided in the 1992 supplement for the Kansas Statutes Annotated.
How do I cite artifacts in an APA-style paper?
Artifacts may fall under "Archival Documents and Collections." An extensive explanation of this can be found in the 6 th edition of the APA publication manual. The general format for this reference is as follows:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of material . [Description of material]. Name of Collection (Call number, Box number, File name or number, etc.). Name of Repository, Location.
This general format may be modified for collections requiring more or less specific information to locate materials, for different types of collections, or for additional descriptive information. If the artifact you are referencing is not accessible by others, nor is it reproducible, it may not need to be cited.
How do I cite a products instructional guide (e.g., the Apple iPad user’s manual) in APA?
While the APA publication manual lists many different references, product instructions are not something that has a specific reference example. Since there is not a specific reference guideline for instructions, try to adapt another similar reference for your uses. For example:
Title of the Instructions (Year). Name of the product . Company Name, City, State. Current Location of the Product.
Note: If the product is maintained at a business, list the name of the business and city, state for the "current location of product." If you own the product you are referencing, list "Copy in possession of author."
How do I cite genealogies in APA?
The APA does not seem to specifically address this issue. Here’s what we’ve been able to find from other sources:
Genealogy.com offers a method of citing birth/death certificates, which can be found by clicking here and scrolling down to the “Official Records” section of the page.
Archive.gov also offers suggestions on how to cite birth/death certificates, which can be accessed by clicking here .

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Lecture/PPT
- General Style Guidelines
- One Author or Editor
- Two Authors or Editors
- Three to Five Authors or Editors
- Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
- Article in a Reference Book
- Edition other than the First
- Translation
- Government Publication
- Journal Article with One Author
- Journal Article with 2 Authors
- Journal Article with 3-7 Authors
- Journal Article 7 or more Authors
- Magazine Article
- Newspaper Article
- Basic Web Page
- Web page from a University site
- Web Page with No Author
- Entry in a Reference Work
- Government Document
- Film and Television
- Youtube Video
- Audio Podcast
- Electronic Image
- Twitter/Instagram
- Lecture/PPT
- Conferences
- Secondary Sources
- Citation Support
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- Formatting Your Paper
How to cite from Blackboard?

If you retrieved lecture documents (not a journal article or an item available freely online) through a password protected portal such as Blackboard, you should not include the long URL from the Blackboard entry, instead use the homepage of Blackboard (i.e. Blackboard website: http://blackboard.gwu.edu).
NOTE: When citing online lecture notes, provide the file format in brackets after the lecture title (e.g. [PowerPoint], [PDF] documents).
WRONG: Frank, B. (2015). Lecture 4: Psychophysiology [PowerPoint slides]. https://blackboard.gwu.edu/webapps/blackboard/content listContent.jsp?course_id=_241832_1&content_id=_6002642_1
Important Note: This format would be used if you were citing a set of notes and/or documents from a lecture (e.g. PDF, Excel, Word document, or PowerPoint slides provided by your instructor).
Tip : Cite information from your own personal notes from a lecture as personal communication and refer to it only in the body of your essay. Follow the format examples for a personal communication available under the Interview section.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname, Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
References:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Lecture title [Format]. URL of website.
(Smith, 2010)
Butera, G. (2017). Lecture 4: Demystifying APA citation [PowerPoint slides]. George Washington University Introduction to Public Health Services Blackboard: http://blackboard.gwu.edu
What are the APA rules for citing references in PPT?

APA has rules to support clear and concise writing and attribution of work but there are areas where they do not have a specific rule - and PowerPoint is one of them.
See: APA Blog " Dear Professor...Your Students Have Questions We Can't Answer"
So how to include references in PPT? Use the following best practices but please note you should ALWAYS check with your instructor on their APA citation style preferences for PPT.
Question : Should I include my references on each slide or at the end of the PPT?
- Answer: If you include your references on each slide your slide may become too busy with too much text. This can be distracting to your audience.
- Best Practice: Consider adding an in-text citation on the slide and include all of your references at the end of the PPT presentation.
Question: How do I cite an image, table and/or figure on a PPT slide?
- Answer: Use the same guidelines for citing images/tables/figures in APA in a paper and include your references at the end of the PPT presentation.
- Best Practice: Always include the proper citation directly under the table/figure following APA rules. Use a smaller text size to avoid distraction/too busy slide. (See APA Blog: Navigating Copyright: How to Cite Sources in a Table.
Question: Should my references be double spaced or single spaced?
- Answer: Although APA does require references to be double spaced you may exercise flexibility and single space the references.
- Best Practice: Use single space and a smaller font size but otherwise follow the APA citation format for references (i.e list in alphabetical order, indent
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- Last Updated: Jan 11, 2023 12:39 PM
- URL: https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA

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APA 6th Edition: APA 6th Home
- APA 6th Home
- The Reference List
- Journal Article with One Author
- (Visualize it!)
- Journal Article with 2 Authors
- Journal Article with 3 to 7 Authors
- Journal Article with 8 or more Authors
- Magazine Article
- Newspaper Article
- One Author or Editor
- Two Authors or Editors
- Three to Five Authors or Editors
- Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
- Article in a Reference Book
- Basic Web Page
- Web page from an .edu site
- Entry in a Reference Work
- Government or Agency Document
- Motion Picture
- YouTube Video
- Electronic Image
- Figures and Charts
- Class Lecture/Notes
- Secondary Sources
- Almost Published
APA Publication Manual
Available in the library.


APA In-Text Matrix and Reference Diagram
- Quick Matrix & Diagram - APA
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About APA style
American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for citing references in student papers in science, social science and health courses, such as Nursing and Physical & Occupational Therapy
The purpose of documentation is to:
- Identify ( cite ) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay or term paper
- Indicate the authors or sources of these in a References list at the end of your paper
This guide is based on the APA Manual (6th ed.) published in 2009. This manual is not published online, but is available in electronic format via Amazon.com's Kindle app .
Elements of an APA Citation for a Journal Article

Some helpful links from the APA Blog...
The information below is copied with permission from the APA's official blog , and contains many useful links to examples, tutorials, explanations and frequently asked questions about APA style.
Best of the APA Style Blog
Each fall the APA Style Blog Team puts together a “best of” feature, and this year we continue the tradition with an updated set of posts from the APA Style Blog and our parent site, apastyle.org . We hope it will be helpful as new batches of students set upon the task of learning and implementing APA Style. You can get the full story in our sixth edition Publication Manual (also available as an e-book for Kindle ) and our APA Style Guide to Electronic References , plus more information via the links below.
APA Style Basic Principles
How in-text citations work How reference list entries work (and how to handle missing information ) How to find the example you need in the Publication Manual The principle of “cite what you see, cite what you use ”
Student Resources
Citing a class or lecture School intranet or Canvas/Blackboard class website materials Classroom course packs and custom textbooks Research participant interview data Reference lists versus bibliographies MLA versus APA Style ( in-text citations and the reference list )
“How-To” Citation Help
E-books Interviews Legal references Paraphrased work Mobile apps Secondary sources (sources you found in another source) and why to avoid them Social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) Website material YouTube videos
Paper Formatting
Block quotations Capitalization Fonts Headings Lists ( lettered , numbered , or bulleted ) Margins Running heads Spelling Statistics
Keep in Touch!
We hope that these resources will be helpful to you as you write using APA Style. If you are interested in receiving tips about APA Style as well as general writing advice, we encourage you to follow us on social media. You can find us (and tell your friends) on Facebook , Twitter , and Google+ .
- APA Sample Paper From the official APA website.
- APA Tutorial
- APA Website
- Official APA facebook page
- Official APA blog Provides clarification and corrections related to information in the APA manual.
- Find a DOI Use Crossref to find a DOI using author and title information!
- Sample APA Citations The library's printable handout for APA style examples.
- Next: The Reference List >>
- Last Updated: Aug 19, 2022 3:08 PM
- URL: https://utica.libguides.com/apa

APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Class Handouts, Presentations, and Readings
- What Kind of Source Is This?
- Advertisements
- Books & eBooks
- Book Reviews
- Class Handouts, Presentations, and Readings
- Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
- Government Documents
- Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
- Journal Articles
- Magazine Articles
- Newspaper Articles
- Personal Communication (Interviews, Emails)
- Social Media
- Videos & DVDs
- Paraphrasing
- Works Cited in Another Source
- No Author, No Date etc.
- Sample Paper, Reference List & Annotated Bibliography
- Powerpoint Presentations
On This Page
Presentation slides from moodle, presentation slides from cams, powerpoint presentation slides from a website, class handouts from moodle, class handouts from cams, class handout in print, class lectures (notes from).
Note : All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
In-Text Citation or References List
Handouts distributed in class and presentation slides such as Powerpoint should be cited both in-text and on the References list.
Your own notes from lectures are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the References list, since they are not a published source.
Instructor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year Presentation Was Created). Title of presentation: Subtitle if any [PowerPoint presentation]. Moodle. URL of Moodle login page
Instructor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year Presentation Was Created). Title of presentation: Subtitle if any [PowerPoint presentation]. CAMS. URL
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year Presentation Was Created). Title of presentation: Subtitle if any [PowerPoint presentation]. Name of Website if given. URL
Note about h yperlinks:
It is acceptable for hyperlinks to be blue and underlined (live) or black without underlining.
All hyperlinks must include https://
Instructor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year Handout Was Created if known). Title of handout: Subtitle if any [Class handout]. Moodle. URL of Moodle login page
Note: To cite other readings , follow the model for that type of document: eg a chapter from a book with an editor, an article from a library database, etc.. You do not need to identify Moodle as the source. If the instructor has not provided details that are necessary to to cite the reading, contact them to ask for these.
Instructor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year Handout Was Created if known). Title of handout: Subtitle if any [Class handout]. CAMS. URL
Instructor's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Year Handout Was Created if known). Title of handout: Subtitle if any [Class handout]. Columbia College, Course code.
Note : Your own notes from a lecture are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the References list. Put the citation right after a quote or paraphrased content from the class lecture.
(First Initial of Faculty Who Gave Lecture. Second Initial if known. Last Name, personal communication, Month Day, Year lecture took place)
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- Next: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries >>
- Last Updated: Jan 6, 2023 4:37 PM
- URL: https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/apa
How to Cite a Lecture in APA (7th Edition)
Published by steve tippins on june 23, 2020 june 23, 2020.
Last Updated on: 29th August 2022, 08:24 am
When writing your dissertation or other academic papers, you may have to cite a lecture in APA. Keep these guidelines handy and you will have no problem citing a lecture that your professor delivers.
Personal lecture notes
The easiest guideline to remember is how to cite a lecture in APA from your own personal notes.
Lecture notes you take in a live online or face-to-face class are considered personal communication. They are personal communication, because they do not exist in any other recorded or print format.
In-text citation
(Professor’s first initial. Last name, personal communication, date of lecture)
(S. Graham, personal communication, June 17, 2020)
S. Graham (personal communication, June 17, 2020) explained six ways that one can distinguish between interpretation and evidence.
According to S. Graham (personal communication, June 17, 2020), “there are six ways that one can distinguish between interpretation and evidence.”
Note: You only need to cite personal communication in-text, and do not have to put it in the References list.
Lecture in online learning management system (LMS) course

A professor’s lecture in a course conducted in an LMS platform may be recorded. To cite a lecture in APA for this type of format, you will need to put the source in the References list.
In-text citation
(Professor’s last name, date of lecture, if no date, n.d.)
(Jimenez, June 17, 2020)
Paraphrase
According to Jimenez (2017), the first Kuru epidemic occurred in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea among the Fore tribespeople.
Jimenez (2017) stated symptoms of the Kuru disease were “involuntary movements or tremors, difficulty eating that results in malnutrition, personality changes, and dementia.”
Reference list
Professor’s last name, Initial of first name. year, month and day of lecture. Lecture title in italics [Lecture recording]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page.
Jimenez, S. (2020, June 17). The Kuru pandemic [Lecture recording]. [email protected] University. https://classes.CRUniv.edu
Lecture on PowerPoint

To cite a lecture in APA when your professor delivers it via PowerPoint is easy once you have mastered the previous two guidelines.
(Professor’s last name, year)
(Hayward, 2020)
The epidemic known as “dancing mania” or the dancing plague broke out during the Middle Ages (Hayward, 2020).
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According to Hayward (2020), “there are many chronicles written about scourges of uncontrollable dancing among the population living along the Rhine and Moselle Rivers.”
Professor’s last name, Initial of first name. Year, if no date, then n.d. Title of the PowerPoint presentation in italics [PowerPoint slides]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page.
Hayward, D. (2020). Dancing mania epidemic [PowerPoint slides]. [email protected] University. https://classes.CRUniv.edu
PowerPoint slides online
Your professor may post the PowerPoint lecture online, rather than on the course website. To cite a lecture in APA for this type of lecture, you will follow the guidelines for citing a PowerPoint lecture above, but with a minor difference in how it is written in the References list.
Last name of professor, Initial of first name. Year of publication, if no date, then n.d. Title of PowerPoint in italics [PowerPoint slides]. URL of PowerPoint.
Knapp, G. (2020). Methylmercury poisoning in Japan [PowerPoint slides]. https://www. net/health-sciences-methylmercury-poisoning
Note: You can find more information about how to cite a lecture in APA 7 th edition in section 8.8 and page 347 of the Manual.
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- How to Cite a Lecture | APA, MLA & Chicago Examples
How to Cite a Lecture | APA, MLA & Chicago Examples
Published on March 19, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 28, 2022.
To cite a lecture or speech, you need an in-text citation and a corresponding reference listing the speaker, the title of the lecture, the date it took place, and details of the context (e.g. the name of the course or event and the institution).
The exact information included varies depending on how you viewed the lecture and what citation style you are using. The main citation styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago style .
Table of contents
Citing a lecture in apa style, citing a lecture in mla style, citing a lecture in chicago style, frequently asked questions about citations.
In APA Style, you don’t provide a formal citation for a lecture unless it is recorded or documented in some way. This is based on the idea that it’s only useful to document sources your reader can actually access.
Instead, you should usually just cite the lecture as a personal communication in parentheses in the text. State the lecturer’s name (initials and last name), the words “personal communication,” and the date of the lecture.
For a talk at a conference, you do provide a full reference entry and APA in-text citation. For example, a paper presentation is cited in the following format.
A different format is used to cite information from the lecture slides themselves.
Recorded or transcribed speeches
When citing a speech or lecture that you accessed as a recording or transcript, the format follows that of the source type that contains the speech (e.g. book , website , newspaper ).
For example, the following is a citation of an audio recording of a speech hosted on a website.
In an MLA Works Cited entry for an in-person lecture , list the title in quotation marks, with headline capitalization, and include the word “Lecture” (or a more specific descriptive term) at the end of the entry.
The MLA in-text citation just lists the speaker’s last name.
A different format is used to cite information from lecture slides .
When a lecture or speech is recorded or transcribed within another source (e.g. a website , a book ), you should follow the format for the relevant source type, adding a descriptive phrase at the end of the Works Cited entry to clarify what kind of source it is.
For example, the following is a citation of a speech in audio form from a website.
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In Chicago notes and bibliography style, you cite sources using Chicago style footnotes and corresponding entries in the bibliography.
A bibliography entry for a lecture you viewed in person lists the title of the lecture and the event or institution that hosted it. It also includes a descriptive label (e.g. “Lecture”) to clarify the type of source.
A more specific label can be used if you’re citing information specifically from the slides or lecture handout:
Chicago also offers an alternative author-date citation style ; examples of lecture citations in this style can be found here .
When you’re citing a recorded or transcribed lecture (rather than one you saw in person), the format depends on the type of source that contains it (e.g. book , newspaper , website ).
For example, the following citation refers to an audio recording of a speech, hosted on a website.
The main elements included in a lecture citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the speaker, the lecture title, the date it took place, the course or event it was part of, and the institution it took place at.
For transcripts or recordings of lectures/speeches, other details like the URL, the name of the book or website , and the length of the recording may be included instead of information about the event and institution.
When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)
In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.
For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.
Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.
- APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
- MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
- Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
- Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.
Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.
The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2022, June 28). How to Cite a Lecture | APA, MLA & Chicago Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-lecture/
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APA 6th referencing style
- About APA 6th
- In-text references
- Direct quotations
- Indirect citation or secondary source
- Reference list
- Author information
- Additional referencing information
- Using headings
- Book chapter
- ChatGPT and other generative AI tools
- Journal article
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Lecture notes - print
Lecture notes and slides - online.
- Video or DVD
- Television program
- Government legislation
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- Personal communication
- Specialised health information
- Press (media) release
- Works in non-English languages
- Works in non-English scripts, such as Arabic or Chinese
- Printing this guide
- << Previous: Brochure
- Next: Video or DVD >>
- Last Updated: Mar 3, 2023 12:32 PM
- URL: https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/referencing/apa6

APA (7th Edition) Referencing Guide
- Information for EndNote Users
- Authors - Numbers, Rules and Formatting
- In-Text Citations
- Reference List
- Books & eBooks
- Book chapters
- Journal Articles
- Conference Papers
- Newspaper Articles
- Web Pages & Documents
- Specialised Health Databases
- Using Visual Works in Assignments & Class Presentations
- Using Visual Works in Theses and Publications
- Using Tables in Assignments & Class Presentations
Lecture notes and handouts (online)
Class hand-outs (physical).
- Custom Textbooks & Books of Readings
- ABS AND AIHW
- Videos (YouTube), Podcasts & Webinars
- Blog Posts and Social Media
- First Nations Works
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- What If...?
- Other Guides
Lecture notes or class handouts distributed through LearnJCU:
Strictly speaking, any material that is only available in person (as in, you had to be in class in order to have this material handed to you, or it was sent via email) is regarded as personal communication , and should be cited as such.
However, if you believe the hand-out is essential course material and your lecturer would expect you to cite it just like you would cite something uploaded to LearnJCU, you can use the following format:
Printed material distributed in class:
- << Previous: Using Tables in Assignments & Class Presentations
- Next: Custom Textbooks & Books of Readings >>
- Last Updated: Mar 1, 2023 5:08 PM
- URL: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa


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COMMENTS
Your own notes from lectures are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry
How do I cite lecture notes in my APA-style research paper? ... The citation on the Reference page for the lecture notes would look like the following in APA:.
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Lecture title [Format]. URL of website. Example. In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):.
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Lecture title [Format]. Retrieved from College Name Course name Course Management Name
Your own notes from lectures are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment
Professor's last name, Initial of first name. year, month and day of lecture. Lecture title in italics [Lecture recording]. Type of LMS platform
Instead, you should usually just cite the lecture as a personal communication in parentheses in the text. State the lecturer's name (initials
About APA 7th · Printing this guide · In-text references · Direct quotations · Reference list · Author information · Additional referencing
Name of author(s) or the institution responsible, use & for multiple authors. (Year of publication). Title and subtitle of publication – italicised, Name of
Strictly speaking, any material that is only available in person (as in, you had to be in class in order to have this material handed to you, or