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How Do You Cite A Lecture In MLA? Format & Examples

Published by at January 27th, 2025 , Revised On January 27, 2025

References are the most important elements of any research study, whether written for academic or commercial purposes. A research study is incomplete without relevant references because it validates the viewpoint of the author or authors if there is more than one person working on any conference paper and similar studies.

While writing any prose, you may find any lecture very close to your thesis statement or best for increasing the value of the statements you are posing. You can use any recorded or in-person lecture that you have attended in your paper.

You need to only learn how do you cite a lecture in MLA style according to the latest 9th edition guidelines. Stay in the loop to learn by reading practical examples containing complete or in-text citations from different sources.

Why Do You Need to Cite a Lecture in MLA Style?

Sometimes, researchers while writing research prose, fail to find valuable references from the books, journal articles, interviews, and other sources available, and turn to lectures in order to find out the relevant statements and then cite a lecture in MLA format.

It is not always the case with a large pool of students because if someone is working on a politics dissertation and wants to produce a most reliable and authentic study prefers to use the lectures of experts in the field like Noam Chomsky, Henry Kissinger, Francis Fukuyama, and so on.

The researcher will consult the lectures of political science experts available online or, if he/she gets a chance, attend lectures in person to find valuable statements for the prose and add in-text citations from the lecture in MLA style. If you want to write academically sound research studies, then you must cite the lectures of experts in your study.

How to Add a Lecture Reference in MLA Style?

A lecture is an oral presentation delivered by anyone to present information about a particular subject or topic. It can be in the form of a speech, reading session, or a public address as well. To learn how to add a lecture in MLA style as a reference according to the 9th edition guidelines, follow the format and examples below.

Whether you need to add references in the literature review of your dissertation or research paper, the MLA format for class lecture citations remains the same, as mentioned below.

MLA Format for Citing Lectures

Last Name of the Speaker, First Name of the Speaker. “Lecture Title.” Course or Event Name, Day Month Year, Venue, City.

Example

Einstein, Albert.”Fundamental Ideas and Problems of the Theory of Relativity.” Nordic Assembly of Naturalists, 11 July 1923, Gothenburg

To add in-text citations for lectures in MLA style, you just need to add the last name of the speaker who delivered the lecture in parentheses.

(Last Name) (Einstein)

You can follow the same format of citations as mentioned above for other oral speeches, conference sessions, or even public talks as well. Researchers are required to add the name of the speaker in place of the lecturer to follow MLA format for online recorded lectures.

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Guide to Locate Elements of Citation

We have consulted the Handbook of MLA citation guidelines to bring out the key elements according to the 9th edition that you need to follow in order to comply with the MLA format to add in-text citations of the lecture notes and so on accurately.

Make sure to follow the below suggestions to learn completely how do you cite a lecture in MLA format that is available in the form of documents, videos, public sessions, and so on.

How to Add Lecture Title & Event Names in Citation?

If you are citing public lectures in MLA style, then you need to add the lecture title in quotation marks. Titles are usually available in the course books or syllabus, the conference advertisement in which the lecture is being delivered, or in the session advertisements, as well as brochures.

Researchers are required to add the name of the course, session, or panel talk in which the lecture is being delivered right after the title that is enclosed in quotation marks. Remember to not use italics or quotation marks for the part written after the title name.

If there are more than two titles of the event available, some conferences also have themes. In that case, you can add the title of the conference or theme of the session from which the lecture is being cited.

Example

Carlyle, John. “Session 3: Literature and Society.” World Literature 5C, 15 July. 2001, U of Manchester. Lecture.

Tip

According to the MLA Handbook of 9th edition, you can add a “U” abbreviation instead of writing university while citing guests and other lectures in MLA format.

How to Add Lecture Locations in Citation?

If you look at the above example, you will find out that the location of the lecture usually appears in the venue name. Many lectures take place on the university premises, and that’s why the city name is obvious and can be added in the citation to add an entry in the MLA works cited list for lectures.

If the name of the city is not added in the university name like “Harvard Medical School”, you can add it manually in the citation or, if required, the name of the country as well for more clarity in case there are multiple cities or places with the same name as in case of Massachusetts available.

Example

Abrahams, Matt. “Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques.” 4 Dec. 2014, Manchester U

How Do You Cite a Lecture in MLA Format that You Have Seen In-Person?

Adding in-text citations for the lecture that you have seen in person is very simple as it requires you to just add the name of the lecturer in parentheses, like (Manson).

To add the reference of the lecture on the works cited page, you need to follow the format outlined below.

  • Write the last name of the speaker, and first name, followed by a period.
  • Add the description or title of the lecture in quotation marks, followed by a period.
  • Now, add the name of the course and a comma after the name.
  • Add the day, month, or year of the lecture on which it was held, followed by a comma.
  • Make sure to add the city name or location of the lecture event followed by a period.
  • In the last section, write “Class Lecture”, “Guest Lecture”, and so on that you have attended, followed by a full stop mark.

Example

Devy, Mark. “A Descriptive Analysis of Plays by William Shakespeare.” An Introduction to Drama Studies, 25 July 2022, The University of Warwick, Coventry. Class lecture.

Frequently Asked Questions

If the speaker has mentioned the words of any other author and you want to give credit to a real person. Then you can add “qtd” and the name of the person after the lecturer’s name in parentheses.

You need to additionally write the name of the place where you have attended the lecture or source in case of a virtual event, and the rest of the format remains the same for citation.

About Alvin Nicolas

Avatar for Alvin NicolasNicolas has a master's degree in literature and a PhD degree in statistics. He is a content manager at ResearchProspect. He loves to write, cook and run. Nicolas is passionate about helping students at all levels.