It is important to acknowledge sources of information in academic work, even when they are from a PowerPoint provided by a professor or found online. Failure to do so can be considered plagiarism and harm academic integrity. Fortunately, citing a PowerPoint is straightforward as long as one understands the basic formatting requirements. This guide provides information on how to correctly reference a PowerPoint presentation in APA, MLA, or Chicago style.
Understanding Different Citation Styles
Proper citation is an important part of academic writing. When you use information from a source, you need to credit the original author or publisher by citing it.
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There are a few major citation styles used in academia:
Preservation of Academic Integrity: Adhering to meticulous citation practices is imperative for upholding academic integrity, and mitigating the risks of plagiarism and its consequential penalties.
Reinforcement of Arguments: Rigorous citation strengthens arguments and shows academic proficiency. It signifies thorough research and the use of scholarly sources.
Facilitation of Fact-Checking: Including citations empowers readers to meticulously validate information, scrutinize sources, and delve into the subject matter more deeply.
Refinement of Skills: Conscientious adherence to citation standards catalyzes refining research and writing skills, fostering heightened attention to detail.
Elevation of Credibility: Properly citing the contributions of others aligns with ethical norms and boosts credibility in scholarly discourse.
There are different citation styles that you can use depending on your discipline, purpose, and preference. Some of the most commonly used citation styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago:
APA stands for American Psychological Association and is used for social sciences and psychology.
MLA stands for Modern Language Association and is used for humanities and liberal arts.
Chicago offers two styles: notes-bibliography and author-date. Notes-bibliography is used for history and humanities and uses footnotes or endnotes for in-text citations and a bibliography for references. Author-date is similar to APA and is used for natural and physical sciences.
The specific format and rules for citing sources vary between these styles. Determining what style your discipline requires and consistently following that formatting is important.
Citing Sources in PowerPoint
You'll need certain identifying information from the source to properly cite a PowerPoint presentation. This includes:
Name of the author(s)
Date the PowerPoint was published
Place of publication
Title of the presentation
URL (if accessed online)
When including citations in a PowerPoint presentation, you can cite sources in these ways:
In-text citations: These appear on the slide and correlate with a full reference at the end of the presentation.
Footer citations: The source information appears at the bottom of the slide.
End references: Full references on a reference slide at the end of the PowerPoint.
In an academic paper, APA and MLA require in-text citations. Chicago uses footnotes or endnotes. Any of these formats are acceptable for a PowerPoint as long as the source is clearly cited.
How to Reference PowerPoint in Different Citation Styles
How to Reference PowerPoint in APA
APA citations for a PowerPoint presentation list the author's name and presentation date in parentheses after the title:
In-text citation on slide: (Author Surname, Year)
Full reference:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of presentation [Format]. Retrieved from URL
Example:
In-text citation on the slide: (Smith, 2022)
Full reference at the end: Smith, J. (2022, March). How to succeed in business [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: https://www.lecturenotes.com/business/how-to-succeed
How to Reference PowerPoint in MLA
MLA citations for PowerPoint presentations include the author's name and presentation date after the title:
In-text citation on slide: (Author Surname Year)
Full reference: Author Surname, First Name. “Title of Presentation.” Date Created, Website, URL. Date accessed.
Example:
In-text citation on the slide: (Smith 2022)
Full reference: Smith, James. “How to Succeed in Business.” March 2022, www.lecturenotes.com/business/how-to-succeed. Accessed 23 Mar. 2022.
How to Reference PowerPoint in Chicago
For Chicago style, the citation structure listed in PowerPoint will be written like this:
Footnote on slide: Number. First Name Surname, "Title" (Format, date), slide number, URL.
Example:
James Smith, "How to Succeed in Business" (PowerPoint presentation, March 15, 2022), slide 5, https://url.com.
Full reference: Surname, First Name. “Title.” Format, Date. URL.
Example:
Smith, James. “How to Succeed in Business.” PowerPoint presentation, March 15, 2022. https://url.com.
As you can see, the major citation styles all include the author, date, title, and source URL in different formats. Getting this core information allows you to cite the PowerPoint accurately.
How to Cite an Online Presentation
In recent years, online tools like Microsoft Sway, Canva, Visme, Prezi, and more have made it easy for anyone to create sleek, graphical presentations. These tools are great for professional use, and many instructors present through them.
Citing an online presentation in such tools is very similar to a traditional PowerPoint, but the source information might be found in different places:
When incorporating a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation from an in-person lecture into your Works Cited page, adhere to the following citation format:
Instructor’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Presentation.” Title of Course. Day Month Year of Lecture, Location. Lecture. Slide number if a specific slide was referenced.
Example: Sloan, Courtney. "Crafting an Argument." English 101. 4 Apr. 2020, Frederick Community College. Lecture.
If the PowerPoint or Google Slides were shared via a course management system like Blackboard, use the following citation style:
Last Name, First Name of PowerPoint creator. "Title of Presentation." Course Management System, name of the person who uploaded it, day month year of upload, simplified URL.
Example: Sloan, Courtney. “Crafting an Argument.” Blackboard, uploaded by Courtney Sloan, 21 Oct. 2019, frederick.blackboard.com/.
For in-text citations, utilize the last name and slide number:
Example: Planning is essential to a well-written argument (Sloan Slide 10).
If your paper refers to only one slide, specify the slide number at the end of the Works Cited citation. In such cases, omit the slide number from the in-text citation.
Example: Planning is essential to a well-written argument (Sloan).
Tips:
Use company name or website as author when an individual author is not listed on online presentation tools. Include details like URL, publisher, and date to distinguish it from others online.
Free Alternatives for Microsoft PowerPoint – WPS Presentation
Tired of dealing with expensive Microsoft Office licenses for school and work? Consider using WPS Office as a free alternative to MS Office.
WPS Office is a high-performance yet lightweight office suite that is fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats. It includes Writer, Spreadsheets, and Presentation programs similar to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Key benefits of WPS Office:
Completely free to use with no limits
Supports PPT, PPTX, ODP formats
Sleek, easy-to-use interface
Collaboration and cloud storage features
Works across Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS
Built-in PDF converter
AI-integrated tools
WPS Presentation makes it easy to create great-looking presentations. It has handy features for academics and students, including research tools, note-taking, and text-to-speech.
This software's Reference tab offers robust citation management capabilities that allow users to easily insert and customize footnotes and endnotes, ensuring their documents meet academic and professional standards.
alt: “Reference tab in WPS Office”
WPS Office's Reference tab helps users add citations to their documents for better credibility and readability. It's ideal for researchers, students, and professionals, with features like customizable footnotes and endnotes.
FAQs
How do you cite a professor's lecture in a paper?
To cite a professor's lecture, provide the professor's name, presentation title in quotation marks, venue, city, date performed, and medium. Here's an example:
In-text: (Jones, 2022)
References: Jones, Sam. "The Importance of Marketing." Marketing 300 Lecture, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, January 10, 2022. Lecture.
Should I cite sources in a PowerPoint presentation?
Yes, absolutely cite your sources when creating an academic or professional PowerPoint presentation. Failing to cite material that you referenced properly constitutes plagiarism, even if it's in a PowerPoint. Use in-text, footnote, or endnote citations on PowerPoint slides, just as you would in an essay or paper.
Summary
Citing sources properly is a key component of any academic paper or project. PowerPoint presentations require citations just like a written paper does. You can easily cite a PowerPoint presentation by following the correct formatting for APA, MLA, or Chicago style. Consider using a free program like WPS Presentation to simplify creating and formatting slide citations. Proper citations help demonstrate your academic integrity and ability to utilize quality sources.
