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PowerPoint presentations are great tools for conveying information to audiences. They allow you to create slides with images, text, charts, graphs, and other media and communicate your ideas effectively.
The only real issue arises when you need to cite your presentation or a presentation that you have found useful in your work.
Fortunately for you, we have everything you need to know to cite a Powerpoint professionally and thoroughly, preserving the integrity of your research.
What Are Citations?
Citation is the act of citing or acknowledging sources. In academic writing, citations are required to show where ideas come from. If you want to give credit to someone else’s work, you should include their name and the date of publication.
This helps readers understand how much originality they can expect from your paper. It also shows them that you are familiar with the source material so they don’t feel like you are just regurgitating it.
Why Do Citations Matter?
The purpose of citation is to acknowledge the source of an idea or piece of information, and ensure that credit is given to the appropriate sources.
This is important for guaranteeing the quality and integrity of a piece of research and also helps to reduce plagiarism.
How Can I Cite A Powerpoint In APA?
APA style requires that all works cited must be included within the body of the text.
Therefore, if you wish to reference a Powerpoint, you will need to place it into the body of your document as part of your main text, following the quotation or idea that you are citing.
You should include the author’s name (this is usually the presenter), the date of the presentation, the title of the presentation in italics, followed by the medium – “PowerPoint slides” – using square brackets, the name of the department, the name of the University, and the URL at which the PowerPoint can be accessed by the reader.
An example would be:
Smith, John. (2022, May 11). How to cite a PowerPoint presentation [PowerPoint Presentation]. National PowerPoint Conference, University of York, York, UK. https://www.howtociteapowerpoint.ac.uk.
You should also only cite the PowerPoint in your reference if it can be accessed by the reader for themselves – if this is not the case, you will need to cite the presentation as a personal communication, and this can be achieved by adding parentheses to the text.
How Can I Cite A Powerpoint In MLA?
MLA also requires references to be placed in text, and you will need to use the last name of the author, followed by the first name, the presentation title, the month and year, the URL, and the note PowerPoint Presentation.
As an example:
Smith, John. How to cite a PowerPoint presentation. May. 2022, https://www.howtociteapowerpoint.ac.uk. PowerPoint Presentation.
Your in-text citation would be (Last Name) – in this case, (Smith).
How Can I Cite A Powerpoint In Chicago?
For a citation using the Chicago style, you need to add a footnote that includes the Author’s last name, author’s first name, “Presentation Title.” Lecture, Location of Lecture, Month, Day, and year.
An example would be:
Smith, John. “How to cite a PowerPoint presentation.”Lecture, University of York, York, UK, May. 2022.
What If The Platform Is Password Protected?
In some cases, you may be citing a PowerPoint that is hidden behind a password – this is often the case if you are using a university system such as Canvas or Blackboard.
If this is the case with your presentation, you will need to ensure that the URL you include at the end of your citation takes the visitor to the relevant login page, rather than straight to the PowerPoint.
Final Thoughts
Citations are an integral part of conducting proper research, and familiarizing yourself with the correct requirements will help to save you time and effort, as well as ensure that your research is of the highest quality.
