How to Cite a Lecture in APA (7th Edition)

Last Updated on: 6th February 2024, 03:50 am

When writing your dissertation or other academic papers, you may have to cite a lecture in APA. Keep these guidelines handy and you will have no problem citing a lecture that your professor delivers.  

Personal lecture notes

The easiest guideline to remember is how to cite a lecture in APA from your own personal notes. 

Lecture notes you take in a live online or face-to-face class are considered personal communication. They are personal communication, because they do not exist in any other  recorded or print format.  

In-text citation 

(Professor’s first initial. Last name, personal communication, date of lecture)

Example

(S. Graham, personal communication, June 17, 2020)

Paraphrase

S. Graham (personal communication, June 17, 2020) explained six ways that one can distinguish between interpretation and evidence. 

Quotation

According to S. Graham (personal communication, June 17, 2020), “there are six ways that one can distinguish between interpretation and evidence.” 

Note: You only need to cite personal communication in-text, and do not have to put it in the References list.

Lecture in online learning management system (LMS) course

A professor’s lecture in a course conducted in an LMS platform may be recorded. To cite a lecture in APA for this type of format, you will need to put the source in the References list.

In-text citation

(Professor’s last name, date of lecture, if no date, n.d.)

Example

(Jimenez, June 17, 2020)

Paraphrase 

According to Jimenez (2017), the first Kuru epidemic occurred in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea among the Fore tribespeople.

Quotation

Jimenez (2017) stated symptoms of the Kuru disease were “involuntary movements or tremors, difficulty eating that results in malnutrition, personality changes, and dementia.”

Reference list

Professor’s last name, Initial of first name. year, month and day of lecture. Lecture title in italics [Lecture recording]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page. 

Example:

Jimenez, S. (2020, June 17). The Kuru pandemic [Lecture recording]. Blackboard@CR University. https://classes.CRUniv.edu

Lecture on PowerPoint 

To cite a lecture in APA when your professor delivers it via PowerPoint is easy once you have mastered the previous two guidelines. 

In-text citation

(Professor’s last name, year)

Example

(Hayward, 2020)

Paraphrase

The epidemic known as “dancing mania” or the dancing plague broke out during the Middle Ages (Hayward, 2020).

Quotation

According to Hayward (2020), “there are many chronicles written about scourges of uncontrollable dancing among the population living along the Rhine and Moselle Rivers.”

Reference list

Professor’s last name, Initial of first name. Year, if no date, then n.d. Title of the PowerPoint presentation in italics [PowerPoint slides]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page.  

Example

Hayward, D. (2020). Dancing mania epidemic [PowerPoint slides]. Canvas@CR University. https://classes.CRUniv.edu

PowerPoint slides online

Your professor may post the PowerPoint lecture online, rather than on the course website. To cite a lecture in APA for this type of lecture, you will follow the guidelines for citing a PowerPoint lecture above, but with a minor difference in how it is written in the References list. 

Reference list

Last name of professor, Initial of first name. Year of publication, if no date, then n.d. Title of PowerPoint in italics [PowerPoint slides]. URL of PowerPoint. 

Example

Knapp, G. (2020). Methylmercury poisoning in Japan [PowerPoint slides]. https://www. net/health-sciences-methylmercury-poisoning

​Note: You can find more information about how to cite a lecture in APA 7^th edition in section 8.8 and page 347 of the Manual.