in text citation of speech

Citing Sources: Citing Orally in Speeches

• Citing Sources Overview
• Citing in the Sciences & Engineering
• APA Citation Examples
• Chicago Citation Examples
• Biologists: Council of Science Editors (CSE) Examples
• MLA Citation Examples
• Bluebook - Legal Citation

Citing Orally in Speeches

• Citation Managers
• Oral Source Citations - James Madison University Communication Center
• Using Citations and Avoiding Plagiarism in Oral Presentations - Hamilton College, Dept. of Rhetoric and Communication
• Referencing: Citing in Orals - James Cook University

General Tips:

Tell the audience your source before you use the information (the opposite of in-text citations).

Do not say, “quote, unquote” when you offer a direct quotation. Use brief pauses instead.

Provide enough information about each source so that your audience could, with a little effort, find them. This should include the author(s) name, a brief explanation of their credentials, the title of the work, and publication date.

 “In the 1979 edition of The Elements of Style, renowned grammarians and composition stylists Strunk and White encourage writers to ‘make every word tell.’”

If your source is unknown to your audience, provide enough information about your source for the audience to perceive them as credible. Typically we provide this credentialing of the source by stating the source’s qualifications to discuss the topic.

“Dr. Derek Bok, the President Emeritus of Harvard University and the author of The Politics of Happiness argues that the American government should design policies to enhance the happiness of its citizens.”

Provide a caption citation for all direct quotations and /or relevant images on your PowerPoint slides.

Direct Quotations:

These should be acknowledged in your speech or presentation either as “And I quote…” or “As [the source] put it…”

Include title and author: “According to April Jones, author of Readings on Gender…”

Periodical/Magazine:

Include title and date: “Time, March 28, 2005, explains…” or “The New York Times, June 5, 2006, explained it this way…”

Include journal title, date, and author: “Morgan Smith writes in the Fall 2005 issue of Science…”

For organizational or long-standing website, include title: “The center for Disease Control web site includes information…” For news or magazine websites, include title and date: “CNN.com, on March 28, 2005, states…” (Note: CNN is an exception to the “don’t use the address” rule because the site is known by that name.)

Interviews, lecture notes, or personal communication:

Include name and credentials of source: “Alice Smith, professor of Economics at USM, had this to say about the growth plan…” or “According to junior Speech Communication major, Susan Wallace…”

• << Previous: Bluebook - Legal Citation
• Next: Citation Managers >>
• Last Updated: Jun 21, 2024 11:25 AM
• URL: https://libguides.wpi.edu/citingsources

How can we help?

• [email protected]
• Consultation
• 508-831-5410

• Library Catalogue

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 .

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / MLA In-text Citations

MLA In-Text Citations

An in-text citation is a reference to a source that is found within the text of a paper ( Handbook 227). This tells a reader that an idea, quote, or paraphrase originated from a source. MLA in-text citations usually include the last name of the author and the location of cited information.

This guide focuses on how to create MLA in-text citations, such as citations in prose and parenthetical citations in the current MLA style, which is in its 9th edition. This style was created by the Modern Language Association . This guide reviews MLA guidelines but is not related directly to the association.

Table of Contents

Here’s a quick rundown of the contents of this guide on how to use in-text citations.

Fundamentals

• Why in-text citations are important
• Prose vs parenthetical in-text citation differences
• Parenthetical citation reference chart

In-text citation examples

• In-text citation with two authors
• In-text citation with 3+ authors
• In-text citation with no authors
• In-text citation with corporate authors
• In-text citation with edited books and anthologies
• In-text citation with no page numbers and online sources
• Citing the same sources multiple times
• Citing 2+ sources in the same in-text citation
• Citing multiple works by the same author in the same in-text citation
• Abbreviating titles
• Citing religious works and scriptures
• Citing long or block quotes

Why are in-text citations important?

In-text citations

• Give full credit to sources that are quoted and paraphrased in a work/paper.
• Help the writer avoid plagiarism.
• Are a signal that the information came from another source.
• Tell the reader where the information came from.

In-text citation vs. in-prose vs. parenthetical

An in-text citation is a general citation of where presented information came from. In MLA, an in-text citation can be displayed in two different ways:

• In the prose
• As a parenthetical citation

While the two ways are similar, there are slight differences. However, for both ways, you’ll need to know how to format page numbers in MLA .

Citation in prose

An MLA citation in prose is when the author’s name is used in the text of the sentence. At the end of the sentence, in parentheses, is the page number where the information was found.

Here is an example

When it comes to technology, King states that we “need to be comfortable enough with technology tools and services that we can help point our patrons in the right direction, even if we aren’t intimately familiar with how the device works” (11).

This MLA citation in prose includes King’s name in the sentence itself, and this specific line of text was taken from page 11 of the journal it was found in.

Parenthetical citation

An MLA parenthetical citation is created when the author’s name is NOT in the sentence. Instead, the author’s name is in parentheses after the sentence, along with the page number.

Here is an MLA parenthetical citation example

When it comes to technology, we “need to be comfortable enough with technology tools and services that we can help point our patrons in the right direction, even if we aren’t intimately familiar with how the device works” (King 11).

In the above example, King’s name is not included in the sentence itself, so his name is in parentheses after the sentence, with 11 for the page number. The 11 indicates that the quote is found on page 11 in the journal.

Full reference

For every source that is cited using an in-text citation, there is a corresponding full reference. This allows readers to track down the original source.

At the end of the assignment, on the MLA works cited page , is the full reference. The full reference includes the full name of the author, the title of the article, the title of the journal, the volume and issue number, the date the journal was published, and the URL where the article was found.

Here is the full reference for King’s quote

King, David Lee. “Why Stay on Top of Technology Trends?” Library Technology Reports , vol. 54, no. 2, Feb.-Mar. 2018, ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=//search-proquest-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/docview/2008817033?accountid=35635.

Readers can locate the article online via the information included above.

Citation overview

The next section of this guide focuses on how to structure an MLA in-text citation and reference in parentheses in various situations.

A narrative APA in-text citation and APA parenthetical citation are somewhat similar but have some minor differences. Check out our helpful guides, and others, on EasyBib.com!

Wondering how to handle these types of references in other styles? Check out our page on APA format , or choose from more styles .

Parenthetical Citation Reference Chart

Sources with Two Authors

There are many books, journal articles, magazine articles, reports, and other source types written or created by two authors.

When a source has two authors, place both authors’ last names in the body of your work ( Handbook 232). The last names do not need to be listed in alphabetical order. Instead, follow the same order as shown on the source.

In an MLA in-text citation, separate the two last names with the word “and.” After both authors’ names, add a space and the page number where the original quote or information is found on.

Here is an example of an MLA citation in prose for a book with two authors

Gaiman and Pratchett further elaborate by sharing their creepy reminder that “just because it’s a mild night doesn’t mean that dark forces aren’t abroad. They’re abroad all of the time. They’re everywhere” (15).

Here is an example of an MLA parenthetical citation for a book with two authors

Don’t forget that “just because it’s a mild night doesn’t mean that dark forces aren’t abroad. They’re abroad all of the time. They’re everywhere” (Gaiman and Pratchett 15).

If you’re still confused, check out EasyBib.com’s MLA in-text citation generator, which allows you to create MLA in-text citations and other types of references in just a few clicks!

If it’s an APA book citation you’re looking to create, we have a helpful guide on EasyBib.com. While you’re at it, check out our APA journal guide!

Sources With Three or More Authors

There are a number of sources written or created by three or more authors. Many research studies and reports, scholarly journal articles, and government publications are developed by three or more individuals.

If you included the last names of all individuals in your MLA in-text citations or in parentheses, it would be too distracting to the reader. It may also cause the reader to lose sight of the overall message of the paper or assignment. Instead of including all last names, only include the last name of the first individual shown on the source. Follow the first author’s last name with the Latin phrase, “et al.” This Latin phrase translates to “and others.” Add the page number after et al.

Here’s an example of an MLA parenthetical citation for multiple authors

“School library programs in Croatia and Hong Kong are mainly focused on two major educational tasks. One task is enhancing students’ general literacy and developing reading habits, whereas the other task is developing students’ information literacy and research abilities” (Tam et al. 299).

The example above only includes the first listed author’s last name. All other authors are credited when “et al.” is used. If the reader wants to see the other authors’ full names, the reader can refer to the final references at the end of the assignment or to the full source.

The abbreviation et al. is used with references in parentheses, as well as in full references. To include the authors’ names in prose, you can either write each name out individually or, you can type out the meaning of et al., which is “and others.”

Here is an acceptable MLA citation in prose example for sources with more than three authors

School library programming in Croatia and Hong Kong is somewhat similar to programming in the United States. Tam, Choi, Tkalcevic, Dukic, and Zheng share that “school library programs in Croatia and Hong Kong are mainly focused on two major educational tasks. One task is enhancing students’ general literacy and developing reading habits, whereas the other task is developing students’ information literacy and research abilities” (299).

If your instructor’s examples of how to do MLA in-text citations for three or more authors looks different than the example here, your instructor may be using an older edition of this style. To discover more about previous editions, learn more here .

Need some inspiration for your research project? Trying to figure out the perfect topic? Check out our Dr. Seuss , Marilyn Monroe , and Malcolm X topic guides!

Sources Without an Author

It may seem unlikely, but there are times when an author’s name isn’t included on a source. Many digital images, films and videos, encyclopedia articles, dictionary entries, web pages, and more do not have author names listed.

If the source you’re attempting to cite does not have an author’s name listed, the MLA in-text citation or parenthetical citation should display the title. If the title is rather long, it is acceptable to shorten it in the body of your assignment. If you choose to shorten the title, make sure the first word in the full citation is also the first word used in the citation in prose or parenthetical citation. This is done to allow the reader to easily locate the full citation that corresponds with the reference in the text.

If, in the Works Cited list, the full reference has the title within quotation marks, include those quotation marks in the in-text citation or reference in parentheses. If the title is written in italics in the full reference, use italics for the title in the in-text citation or reference in parentheses as well.

Parenthetical Citations MLA Examples

The example below is from a poem found online, titled “the last time.” the poem’s author is unknown..

“From the moment you hold your baby in your arms you will never be the same. You might long for the person you were before, when you had freedom and time and nothing in particular to worry about” (“The Last Time”).

The example below is from the movie, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain .

“Perhaps it would have been different if there hadn’t been a war, but this was 1917, and people were exhausted by loss. Those that were allowed to stay manned the pits, mining the coal that would fuel the ships. Twenty-four hours a day they labored” ( Englishman ).

Notice the shortened title in the above reference. This allows the reader to spend more time focusing on the content of your project, rather than the sources.

If you’re looking for an MLA in-text citation website to help you with your references, check out EasyBib Plus on EasyBib.com! EasyBib Plus can help you determine how to do in-text citations MLA and many other types of references!

Corporate Authors

Numerous government publications, research reports, and brochures state the name of the organization as the author responsible for publishing it.

When the author is a corporate entity or organization, this information is included in the MLA citation in prose or parenthetical citation.

“One project became the first to evaluate how e-prescribing standards work in certain long-term care settings and assessed the impact of e-prescribing on the workflow among prescribers, nurses, the pharmacies, and payers” (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2).

If the full name of the organization or governmental agency is long in length, it is acceptable to abbreviate some words, as long as they are considered common abbreviations. These abbreviations should only be in the references with parentheses. They should not be used in citations in prose.

Here is a list of words that can be abbreviated in parentheses:

• Department = Dept.
• Government = Govt.
• Corporation = Corp.
• Incorporated = Inc.
• Company = Co.
• United States = US

Example of a shortened corporate author name in an MLA parenthetical citation

“Based on our analysis of available data provided by selected states’ departments of corrections, the most common crimes committed by inmates with serious mental illness varied from state to state” (US Govt. Accountability Office 14).

Here is how the same corporate author name would look in an MLA citation in prose

The United States Government Accountability Office states, “Based on our analysis of available data provided by selected states’ departments of corrections, the most common crimes committed by inmates with serious mental illness varied from state to state” (14).

Remember, citations in prose should not have abbreviations; other types of references can.

Looking for more information on abbreviations? Check out our page on MLA format.

Edited Books and Anthologies

Edited books and anthologies often include chapters or sections, each written by an individual author or a small group of authors. These compilations are placed together by an editor or a group of editors. There are tons of edited books and anthologies available today, ranging from ones showcasing Black history facts and literature to those focusing on notable individuals such as scientists like Albert Eintein and politicians such as Winston Churchill .

If you’re using information from an edited book or an anthology, include the chapter author’s name in your MLA citation in prose or reference in parentheses. Do not use the name(s) of the editor(s). Remember, the purpose of these references is to provide the reader with some insight as to where the information originated. If, after reading your project, the reader would like more information on the sources used, the reader can use the information provided in the full reference, at the very end of the assignment. With that in mind, since the full reference begins with the author of the individual chapter or section, that same information is what should be included in any citations in prose or references in parentheses.

Here is an example of an MLA citation in prose for a book with an editor

Weinstein further states that “one implication of this widespread adaptation of anthropological methods to historical research was the eclipse of the longstanding concern with “change over time,” and the emergence of a preference for synchronic, rather than diachronic, themes” (195).

Full reference at the end of the assignment

Weinstein, Barbara. “History Without a Cause? Grand Narratives, World History, and the Postcolonial Dilemma.” Postcolonial Studies: An Anthology , edited by Pramod K. Nayar, Wiley-Blackwell, 2015, p. 196. Wiley , www.wiley.com/en-us/Postcolonial+Studies%3A+An+Anthology-p-9781118780985.

Once you’re through with writing and citing, run your paper through our innovative plagiarism checker ! It’s the editor of your dreams and provides suggestions for improvement.

Sources Without Page Numbers and Online Sources

When a source has no page numbers, which is often the case with long web page articles, e-books, and numerous other source types, do not include any page number information in the body of the project. Do not estimate or invent your own page numbering system for the source. If there aren’t any page numbers, omit this information from the MLA in-text citation. There may, however, be paragraph numbers included in some sources. If there are distinct and clear paragraph numbers directly on the source, replace the page number with this information. Make it clear to the reader that the source is organized by paragraphs by using “par.” before the paragraph number, or use “pars.” if the information is from more than one paragraph.

Here is an example of how to create an MLA parenthetical citation for a website

“She ran through the field with the wind blowing in her hair and a song through the breeze” (Jackson par. 5).

Here’s an example of an MLA citation in prose for a website

In Brenner’s meeting notes, he further shared his motivation to actively seek out and secure self help resources when he announced, “When we looked at statistical evidence, the most commonly checked out section of the library was self-help. This proves that patrons consistently seek out help for personal issues and wish to solve them with the help of the community’s resources” (pars. 2-3).

Here’s another MLA in-text citation example for a website

Holson writes about a new mindful app, which provides listeners with the soothing sound of not only Bob Ross’ voice, but also the “soothing swish of his painter’s brush on canvas.”

In above example, the information normally found in the parentheses is omitted since there aren’t any page, parentheses, or chapter numbers on the website article.

Looking for APA citation website examples? We have what you need on EasyBib.com!

Need an in-text or parenthetical citation MLA website? Check out EasyBib Plus on EasyBib.com! Also, check out MLA Citation Website , which explains how to create references for websites.

Citing the Same Source Multiple Times

It may seem redundant to constantly include an author’s name in the body of a research project or paper. If you use an author’s work in one section of your project, and the next piece of information included is by the same individual(s), then it is not necessary to share in-text, whether in prose or in parentheses, that both items are from the same author. It is acceptable to include the last name of the author in the first use, and in the second usage, only a page number needs to be included.

Here is an example of how to cite the same source multiple times

“One of the major tests is the Project for Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills. This measurement was developed over four years as a joint partnership between the Association of Research Libraries and Kent State University” (Tong and Moran 290). This exam is just one of many available to measure students’ information literacy skills. It is fee-based, so it is not free, but the results can provide stakeholders, professors, curriculum developers, and even librarians and library service team members with an understanding of students’ abilities and misconceptions. It is not surprising to read the results, which stated that “upper-level undergraduate students generally lack information literacy skills as evidenced by the results on this specific iteration of the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills test” (295).

The reader can assume that the information in the second quote is from the same article as the first quote. If, in between the two quotes, a different source is included, Tong and Moran’s names would need to be added again in the last quote.

Here is the full reference at the end of the project:

Tong, Min, and Carrie Moran. “Are Transfer Students Lagging Behind in Information Literacy?” Reference Services Review , vol. 45, no. 2, 2017, pp. 286-297. ProQuest , ezproxy.nypl.org/login?url=//search-proquest-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/docview/1917280148?accountid=35635.

Citing Two or More Sources in the Same In-text Citation

According to section 6.30 of the Handbook , parenthetical citations containing multiple sources in a single parenthesis should be separated by semicolons.

(Granger 5; Tsun 77) (Ruiz 212; Diego 149)

Citing Multiple Works by the Same Author in One In-text Citation

Just as you might want to cite two different sources at the same time, it can also be useful to cite different works by the same author all at once.

Section 6.30 of the Handbook specifies that “citations of different locations in a single source are separated by commas” (251).

(Maeda 59, 174-76, 24) (Kauffman 7, 234, 299)

Furthermore, if you are citing multiple works by the same author, the titles should be joined by and if there are only two. Otherwise, use commas and and .

(Murakami, Wild Sheep Chase and Norwegian Wood ) (Murakami, Wild Sheep Chase , Norwegian Wood , and “With the Beatles”)

Abbreviating Titles

When listing the titles, be aware that long titles in parenthetical citations can distract the reader and cause confusion. It will be necessary to shorten the titles appropriately for in-text citations. According to the Handbook , “shorten the title if it is longer than a noun phrase” (237). The abbreviated title should begin with the word by which the title is alphabetized.

Best practice is to give the first word the reference is listed by so the source is easily found in the works cited. Omit articles that start a title: a, an, the. When possible, use the first noun (and any adjectives before it). For more on titles and their abbreviations, head to section 6.10 of the Handbook .

• Full title :  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 
• Abbreviated: Curious
• Full title:  The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks 
• Abbreviated:  Disreputable History

Religious Works and Scriptures

There are instances when religious works are italicized in the text of a project, and times when it is not necessary to italicize the title.

If you’re referring to the general religious text, such as the Bible, Torah, or Qur’an, it is not necessary to italicize the name of the scripture in the body of the project. If you’re referring to a specific edition of a religious text, then it is necessary to italicize it, both in text and in the full reference.

Here are some commonly used editions:

• King James Bible
• The Orthodox Jewish Bible
• American Standard Bible
• The Steinsaltz Talmud
• The Babylonian Talmud
• New International Bible

When including a reference, do not use page numbers from the scripture. Instead, use the designated chapter numbers and verse numbers.

MLA example of an in-text citation for a religious scripture

While, unacceptable in today’s society, the Bible is riddled with individuals who have two, three, and sometimes four or more spouses. One example in the King James Bible , states that an individual “had two wives, the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children” (1 Sam. 1.2)

The only religious scripture that is allowed to be in the text of a project, but not in the Works Cited list, is the Qur’an. There is only one version of the Qur’an. It is acceptable to include the name of the Qur’an in the text, along with the specific chapter and verse numbers.

If you’re attempting to create a reference for a religious work, but it’s not considered a “classic” religious book, such as a biography about Mother Teresa , or a book about Muhammed Ali’s conversion, then a reference in the text and also on the final page of the project is necessary.

If you’re creating an APA bibliography , you do not need to create a full reference for classic religious works on an APA reference page .

For another MLA in-text citation website and for more on the Bible and other source types, click here .

Long or Block Quotes

Quotes longer than four lines are called, “block quotes.” Block quotes are sometimes necessary when you’re adding a lengthy piece of information into your project. If you’d like to add a large portion of Martin Luther King ’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a lengthy amount of text from a Mark Twain book, or multiple lines from Abraham Lincoln ’s Gettysburg Address, a block quote is needed.

MLA block quotes are formatted differently than shorter quotes in the body of a project. Why? The unique formatting signals to the reader that they’re about to read a lengthy quote.

Block quotes are called block quotes because they form their own block of text. They are set apart from the body of a project with different spacing and margins.

Begin the block quote on a new line. The body of the full project should run along the one inch margin, but the block quote should be set in an inch and a half. The entire quote should be along the inch and a half margin.

If there aren’t any quotation marks in the text itself, do not include any in the block quote. This is very different than standard reference rules. In most cases, quotation marks are added around quoted material. For block quotes, since the reader can see that the quoted material sits in its own block, it is not necessary to place quotation marks around it.

Here is an MLA citation in prose example of a block quote

Despite Bruchac’s consistent difficult situations at home, basketball kept his mind busy and focused:

When I got off the late bus that afternoon, my grandparents weren’t home. The store was locked and there was a note from Grama on the house door. Doc Magovern had come to the house because Grampa was “having trouble with his blood.” Now they were off to the hospital and I “wasn’t to worry.” This had happened before. Grampa had pernicious anemia and sometimes was very sick. So, naturally, it worried the pants off me. I actually thought about taking my bike down the dreaded 9N the three miles to the Saratoga Hospital. Instead, I did as I knew they wanted. I opened the store and waited for customers. None came, though, and my eye was caught by the basketball stowed away as usual behind the door. I had to do something to take my mind off what was happening to Grampa. I took out the ball and went around the side. (13)

Notice the use of the colon prior to the start of the block quote. Do not use a colon if the block quote is part of the sentence above it.

Here is an example of the same block quote, without the use of the colon:

Despite Bruchac’s consistent difficult situations at home, it was clear that basketball kept his mind busy and focused when he states

When I get off the late bus that afternoon, my grandparents weren’t home…

If two or more paragraphs are included in your block quote, start each paragraph on a new line.

Looking for additional helpful websites? Need another MLA in-text citation website? Check out the style in the news . We also have other handy articles, guides, and posts to help you with your research needs. Here’s one on how to write an MLA annotated bibliography .

Visit our EasyBib Twitter feed to discover more citing tips, fun grammar facts, and the latest product updates.

If you’re looking for information on styling an APA citation , EasyBib.com has the guides you need!

MLA Handbook . 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated July 5, 2021.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

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

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

In MLA style, if multiple sources have the same author , the titles should be joined by and if there are only two. Otherwise, use commas and and .

• In-text citation: (Austen Emma and Mansfield Park )
• Structure: (Last name 1st Source’s title and 2nd Source’s title )
• In-text citation: (Leung et al. 58)

If the author is a corporate entity or organization, included the name of the corporate entity or organization in the in-text citation.

• In-text citation: (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2)

Yes, there’s an option to download source citations as a Word Doc or a Google Doc. You may also copy citations from the EasyBib Citation Generator and paste them into your paper.

Yes! Whether you’d like to learn how to construct citations on your own, our Autocite tool isn’t able to gather the metadata you need, or anything in between, manual citations are always an option. Click here for directions on using creating manual citations.

An in-text citation is a shortened version of the source being referred to in the paper. As the name implies, it appears in the text of the paper. A works cited list entry, on the other hand, details the complete information of the source being cited and is listed within the works cited list at the end of the paper after the main text. The in-text citation is designed to direct the reader to the full works cited list entry. An example of an in-text citation and the corresponding works cited list entry for a journal article with one author is listed below:

In-text citation template and example:

Only the author surname (or the title of the work if there is no author) is used in in-text citations to direct the reader to the corresponding reference list entry. For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author for the first occurrence. In subsequent citations, use only the surname. In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author. If you are directly quoting the source, the page number should also be included in the in-text citation.

Citation in prose:

First mention: Christopher Collins ….

Subsequent occurrences: Collins ….

Parenthetical:

….(Collins)

….(Collins 5)

Works cited list entry template and example:

The title of the article is in plain text and title case and is placed inside quotation marks. The title of the journal is set in italics.

Surname, F. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title , vol. #, no. #, Publication Date, page range.

Collins, Christopher. “On Posthuman Materiality: Art-Making as Rhizomatic Rehearsal.” Text and Performance Quarterly , vol. 39, no. 2, 2019, pp. 153–59.

Note that because the author’s surname (Collins) was included in the in-text citation, the reader would then be able to easily locate the works cited list entry since the entry begins with the author’s surname.

An in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the text being cited. The basic element needed for an in-text citation is the author’s name . The publication year is not required in in-text citations. Sometimes, page numbers or line numbers are also included, especially when text is quoted from the source being cited. In-text citations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a citation in prose or a parenthetical citation.

Citations in prose are incorporated into the text and act as a part of the sentence. Usually, citations in prose use the author’s full name when cited the first time in the text. Thereafter, only the surname is used. Avoid including the middle initial even if it is present in the works-cited-list entry.

Parenthetical

Parenthetical citations add only the author’s surname at the end of the sentence in parentheses.

Examples of in-text citations

Here are a few tips to create in-text citations for sources with various numbers and types of authors:

Use both the first name and surname of the author if you are mentioning the author for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the author’s surname. Always use only the surname of the author in parenthetical citations.

First mention: Sheele John asserts …. (7).

Subsequent occurrences: John argues …. (7).

…. (John 7).

Two authors

Use the first name and surname of both authors if you are mentioning the work for the first time in the prose. In subsequent occurrences, use only the surnames of the two authors. Always use only the authors’ surnames in parenthetical citations. Use “and” to separate the two authors in parenthetical citations.

First mention: Katie Longman and Clara Sullivan ….

Subsequent occurrences: Longman and Sullivan ….

…. ( Longman and Sullivan).

Three or more authors

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues.” For parenthetical citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “et al.”

Lincy Mathew and colleagues…. or Lincy Mathew and others ….

…. (Mathew et al.).

Corporate author

For citations in prose, treat the corporate author like you would treat the author’s name. For parenthetical citations, shorten the organization name to the shortest noun phrase. For example, shorten the Modern Language Association of America to Modern Language Association.

The Literary Society of Malaysia….

…. (Literary Society).

If there is no author for the source, use the source’s title in place of the author’s name for both citations in prose and parenthetical citations.

When you add such in-text citations, italicize the text of the title. If the source title is longer than a noun phrase, use a shortened version of the title. For example, shorten the title Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to Fantastic Beasts .

Knowing Body of Work explains …. (102).

….( Knowing Body 102).

MLA Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

• For educators

Citing a speech in MLA style

Create a new citation.

• Film/Online Video
• Online Database
• Advertisement
• Digital File
• Digital Image
• Dissertation
• Government Publication
• Introduction
• Miscellaneous
• Musical Recording
• Press Release
• Scholarly Project

Published February 11, 2021. Updated August 5, 2021.

To cite a speech, you need to know the name of the speaker, date, title of the speech, and URL (uniform resource locator) of the speech.

The templates and examples below are based on the  MLA Handbook , 9th Edition, and the  Official MLA Style website .

On this page, you can learn how to cite the following:

Speech transcript

Speech, audio recording

Speech, video recording

If you’re trying to cite a speech, the  Chegg Writing MLA citation generator  could also help.

Help protect your paper against accidental plagiarism with the Chegg Writing  plagiarism checker  and  citation generator .

Citing a speech transcript in MLA style

In-text citation templates and examples:

Parenthetical:

(Speaker’s Surname)

Note that year is not mentioned in parenthetical citations.

Works cited entry template and example:

Speaker’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the transcript.” Date of Speech.  Website Title/Container Transcript is Published in , Publisher, URL. Transcript (include if audio or video recordings also available).

Johnson, Lyndon B. “We Shall Overcome.” 15 Mar. 1965.  Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project , U of Maryland, voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/johnson-we-shall-overcome-speech-text/. Transcript.

Month is abbreviated in the works cited entry.

Read this  MLA format  guide for more style basics.

Citing a speech (audio recording) in MLA style

(Eisenhower)

Speaker’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the transcript.” Date of Speech.  Website Title/Container Transcript is Published in , Publisher, URL.

Eisenhower, Dwight D. “Farewell Address.” 17 Jan. 1961.  American Rhetoric ,  www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/dwighteisenhowerfarewell.mp3 .

Citing a speech (video recording) in MLA style

Kennedy, Edward M. “Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy.” 8 June 1968.  American Rhetoric ,  www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk.html .

For more information on citing sources in MLA, also read these guides on  MLA in-text citations  and  MLA works cited examples .

MLA Style: Learn More

Unlock more help for your courses

Nail down everything from main ideas to small edits: real expert proofreading, plagiarism scans, and instant grammar checks 24/7

Writing Help

Get the most out of chegg writing.

  Chegg Writing »  MLA Citation Generator  » Citing a speech in MLA style

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

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 .

Citing a Speech

Powered by chegg.

• Select style:
• Archive material
• Chapter of an edited book
• Conference proceedings
• Dictionary entry
• Dissertation
• DVD, video, or film
• E-book or PDF
• Edited book
• Encyclopedia article
• Government publication
• Music or recording
• Online image or video
• Presentation
• Press release
• Religious text

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.

Penn State University Libraries

Apa quick citation guide 6th edition.

• In-text Citation
• Citing Web Pages and Social Media
• Citing Articles
• Citing Books
• Citing Business Reports
• Other Formats
• APA Style Quiz

Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers , use a paragraph number. More information on citing sources without pagination is given on the APA Style web page .

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing, Rossiter, & Munro, 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech. Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004).  Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech  (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. If the author is not known, use the title and the date as the in-text citation (for long titles just use the first few words). Your in-text citation should lead your reader to the corresponding entry in the reference list. For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Role-play can help children learn techniques for coping with bullying (Kraiser, 2011).

Reference entry

Kraizer, S. (2011). Preventing bullying. Retrieved from http://safechild.org/categoryparents/preventing-bullying/

Web page with no author:

The term Nittany Lion was coined by Penn State football player Joe Mason in 1904 ("All things Nittany," 2006).

All things Nittany. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html

Web page with no date:

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaster. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015) Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note:  For direct quotations of more than 40 words , display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text.

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three to five authors: First citation: (Tremblay, Richer, Lachance, & Cote, 2010) Subsequent citations: (Tremblay et al., 2010)

Six or more authors: (Norris-Shortle et al., 2006)

• << Previous: Overview
• Next: Citing Web Pages and Social Media >>
• Last Updated: Oct 26, 2022 12:24 PM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguidesixth

How to Cite a Speech in MLA Style

Speeches are important sources for academic writing and research. Citing speeches in MLA style requires specific elements: speaker’s name, speech title, event name, date, location, and type of speech. For recorded speeches, include the medium and URL if available. These details apply to both in-text citations and Works Cited entries. Proper citation ensures credit to speakers and maintains academic integrity.

Components of a Speech Citation in MLA

Speaker’s Name

The speaker’s name is the first element in an MLA citation for a speech. This identifies the individual responsible for the content of the speech. For example:

Smith, John.

Title of the Speech

The title of the speech is placed in quotation marks. If the speech does not have a formal title, create a descriptive title. For instance:

“Reflections on Modern Democracy.”

Title of the Container

The container refers to where the speech was published or presented. This can vary based on the medium.

If the speech was delivered at a live event, include the name of the event, followed by the location and date. For example:

Delivered at the Annual Conference on Modern Governance, City Hall, 15 March 2023.

Online Video

For speeches found online, include the website or platform name in italics, followed by the URL. For instance:

YouTube , www.youtube.com/watch?v=example.

Published Text

If the speech is included in a book or journal, cite the title of the book or journal in italics. Example:

Published in The Collected Works of John Smith .

Date of the Speech

The date of the speech is crucial for citation. Use the day-month-year format. For example:

15 March 2023.

Location of the Speech

Including the venue’s name and location adds precision to your citation. For example:

City Hall, New York.

Formatting Speech Citations in MLA

In-text citations.

In-text citations in MLA style are concise. Include the speaker’s last name and the speech title in parentheses. For example:

(Smith, “Reflections on Modern Democracy”).

Works Cited Entry

The full citation in the Works Cited section provides complete details about the speech.

Example for a Speech from a Live Event

Smith, John. “Reflections on Modern Democracy.” Delivered at the Annual Conference on Modern Governance, City Hall, 15 March 2023.

Example for a Speech from an Online Source

Smith, John. “Reflections on Modern Democracy.” YouTube , www.youtube.com/watch?v=example. Accessed 15 March 2023.

Example for a Speech Published in a Book or Journal

Smith, John. “Reflections on Modern Democracy.” Published in The Collected Works of John Smith , edited by Jane Doe, Random House, 2023, pp. 45-67.

Citing Different Types of Speeches

Citing a speech from a conference or public event.

When citing speeches from conferences or public events, include the event name, location, and date. For example:

Smith, John. “Future of Urban Development.” Presented at the International Urban Planning Summit, Washington D.C., 10 June 2022.

Citing a Speech from an Online Platform (e.g., YouTube)

For online platforms, include the platform name and URL. For example:

Smith, John. “Sustainable Living.” YouTube , www.youtube.com/watch?v=example. Accessed 20 June 2022.

Citing a Speech Included in a Book or Anthology

When a speech is part of a published collection, cite the book or anthology. For instance:

Smith, John. “Innovations in Renewable Energy.” Published in Environmental Advances , edited by Sarah Green, Oxford University Press, 2022, pp. 100-120.

Additional Tips for Accurate MLA Citations

For accurate citations, you can take help from WriterBuddy’s MLA Speech Citation tool. This tool simplifies the citation process and ensures that all necessary elements are included.

How do I cite a speech found on YouTube in MLA style?

To cite a speech found on YouTube, include the speaker’s name, title of the speech in quotation marks, the platform name in italics, the URL, and the access date. For example: Smith, John. “Sustainable Living.” YouTube , www.youtube.com/watch?v=example. Accessed 20 June 2022.

What details are necessary to cite a speech from a live event?

When citing a speech from a live event, you need the speaker’s name, title of the speech in quotation marks, the event name in italics, the location, and the date of the event. For example: Smith, John. “Reflections on Modern Democracy.” Delivered at the Annual Conference on Modern Governance, City Hall, 15 March 2023.

What is the correct format for the date in MLA citations for speeches?

In MLA citations, the date should be formatted in the day-month-year format. For instance, 15 March 2023.

Can I cite a speech included in a book or anthology?

Yes, to cite a speech in a book or anthology, include the speaker’s name, title of the speech in quotation marks, title of the book or anthology in italics, editor’s name, publisher, year of publication, and page numbers. For example: Smith, John. “Innovations in Renewable Energy.” Published in Environmental Advances , edited by Sarah Green, Oxford University Press, 2022, pp. 100-120.

Accurate citation of speeches in MLA format is crucial for academic credibility. Following these guidelines helps properly attribute ideas to speakers and provides readers with necessary source information.

Stop Stressing, Start Writing

Join over 540,000+ happy users writing smarter with WriterBuddy. Try WriterBuddy for Free!

Advanced AI writing tool trained to write better content faster.

• AI Writing Tools
• Rewording Tool
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• Essay Writer
• Essay Rewriter
• Sentence Rephraser
• Sentence Rewriter Tool
• Paragraph Rewrite
• Paragraph Generator

Student Resources

• Plagiarism Checker
• AI Content Detector
• Grammar Checker
• Punctuation Checker
• Spell Checker
• Thesis Generator
• Essay Checker
• Word Counter
• Character Counter

Citation Tools

• Citation Generator
• APA Citation
• MLA Citation
• Citation Checker
• Brand Style Guide
• Affiliate Program

Copyright © 2024 WriterBuddy. All rights reserved.

Citations & Avoiding Plagiarism

• Introduction to Citations
• 5 Steps to Create a Citation
• Citation Generators: How to Use & Doublecheck Them
• IEEE This link opens in a new window
• AI/ChatGPT and Citations
• Annotated Bibliographies
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• In-Text Citations
• Verbal Citations in Speeches
• Citation Help Playlist (YouTube) This link opens in a new window
• Links for Citation Generators Workshop

Why use Verbal Citations?

• Adds credibility.
• Shows your work.
• Avoids plagiarism by giving credit to others for their work/ideas.
• Shows timeliness of research and resources.

Creating an Verbal Citation

General guidelines.

Be brief, but p rovide enough information that your audience can track down the source.

Highlight what is most important criteria for that source.

Include who/what and when.

• Author 
• Author's credentials
• Title of Work
• Title of Publication
• Date of work/publication/study

Use an introductory phrase for your verbal citation.

According to Professor Jane Smith at Stanford University.... (abbreviated verbal citation)

When I interviewed college instructor John Doe and observed his English 101 class...

Jason Hammersmith, a journalist with the Dallas Times, describes in his February 13, 2016 article....  (Full verbal citation)

Full vs. abbreviated verbal citations

Full verbal citations  include all the information about the source thereby allowing the source to be easily found.  ex. According to Harvard University professors, Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones research on this topic published in the Summer 2015 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine....

Abbreviated verbal citations  include less information about the source, but still includes the most important aspects of that specific source.  ex. A 2015 study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that Harvard University professors....

• FILE: Guide to Oral Footnoting (a/k/a verbal citations) This document from Matt McGarrity, a University of Washington communication instructor, provides examples and tips on how to verbally cite information in a speech.

Speaking a Verbal Citation

Verbal citations should come at the beginning of the cited idea or quotation..

It is a easier for a listening audience to understand that what they hear next is coming from that source. 

Introduce the quote (ex "And I quote" or "As Dr. Smith stated"...) PAUSE. Start quotation. PAUSE at the end of the quotation.

Introduce the quote. Say QUOTE. Start quotation. Say END QUOTE. 

Example 1 : Listen to the first few minutes of this video to hear how the speaker incorporates a verbal citation.

2018 NSDA Informative Speech Champion Lily Indie's "Nobody puts Baby in a closet"  has examples of verbal citations. Listen to two verbal citations starting at the 5:30 mark and running until 6:50 mark in this YouTube video.

• << Previous: In-Text Citations
• Next: Citation Help Playlist (YouTube) >>
• Last Updated: May 9, 2024 10:26 AM
• URL: https://libguides.spokanefalls.edu/cite

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Referencing
• Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples

Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples

Published on 30 April 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

An in-text citation should appear wherever you quote or paraphrase a source in your writing, pointing your reader to the full reference .

In Harvard style , citations appear in brackets in the text. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author,  the year of publication, and a page number if relevant.

Up to three authors are included in Harvard in-text citations. If there are four or more authors, the citation is shortened with et al .

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Including page numbers in citations, where to place harvard in-text citations, citing sources with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard in-text citations.

When you quote directly from a source or paraphrase a specific passage, your in-text citation must include a page number to specify where the relevant passage is located.

Use ‘p.’ for a single page and ‘pp.’ for a page range:

• Meanwhile, another commentator asserts that the economy is ‘on the downturn’ (Singh, 2015, p. 13 ).
• Wilson (2015, pp. 12–14 ) makes an argument for the efficacy of the technique.

If you are summarising the general argument of a source or paraphrasing ideas that recur throughout the text, no page number is needed.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

When incorporating citations into your text, you can either name the author directly in the text or only include the author’s name in brackets.

Naming the author in the text

When you name the author in the sentence itself, the year and (if relevant) page number are typically given in brackets straight after the name:

Naming the author directly in your sentence is the best approach when you want to critique or comment on the source.

Naming the author in brackets

When you  you haven’t mentioned the author’s name in your sentence, include it inside the brackets. The citation is generally placed after the relevant quote or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence, before the full stop:

Multiple citations can be included in one place, listed in order of publication year and separated by semicolons:

This type of citation is useful when you want to support a claim or summarise the overall findings of sources.

Common mistakes with in-text citations

In-text citations in brackets should not appear as the subject of your sentences. Anything that’s essential to the meaning of a sentence should be written outside the brackets:

• (Smith, 2019) argues that…
• Smith (2019) argues that…

Similarly, don’t repeat the author’s name in the bracketed citation and in the sentence itself:

• As Caulfield (Caulfield, 2020) writes…
• As Caulfield (2020) writes…

Sometimes you won’t have access to all the source information you need for an in-text citation. Here’s what to do if you’re missing the publication date, author’s name, or page numbers for a source.

If a source doesn’t list a clear publication date, as is sometimes the case with online sources or historical documents, replace the date with the words ‘no date’:

When it’s not clear who the author of a source is, you’ll sometimes be able to substitute a corporate author – the group or organisation responsible for the publication:

When there’s no corporate author to cite, you can use the title of the source in place of the author’s name:

No page numbers

If you quote from a source without page numbers, such as a website, you can just omit this information if it’s a short text – it should be easy enough to find the quote without it.

If you quote from a longer source without page numbers, it’s best to find an alternate location marker, such as a paragraph number or subheading, and include that:

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style , when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33).

You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased . If you refer to the general ideas or findings of the source as a whole, you don’t need to include a page number.

When you want to use a quote but can’t access the original source, you can cite it indirectly. In the in-text citation , first mention the source you want to refer to, and then the source in which you found it. For example:

It’s advisable to avoid indirect citations wherever possible, because they suggest you don’t have full knowledge of the sources you’re citing. Only use an indirect citation if you can’t reasonably gain access to the original source.

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 29 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-in-text-citation/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, a quick guide to harvard referencing | citation examples, harvard style bibliography | format & examples, referencing books in harvard style | templates & examples, scribbr apa citation checker.

An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!

Holman Library

• GRC Holman Library
• Green River LibGuides
• Library Instruction

Research Guide: Citations

• APA Verbal/Speech Citations Example
• Citing Sources
• Quick Overview
• Plagiarism & Academic Honesty This link opens in a new window
• APA Citation Style Overview
• In-Text Citations - APA
• ARTICLES - APA Reference List
• BOOKS - APA Reference List
• ONLINE SOURCES - APA Reference List
• OTHER SOURCES - APA Reference List
• APA Formatted Paper Example
• APA Annotated Bibliography Example
• APA Images and Visual Presentations Citations Example
• MLA Citation Style Overview
• In-Text Citations - MLA
• ARTICLES - MLA Works Cited
• BOOKS - MLA Works Cited
• ONLINE SOURCES - MLA Works Cited
• OTHER SOURCES - MLA Works Cited
• MLA Formatted Paper Example
• MLA Annotated Bibliography Example
• MLA Verbal/Speech Citation Example
• MLA Images and Visual Presentations Citations Example
• Other Citation Styles
• Citation Generator (NoodleTools)
• Synthesizing Sources
• Get Help & Citation Workshops

Verbal Citations in Speeches and Presentations

What should you include in a verbal citation, when you give a speech....

(click on image to enlarge)

Why cite sources verbally?

• to c onvince your audience  that you are a  credible  speaker.  Building on the work of others lends authority to your presentation
• to prove that your information comes from solid,  reliable sources that your audience can trust.
• to give credit to others for their ideas, data, images (even on PowerPoint slides), and words to  avoid plagiarism.
• to  leave a path for your audience  so they can locate your sources.

What are tips for effective verbal citations?

When citing books:

• Ineffective : “ Margaret Brownwell writes in her book Dieting Sensibly that fad diets telling you ‘eat all you want’ are dangerous and misguided.” (Although the speaker cites and author and book title, who is Margaret Brownwell?  No information is presented to establish her authority on the topic.)
• Better : “Margaret Brownwell, professor of nutrition at the Univeristy of New Mexico , writes in her book, Dieting Sensibly, that …” (The author’s credentials are clearly described.)

When citing Magazine, Journal, or Newspaper articles

• Ineffective : “An article titled ‘Biofuels Boom’ from the ProQuest database notes that midwestern energy companies are building new factories to convert corn to ethanol.” (Although ProQuest is the database tool used to retrieve the information, the name of the newspaper or journal and publication date should be cited as the source.)
• Better : “An article titled ‘Biofuels Boom’ in a September 2010 issue of Journal of Environment and Development” notes that midwestern energy companies…” (Name and date of the source provides credibility and currency of the information as well as giving the audience better information to track down the source.)

When citing websites

• Ineffective : “According to generationrescue.org, possible recovery from autism includes dietary interventions.” (No indication of the credibility or sponsoring organization or author of the website is given)
• Better : “According to pediatrician Jerry Kartzinel, consultant for generationrescue.org, an organization that provides information about autism treatment options, possibly recovery from autism includes dietary interventions.” (author and purpose of the website is clearly stated.)

Note: some of the above examples are quoted from: Metcalfe, Sheldon. Building a Speech. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. Google Books. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.

Video: Oral Citations

Source: "Oral Citations" by COMMpadres Media , is licensed under a Standard YouTube License.

Example of a Verbal Citation

Example of a verbal citation from a CMST 238 class at Green River College,  Auburn, WA, February 2019

What to Include in a Verbal Citation

• << Previous: APA Annotated Bibliography Example
• Next: APA Images and Visual Presentations Citations Example >>
• Last Updated: Aug 14, 2024 4:02 PM
• URL: https://libguides.greenriver.edu/citations

Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide

Chicago-style source citations come in two varieties: (1) notes and bibliography and (2) author-date. If you already know which system to use, follow one of the links above to see sample citations for a variety of common sources. If you are unsure about which system to use, or how the two systems are related, read on.

Notes and Bibliography or Author-Date?

In the notes and bibliography system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. The notes and bibliography system, Chicago’s oldest and most flexible, can accommodate a wide variety of sources, including unusual ones that don’t fit neatly into the author-date system. For this reason, it is preferred by many working in the humanities, including literature, history, and the arts.

In the author-date system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each in-text citation matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided. Because it credits researchers by name directly in the text while at the same time emphasizing the date of each source, the author-date system is preferred by many in the sciences and social sciences.

Aside from the use of numbered notes versus parenthetical references in the text, the two systems share the same style for authors’ names, titles of works, and other cited components. Follow the links at the top of this page to see examples of some of the more common source types cited in both systems.

Most authors choose the system used by others in their field or required by their publisher. Students should check with their instructor before deciding which system to use.

For a more comprehensive overview of Chicago’s two systems of source citation, see chapter 13 of The Chicago Manual of Style . For many more examples organized by type of source, consult chapter 14 .

• Services & Software

iOS 18 Brings New Sizzle to Your iPhone Messages

When your friends' texts are burning up your iPhone, new features in iOS 18 let you spice up your conversations.

Chatting with friends is getting more fun with Apple's latest text-messaging tweaks coming to the iPhone (and iPad and Mac) this fall with iOS 18.

If you're running the iOS 18 beta now, you can cook up the perfect replies with new features in Messages such as text formatting and animated effects. Chatting with Android-owning friends? RCS support finally makes it easier. You can even bounce messages off a satellite when you're out of cellular or Wi-Fi range. And if a conversation gets too fiery, cool things off by scheduling a text to be sent later.

Here are seven new features in the Messages app you should know about.

Read more :  It's Here: How to Download the iOS 18 Public Beta on Your iPhone

Also, be sure to check out our complete WWDC 2024 coverage  from June and learn why iOS 18 might be more exciting than the upcoming iPhone 16 .

Thanks to RCS messaging, you can better communicate with Android users

The addition of Rich Communication Services protocol to Messages should  reduce friction  when texting with friends who own Android phones. It enables read receipts and gives you higher quality image transfers and end-to-end encryption (but keeps Android message bubbles green).

If your carrier supports RCS, it's likely you don't need to do anything to use it. Go to  Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging  and make sure the  RCS Messaging  is turned on.

RCS Messaging should be enabled by default.

You can also send text messages via satellite

The  Emergency SOS via Satellite  feature that was introduced with the iPhone 14 has been a  literal life-saver . When you have no cellular signal, you can connect to a satellite and exchange short text messages with emergency responders.

With that infrastructure in place, Apple is opening Messages up to nonemergency texts, too. If you're out of range of cellular or Wi-Fi networks and own an iPhone 14 or later, Messages will prompt you to connect to a satellite. While connected, the Dynamic Island expands to help you stay pointed at the satellites overhead.

You can then text people like you normally would, and features like emoji and Tapbacks should still work. If you want to check out a demo of the feature, go to  Settings > Apps > Messages > Messages via Satellite > Satellite Connection Demo . Or just go out into the middle of nowhere and try it out yourself.

You can now format text in Messages

I don't want to come across as "that typography guy," but it has long bothered me that one of the only ways to emphasize text in Messages has been to put it in all caps. We as a society haven't developed typography over hundreds of years and invented the most sophisticated computing devices just to shout at each other over text.

So yeah, I guess I am that guy. But I feel better now that I can express myself using bold , italic , underlined and strikethrough text in conversations between my friends who are also running iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia.

You can apply formatting to an entire phrase, individual words and letters, or combinations of those, like so:

1 . Type your message. 2 . To apply formatting to the entire message, tap the Formatting button in the suggestion bar; all of your text is highlighted. Or, to add emphasis to only a word, double-tap to select the text and then press the Formatting button. You can also choose Text Effects from the options that appear above the selection. 3 . Tap one of the options at the top of the formatting panel that replaces the keyboard: bold, italic, underline or strikethrough.

Apply text formatting to selected text or an entire message.

If you format a message that is sent to someone running an older system, they'll see only plain text, which could be confusing if you've used strikethrough to indicate removed words.

You can animate your text messages

Here's where I toss aside any pretense of being a typographical purist. A message or selected words or letters can be animated in one of eight styles. Need to deliver some big news with more emphasis than bold text? With iOS 18, there are several new animation options you can add to your text. The Big animation expands the size of your letters. Or perhaps just mentioning that it's freezing outside doesn't convey the teeth-chattering cold -- apply the Jitter animation to make the letters shake.

Adding animation is just as easy as formatting text:

1 . Type your message. 2 . Tap the Formatting button in the suggestion bar to select the entire text. Or, select individual words or letters and then press that button. 3 . Tap one of the animation styles to apply it: Big, Small, Shake, Nod, Explode, Ripple, Bloom or Jitter.

Apply animated effects to messages.

You can mix animations within a message by making selections and applying different styles to them. However, you can't apply more than one animation to a selection; a word cannot shake and then explode, for example. As with text formatting, a message shows up as plain text for anyone not running iOS 18, iPadOS 18 or MacOS Sequoia.

Even with these new features, I want more: text formatting and text animation. Currently you can use one or the other. But if Apple's engineers can make something as complex as eye-tracking for the Vision Pro, they can make this happen in a subsequent update.

You can turn off auto-playing animations, if that's not your thing

Let's say your friend just installed iOS 18 and wants to try out all the animation effects in a series of messages, creating a screen full of pulsing, resizing, jittering and exploding texts. And you think, with all that animation tempting a migraine, what has Apple unleashed?

Don't stress, because you can set the animations to not automatically repeat. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and turn off Auto-Play Message Effects . Your friend can still send animated text that will play once when you receive it, but you won't be subjected to the animation repeating.

How to add any emoji or sticker as a tapback in Messages

Sometimes words are unnecessary. You could reply to someone's message using a Tapback icon to express love, agreement, disagreement, laughter, alarm or curiosity. They're quick to apply and get your reply across easily.

They've also been limited to just six icons, and in monochrome no less.

With iOS 18, Messages adds color (and some cartoony shading) to those icons, but also the ability to reply with any emoji or sticker. Here's how to do it:

1 . Touch and hold a message until you see the Tapback bubble appear. 2 . Tap the emoji button just below the other icons. Or, you can swipe left on the bubble to view recent emojis, stickers and a gray emoji button that leads to the emoji library. 3 . In the emoji picker, choose a sticker (left side) or any of the hundreds of emoji.

Add any emoji as a Tapback reply.

You can schedule text messages using Send Later

I know which friends are likely up at midnight to reply to a text, and which I'd probably wake up. Because I want the second category to continue to be my friends, the ability to schedule texts in the Messages app is great for when I want to share a thought but don't need an immediate reply. 

To send a message at a specified time, do this:

1 . Type your message. 2 . Tap the More ( + ) button. 3 . Tap Send Later ; you may need to swipe up to find it in the list of apps and features. 4 . In the time picker that appears, set a day and time to send the message. 5 . Tap the Send Message button (the up arrow) to schedule it.

Up too early or too late? Schedule a message for later so you don't wake up the recipient.

Scheduled messages show up with a faint dashed border.

If you need to change the timing later, tap Edit above the message and then choose Edit Time from the menu. Also, if you find yourself scheduling messages often, I recommend moving the Send Later option higher in the More list so it's easier to access.

For more, see how Apple redesigned the Photos app in iOS 18  and how the new Passwords app will sync across devices and platforms .

Services and Software Guides

• Best iPhone VPN
• Best Free VPN
• Best Android VPN
• Best Mac VPN
• Best Mobile VPN
• Best VPN for Firestick
• Best VPN for Windows
• Fastest VPN
• Best Cheap VPN
• Best Password Manager
• Best Antivirus
• Best Identity Theft Protection
• Best LastPass Alternative
• Best Live TV Streaming Service
• Best Streaming Service
• Best Free TV Streaming Service
• Best Music Streaming Services
• Best Web Hosting
• Best Minecraft Server Hosting
• Best Website Builder
• Best Dating Sites
• Best Language Learning Apps
• Best Weather App
• Best Stargazing Apps
• Best Cloud Storage
• Best Resume Writing Services
• New Coverage on Operating Systems

• About AssemblyAI

What is speech to text? The complete guide

This complete guide to speech-to-text will walk you through everything you need to know about this technology, including: what it is, how it works, and why we need it.

Featured writer

Speech-to-text (also known as speech recognition or voice recognition) is a technology that converts spoken language into written text. It's the digital ears that listen and the virtual hands that type to translate our voices into words on a screen. This seemingly simple concept opens up a world of possibilities, from making our daily lives more convenient to transforming entire industries.

• Drafting emails while stuck in traffic
• Transcribing meetings without furiously scribbling notes
• Providing real-time captions for videos and real-time events

These are just a few examples of how speech-to-text is changing life and work for individuals and businesses. 

Whether you're a curious individual looking to boost productivity or a business leader seeking to innovate, speech-to-text can change the way you get things done in today's voice-first world. 

This complete guide to speech-to-text will walk you through everything you need to know about this technology, including: what it is, how it works, and why we need it. 

What is speech-to-text technology?

Speech-to-text technology is a sophisticated system that converts spoken words into written text. It's the bridge between the auditory world of human speech and the visual world of written language that enables machines to understand and transcribe spoken language.

Speech-to-text technology relies on a combination of linguistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence to function. Here's a simplified breakdown of how one exemplary type of speech-to-text model works:

• Audio Input: The system receives an audio signal, typically from a microphone or an audio file.
• Signal Processing: The audio is preprocessed for transcoding and audio gain normalization.
• Deep Learning Speech Recognition Model: The audio signal is fed into a speech recognition deep learning model trained on a large corpus of audio-transcription pairs, which generates the transcription of the input audio.
• Text formatting: The raw transcription generated by the speech recognition model is formatted for better readability. This includes adding punctuation, converting phrases like "one hundred dollars" to "$100," capitalizing proper nouns, and other enhancements.

Modern speech-to-text systems often use machine learning algorithms (particularly deep learning neural networks) to improve their accuracy and adapt to different accents, languages, and speech patterns.

 Try AI-Powered Speech-to-Text

Try AssemblyAI’s API for free to experiment with speech recognition, speaker detection, audio summarization, and more.

Types of speech-to-text engines

There are several types of speech-to-text engines to consider , each with its own advantages, disadvantages, and ideal use cases.

The right choice for you will depend on your needs for accuracy requirements, language support, integration capabilities, and data privacy concerns.

Cloud-based vs. on-premise

• Cloud-based: These systems process audio on remote servers, offering scalability and no infrastructure maintenance. They're ideal for businesses handling large volumes of data or requiring real-time transcription. 
• On-premise: These systems run locally on the user's hardware and can function without internet connectivity. The cost is sometimes less than cloud-based, however, initial costs for hardware and ongoing costs of maintenance and support staff can negate these savings.

Open-source vs. proprietary

• Open-source: These engines allow users to view and sometimes modify and distribute the source code, though with specified limitations. They offer flexibility and customization options but may require more technical expertise to implement and maintain.
• Proprietary : Developed and maintained by specific companies, these systems can be tailor-made for specific use-cases, such as industry-relevant audio as we do. Look for proprietary engines that are also continuously updated.

How does speech-to-text work?

Understanding the deeper technical processes helps you appreciate the complexity behind the seemingly simple conversion of speech into text and why factors like audio quality and accents can affect the accuracy of this process.

1. Audio Preprocessing

Before any analysis can begin, the audio input needs to be converted into a format usable by a speech recognition deep learning model. This involves:

• Transcoding: Change the audio format to a standard form (See best audio file formats for speech-to-text) . 
• Normalization: Adjusting the volume to a standard level.
• Segmentation: Breaking the audio into manageable chunks.

2. Deep Learning Speech Recognition Model

This process maps the audio signal to a sequence of words. Modern systems use end-to-end deep learning models, such as Transformer and Conformer. The Conformer model is an enhanced version of the Transformer, designed to better capture speech dynamics, making it particularly suitable for speech recognition. The model is trained on a large dataset of audio-text pairs to learn the mapping from the audio signal to the corresponding transcription. The model implicitly acquires and utilizes knowledge of how each word should sound and how different words are likely to connect to form a sentence.

To be more precise, the model usually generates the likelihood of each word—or linguistic unit—being spoken for each short time frame. A program called a decoder then generates the most probable word sequence based on the per-linguistic-unit likelihood values produced by the deep learning speech recognition model.

3. Text Formatting

The word sequence generated by the deep learning speech recognition model often does not have punctuation and is all lowercase. Also, entities, such as emails, URLs, and numbers, are typically spelled out. The final step converts the raw word sequence generated by the speech recognition model into a more readable text format. This often involves processes called inverse text normalization, capitalization, and true-casing, and they are accomplished by using rule-based algorithms or text processing neural network models. 

Factors affecting speech-to-text accuracy

While that might sound relatively straightforward, there are a few factors that can muddy up audio files and impact the accuracy of speech-to-text systems:

• Audio quality: Clear, high-quality audio with minimal background noise yields the best results. Poor microphone quality or low bitrate audio can significantly reduce accuracy.
• Accents and dialects: Systems trained on a specific set of accents may struggle with others. 
• Background noise and reverberation: Ambient sounds and room reverberation can interfere with speech recognition. Noise cancellation using microphone arrays often results in improved speech recognition accuracy, whereas the usefulness of monaural noise reduction systems is not well established.
• Speaking style: Clear, well-enunciated speech is easier to recognize. Rapid speech, mumbling, or overlapping voices can challenge the system.
• Vocabulary: Uncommon words, technical jargon, or proper nouns may be misrecognized. Some systems allow for custom vocabulary to improve accuracy in specific domains.
• Language and context: Multi-language environments can be challenging. Understanding context helps in disambiguating similar-sounding words.
• Speaker variability: Differences in pitch, speed, and vocal characteristics can affect accuracy. Some systems can adapt to individual speakers over time.

Experience Industry-Leading Speech AI

Want to experience AssemblyAI's industry-leading accuracy, low latency, and powerful Speech AI capabilities?

Benefits of speech-to-text technology

Speech-to-text technology provides major advantages for both individuals and businesses across various industries. And, it’s still in its relative infancy — we’re sure to see even more innovative applications and benefits as users continue to adopt and innovate with speech-to-text.

• Increased productivity: Speech-to-text can reduce time spent on manual transcription and note-taking.
• Improved accessibility: This technology provides support for individuals with hearing impairments, mobility issues, or learning disabilities.
• Better customer experiences: Businesses using speech-to-text in customer service operations can reduce average handling time and improve first-call resolution rates.
• Cost reduction: Automated transcription can be cheaper than human transcription services and allows businesses to reallocate resources to more complex, high-value tasks.
• Better data analysis: Speech-to-text enables more efficient analysis of large volumes of data (leading to more informed decision-making).
• Improved compliance and record-keeping: Speech-to-text provides accurate documentation of conversations and meetings.
• Flexibility and convenience: This technology can be used across various devices and integrated with existing software to offer users flexibility in how and where they work.

Applications of speech-to-text technology

Speech-to-text technology has found its way into several applications across various industries and personal use cases. You might have even already used it today without even thinking about it (like with Siri or Alexa). 

Here are a few of the most prominent applications and real-world examples for personal and business use:

Personal use case

• Dictation and note-taking: Students and professionals use speech-to-text to quickly capture ideas, create documents, or take notes during lectures and meetings. For example, a journalist might use speech-to-text to transcribe interviews in real time, saving hours of manual transcription work.
• Accessibility: Speech-to-text provides support for individuals with hearing impairments. It enables real-time captioning of live events, phone calls, and video content to make information more accessible.
• Voice commands and virtual assistants: Speech-to-text powers virtual assistants (like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant) that allow users to set reminders, send messages, or control smart home devices using their voice.

Business applications

• Customer service and call centers: Many companies use speech-to-text to transcribe customer calls automatically . This allows for easier analysis of customer interactions, identification of common issues, and improvement of service quality.
• Meeting transcription: Businesses use speech-to-text to create searchable archives of meetings and conferences. This helps with record-keeping, allows absent team members to catch up, and makes it easier to reference important discussions later.
• Content creation: Podcasters and video creators use speech-to-text to generate accurate transcripts and subtitles for their content to improve accessibility and SEO.
• Legal and medical transcription: Law firms and healthcare providers use specialized speech-to-text systems to transcribe depositions, court proceedings, and medical notes.

Real-world examples of speech-to-text technology

Jiminny in sales and customer success.

Jiminny, a Conversation Intelligence platform, uses AssemblyAI's speech-to-text technology to power its sales coaching and call recording features. This integration helps Jiminny's customers secure a 15% higher win rate on average by providing AI insights for data-driven coaching that improves forecasting accuracy and customer knowledge.

Marvin in user research

Marvin, a qualitative data analysis platform, integrated AssemblyAI's Core Transcription and PII Redaction models into their user research tools. This implementation helps Marvin's users spend 60% less time on average analyzing data, allowing them to focus more on extracting meaningful insights from customer interviews and feedback.

Screenloop in hiring intelligence

Screenloop, a hiring intelligence platform, embedded AssemblyAI's transcription model into their interview process tools. This integration resulted in significant improvements for Screenloop's customers, including 90% less time spent on manual hiring tasks, 20% reduced time-to-hire, 60% less candidate drop-off, and 50% fewer rejected offers for open roles.

Test Drive AssemblyAI's Speech-to-Text

Try speech-to-text for yourself. Use the AssemblyAI Playground to test the API yourself with pre-loaded audio files (or upload your own).

How to choose the right speech-to-text tool

Not every speech-to-text solution is going to be the right fit for your business and its use case. 

Here are few factors to consider to narrow down the best tool for your needs:

• Accuracy: Look for tools with high transcription accuracy rates. State-of-the-art models like AssemblyAI's Universal-1 achieve near-human-level performance across a wide range of data.
• Language support: Consider whether the tool supports the languages you need. Some solutions offer multilingual capabilities, while others specialize in specific languages or dialects.
• Pricing: Compare pricing models (pay-as-you-go, subscription-based, etc.) and guarantee they align with your usage patterns and budget.
• Integration options: Check if the tool easily integrates with your existing systems and workflows. APIs and SDKs can facilitate seamless integration.
• Customization capabilities: Look for features like custom vocabulary or acoustic model adaptation that can improve accuracy for your specific use case.
• Processing speed: Consider both real-time transcription capabilities and batch processing speeds for pre-recorded audio.
• Additional features: Evaluate extra functionalities like speaker diarization, punctuation, sentiment analysis, or content summarization.
• Security and compliance: Double-check that the tool meets your data security requirements and complies with relevant regulations (like GDPR and HIPAA).
• Scalability: Choose a solution that can handle your current needs and scale as your requirements grow.
• Support and documentation: Consider the level of technical support and the quality of documentation provided by the vendor.

Popular speech-to-text tools

1. assemblyai.

AssemblyAI is a powerful, developer-friendly speech-to-text API that leverages cutting-edge AI models to provide accurate transcription and advanced audio intelligence features. It offers both streaming (real-time) and asynchronous transcription capabilities — making it reliable for a wide range of applications from live captioning to post-production content analysis .

• State-of-the-art accuracy with Universal-1 model
• Streaming (real-time) and asynchronous transcription
• Custom vocabulary 
• Speech Understanding: Speaker diarization, sentiment analysis, content summarization, topic detection, and more
• Multilingual support
• Highly accurate transcriptions
• Comprehensive API with advanced AI features
• Excellent documentation and customer support
• Flexible pricing for various usage levels
• Primarily focused on API integration — may not be ideal for non-technical users
• Free tier: $50 in free credits
• Pay-as-you-go: As low as $0.12/hr
• Custom: Personalize your plan

2. Google Cloud Speech-to-Text

Google Cloud Speech-to-Text is a cloud-based speech recognition service that converts audio to text using Google's machine learning technology. It offers a wide range of language support and integrates seamlessly with other Google Cloud services, making it a versatile choice for businesses already using the Google ecosystem.

• Real-time and asynchronous transcription
• Support for 125+ languages and variants
• Noise cancellation and speaker diarization
• Integration with other Google Cloud services
• Wide language support
• Good integration with Google ecosystem
• Reliable and scalable
• Can be complex for beginners
• Less competitive pricing for high-volume users
• Lower accuracy
• Free tier: First 60 minutes per month
• Standard recognition: $0.016 per minute for the first 500,000 minutes/month, with tiered pricing for higher volumes
• Medical models: $0.078 per minute after the free 60 minutes/month
• Dynamic batch recognition: $0.003 per minute
• Discounted rates available for data logging options

3. Amazon Transcribe

Amazon Transcribe is a cloud-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) service that makes it easy for developers to add speech-to-text capability to their applications. As part of the AWS ecosystem, it offers seamless integration with other Amazon services and provides both real-time and batch transcription options.

• Real-time and batch transcription
• Custom vocabulary and language models
• Automatic language identification
• Speaker diarization and channel separation
• Integration with AWS ecosystem
• Seamless integration with AWS services
• Good accuracy for common use cases
• Scalable for large-volume transcription needs
• Learning curve for AWS environment
• Limited advanced AI features compared to specialized providers
• Limited accuracy for more specialized use cases
• Free tier: 60 minutes of transcription per month for the first 12 months
• Standard transcription: $0.00043 per second ($0.0258 per minute)
• Real-time transcription: $0.00067 per second ($0.0402 per minute)

The future of speech-to-text technology

Speech-to-text technology is poised for exciting advancements, especially with the current evolution and progress of artificial intelligence research .

We can expect to see improvements in accuracy in challenging environments with background noise or multiple speakers. AI-powered features like emotion detection, intent recognition, and more sophisticated language understanding will likely become standard, improving the technology's ability to capture context and meaning beyond written words.

New applications will emerge across industries. In healthcare, more accurate medical transcription could improve patient care and streamline documentation. Education might see personalized learning experiences based on real-time speech analysis. Customer service could benefit from advanced sentiment analysis and automated response suggestions.

However, it’s not necessarily a straight and obstacle-free road ahead — challenges remain. Privacy concerns and data security will be ongoing issues as these systems process increasingly sensitive information. There's also the risk of bias in AI models, which could lead to unequal performance across different demographics or accents.

Unlock the power of speech-to-text with AssemblyAI

Speech-to-text technology has revolutionized how we interact with devices, create content, and process information. However, you’re not just a user of this technology — you can be a builder .

AssemblyAI provides a powerful, developer-friendly speech-to-text API that leverages cutting-edge AI models. It provides both streaming (real-time) and asynchronous transcription capabilities for a variety of applications. You also get access to features like:

• Custom vocabulary for improved accuracy in specific domains
• Advanced AI models like speaker diarization, sentiment analysis, and content summarization
• Multilingual support for global applications
• Excellent documentation and customer support for smooth integration

Popular posts

🚀 Upgraded Automatic Language Detection + Latest Tutorials

Developer Educator

Analyze Audio from Zoom Calls with AssemblyAI and Node.js

Announcements

Automatic language detection improvements: increased accuracy & expanded language support

Head of Product Marketing

Generate accurate Chicago citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• Chicago Style
• Chicago In-text Citations | Styles, Format & Examples

Chicago In-text Citations | Styles, Format & Examples

Published on September 12, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on April 9, 2024.

An in-text citation is used to point readers toward any source you quote , paraphrase or refer to in your writing. The Chicago Manual of Style has two options for in-text citations:

• Author-date : you put your citations in parentheses within the text itself.
• Notes and bibliography : you put your citations in numbered footnotes or endnotes.

You should choose one of these two citation options and use it consistently throughout your text. The source details are listed in full in a bibliography or reference list at the end. Make sure to pay attention to punctuation (e.g., commas and quotation marks ).

Chicago Citation Generator

Author-date citation example

(Woolf 1921, 11)

Footnote citation example

1. Woolf, “Modern Fiction,” 11.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Which chicago style should you use, option 1: author-date in-text citations, option 2: citations in footnotes or endnotes, citing sources with multiple authors, missing information in chicago in-text citations, frequently asked questions about chicago in-text citations.

First, you need to decide whether you are using notes or author-date in-text citations. You can usually find out from your instructor or syllabus which style you should use.

The notes and bibliography system is usually preferred in humanities subjects like literature, history and the arts. The author-date system is preferred in the sciences, including social sciences.

The styles are similar in the information they present, but they differ in terms of the order, location, and format of that information. It’s important to use one style consistently, and not to confuse the two.

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

Author-date style places citations directly in the text in parentheses . In-text citations include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and if applicable, a page number or page range:

This style of Chicago in-text citation looks the same for every type of source.

When using author-date, you should always include a reference list  with an entry corresponding to each citation. This provides the reader with full publication information to locate the source.

Where should citations appear in the text?

The author-date style gives you some flexibility in where you place your citations in the text.

Most commonly, you will put the citation at the end of the relevant sentence (before the period). You can also integrate it into the sentence. If you name the author in your sentence, you only need to include the date and page number in parentheses.

Multiple citations can also be combined within one set of parentheses using a semicolon .

As you can see in the Valentine citation, it’s not always necessary to include a page number—only when you’re referring to a specific part of the text. If you want to cite the text as a whole, you can leave out the page number.

In notes and bibliography style, your citations appear in either footnotes or endnotes .

To create a Chicago footnote or endnote reference, a superscript number is placed at the end of the clause or sentence that the citation applies to, after any punctuation (periods, quotation marks , parentheses ). Your first citation is marked with a 1, your second with a 2, and so on.

These superscript numbers correspond to numbered footnotes or endnotes containing the actual citation.

Full notes and short notes

There are two types of note you can use in Chicago style: full and short.

• Full notes contain the full publication details of the source.
• Short notes contain the author’s last name, the title (shortened if it is longer than four words), and the page number (if relevant).

You should usually use a full note the first time you cite each source. If you cite the same source more than once, use a short note for each subsequent citation. You may also use “ ibid. ” to repeat the citation from the previous note, but short notes are the more usual choice.

The rules of your specific institution may vary, requiring you to use one of the two note styles every time. It’s important to check with your instructor if you’re unsure.

This is what a full and short note for the same citation might look like:

The format of the note varies depending on the type of source. Below you can see examples of a Chicago website citation , book citation , book chapter citation , and journal article citation .

Chicago footnote citation examples

• Book chapter
• Journal article

Footnotes or endnotes?

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page they refer to, while endnotes appear in their own section at the end of the text, before the Chicago style bibliography .

The citation looks exactly the same whether it appears in a footnote or an endnote . If you haven’t been told which one to use, the choice is a matter of personal preference. The important thing is to consistently use one or the other.

In both styles, when you cite a source with two or three authors, list the names in the order they appear in the original publication:

When a source has four or more authors, use the term “ et al. ” after the first author’s name:

Sometimes, not all of the information you need for your citation will be available. Thankfully, there are ways to work around this in both styles.

No page number

Page numbers are not always necessary; if the source doesn’t have page numbers (e.g., a website ), or if you’re referring to the general argument of a text instead of a specific passage, you can omit page numbers.

If a source has no page numbers but you still want to specify a particular part of the text, you can use other locators like paragraphs, chapters or headings instead—whatever markers the text provides:

No publication date

If the source doesn’t have a stated publication date, you can write “n.d.” in place of the year:

If no specific author is listed, you can refer to the organization that published the source:

Page numbers should be included in your Chicago in-text citations when:

• You’re quoting from the text.
• You’re paraphrasing a particular passage.
• You’re referring to information from a specific section.

When you’re referring to the overall argument or general content of a source, it’s unnecessary to include page numbers.

When a source has four or more authors , your in-text citation or Chicago footnote should give only the first author’s name followed by “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”). This makes your citations more concise.

In your bibliography or reference list , when a source has more than 10 authors, list the first seven followed by “et al.” Otherwise, list every author.

• A reference list is used with Chicago author-date citations .
• A bibliography is used with Chicago footnote citations .

Both present the exact same information; the only difference is the placement of the year in source citations:

• In a reference list entry, the publication year appears directly after the author’s name.
• In a bibliography entry, the year appears near the end of the entry (the exact placement depends on the source type).

There are also other types of bibliography that work as stand-alone texts, such as a Chicago annotated bibliography .

In Chicago author-date style , your text must include a reference list . It appears at the end of your paper and gives full details of every source you cited.

In notes and bibliography style, you use Chicago style footnotes to cite sources; a bibliography is optional but recommended. If you don’t include one, be sure to use a full note for the first citation of each source.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style , the usual standard is to use a full note for the first citation of each source, and short notes for any subsequent citations of the same source.

However, your institution’s guidelines may differ from the standard rule. In some fields, you’re required to use a full note every time, whereas in some other fields you can use short notes every time, as long as all sources are listed in your bibliography . If you’re not sure, check with your instructor.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, April 09). Chicago In-text Citations | Styles, Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/chicago-in-text-citation/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, chicago style footnotes | citation format & examples, chicago author-date style | a complete guide to citing sources, the basics of in-text citation | apa & mla examples, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

arXiv's Accessibility Forum starts next month!

Help | Advanced Search

Computer Science > Sound

Title: enabling beam search for language model-based text-to-speech synthesis.

Abstract: Tokenising continuous speech into sequences of discrete tokens and modelling them with language models (LMs) has led to significant success in text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis. Although these models can generate speech with high quality and naturalness, their synthesised samples can still suffer from artefacts, mispronunciation, word repeating, etc. In this paper, we argue these undesirable properties could partly be caused by the randomness of sampling-based strategies during the autoregressive decoding of LMs. Therefore, we look at maximisation-based decoding approaches and propose Temporal Repetition Aware Diverse Beam Search (TRAD-BS) to find the most probable sequences of the generated speech tokens. Experiments with two state-of-the-art LM-based TTS models demonstrate that our proposed maximisation-based decoding strategy generates speech with fewer mispronunciations and improved speaker consistency.

Submission history

Access paper:.

• HTML (experimental)
• Other Formats

References & Citations

• Google Scholar
• Semantic Scholar

BibTeX formatted citation

Bibliographic and Citation Tools

Code, data and media associated with this article, recommenders and search tools.

• Institution

arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.

Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs .