PowerPoint presentations are a common way of sharing information and ideas in academic settings. When you use information from other sources in academic slides, you need to cite them appropriately to give credit to the original authors. There are a number of different citation styles and each has slightly different rules for how to cite sources in PowerPoint. The way to cite references in PowerPoint depends on the citation style you are using.

In this blog post, we have focused on two of the most popular styles: APA and MLA.

This article is divided into two sections - section one addresses how to include APA and MLA style citations in PowerPoint presentations (focused on the nuances specific to PowerPoint). Section two addresses how to correctly cite a PowerPoint presentation in both APA and MLA styles (for example when referencing a PowerPoint presentation in a word document or any other report format).

Section 1- How to include citations of refence materials in PowerPoint presentations

How to do APA Style citations in PowerPoint

APA Style is a citation style used by the American Psychological Association and many social sciences disciplines. It uses both an author-date system for in-text citations and a reference list at the end of the document. This means that when preparing a PowerPoint presentation with APA style citations, you need to include both citations on each slide where referenced and a slide at the end of the presentation with the list of references

The guidance from the APA when preparing presentations is that a most of the APA Style guidelines are directly applicable for presentations - for example crediting sources, writing clearly etc. But the APA does not specify many of the other aspects of PowerPoint presentations. When preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using the APA style for citations, you can make your own decisions regarding font sizes, how much text is included per slide, the use of colors etc.

APA style in-text citations in PowerPoint

For APA Style, you are expected to include the citation within the sentence or bullet point. If you use a direct quote or paraphrase someone else’s words or ideas, you also need to include the page number or slide number in parentheses after the citation. For example:

According to Jones (2021), “PowerPoint is a powerful tool for communication” (slide 5)

Things to keep in mind for APA PowerPoint in-text citations:

• You can choose to use a different size and/or color font for in-text citations to improve readability.
• If you are including citations for a bulleted list, you can include the citation once at the end of the list if the citation is relevant for all bullet points (rather than repeating the citation on each line).
• When including video resources in your presentation that require citation, it is recommended to include the citation underneath or above the video.

APA style Reference list in PowerPoint

In addition to the in-text citations, at the end of your presentation you need to include Reference List slide (or multiple slides) that include all of the sources you cited in your slides. When creating an APA Reference List in PowerPoint, the format is basically the same as for a regular APA reference list - including:

• Starting your Reference List on a new (page) slide
• Reference lists should be in alphabetical order based on authors last name or first word in title when no author information is available (but disregard the words The, An, and A at the start of a title when determining alphabetical order)
• Author formatting is last name, first initial followed by a period (aka full stop). For multiple authors, list alphabetically by last name with an ampersand before the last author.
• Italicise titles of full materials, but not partial materials (eg italicise the title of a book but not the title of a magazine article)

APA style guide does not specify the font size or number of slides for Reference Lists in PowerPoint presentations, so you can determine the most appropriate size of font and add multiple Reference List slides if your references do not fit on a single slide.

APA Reference List requirements include listing the following where applicable: author, date, title, (and if you are citing another PowerPoint presentation as a reference you should indicate “PowerPoint slides” after the title), department, university, and URL. For example:

Wall, A. (2022, March 15). Name of the presentation [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare https://www.slideshare.net/link-to-presentation

How to insert hanging indents to APA or MLA Reference Lists in PowerPoint

APA Referencing formatting requires a hanging indent for the the second and subsequent lines of each reference. There are a couple of different options for how to insert hanging indent formatting in PowerPoint:

1. Via the PowerPoint Ruler: PowerPoint has a Ruler which displays at the top of your PowerPoint slides when editing. You can use the PowerPoint ruler to add your hanging indent. If you cannot see the ruler, simply click the View Tab on the Ribbon, then check the checkbox to display the ruler (refer to the screenshot below).

Once the ruler is enabled, click the first line of text that you need to indent, then use the lower adjuster on the ruler to insert the indent. APA Referencing guidance is to use a 1/2 inch hanging indent (1.27cm).

2. Via PowerPoint's Paragraph Menu: From the Paragraph Feature group on the Home Tab on the PowerPoint Ribbon, select the menu popout (shown in the image below).

From the Indentation menu on this popout, select Hanging from the Special drop down and key in the indent size in the Before Text field (eg reference example below).

Then click ok and your hanging indent will have applied to the selected text on your PowerPoint slide.

Both of these options will work if you have one or multiple references selected on your PowerPoint slide.

Alternatively - if you have PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint, you can also use the Paragraph Styles feature to save the Hanging indent format and quickly apply it to references as you add them. The Paragraph Styles feature remembers and applies formatting quickly, particularly helpful if you need to add references after your initial formatting.

How to do MLA Style citations in PowerPoint

MLA Style is a citation style used by the Modern Language Association and many humanities disciplines. It uses an author-page system for in-text citations and a works cited list at the end of the document.

MLA style in-text citations in PowerPoint

For PowerPoint MLA Style in-text citations, you need to include the Author(s) and page reference in parentheses (aka brackets), following the use of the reference (for example directly following a quote). When an author name is not available, the reference name should be included instead. And if you are referencing a PowerPoint presentation in your slide, you would include a slide number from the reference in your citation, in lieu of a page number. For example:

"This is a quote" (Wall 307)

"This is a quote" ("Presentation Best Practice" Slide 5)

Use of the simplified in-text citation method should be limited to citations on a single slide. Where citations occur across multiple slides (even if consecutive), best practice is to repeat the Author citation and page number on each slide so that there is at least once full citation per PowerPoint slide. Multiple consecutive in-text citations on the same slide can use the simplified method, whereby only the page number is provided in brackets for the second and subsequent consecutive references.

MLA style Works Cited List in PowerPoint

At the end of your PowerPoint presentation, MLA style requires that you create a works cited list slide that includes all the sources cited in your slides. When you are preparing a PowerPoint presentation with MLA citations, the format is the same as for a regular MLA works cited list, but of course you can use a larger font and list out the Works Cited over multiple slides.

Your PowerPoint Slide containing the Works Cited List should be arranged alphabetically by the last name of the first author of each source. For multiple authors, list them alphabetically by last name and use “and” for two authors. For example:

Jones, Bob and Chris Lee. How to create effective PowerPoint presentations. University of ABC, 2019, https://www.universityofabc.edu/presentations.

Smith, Alice. Name of the presentation. SlideShare, 15 Oct. 2020, https://www.slideshare.net/name of the presentation.

If any reference citation in your list is longer than one line of the slide, you should indent the remaining lines(s) to improve readability of the Works Cited List slide. Refer to the 'How to insert hanging indents to Reference Lists in PowerPoint' section above for the steps to insert a hanging indent. MLA style guidance is to use a 1/2 inch hanging indent (1.27cm).

Section 2- How to cite a PowerPoint presentation as a refence material in an academic paper

This section covers how you should correctly reference a PowerPoint presentation in citations - for example when including a reference to a PowerPoint presentation in a Word document (or any other report format). This section addresses APA PowerPoint citation and MLA PowerPoint citation requirements.

How to cite a PowerPoint in APA style - in-text citations

When doing an in-text citation that references a PowerPoint presentation (or Keynote, Google Slides or any other similar type of presentation), you should include the Author name and year in the in-text citation as per any other resource type. When quoting or paraphrasing someone else words or ideas, you also need to include the page number or slide number in parentheses after the citation. For example:

According to Wall (2022), “PowerPoint is a powerful tool for communication” (slide 5)

When doing Parenthetical citations, it is consistent with other documents eg (Wall, 2022). Narrative citations would be: Wall (2022)

How to cite a PowerPoint in APA style - Reference list

APA citation requirements for PowerPoint presentations (or Keynote, Google slides or any other similar type of presentation) include listing the following in your APA Reference List:

• Author
• Date
• Title
• Indicate “PowerPoint slides” after the title (or Keynote Slides, or Google Slides, or if unsure of the presentation type then indicate "Slideshow")
• Department, university (if applicable)
• Name of the domain hosting the presentation and
• URL - direct URL to the location of the presentation

For example (italics added to the examples for ease of reading but italicising not required for actual citations):

Wall, A. (2022, March 15). Name of the presentation [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare https://www.slideshare.net/full-url-to-presentation

If you use a direct quote or paraphrase someone else’s words or ideas, include the page number or slide number in parentheses after the citation. For example:

According to Wall (2022), “PowerPoint is a powerful tool for communication” (slide 5)

When doing Parenthetical citations, it is consistent with other documents eg (Wall, 2022). Narrative citations would be: Wall (2022). For example:

Wall (2022) recommends PowerPoint templates for greater consistency in presentation design.

As per the in-text citation, the reference list should include the author, date, title, indicate “PowerPoint slides” after the title, department, university, and URL. The URL should be specific to the actual presentation where possible, not just to the top level domain where you found the presentation (for example, the URL would be to https://www.universityofabc.edu/presentation-about-puppies, rather than to https://www.universityofabc.edu).

The APA provides guidance that you should consider whether your intended audience would have access to the URL when doing your citation. If they would not be expected to have access, the APA recommends citing them as a personal communication (but only when a recoverable source would not be available to the reader - noting that paywall protected sites would still be considered as 'recoverable sources').

For example (italics added to the examples for ease of reading but italicising is not required for citations):

Barry, T., & Paul, C. (2018). How to create effective presentations [PowerPoint slides]. University of ABC. https://www.universityofabc.edu/presentations

Jones, A. (2021). Name of the presentation [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/name of the presentation

How to cite a PowerPoint in MLA style - in-text citations

For MLA Style, parenthetical citations are used when referring to the work of others. This is done using Author and Page referencing. You can either do this by including Author, Page or Author < reference to authors work >(Page).

If you use a direct quote or paraphrase someone else’s words or ideas, you also need to include the slide number in parentheses after the citation.

How to cite a PowerPoint in MLA style - Works Cited list

As per any MLA works cited list, it should be arranged alphabetically by the last name of the first author of each source. For multiple authors, list them alphabetically by last name and use “and” for two authors.

Ideally when citing a PowerPoint or other presentation, you are expected to include the following information:

• Author(s) Last Name(s), First Name(s);
• Presentation Title;
• Month and Year of Publication (or presentation);
• University/ Department (where applicable);
• URL to the actual presentation;
• Presentation type (eg PowerPoint Presentation, Keynote Presentation, Google Slides Presentation, or "Slideshow" if you are uncertain of the presentation type)

For example:

Jones, Bob and Chris Lee. How to create effective PowerPoint presentations. University of ABC, 2019, https://www.universityofabc.edu/how-to-create-effective-presentations. PowerPoint presentation

Smith, Alice. Name of the presentation. SlideShare, 15 Oct. 2020, https://www.slideshare.net/name-of-the-presentation. PowerPoint presentation