How to Cite a Lecture in Chicago/Turabian
Published August 10, 2012. Updated June 21, 2022.
If you want to include information from a lecture you attended in a paper, whether that lecture was for a course or from a conference or meeting, you will need to cite that information in the notes and in your bibliography. This guide will show you how to cite lecture materials in notes-bibliography style using the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.
Guide Overview
Citing Online Lecture Notes or Presentation Slides
Citation Structure:
Note:
1. First name Last name, “Presentation/Lecture Title” (PowerPoint presentation, Conference or University Name, City, State of conference, Month Date, Year of presentation), URL.
Bibliography:
Last name, First name. “Presentation/Lecture Title.” PowerPoint presented at Conference or University Name, City, State of conference, Month Dates, Year of presentation. URL.
Citation Example:
Note:
1. Trudi E. Jacobson and Tom Mackey, “What’s in a Name?: Information Literacy, Metaliteracy, or Transliteracy” (PowerPoint presentation, ACRL, Indianapolis, IN, April 10, 2013), https://www.slideshare.net/tmackey/acrl-2013.
Bibliography:
Jacobson, Trudi E., and Tom Mackey. “What’s in a Name?: Information Literacy, Metaliteracy, or Transliteracy.” PowerPoint presented at ACRL, Indianapolis, IN, April 10, 2013. https://www.slideshare.net/tmackey/acrl-2013.
Citing a Lecture Recording
If you don’t have access to the slides or notes from the lecture but have access to a recording, that can be cited as well. In Chicago style, the format for citing a lecture recording is similar to that for a music recording.
Citation Structure:
Note:
1. First name Last name, “Presentation/Lecture Title,” lecture, University or Venue name, Month Day, Year of lecture, location of university or venue, format, length (formatted as 0:00:00), URL.
Bibliography:
Last name, First name. “Presentation/Lecture Title.” Lecture, University or Venue name, Month Day, Year of lecture, location of university or venue. Format, length (formatted as 0:00:00). URL.
Citation Example:
Note:
1. John Doe, “Generic Lecture Topic,” lecture, Generic University, January 1, 2022, New York, NY, MP3 file, 1:23:45.
Bibliography:
Doe, John. “Generic Lecture Topic.” Lecture, Generic University, January 1, 2022, New York, NY. MP3 file, 1:23:45.
Citing a Live Lecture
If you need to cite a live lecture that you attended in person, and a recording and/or slides are not available, you should cite the lecture within the text or in the notes only (since the reader would not be able to access the source). It is not necessary to include a bibliography entry.
Citation Structure:
Note:
1. “Presentation/Lecture Title,” presented by First name Last name, University or Venue name, location of university or venue, Month Day, Year of lecture.
Citation Example:
Note:
1. “Generic Lecture Topic,” presented by John Doe, Generic University, New York, NY, January 1, 2022.
