How to Cite a Lecture in MLA?
If you’re an academic writer, you must know how to cite lectures. Lectures are a great source of knowledge, but mentioning them in the body of your paper can get tricky. Although you generally don’t cite lectures that you attend, it is important to note them in your works cited and bibliography, especially if you use them as a source when writing a paper. Non-scholarly lectures and speeches may also be included in the works cited list in APA or MLA citation format.
What is an MLA Lecture Citation?
We will discuss the main citations, such as MLA or APA, and what they mean for you as a writer.
In the study of MLA citations, it is important to understand the history of their use. Modern Language Association (MLA) was founded in 1883 by a group of scholars who wanted to improve the standardization of language and literature. They believed that if people could speak and write consistently, it would be easier for everyone to communicate clearly.
The founders of MLA published their first edition of Style Manuals for Authors, Editors, and Printers in 1906. This manual included rules for citations, which had been previously handled differently by various writers. The second edition of the MLA citation Style Manual appeared in 1949, and the third edition in 1974; both included rules for citing information from books, periodicals, websites, and other sources.
The first person to make it into the history books for creating a system of documentation is Robert Plumer Ward (a pseudonym), who wrote an article called “An Essay on Bibliographical Citation.” He argued that every book should have its page number, but he didn’t like how long citations looked when both author and title were included. So, instead of using one line per citation as we do now, he used two lines: one for the author’s name and the date and one for the title and the date. This format is still used today!
Citing a Lecture in MLA Format
When citing lectures both in MLA or APA citation format, use the speaker’s name in the following form:
- Last name.
- First Initial.
- Middle Initial; Middle Initial (Date).
- Title of Lecture.
- Title of Event.
- Location.
- Publisher.
- Date (if not already given).
The first element of the in-text citation in MLA or APA format is the lecture’s title. For example, if you are citing a live lesson, include the lecturer’s name and an indication that this was a live event. For example:
[Lecture Title] by [Lecturer’s Name]. On Day, Month, Year at Time: Hour: Minute AM/PM (if applicable).
In this case, if two presenters gave separate portions at different times during your visit, you would list both names separated by commas with no ending punctuation after either one. For example:
[Title], presented by [First Presenter’s Name] and [Second Presenter’s Name] on Day Month Year at Time Hour Minute AM/PM.
MLA Lecture in Text Citation: Our Generator
Lectures are a great source of knowledge, but citing them in your paper can get tricky. First, you must do it properly if you’re using a lecture as a source of information. The MLA or APA citation style guidelines for citing lectures include information on other resources, such as websites and podcasts, and how to mention any notes taken during the lecture.
How you cite the lecture will depend on what type of source it is. If you use a book or an article, you must use the author’s name, year of publication, and page number(s). If it is a website or blog post, you can use the URL and title (if available).
If you are stuck with citing properly, our MLA citation machine generator can help you! This generator is designed to help you format your essay properly so it will be easier for you to write it. First, you need to insert the text of your paper and choose the style of formatting that you need. Then, our tool will generate the results just with a few mouse clicks.
MLA Presentation Citation
Presentations are often a part of the research process and can be as simple or complex as you would like. For example, the simplest MLA cite a PowerPoint lecture includes a slideshow of images and text; more complicated presentations may require data analysis or even statistical modeling. Regardless of the MLA or APA format, mentioning any information presented during a presentation is important to give credit where credit is due.
Presentations that are scheduled and planned, such as visiting a classroom or delivering a lecture at a conference, require both in-text citation and information on the Works Cited page, either in MLA or APA format. Some examples of presentations are lectures, school assemblies, speeches at political rallies or fundraising events, and performances by artists and musicians, both live on stage and recorded for broadcast or distribution online.
MLA format PowerPoint presentation includes details such as title; date(s) presented; the location where it was held (if relevant); name (s) of the presenter(s) if available.
An in-text citation in both MLA and APA should include the speaker’s name, the title of the presentation or paper, and the phrase “Presented at.”
When you use a quote in your paper, include the speaker’s name, the title of their presentation or article, and the phrase “Presented at.”
MLA format for lectures should include the name of the presenter and presenters (if there was more than one), their last names, and their initials, followed by the date presented or published. For example, Smith, John (presenter); Smith J., 2000 (presenter). Our generator is always there for you if you can’t cite a presentation.
MLA Conference Presentation Citation
If you’ve ever had to present at a conference, you know how nerve-wracking it can be. The good news is that all that hard work is worth it if you give yourself credit! Below are some examples of how to cite in MLA/APA style:
Author’s name, “Title of Presentation,” Conference name, location, and date presented.
For example:
Jane Doe, “The Impact of Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov on the Modern Novel,” MLA 2009 Conference and Annual Meeting (New York City: New York University Press), the 12th of April, 2009.
MLA Citation Lecture Video
If you are citing a lecture video, you may use the same MLA or APA format as if it were a written work. However, there is one caveat: if the date for the video is not known or has not been specified, it is acceptable to leave that out of your citation. We recommend including it anyway so your reader knows when it was recorded.
Last name, First name. (Year of publication). Title of the video. Retrieved from URL
If the video does not have a date, you do not need to include it.
As you can see above, if there is no date for the video, you do not need to include it. However, if there is a date for the lecture video (such as “The 5th of February, 2019”), you must have it in the same MLA or APA format as the rest of your citations:
MLA: the 5th of February, 2019
APA: February, the 5th 2019
If you still struggle, the MLA Video Lecture Citation Machine Generator can help you to format your lecture video properly. It’s very simple and fast. Just enter the name of your video lecture and press “Generate.” In a few seconds, you will get all the information about your source: title, author, date, URL, and so on.