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How to cite a PowerPoint in different formats.
Citing PowerPoint presentations is essential for project credibility.
Academic papers, books, and reputable websites are popular sources for students. But what if your information came from a PowerPoint presentation? Whether you want to quote a professor’s slides or reshare information you learned at a public lecture, you still need to cite information from PowerPoints. Citing a PowerPoint is the right thing to do because it credits the original creator. It also strengthens your argument by showing you have credible sources.
Citing PowerPoints isn’t all that different from listing more typical sources, but tools like Adobe Acrobat can simplify the process. Check out this guide to learn how to cite a PowerPoint in APA and MLA.
How to cite a PowerPoint in APA.
American Psychological Association (APA) standards are common in education, psychology, and the sciences. They’re pretty straightforward, but you need to check your work carefully to ensure accuracy. Whether the presentation was retrieved online, distributed via email, or shown in class, APA citations require attention to details like authorship, publication year, and source accessibility.
APA requires you to cite PowerPoints following this pattern: Last name, first initials of professor. (PowerPoint year). Presentation Title [PowerPoint slides].
For example:
We know that writing a paper or making a presentation for class can get overwhelming. Following these citation formats will help you save time, but Acrobat AI Assistant can help you do more for less hassle. The assistant can extract and format citation data for you, whether referencing a Word document, spreadsheet, or scanned image.
Sure, it can help you generate accurate APA citations, but it can do much more. Effortlessly convert PPT to PDF for easy referencing and storage. Acrobat AI Assistant can even annotate PDFs to help you find citations, all thanks to its built-in search capabilities.
APA guidelines are easy to follow with the right tools. They prioritize clarity and uniformity and emphasize details like the source format and year of publication. MLA, on the other hand, focuses more on the medium used to access information, such as the web or print.
How to cite a PowerPoint in MLA.
Modern Language Association (MLA) standards are common in literature and language studies. Citing a PowerPoint presentation in MLA requires a different approach, focusing more on the author’s name, the content of the presentation, and the timing.
Follow this format to cite a PowerPoint in MLA: Author Last Name, First Name. “PowerPoint Title.” Day Mon. Presentation year, Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
For example:
If you’re wondering how to share a PowerPoint in MLA that’s shared privately, treat it as an unpublished work: Author Last Name, First Name. “Presentation Title.” Date of Presentation. Unpublished PowerPoint file.
On the other hand, if you found the PowerPoint on a publicly available website, you should follow this format: Author Last Name, First Name. “Presentation Title.” Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.
As you can see, APA and MLA essentially share the same information about a source. However, with MLA, you need to pay more attention to the exact date of the presentation.
Citations can get tricky, but you can lean on Acrobat AI Assistant to get it right. Whether you need to double-check how to cite a PDF, convert PDF to PPT (or PPTX ) to pull statistics more easily, or you need a PDF converter to change many different kinds of documents. Acrobat has your back.
How to cite a PowerPoint readers can’t access.
What happens when your professor shares an amazing PowerPoint meaning it has great resources, but it’s only accessible via your student portal? Ideally, you would find your professor’s original sources because they’re more reputable than second-hand information in a presentation.
However, if you can’t find the original source — or if your professor’s unique thoughts are the source — you’ll need to cite this information as a personal communication. Personal communications are any sources readers can’t access, including private conversations, private social media posts, and unrecorded speeches.
If you follow APA formatting, quote personal communications with this format: author citing, the words personal communication, and the exact date of the communication, all in parenthesis.
A word of caution, though: Don’t include personal communications in your APA reference list, as readers cannot locate these sources.
MLA requires you to follow this format for personal communications: Last Name, First Name. “Presentation Title.” Date of Presentation. Unpublished PowerPoint file.
For example:
Be sure to note that the file is unpublished, which will tell your readers they won’t find it if they look for it. Unlike APA, MLA requires you to add this source to your works cited, even though readers can’t look up the information.
In-text citations should follow the format (Last name, Date).
For example:
Cite smarter with Acrobat AI Assistant.
It’s easy to overlook sources pulled from PowerPoints, but proper citation is a must, no matter where you get your information. Fortunately, both the APA and MLA have guidelines for citing a PowerPoint, so understand what format to follow.
Managing citations, converting documents, and organizing files can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be with Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant. Acrobat makes it easy to stay organized and stress-free, from generating accurate citations to simplifying file conversions and annotations.
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Frequently asked questions.
How do I cite figures in APA for PowerPoint?
Treat it like you would any other figure. You still need to include an in-text citation beneath the figure following this format:
Figure 1
Figure Title
From “Presentation Title,” By Author, Year, PowerPoint slides
How do I cite lecture slides in MLA 9?
MPA 9 considers lecture slides unpublished works because they aren’t shareable with most readers. Follow this format:
Can I cite a PowerPoint as a primary source in an academic paper?
Yes, as long as it contains unique information as a primary source and it supports your argument. Follow the proper citation format (APA or MLA), and include relevant details like authorship, date, and source format. If the PowerPoint is publicly accessible, include the URL in your citation.
Is it better to cite the PowerPoint or the sources within it?
It’s always better to cite original sources referred to in a PowerPoint, which makes it much easier for readers to access your sources, which is the point of providing references. However, if the PowerPoint contains unique insights, analysis, or data created by the presenter, you should cite the presentation directly.
How can Acrobat AI Assistant help with citing PowerPoints?
Acrobat AI Assistant helps with citations in so many ways, including:
- Extracting citation details from PowerPoint slides to create APA- or MLA-compliant citations
- Converting PowerPoints to PDFs — or any other file type
- Annotating PDFs
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