Ah yes, the fine art of referencing. The one thing that turns every college paper from ‘decent attempt’ to ‘I could’ve just scribbled this on a napkin.’ But hey, this is not just any kind of referencing—this is MLA style. I know, thrilling stuff. Hold onto your smartphones, because referencing a lecture is about to get wild. Grab your iced coffee, crack your knuckles, and let’s dive into the madness that is… How to Reference a Lecture in MLA.
Chapter 1: The Chaos Begins—Why Are We Even Here?
So, you’ve somehow survived your lecture. Maybe it was about quantum physics. Maybe it was about the deep socio-political subtext of SpongeBob SquarePants (honestly, I’d rather take the latter). Regardless, now your professor wants you to cite this lecture. In MLA. Because apparently, there’s nothing more thrilling than living by Modern Language Association standards.
You’re probably thinking, “Can’t I just throw this lecture into my paper like I do with TikTok references? I mean, who’s checking this stuff?” The answer: Your professor. And maybe a future AI overlord that checks references for a living. Either way, it’s better to get this right.
But don’t panic. We’re here to make this ordeal as painless as possible. And if you follow along, I might even make you chuckle. Or, more realistically, groan at how weirdly complicated MLA can be.
Chapter 2: “What Even Was That Lecture?”
Okay, first things first: you have to remember what the heck your professor even said in that lecture. Maybe you were busy scrolling through memes or live-texting the group chat about how bored you were, but don’t worry, you’ve got this.
Here’s what you need to get from that lecture:
- Speaker’s name: Who gave the lecture? It might’ve been your professor, but who knows—maybe they brought in a guest speaker who looked suspiciously like that one character from Stranger Things.
- Title of the lecture (if there is one): Some professors like to name their lectures, like “The Power of Metaphors” or “Why I Should Get a Raise.” If it didn’t have a title, don’t worry—we’ll get to that in a minute.
- The Event: Was this in a class? A conference? An event that you weren’t supposed to be at but snuck into for the free snacks?
- Date: Yes, you need the exact date. No, “sometime in October” won’t cut it. Check your phone’s calendar; I bet you tagged that lecture as “the worst hour of my life.”
- Location: Was this in a classroom? On Zoom? At your local Starbucks because your professor has some kind of hipster-vibe going on?
Chapter 3: The MLA Magic Formula
Now that you’ve got the info, it’s time to work some MLA magic. Ready for the formula? Here it is:
Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Lecture.” Event Name, Date of Lecture, Location.
Oh, you thought it would be harder? Nah, it’s just that boring. But don’t worry, we’ll sprinkle in some fun. Let’s break it down:
Step 1: The Speaker
You start with the speaker’s name, like so:
Kim, Allison.
Yes, your professor’s name goes first. I know, putting the last name first feels wrong, but rules are rules. If you don’t, MLA will haunt you in your sleep with visions of poorly formatted essays.
Step 2: The Title of the Lecture
If your professor actually named the lecture, bless their organized heart. If not, you have to improvise with a simple description of the subject. MLA says you can use “Lecture” as the title if there isn’t a specific one, but come on, we can do better than that.
Let’s pretend the lecture was called “Why Pineapple Belongs on Pizza: A Social Experiment.” Your entry would look like this:
Kim, Allison. “Why Pineapple Belongs on Pizza: A Social Experiment.”
But if your professor didn’t give the lecture a title (how dare they), you can simply go with something like:
Kim, Allison. Lecture on Pineapple and Social Experiments.
Yes, it’s that easy. Take a bow, you’re halfway there.
Step 3: The Event Name
Next up, you write the name of the event. If this lecture was part of your class, just say the name of the class, like “Introduction to Culinary Psychology.” But maybe your professor is the type to give fancy public lectures for all the world to hear (and by “the world,” I mean the four other students who didn’t skip). If that’s the case, write the name of the event.
So:
Kim, Allison. “Why Pineapple Belongs on Pizza: A Social Experiment.” Introduction to Culinary Psychology,
Step 4: The Date (aka the Day You Barely Survived)
The date should be formatted day month year, because MLA decided that’s the most confusing way to do it. Here’s what that looks like:
Kim, Allison. “Why Pineapple Belongs on Pizza: A Social Experiment.” Introduction to Culinary Psychology, 14 September 2023,
Step 5: Location, Location, Location
Finally, slap on the location. If it was in a classroom, just say the building and room number. If it was a Zoom lecture, you can just write “Zoom,” because who really wants to remember more details about a Zoom call?
Kim, Allison. “Why Pineapple Belongs on Pizza: A Social Experiment.” Introduction to Culinary Psychology, 14 September 2023, Zoom.
And voila! You’ve done it. Take a sip of that iced coffee, you genius.
Chapter 4: What About Guest Speakers or Panel Discussions?
So, what if your lecture wasn’t given by your professor, but a guest speaker, or maybe a panel of five different people all saying different things? Not a problem.
For guest speakers, you do it exactly the same way. Just replace your professor’s name with the guest’s name, like so:
Shapiro, Alex. “How Memes Have Shaped Modern Culture.” Advanced Memology, 3 May 2023, Smith Hall 204.
If it was a panel discussion, you have two options:
- List all the panelists like the overachiever you are: Smith, Jane, Alex Shapiro, and Max Jacobs. “Roundtable on Meme Evolution.” MemeCon 2024, 12 August 2024, Online.
- Use just the main speaker or moderator’s name if it was their show and everyone else was just along for the ride.
Easy peasy, right?
Chapter 5: The Final Touch—In-Text Citations
Don’t think we’re done just yet. What about when you have to reference the lecture in the body of your essay? You can’t just be like, “Professor Kim said pineapples are superior. Source: Trust me, bro.”
Nope, in-text citations are the last hurdle, but don’t worry—they’re easier than you think.
All you need to do is drop the professor’s last name in parentheses at the end of the sentence, like so:
“Pineapple pizza is the ultimate food, as studies have shown (Kim).”
Boom. Done.
Chapter 6: Some Quick DOs and DON’Ts
To make sure you’re nailing this MLA thing, here are some quick tips:
DO:
- Double-check your spelling and formatting. Don’t make MLA any angrier than it already is.
- Include all the details. Yes, even the date of that one lecture you wish you could forget.
- Use italics for the event name. It’s fancy, and MLA loves fancy.
DON’T:
- Make up fake titles or dates because you can’t remember. Your professor will notice.
- Forget to use hanging indents in your works cited page. It’s not 2005—Google how to do it in Word.
- Panic! This is just referencing. If you can survive TikTok dances, you can survive this.
Chapter 7: Wrapping It Up Like a Pro
So there you have it, you referencing legend! You’ve just learned how to cite a lecture in MLA without completely losing your mind. Sure, it’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but at least now you’re one step closer to nailing that paper (and one step further from having a total breakdown in the library at 2 a.m.).
Now go forth, fellow Gen Z scholar, and reference like there’s no tomorrow! Just don’t forget to cite this article in MLA if you use it for your next research paper. Hint:
Gallagher, Lip. “How to Reference a Lecture in MLA.” MLA Survival for Gen Z, 25 September 2024, OpenAI College Press.
You’re welcome.