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Citing a Lecture

Here’s a quick overview of how to cite a lecture in MLA style 9th edition.

Lecture – An oral presentation intended to present information about a particular subject; can be a speech, reading, or address.

MLA Lecture Citation Structure:

Speaker Last Name, First Name. “Presentation Title.” Event Name, Day Month Year presented, Location, City. Lecture.

Note: The event title, city, and location are not always specified in the lecture, but the information can be found elsewhere (like event programs).

MLA Lecture Citation Example:

Hamilton, Buffy J. “Illuminating Learning Communities Through School Libraries and Makerspaces: Creating, Constructing, Collaborating, Contributing.” Texas Library Association Conference, 29 Aug. 2013, Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth. Lecture.

MLA Lecture In-text Citation Structure:

(Speaker Last Name)

MLA Lecture In-text Citation Example:

(Hamilton)

Troubleshooting

Solution #1: Referencing a lecturer repeating a quotation

Often, lecturers will quote other sources in their presentations. When this happens, it is important to not misrepresent the information as their own original idea.

If the author is mentioned in the sentence, credit them by placing “qtd. in” followed by the lecturer’s name in parentheses.

In-text citation, indirect source where the author is mentioned in the sentence:

If the author of the original statement is not mentioned in the sentence, write their name followed by “qtd. in” and the lecturer’s name. Place this information in parentheses.

Example:

According to Johnson, the statistics needed to be run a fourth time to verify the data (qtd. in Dalton).

In-text citation, indirect source where the author is NOT mentioned in the sentence:

1. On the reference page, cite the speaker and lecture information.
   1. Write the author’s name in last name first name format with a period following.
   2. List the title or a description of the lecture in quotations with a period following.
2. Write the name of the event with a comma afterward.
3. Write the date that the event was held in day, month, year format with a comma following.
4. List the location of the event with a comma between the specific location and city with a period following.
5. Write “Lecture” with a period following.

Example:

According to the article, the statistics needed to be run a fourth time to verify the data (Johnson qtd. in Dalton).

Reference example of an indirect source:

Barron, Dalton. “An Analysis of Books by Jerome Walton.” Colloquium for English Research, 1 May 2021, Denver Arts Building, Denver. Lecture.

Solution #2: How to cite a class lecture that you saw in person.

Create an in-text citation by placing the speaker’s name in parentheses. Example:

Contrary to our expectations, the data in section three suggests that the apes did not use fewer interactive enrichment tools (Barron).

To create a reference page citation, do the following:

1. Write the speaker’s name in last name, first name format with a period following.
2. List the title or a description of the lecture in quotations with a period following.
3. Write the name of the course with a comma following.
4. Write the date that the event was held in day, month, year format with a comma following.
5. List the location and city of the event with a period following.
6. Lastly, write “Class lecture” with a period following.

Reference example:

Barron, Dalton. “An Analysis of Books by Jerome Walton.” An Introduction to Literary Theory, 1 May 2021, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg. Class lecture.