mla cite speech in text

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Citing lectures, speeches, or conference proceedings: MLA (9th ed.) citation guide

This guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 9th ed. and provides selected citation examples for common types of sources.  For more detailed information, please consult the full manual: available in print and online .

Lecture, speech, reading or address

When citing a live presentation like a speech or lecture from a conference or an event, include the name of the sponsoring/presenting organization (after the title), and the venue (after date and before the wider location) in your works cited. 

Parenthetical (in-text) 

The presenter went to great lengths to prove his point regarding how your brain has been shaped by evolution (Crespi). 

Works cited 

A live lecture  .

Crespi, Bernie. "Darwin and Your Brain." Vancouver Evolution Festival . Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia, 12 Feb. 2009, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.

An online recording of a live presentation

Parker, Pardis. “Why Being a Billionaire is a Joke.” TED , Oct. 2022, www.ted.com/talks/pardis_parker_why_being_a_billionaire_is_a_joke.

Conference proceedings

A conference proceeding is the published record of a conference, congress, symposium, or other meeting sponsored by a society or association. The document will look similar to an article or book chapter (and it may in fact be a chapter in a book). To cite a conference proceeding, provide the same information as when citing a book or article , but also include additional information such as the title and date of the conference.

You may be citing an edited book of proceedings (see Edited print books ) or a single presentation, in which you would cite the author(s)/presenter(s), the title of the presentation, and the conference proceeding details similar to a book chapter or journal article .

Parenthetical (in-text)

Social media provides a platform for more minority groups to speak out (Fu).

Works cited

Whole proceedings.

Chang, Steve S., et al., editors. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, February 12–15, 1999: General Session and Parasession on Loan Word Phenomena . Berkeley Linguistics Society, 2000.

A single presentation

Fu, Yige, et al. “Research on the Influences of Social Media to Gender Equality.” SHS Web of Conferences , vol. 148, EDP Sciences, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202214803026.

Still using MLA 8?

We've now updated our citation guides to MLA 9, but you can still use the printable version of our MLA 8 citation guide. 

Need more help? Check our Ask a Librarian services .

How do I cite an online lecture or speech?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

To cite an online lecture or speech, follow the MLA format template . List the name of the presenter, followed by the title of the lecture. Then list the name of the website as the title of the container, the date on which the lecture was posted, and the URL:  

Allende, Isabel. “Tales of Passion.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading , Jan. 2008, www.ted.com/talks/isabel_allende_tells_tales_of_passion/ transcript?language=en .

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite a Lecture in MLA

How to Cite a Lecture in MLA

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:

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.

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:

• Write the author’s name in last name first name format with a period following.
• List the title or a description of the lecture in quotations with a period following.
• Write the name of the event with a comma afterward.
• Write the date that the event was held in day, month, year format with a comma following.
• List the location of the event with a comma between the specific location and city with a period following.
• Write “Lecture” with a period following.

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:

• Write the speaker’s name in last name, first name format with a period following.
• Write the name of the course with a comma following.
• List the location and city of the event with a period following.
• 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.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

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• Journal Article
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Public Speaking

• Citing Sources (MLA)
• Choosing a Topic for Your Speech
• Finding Articles
• Finding Books & eBooks
• Finding Speeches and Transcripts
• Finding Statistics

Understanding MLA Style

The Two Required Types of Citation

• Two Types of Documentation
• Works Cited
• MLA Works Cited Page (Purdue OWL)
• MLA In Text Citations (Purdue OWL)

MLA Format Examples

• MLA Format 8th Edition Layout
• MLA Format 8th Edition Layout (MS WORD)
• MLA Citation Template - Blank & Filled
• Sample Works Cited Page (Purdue OWL)
• Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)
• Sample Papers in MLA Style (MLA Style Center)

Citation Formats

• What Are Citation Formats?
• Why Cite Sources?
• Why Cite Sources
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• Last Updated: Feb 8, 2024 2:57 PM
• URL: https://nmc.libguides.com/speech

Citing a Speech

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Presidents’ Day is celebrated on the third Monday of February each year in the United States—and it offers the perfect opportunity to honor the life and achievements of past American presidents, especially historical standouts like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.

The holiday was initially held on February 22nd to honor the life and achievements of George Washington (it coincided with his birthday). So, what better way to commemorate the holiday than by learning to cite one of Washington’s most famous presidential speeches: his farewell address.

Below, we’ve laid out instructions on how to cite any presidential speech in three citation styles: MLA, APA and Chicago. For each style, we’ve cited Washington’s farewell address as an example.

In order to properly cite a presidential speech, you need to know the following pieces of information:

• Speaker’s first and last name
• Speech’s title
• Date the speech was delivered
• Editor’s name (if applicable)

If you found the speech in a book, you should also take note of the following:

• Book’s title
• First and last name of the book’s author
• Book’s publisher
• Book’s year of publication
• City and state the publisher is located in
• Page number(s) of the speech

If you found the speech on the internet, instead pay attention to:

• Title of the article
• Title of the webpage (if it differs from the article name)
• Where the speech was given
• Publisher of the website
• Date the article was posted
• URL of the website where the speech resides

Citing Washington’s Farewell Address in MLA Style

How it would look if found in a book :

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Speech.” Date Speech Delivered. Title of Book, edited or translated by First Name Last Name (if applicable) , Publisher, Year of Publication.

MLA citation example (We used the book shown here ) :

Washington, George. “George Washington’s Farewell Address.” 17 Sept. 1796. George Washington’s Farewell Address: Little Books of Wisdom , edited by John Brooks, Applewood Books, 1999.

Online Transcript

How it would look if found in an online transcript :

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Speech.” Date Speech Was Delivered. Title of Website, Publisher’s Name, Date of Publication, URL (no http:// or https://). Transcript (include if video/audio formats also available).

MLA example :

Washington, George. “George Washington’s Farewell Address.” 17 Sept. 1796. The Avalon Project , Lillian Goldman Law Library, 2008, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp. 

Citing Washington’s Farewell Address in APA Style

Title of speech. (Publication Year of Book). In Editor’s Initial. Last Name (Ed.), Book title . City, State: Publisher.

APA citation example :

George Washington’s farewell address. (1999). In J. Brooks (Ed.), George Washington’s farewell addres s: Little books of wisdom . Bedford, MA: Applewood Books.

Author’s Last name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year of Publication for Webpage). Title of the article or individual page [Format]. Retrieved from URL (no http:// or https://).

APA example :

Washington, G. (2008). Washington’s farewell address 1796   [Transcript]. Retrieved from avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.

Citing Washington’s Farewell Address in Chicago Style

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Speech.” Year Speech Was Delivered. In Book Title, edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name. City, State: Publisher, Year Published.

Chicago citation example :

Washington, George. “George Washington’s Farewell Address.” 1796. In George Washington’s Farewell Address: Little Books of Wisdom , edited by John Brooks. Bedford, Massachusetts: Applewood Books, 1999.

Speaker’s Last Name, Speaker’s First Name. “Title of Speech.” Speech, Location Delivered, Date Delivered. “Title of Webpage,” Title of Site . Date Accessed. URL.

Chicago example :

Washington, George. “Washington’s Farewell Address.” Speech, Washington, D.C., 1796. “The Avalon Project: Documents in Law ,History and Diplomacy,” Avalon Project. Accessed November 6, 2018. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.

Need to cite more than what’s outlined above? Cite This For Me has several citing resources including a Harvard referencing generator , a guide on how to do an in-text citation ,  an annotated bibliography example you can learn from, and other bibliographic tools.

To cite a speech from a printed book in the MLA style, use the following format.

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Speech Title.” Date Speech Delivered (if available). Title of Book , edited or translated by First and Last Name (if applicable), Publisher, Year.

Prakash, Navya. “An Appeal Against Logic.” The Tyranny of Reason , Thoughtful Books, 2021.

To cite a speech from an online transcript in the MLA style, use the following format.

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Speech Title.” Date Speech Delivered (if available). Title of Website , Publisher Name, Date, URL (without the http(s)://). Transcript. (Include if speech is also in video or audio format)

Prakash, Navya. “An Appeal Against Logic.” The Tyranny of Reason Project , The Laws of Reason Library, 2021, www.thereasonlibrary.edu/tyrannyofreason/an-appeal-against-logic_htm. Transcript.

• Free Tools for Students
• MLA Citation Generator

Free MLA Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations in MLA format automatically, with MyBib!

😕 What is an MLA Citation Generator?

An MLA citation generator is a software tool designed to automatically create academic citations in the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format. The generator will take information such as document titles, author, and URLs as in input, and output fully formatted citations that can be inserted into the Works Cited page of an MLA-compliant academic paper.

The citations on a Works Cited page show the external sources that were used to write the main body of the academic paper, either directly as references and quotes, or indirectly as ideas.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an MLA Citation Generator?

MLA style is most often used by middle school and high school students in preparation for transition to college and further education. Ironically, MLA style is not actually used all that often beyond middle and high school, with APA (American Psychological Association) style being the favored style at colleges across the country.

It is also important at this level to learn why it's critical to cite sources, not just how to cite them.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Writing citations manually is time consuming and error prone. Automating this process with a citation generator is easy, straightforward, and gives accurate results. It's also easier to keep citations organized and in the correct order.

The Works Cited page contributes to the overall grade of a paper, so it is important to produce accurately formatted citations that follow the guidelines in the official MLA Handbook .

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's MLA Citation Generator?

It's super easy to create MLA style citations with our MLA Citation Generator. Scroll back up to the generator at the top of the page and select the type of source you're citing. Books, journal articles, and webpages are all examples of the types of sources our generator can cite automatically. Then either search for the source, or enter the details manually in the citation form.

The generator will produce a formatted MLA citation that can be copied and pasted directly into your document, or saved to MyBib as part of your overall Works Cited page (which can be downloaded fully later!).

MyBib supports the following for MLA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

MLA Tricky Citations

Most sources you come across for will follow the basic structure for an MLA citation. Even sources you might think are unusual, like a pamphlet, a magazine advertisement, or a message posted to a discussion forum, all can be cited using the same format outlined in our resource on MLA citation basics . There are however, a few sources and situations that might require a slight change to the format. The following examples should help with some of the more common, but still tricky, citations you may be faced with.

Note : All MLA documents, Works Cited pages included, should be double-spaced. The following examples are single-spaced for the purposes of this resource only.

Group/corporate author

When a source has a group or corporation as an author, cite that group name the same as you would an individual author. For Works Cited entries, when the author and publisher are the same, skip the author, and list the title first. Then list the corporate author only as the publisher.

Food literacy can help mitigate childhood obesity because “being food literate empowers us to make informed choices” (Food Literacy Center).

Works cited:

“What is Food Literacy?” Food Literacy Center , 2015, http://www.foodliteracycenter.org/what-food-literacy. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.

Multiple sources by the same author

To distinguish a source from others by the same author, include a shortened title for the work you are quoting. In the Works Cited, only give the author’s name in the first entry. For all following entries, replace the author’s name with three hyphens. These entries should be alphabetized by title.

We will be better equipped to design valuable education plans at each level if we understand that becoming an effective writer is a long-term, multidimensional process of development (Bazerman, “Understanding”).

Bazerman, Charles. “Understanding the Lifelong Journey of Writing Development.” Infancia y Aprendizaje , vol. 36, no. 4, Nov. 2013, pp. 421-441.

---. “Writing with Concepts: Communal, Internalized, and Externalized.”  Mind, Culture, and Activity , vol. 19, no. 3, 2012, pp. 259-272,  ERIC , doi: 10.1080/10749039.2012.688231.

Speeches, lectures, or other oral presentations

To cite a speech, lecture, or other oral presentation, cite the speaker’s name and the title of the speech (if any) in quotation marks. Follow with the title of the particular conference or meeting, the name of the organization, and the venue and its city (if the name of the city is not listed in the venue’s name). Use the descriptor that appropriately expresses the type of presentation (e.g., Lecture, Reading, Conference Presentation, etc.).

Losh, Elizabeth. “Leave No Trace: Digital Erasure and the Composition Classroom.” Western States Rhetoric and Literacy Conference, 21 Oct. 2016, University of California, San Diego. Keynote Address.

Government document

Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For congressional documents, include the number of the Congress and the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed as well as the report number.

United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil. Government Printing Office, 2007. 110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.

To cite an interview you conducted, list the person you interviewed (last name first), identify it as a “Personal Interview” (if conducted in-person), an “Email Interview,” or a “Telephone Interview,” and provide the date of the interview.

Sloane, Sarah. Personal Interview. 12 May 2015.

Dissertation or master's theses

To cite a published dissertation or master's thesis, cite the work as you would a book (with an italicized title), but include the designation Dissertation (or MA/MS thesis) followed by the degree-granting school and the year the degree was awarded. You may also include the University Microfilms International (UMI) order number.

Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign . Dissertation, Purdue University, 2002. UMI, 2004.

To cite an unpublished dissertation or master's thesis, put the title in quotation marks and end with the date the degree was awarded.

Works  cited:

Graban, Tarez Samra. "Towards a Feminine Ironic: Understanding Irony in the Oppositional Discourse of Women from the Early Modern and Modern Periods." Dissertation, Purdue University, 2006.

Work of art

To cite an original work of art (the primary source, not a reproduction in a book), provide the artist's name, the title of the artwork in italics, the date of composition, and the medium of the piece. Finally, name the institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution (unless the location is included in the title of the institution, e.g., Los Angeles County Museum of Art).

Chagall, Marc.  Rain . 1911, oil and charcoal on canvas, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice.

Indirect source

To cite a source quoted within another source, identify the original source in your sentence to introduce the quotation and use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For the Works Cited page, cite the source you consulted not the original source (in this case, cite Koosed and Schumm).

According to Hardin and Hardin, “respect for authority, individualism, sacrifice 'for the team,' and hard work" are key values that come out of American sports and sports media (qtd. in Koosed and Schumm).

Multiple sources in one sentence

To cite multiple sources in the same in-text citation, separate the sources by a semi-colon.

Playing a “pro-social” video game can increase the perceptions of a player’s humanity and increase positive humanity traits (Greitmeyer; Happ, Melzer, and Steffgen).

Authors with the same last name

If two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or their full names if different authors share initials) in your in-text citation. In the Works Cited page, alphabetize these sources by first name (e.g., Brown, Penelope would come before Brown, Thomas).

Mitigating devices can also show up as hedges (e.g.,  perhaps ) or other means of impersonalizing (P. Brown).

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