how to give credit in powerpoint presentation

How to Cite Sources in Presentations: A Detailed Guide

Learn how to cite sources in presentations accurately to enhance credibility and engage your audience effectively.

Understanding the Importance of Citing Sources

Choosing the right citation style.

• APA (American Psychological Association) : Often used in the social sciences.
• MLA (Modern Language Association) : Common in humanities.
• Chicago/Turabian Style : Frequently used in business, history, and fine arts.
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) : Preferred in technical fields.

How to Cite Sources in the Slide Content

• "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs (Apple Inc.)
• According to research by Harvard Business Review, innovative companies outperform the market average by 45%.
• 75% of marketers saw an increase in engagement through targeted emails. (Source: Mailchimp, 2023)

Incorporating Citations Visually

Tools and software for managing citations.

• EndNote: Great for managing references and bibliography.
• Zotero: Useful for collecting, organizing, managing, and citing research sources.
• Mendeley: Helps in organizing research, creating bibliographies, and even networking with other researchers.

Best Practices for Citing Sources in Presentations

• Be Consistent: Use the same citation style throughout your presentation.
• Keep it Readable: Make sure that citations do not clutter your slides. Keep them brief and to the point.
• Verify Sources: Always double-check the credibility of your sources before including them in your presentation.
• Practice Ethical Citing: Always give credit where it's due, even for images, videos, and music.

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How to put References or cite Sources in PowerPoint

Put references or cite sources in powerpoint, 1] in-text citation, 2] image citation, 3] create reference list, 4] use online citation generator, komalsrivastava@twc.

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How to Cite a Website, Book, YouTube Video, etc. in PowerPoint

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Citing a source in a report or paper is pretty easy – you just give the source details according to a particular style of citation.

But, when it comes to presentations and speeches, do you know how to correctly cite your sources?

It seems like quite a basic question at first, but when it comes to the practicalities and technicalities, the answers aren’t so easy to come by.

Sure, quotes may be simple enough to introduce, but what about all the other information, data, facts, figures, and images you use? Do you know how to present that information and give proper legal credit without disrupting the flow of your presentation?

No? Then read on!

Important Legal Note:  This is not legal advice. For full details on copyright laws and Fair Use licenses, please check the  US Copyright Office .

Table of Contents

Why citing your sources is important.

Your audience needs to know where the information, visuals, or any other materials you use in your presentation come from.

Very often our presentations and speeches are informed by or based on the work of others and this needs to be acknowledged. Likewise, audio, visual, or video is copyright protected.

Citing sources and creative owners can also help keep you on the right side of copyright law and fair use licenses….more on this below.

Make your work more credible

Citing gives your audience a good impression by proving how well you know your stuff. By attributing work to the rightful owners, you also show integrity.

A well-cited presentation appears well-researched and properly developed; and hence, it’s often better delivered, and better received.

Give the audience access to information

The whole point of a presentation or speech is to share knowledge. By citing your sources, you give your audience the opportunity to learn more about your subject and do their own research if they so wish.

Citations and Copyright

If you use someone else’s copyrighted material in your presentation without citing the creator – or if you cite them incorrectly – you may likely be guilty of copyright infringement.

Copyright infringement is only 100% avoided by getting the copyright owner’s explicit permission.

You can, however, use copyrighted material without permission if you can show that it doesn’t infringe on Fair Use.

To learn more about Fair Use, see this article  here  on the U.S. Copyright Office website.

This can be a rather gray area, as what is considered to be ‘fair use’ can be open to interpretation. Generally speaking, Fair Use takes into consideration the following:

• the purpose and character of the use
• the profit or nonprofit cause
• the nature of the protected work
• how much of the work is used
• how the use affects the value or future demand of the work

For example, if you use a copyrighted photograph just because it looks cool, use it as your background image on a PowerPoint slide, or repeatedly use it so that it becomes associated with your brand, then this is not Fair Use.

If you use the photograph to make a point, illustrate an idea, or for educational purposes, and also give proper accreditation to the copyright owner even if you don’t have permission, then that might be considered Fair Use and would probably be fine.

How to do in-text citations in PowerPoint

In-text citations are citations you see on the screen, and are often in the same format you’d see in a written report.

If your slide refers to a study, for example, you will need to add the copyright details. To do that, simply add the name of the author, the work and the publication in parentheses after the reference.

For example, in parenthesis: (Author, Date).

This is particularly useful when presenting quotes or insightful facts and figures that support your message.

Note: This type of citation sometimes doesn’t leave enough room for all the information you need to provide. In this case, you can add a Sources slide at the very end of your presentation

Adding footnote citations

You can also use footnotes on your PowerPoint slides to give citations.

Next to the text you would like to reference, add the number ‘ 1 ’ for your first citation. Highlight it, and then from the ‘Home’ option, open the Font box and select ‘ Subscript ’ and click on ‘ OK ’.

Then, click on ‘ Insert ,’ select a text box and then draw it onto your slide. Enter the same number as you used in the text, and type your source details. You will likely want to reduce the size of the text.

Note: When I talk about footnotes here, I don’t mean the Header & Footer feature in PowerPoint. You can write your citations inside the Footer placeholder, but keep in mind that the text you type in here will display on every slide that has the Footer enabled.

Verbal citation during a presentation

For some material, you may choose not to give an in-text citation, but rather give credit verbally. Be sure to introduce the source before you present the information and keep it brief so that it doesn’t slow down the flow of your presentation.

Here are some example phrases:

• According to Dr. Richards, professor of Such and Such at This University,…
• John Dean, author of the 2015 study, A Study of Something, argues that…
• Jane Gordons, a journalist writing for the New York Times, offers this example….

Use speaker notes to help you cite verbally

It is a good idea to add the full citation details in the speaker notes so that you make sure you relay the correct details.

Also it ensures that the full citations will be seen should you share your slides with audience or team members after the presentation, or print them.

How to cite a website

If you are wondering how to cite websites, that’s probably because not all websites provide the authors name for you to cite (making it a bit more difficult).

If you can’t find the website authors name you can instead cite the website’s address. And you don’t have to copy and paste the whole URL when citing websites either.

When citing a website, you just need to give enough information so that your audience knows where the information came from and how to get more details if they want to check it out.

Here are the common elements you’ll need to properly cite a website in your presentation:

• Website or author name
• Page name or article title
• Exact URL of website
• Page date of publication

See the cited website example in the picture below.

How to cite a picture or image

There are countless places for pictures that are available for free and public use according to Creative Commons licensing. You can search  Flickr  and  Google Advanced Image Search  by filtering the results by ‘Creative Commons’.

There are also sites providing stock images which are royalty free and can be used without attribution, such as  Pixabay  or  Pexels .

Always check the licensing agreements, as some images may have ‘some rights reserved’ or specific requirements for citations.

The common elements you’ll need when citing a picture are:

• Creator’s name
• Title of the picture
• Date and location of publication
• Publisher or website
• Picture URL

To create the citation in PowerPoint, you can insert a small text box and add the details in a readable way, as you can see in the example below.

To learn how to crop a picture in PowerPoint into different shapes as pictured above,  read our guide here .

How to cite a YouTube video

While YouTube is a free online streaming service, you shouldn’t assume that you can use anyone’s video without properly citing it.

Here are the common elements you’ll need to create a YouTube video citation:

• Creator’s name or screen name
• Video title
• Website name
• Publication date

Whichever citation method you use, should at a minimum credit the creator of the video (real name if possible, but their username will suffice), and the year the video was posted. For example: (Nuts & Bolts Speed Training, 2014).

In the notes for full referencing, you’ll need more details:

Author/Username. (month, day, year). Title of video (Video file). Retrieved from  http://URL.com .

Nuts & Bolts Speed Training. (June 25, 2014). 4 PowerPoint Tricks You Don’t Know (Video File). Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05OW0Ce8rT8 .

How to cite a book

Books are another common reference material you’ll want to properly cite in your presentations.

Here are the common elements you’ll need when citing a book (same-same for a magazine):

• Author name
• Publication date and location
• Publisher name

If you are paraphrasing from a book, include an in-text citation of the author and the year (Brown, 2005) or the author, year and the page number (Brown, 2005, p.13), immediately following the text.

Another option for your citation, is to include them in Speaker Notes so that if you print your notes as handouts, the speaker notes will appear there.

NOTE: For help printing your speaker notes, see our guide on Printing PowerPoint with speaker notes .

How to cite a lecture (talk or speech)

Like for books and quotes, the in-text citation will need the author’s last name and the year the speech or talk was presented, written in parenthesis: (Gordon, 2017).

In your PowerPoint notes, it should be fully cited with the name, year, title of the talk and the format, and where it took place. For example:

Gordon, B. (2017). The Theory Behind Big Business. Presentation, Atlanta.

How to cite a song

When it comes to using a song in your presentation, there are a many variables as to whether it’s an infringement of copyright laws. Unauthorized use of a song can be allowed under the concept of ‘fair use’ as detailed above.

If you are in any doubt, obtain the license or get permission. The process is relatively straightforward and doesn’t always mean a hefty fee. Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking and getting permission or making sure you acknowledge the copyright owner.

You can give acknowledgment on the PowerPoint Slide with in-text citation on the appropriate slide or as a ‘sources slide’ at the end of your presentation:

To get permission, here are three main licensing companies that you can contact for further info: 

• ASCAP ( American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers )
• BMI ( Broadcast Music Incorporated )
• SOCAN ( Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada )

How to cite a presentation

If you want to include a slide or information gained from another PowerPoint presentation that has been published, you can use an in-text citation just as if you were citing a book.

To cite a presentation, simply cite the author’s name and the year the presentation was produced, (Dean, 2007).

In the notes you’ll add the details of “PowerPoint slides”, when it was “Retrieved from” and the URL. It should look something like this:

How to cite a quote

In the same way as you would quote from a book, an in-text citation with the author of the quote is fine.

Some quotes from historical source won’t have a book, page number or publisher to cite. In these cases, the author name (and year if possible) is sufficient.

Note:  Make sure that you thoroughly check the quote’s source if you find the quote online.

There are far too many misquoted and misattributed sayings out there and there’s nothing more embarrassing than citing the wrong person in your presentation.

So that’s how to cite a variety of different sources in your PowerPoint presentations including:

• How to cite books
• How to cite websites
• How to cite YouTube videos
• And a bunch of other sources

While in-text citation may take a little more work, it is better than keeping all of your sources in the conclusion. That’s because the end of your presentation should be punchy, memorable, and leave your audience with a good impression (see our tips for how to end a presentation  here ).

This is particularly true as, your audience isn’t able to flip back to see which citation goes with which image, quote, video, website, etc. Giving them the details at the same time as the material allows them to take note of it there and then.

It’s a small detail but makes a huge difference when it comes to delivering a seamless and informative presentation.

If you enjoyed this ultimate guide to citing sources in PowerPoint, you’ll love our other PowerPoint training course and resources that you can  check out here .

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > How to add citations to your presentation

How to add citations to your presentation

When you craft a formal presentation, you often have to conduct research. Any books, journals, and other forms of media used should be properly cited for your personal reference as well as for your audience. Learn how to create citations in a presentation to appropriately credit different works.

Why should you provide citations?

Information referenced from another source must be clearly cited. Proper citations serve as a roadmap for research, help track ideas, and establish credibility. Citations give credit to the original works and provide transparency for readers and their audience regarding the source.

Readers can access your sources and develop a deeper understanding of your research. They can also explore research from your respective discipline or industry. Additionally, researchers utilize citations to align their work with established experts and bolster the validity of their claims. Without citations, audiences may assume your idea is original, resulting in plagiarism. Acknowledging the intellectual contributions of others with proper citation fosters academic integrity and supports the advancement of ideas amongst scholars and researchers.

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How to source citations in a presentations

To source citations effectively in presentations, consider the following:

• Identify your sources: Begin by identifying all the sources you have used in your research, including books, articles, websites, and any other relevant materials. Note the authors, publication dates, publisher, and other relevant information for citations.
• Include in-text citations: Incorporate in-text citations throughout your presentation slides to indicate when you are referencing external sources. This helps your audience understand the basis of your arguments and provides transparency regarding the origin of the information presented.
• Provide a reference list: At the end of your presentation, include a reference list that provides full bibliographic information for each source cited. This allows your audience to locate the original works for further reading and verification. Ensure your reference list adheres to the citation style used with your citations.
• Use visual aids: Consider using visual aids , such as infographics or posters , to display citations alongside the corresponding content. This helps reinforce the connection between the information presented and its original source.

Alternatively, you can also provide the references verbally throughout the presentation. This allows the audience to follow along with your presentation and directly reference sources as you present. If you are creating a presentation for a class, follow the instructions or preferences of your instructor. By doing so, you can ensure your citations are understood and appropriate for your audience.

Citations are a critical component of an effective presentation. Citations provide a roadmap for your research, credit the appropriate authors, and foster academic integrity. They’re easy to include in a presentation as in-text citations on your slides and as a reference list. Include citations to make sure you presentation credits the appropriate authors and strengthens its validity. For more help with preparing sources, research, and crafting presentations, learn more presentation tips .

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Formatting a Powerpoint Presentation in APA 7th Style

The apa 7th manual and the apa website do not provide any specific rules about using apa format or citation in powerpoint slides. , here are some recommended guidelines:, 1. always follow any specific instructions given by your instructor., 2. you will need in-text citations on a powerpoint slide where you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing someone else's ideas. , 3. you also will include a reference list as your powerpoint's last slide (or slides). , this youtube video from smart student shows you how to create apa7th in-text citations and a reference list: .

• Citing and Referencing in Powerpoint Presentations | APA 7th Edition This video will show you how to create APA 7th in-text citations and a Reference page for your PowerPoint presentation.
• << Previous: Tables and Figures
• Next: Reference Page Examples >>
• Last Updated: Sep 7, 2024 3:49 PM
• URL: https://national.libguides.com/apa_7th

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Answered By: Paul Lai Last Updated: Sep 15, 2023     Views: 1292801

To cite your sources within a PowerPoint presentation, you can include your references or in-text citations on each slide. You can (a) provide the references verbally, (b) provide a reference list slide at the end of your presentation with corresponding in-text citations, or (c) combine these.

For any presentation, be sure your audience knows where the information, visuals, and other materials you use are from. Remember to double-check the assignment requirements and your instructor’s preferences.

Additional Resources:

• See  How do I cite in APA?  for more common reference list examples.
• View more  information on how to create an APA style reference list  that you can use both in your PowerPoint and in your paper.
• Need to cite someone else’s presentation? See  How do I cite a PowerPoint presentation as a reference?

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / How to Cite Sources / How to Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in APA, MLA or Chicago

How to Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in APA, MLA or Chicago

Let’s be honest: Sometimes the best information for a paper comes straight from a professor’s PowerPoint presentation. But did you know that source needs to be cited?

Whether you’re making use of your instructor’s lecture materials or pulling information from a Powerpoint found online, you need to make sure to cite your sources if you use information from it in a project or paper.

Here’s a run -t hrough of everything this page includes:  

• Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in MLA format
• Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in APA format
• Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in Chicago Style

By now, you’re probably familiar with how to cite websites, books or journal articles, but not as knowledgeable about how to cite a Powerpoint presentation. In actuality, citing PowerPoint presentations aren’t all that different from citing written materials, so don’t let yourself be phased! It’s not too hard and compiling an MLA works cited or APA reference page doesn’t take too long—each one should take just a few minutes to create.

To help you with the process, we’ve put together a handy guide demonstrating how to cite a PowerPoint presentation in three commonly used citation styles: MLA, APA and Chicago.

Let’s start by looking for basic information you’ll need for the citation.

Information you may need to cite a PowerPoint Presentation:

• Author or authors of the presentation
• Presentation title
• Date of publication/presentation
• Place of publication/where the presentation was given
• URL (if used to locate the presentation)

Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in MLA format:

MLA format citation structure:

Author Last Name, First Name. Presentation Title. Month Year, URL. PowerPoint Presentation.

Example citation :

Park, Lisa. Effective Working Teams . Jan. 2011, https://www.company.meetings/teams. PowerPoint Presentation.

In-text citation structure:

(Last Name)

Example in-text citation:

Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in APA format:  

APA reference structure:

Author or Presenter Last Name, Middle Initial. First Initial. (Date of publication). Title of presentation [PowerPoint presentation]. Conference Name, Location. URL

Example reference:

Park, L. (2011, March 24-28). Effective working teams [PowerPoint presentation]. Regional Dairy Workers National Conference, New York, NY, United States. https://www.company.meetings/teams

Cite a PowerPoint Presentation in Chicago Style:

Chicago citation structure:

Author Last Name, First Name. “Presentation Title.” Lecture, Location of Lecture, Month Day, Year.

Example citation:

Park, Lisa. “Effective Working Teams.” Lecture, The Plaza Hotel, New York, NY, January 11, 2011.

Troubleshooting

Solution #1: how to cite a powerpoint that has multiple authors..

For a presentation with multiple authors, list the authors alphabetically by last name for the full reference citation. The citation will list each author by Last Name, First Initial.

If the PowerPoint has just two authors, separate them with a comma and an ampersand (&). If the PowerPoint has more than two authors, list the authors separated by commas.

Reference examples:

Felner, D., & Nguy, A. (2021 April 10-12). The history of Claymation [Slideshow]. Animation Now, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Felner, D., Nguy, A., Becham, G. (2021 April 10-12). The history of Claymation [Slideshow]. Animation Now, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

For an in-text citation for two authors, give both surnames separated by an ampersand (&) followed by a comma and the year of publication or presentation.

For an in-text citation for three or more authors, list the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” followed by a comma and the year of publication or presentation.

In-text citation examples:

(Felner & Nguy, 2021)

(Felner et al., 2021)

For a PowerPoint with two presenters or authors, include both names in the full works-cited citation. The names need to be written as follows: First presenter’s Last Name, First Name, and then the second presenter’s First Name and Last Name.

For an in-text citation, simply list the surnames of both presenters.

In-text citation example:

(Nguy and Felner)

Work-cited entry example:

Nguy, Anna and Dominic Felner. The History of Claymation. Apr. 2021. PowerPoint Presentation.

For a PowerPoint with three or more presenters, only list one presenter’s name followed by a comma and “et al.”

For an in-text citation for three or more authors or presenters , list the surname given in the full works-cited citation followed by “et al.”

(Nguy et al.)

Nguy, Anna et al. The History of Claymation. Apr. 2021. PowerPoint Presentation.

Solution #2 How to cite a slideshow that wasn’t made with PowerPoint

If making a full works-cited citation for a slideshow that was made with another program other than PowerPoint, include the medium in brackets instead of PowerPoint.

If the presentation is not in PowerPoint, and you can’t determine what software was used, include the word “slideshow” in brackets in place of PowerPoint.

Nguy, A. (2021 April 10-12). The history of Claymation [Prezi presentation]. Animation Now, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Nguy, A. (2021 April 10-12). The history of Claymation [Slideshow]. Animation Now, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

The in-text citation will be formatted like any other APA in-text citation (author last name, year).

(Nguy, 2021)

At the end of your full works-cited citation, include the program the slideshow was made with, formatted as:  ______ Presentation.

If you are uncertain of the program used, end your citation with “slideshow” followed by a period. Nguy, Anna. The history of Claymation. Apr. 2021. Prezi Presentation. Nguy, Anna. The history of Claymation . Apr. 2021. Slideshow.

The in-text citation will be formatted like any other MLA in-text citation (author last name).

Hello all paper writers! Take a moment to try our spell checker , or refresh your knowledge on English basics with our EasyBib grammar guides ! Discover a determiner definition , learn what is an adverb , review an interjection list , and more.   

Updated April 26, 2021.

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To cite PowerPoint presentation slides, include the author name, year/date of presentation, the title, the source description, the website and/or university name, and the URL where the source can be found.

If the PowerPoint presentation is not accessible to the reader, cite the slides as personal communication.

If you want to cite a PowerPoint in MLA or APA style, you need to have basic information including the name of the author(s), title of the presentation, date and place of publication, and URL. For in-text citations, you need to include only the author name(s) in MLA style and author name(s) and year in APA style.  

APA in-text citations

(Author Surname, publication year)

(Dhanalakshmi, 2004)

MLA in-text citations

(Author Surname)

(Dhanalakshmi)

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How to Cite Images in PowerPoint

Last Updated: October 8, 2024

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Jennifer Mueller is a wikiHow Content Creator. She specializes in reviewing, fact-checking, and evaluating wikiHow's content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. Jennifer holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. This article has been viewed 321,687 times. Learn more...

When you're preparing a presentation using PowerPoint, you need to cite all images used that you didn't create yourself. This includes graphs or tables that you may have copied from a book, website, or other source. Unlike a text citation, an image caption in a slide presentation also includes a copyright or license statement. While this may sound complex, it's usually pretty simple if you know where to look . Beyond that, the format for your caption varies depending on whether you're using Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA) , or Chicago citation style. [1] X Research source

Template and Examples

• Example: Fig. 1.

• Example: Fig. 1. Pedestrians walking by street art graffiti of the word love from:

• Example: Fig. 1. Pedestrians walking by street art graffiti of the word love from: "Pedestrian Street Art Protest," 26 Dec. 2016, pxhere.com/en/photo/10722. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.
• If the image is available online, include a direct URL to the web page where the image can be found, instead of a page number.

• Example: Fig. 1. Pedestrians walking by street art graffiti of the word love from: "Pedestrian Street Art Protest," 26 Dec. 2016, pxhere.com/en/photo/10722. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018. Creative Commons CC0.

MLA Caption Format

Fig. x. Description of image from: Last Name, First Name. "Title of Original Image." Publication , Day Month Year, p. x. Copyright or CC License.

• Example: Figure 1 .

• Example: Figure 1 . Cat watching World of Warcraft on a laptop.

• Example: Figure 1 . Cat watching World of Warcraft on a laptop. Adapted from "World of Warcraft Obsession," by Stacina, 2004, retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/staci/14430768.

• Example: Figure 1 . Cat watching World of Warcraft on a laptop. Adapted from "World of Warcraft Obsession," by Stacina, 2004, retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/staci/14430768. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

APA Caption Format

Figure 1 . Description of image in sentence case. Adapted from "Title of Original Image," by Artist, Year, retrieved from URL.

• Example: Stacina. (2004). World of Warcraft Obsession [photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/staci/14430768.

APA Reference List Citation Format

Artist Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of image in sentence case [Description of format]. Retrieved from URL.

• Example: Figure 1.

• Example: Figure 1. The Banquet of Cleopatra by Giambattista Tiepolo depicts a contest between Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

• Example: Giambattista Tiepolo, The Banquet of Cleopatra , 1743-44, oil on canvas, 250.3 x 357.0 cm, accessed 24 May 2018, http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/col/work/4409.
• For slide presentations, you may use endnotes instead of footnotes, to keep your slides clean. The format remains the same.

Chicago Footnote Format

Artist First Name, Last Name, Title of Image , Year, materials, dimensions, accessed Day Month Year, URL.

Expert Q&A

• All visual elements in your presentation that are not either tables or musical scores are labeled with "Fig." or "Figure" and a number. [5] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ http://writeanswers.royalroads.ca/faq/199200
• ↑ https://www.monash.edu/library/help/citing-and-referencing
• ↑ https://guides.lib.monash.edu/c.php?g=219786&p=1454474
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_tables_figures_and_examples.html

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How to Cite Images in a PowerPoint: APA Style Guide

Citing images in a PowerPoint presentation according to the APA format might seem tricky, but it’s quite straightforward once you know the steps. Essentially, you need to provide enough information for your audience to be able to locate the image themselves, including the creator’s name, the year the image was created, a title or description, and the source URL if applicable.

After you complete the citation action, the image in your PowerPoint will have a proper reference that follows APA guidelines. This enables your audience to track down the image source if they need to, and it ensures you are not infringing on copyright laws.

Introduction

When you’re whipping up a PowerPoint presentation, whether it’s for a class project, a business meeting, or a conference, using images can make your slides more engaging and informative. However, using images comes with the responsibility of proper citation. You can’t just pluck images from the depths of the internet without giving credit to the creators—it wouldn’t be ethical or legal.

Understandably, you might scratch your head thinking about the proper way to cite images according to the American Psychological Association (APA) format. Fear not, it’s not rocket science, and it’s crucial for academic integrity and respecting intellectual property rights. Remember, citing sources is not just a tedious task; it’s a way to lend credibility to your work and avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism.

Citing images according to APA is relevant not only to students but also to professionals and researchers who use visual aids to support their presentations. It’s a skill that, once mastered, will serve you well throughout your academic and professional career. So, let’s dive in and figure out how to get those citations picture-perfect!

The step-by-step tutorial to cite images in a PowerPoint according to the APA

The following steps will lead you through the process of citing images in your PowerPoint presentation according to APA guidelines.

Step 1: Find the necessary information for the citation

Identify the creator’s name, the year the image was created, a title or description, and the URL if the image is from an online source.

When you find an image you want to use, make sure to note down all the required information for the citation. If you’re using an image from a book or a magazine, the same rules apply—note the publication details.

Step 2: Place the citation on the slide with the image

Add a text box on the slide and input the citation information underneath or beside the image.

Make sure your text is readable against the slide background and is in a font and size that is consistent with the rest of your presentation. The citation should be discreet but still legible.

Step 3: Format the citation according to APA style

In the text box, format your citation as follows: (Creator’s Last Name, Year). If there’s a title, include it in italics, followed by the URL if applicable.

The APA style is pretty particular about formatting, so double-check you’ve got the right punctuation and italicization.

Additional Information

Citing images in your PowerPoint presentations is not just about avoiding plagiarism; it’s about building a presentation that is credible and professional. When you include citations, you show that you have done your research and you value the work of others. Additionally, APA citations are not set in stone; they are periodically updated, so make sure you’re using the most current guidelines.

Remember, when in doubt, provide more information rather than less. If you can’t find a date for an image, use “n.d.” for no date. If you can’t find the creator’s name, use “Anon” for anonymous. And if the image title is not available, provide a brief description in square brackets. Lastly, always check your institution’s or publisher’s citation policy, as they may have specific requirements.

• Find the creator’s name, year, title/description, and URL.
• Add a text box for the citation on the slide.
• Format citation in APA style: (Creator’s Last Name, Year).

Frequently Asked Questions

What if i can’t find the image’s creation date.

If the date is not available, use “n.d.” which stands for “no date” in your citation.

Do I need to cite images that are common knowledge or in the public domain?

Yes, you should still cite these images to acknowledge the source, even if they don’t require permission to use.

Can I place the image citations on a separate slide at the end of the presentation?

While it’s more common to place citations directly on the slide with the image, you can include a separate reference slide at the end if you prefer.

How should I cite an image that I created myself?

If you created the image, simply note that it is your own work. You can use the caption “Image created by the author” or something similar.

What if the image is from a print source, not online?

Follow the same steps, but instead of a URL, include the publication information in your citation (e.g., book title, magazine name, page number).

Citing images in a PowerPoint presentation according to the APA guidelines is an essential skill that upholds academic integrity and respects the work of creators. Proper citations not only prevent plagiarism but also support your credibility as a presenter. Remember, whether the images are from the web, a book, or created by you, they deserve to be cited correctly.

By taking the time to include accurate citations, you enhance the quality and professionalism of your presentation. As we continue to rely on visual aids to communicate complex ideas, let’s give credit where credit is due and cite images diligently.

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.

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How to Cite a Website in a PowerPoint Presentation Apa

Giving credit to sources used in a PowerPoint presentation is essential to provide proof of the information presented. It also gives credit to the original source and makes it easy for the audience to investigate and learn more. Proper citation of sources used in PowerPoint presentations is crucial, and APA citation style is one of the most commonly used citation styles. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about how to cite a website in a PowerPoint presentation APA.

Table of Contents

Why citing sources is important in PowerPoint presentations

Citing sources in a PowerPoint presentation is critical because it helps to establish credibility and provides the audience with accurate and verifiable information. It also enables the audience to research further and ensures the original source of information receives proper credit. Additionally, failure to cite sources appropriately may lead to plagiarism, which can have serious consequences.

Another reason why citing sources is important in PowerPoint presentations is that it shows respect for the work of others. By acknowledging the sources of information used in the presentation, you are demonstrating that you have done your research and are not simply presenting someone else’s work as your own. This can help to build trust with your audience and establish you as a knowledgeable and trustworthy presenter.

Furthermore, citing sources in a PowerPoint presentation can also help to avoid legal issues. Using someone else’s work without permission or proper attribution can result in copyright infringement, which can lead to legal action. By citing sources appropriately, you can avoid these legal issues and ensure that you are using information in a responsible and ethical manner.

Understanding APA citation style

APA citation style is a set of rules developed by the American Psychological Association to standardize the citation of sources in academic writing, including PowerPoint presentations. It includes guidelines for formatting citations and references and covers various types of sources, such as books, journals, websites, and others.

One of the key features of APA citation style is the use of in-text citations, which are brief references to sources within the body of the text. These citations typically include the author’s last name and the year of publication, and they help readers locate the full reference in the list of references at the end of the document. In addition to in-text citations, APA style also requires a reference list at the end of the document, which provides detailed information about each source cited in the text. By following these guidelines, writers can ensure that their sources are properly credited and their work is more easily understood and verified by others.

What information do you need to cite a website in APA format?

The following information is necessary when citing a website in APA format:

• Author’s last name and first initial(s)
• Year the website was published or updated
• Title of the webpage
• Website name
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

It is important to note that if the website does not have a publication or update date, you should include the date you accessed the website. Additionally, if the website is an online version of a print publication, you should include the publication information for the print version as well.

Steps to follow when citing a website in a PowerPoint presentation Apa

Here are the steps to follow when citing a website in a PowerPoint presentation APA:

• Start with the author’s last name and first initial(s).
• Follow the author’s name with the year the website was published or updated in parenthesis.
• After the date, add the title of the webpage, followed by a period.
• Add the name of the website in italics, followed by a period.
• Finally, add the URL of the website.

It is important to note that when citing a website in a PowerPoint presentation, you should also include the date you accessed the website. This is because websites can be updated or removed, and including the date of access helps ensure that your audience can find the information you are citing. You can add the date of access at the end of the citation, after the URL, in the format of “Retrieved Month Day, Year, from [URL]”.

Tips for formatting your citation correctly

To format your citation correctly, ensure that you do the following:

• Use proper capitalization in the title and name of the website.
• Italicize the name of the website.
• Use a hanging indent for the second and subsequent lines of your citation.

Additionally, it is important to include the date of access for online sources, as the content may change over time. This information should be included at the end of your citation, following the format of “Accessed [Month Day, Year].”

How to avoid plagiarism when creating a PowerPoint presentation

To avoid plagiarism in PowerPoint presentations, always cite your sources properly. Additionally, try to paraphrase information rather than copying it verbatim. Another crucial tip is to ensure you include all sources used in creating the presentation in your reference list.

It is also important to note that images and graphics used in your PowerPoint presentation should also be properly cited. If you are using an image or graphic that you did not create, make sure to give credit to the original source. This can be done by including a caption or citation directly on the image or in the notes section of the slide. By properly citing all sources, including images and graphics, you can ensure that your presentation is not only plagiarism-free but also ethically sound.

Examples of how to cite different types of websites in Apa format

Here are examples of how to cite different types of websites in APA format:

• Online Journal Article: Author, A.A. (Year). Title of paper. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page number(s). URL
• Website: Author, A.A. (Year). Title of webpage. Name of Website. Retrieved from URL
• Blog post: Author, A.A. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Blog post]. Retrieved from URL

It is important to note that when citing websites in APA format, it is necessary to include the date of access. This is because websites can be updated or removed, and including the date of access ensures that the reader can locate the information you used. The date of access should be formatted as follows: (Accessed Month Day, Year).

Common mistakes to avoid when citing sources in PowerPoint presentations

Some of the common mistakes to avoid when citing sources in PowerPoint presentations include failing to cite your sources properly, failing to include all sources used in your reference list, and copying information from a source without proper attribution.

Another common mistake to avoid when citing sources in PowerPoint presentations is using too many direct quotes. While direct quotes can be useful in emphasizing a point, they should be used sparingly. Instead, try to paraphrase the information in your own words and cite the source appropriately. Additionally, it is important to ensure that the sources you are citing are credible and reliable. Avoid using sources that are biased or lack authority in the subject matter.

Best practices for citing sources in PowerPoint presentations

Here are some best practices for citing sources in PowerPoint presentations:

• Cite all sources used in creating your presentation.
• Ensure your citations and references are formatted correctly according to APA style guidelines.
• Make sure your reference list is complete and includes all sources used in creating your presentation.
• Paraphrase information rather than copying it verbatim.
• Ensure your citations are visible and easy to read in your presentation.

It is also important to consider the credibility of your sources when citing them in your PowerPoint presentation. Make sure to use reputable sources, such as peer-reviewed articles or books from established publishers. Additionally, consider the date of publication and relevance of the source to your presentation topic. Using outdated or irrelevant sources can weaken the credibility of your presentation.

Tools and resources for generating citations and references in Apa format

Several tools and resources are available to help generate citations and references in APA format. These include:

• Citation generators such as Citation Machine, EasyBib, and Cite This For Me.
• The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).
• APA Style Central.

While citation generators can be a helpful tool, it is important to double-check the accuracy of the generated citations. Sometimes, the generator may not correctly identify the source type or may miss important information. It is always a good idea to consult the APA manual or the Purdue OWL for guidance.

In addition to these resources, many universities and libraries offer workshops or online tutorials on APA formatting. These can be a great way to learn more about the intricacies of APA style and ensure that your citations and references are accurate and complete.

Frequently asked questions about citing websites in Apa format for PowerPoint presentations

• Can I use footnotes to cite sources in PowerPoint presentations? It is not recommended to use footnotes in PowerPoint presentations as they can be distracting and take up valuable space on your slides.
• What if the website does not have an author listed? If the website does not have an author listed, use the organization’s name as the author in your citation.
• How do I cite a webpage with no date listed? If the website does not have a date listed, use the abbreviation n.d. (no date) in your citation.
• Where do I include my citations on my PowerPoint slides? It is recommended to include your citations on your slides in the speaker notes section or at the bottom of the slide.

In conclusion, properly citing sources in a PowerPoint presentation is crucial to establish credibility and give credit where it’s due. APA citation style is one of the most commonly used citation styles, and knowing how to cite a website in APA format is essential for any presentation. Follow the steps outlined in this article, and always use proper formatting to avoid plagiarism and ensure your presentation is of the highest quality.

Another important aspect to consider when citing websites in APA format for PowerPoint presentations is the use of in-text citations. In-text citations are used to give credit to sources within the body of your presentation. When citing a website in APA format, include the author’s last name and the year of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence where the information was used.

It is also important to note that when citing a website in APA format, you should include the full URL of the webpage in your citation. This allows your audience to easily access the source and verify the information you have presented. Additionally, be sure to double-check your citations for accuracy and consistency throughout your presentation.

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How to Cite a PowerPoint in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on November 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 27, 2023.

To reference a PowerPoint presentation in APA Style , include the name of the author (whoever presented the PowerPoint), the date it was presented, the title (italicized), “PowerPoint slides” in square brackets, the name of the department and university, and the URL where the PowerPoint can be found.

You can also use our free  APA Citation Generator to cite a PowerPoint presentation quickly and easily.

Table of contents

Citing a powerpoint your readers can access, citing a powerpoint your readers can’t access, citing information quoted in a powerpoint, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

PowerPoint presentations should only be included in the reference list if your reader can access them for themselves.

PowerPoints on password-protected platforms

A login is often required to access a file on your university’s LMS (e.g. Blackboard, Canvas). In these cases, the URL included should be the login page rather than the specific location of the PowerPoint.

PowerPoints on public sites

With slides that are available on a public site, rather than from your university, replace the department and university name with the name of the website.

The same format can be used for other kinds of slides or lecture notes. Just replace “PowerPoint slides” with an appropriate description.

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The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

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• Missing reference entries

If your readers won’t be able to access the PowerPoint you want to cite, it should instead be cited as a personal communication .

This often depends on who will be reading your paper. For example:

• If you’re writing a paper for class, and you want to cite a PowerPoint that’s available on your university’s Blackboard site, you can use the standard format, because your teacher can access the slides.
• If you want to cite the same PowerPoint in a paper you’re submitting to a journal, you’ll have to cite it as a personal communication, because the journal’s readers can’t access it.

Personal communications are not included in the reference list; just mention them in parentheses in the text.

If a lecturer included an interesting quote or statistic in their slides that you want to cite, it’s best to find the original source rather than citing the PowerPoint itself.

This allows both you and the reader to see the information in context. Only cite second-hand information from a PowerPoint if you’re unable to access the original source.

The source of the information will generally be listed in the PowerPoint itself or on a handout. With this, you can locate the original source online or at your university’s library. If the source isn’t stated in the presentation, try asking the lecturer for more information.

When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g., a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website—use the organization’s name as the author in the reference entry and APA in-text citations .

When no author at all can be determined—e.g. a collaboratively edited wiki or an online article published anonymously—use the title in place of the author. In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks if it appears in plain text in the reference list, and in italics if it appears in italics in the reference list. Shorten it if necessary.

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your APA in-text citation . If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website ) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:

(Caulfield, 2019, Linking section, para. 1).

Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations , as they are unreliable.

If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.

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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. (2023, December 27). How to Cite a PowerPoint in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/powerpoint-slides/

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• v.17(12); 2021 Dec

Ten simple rules for effective presentation slides

Kristen m. naegle.

Biomedical Engineering and the Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America

Introduction

The “presentation slide” is the building block of all academic presentations, whether they are journal clubs, thesis committee meetings, short conference talks, or hour-long seminars. A slide is a single page projected on a screen, usually built on the premise of a title, body, and figures or tables and includes both what is shown and what is spoken about that slide. Multiple slides are strung together to tell the larger story of the presentation. While there have been excellent 10 simple rules on giving entire presentations [ 1 , 2 ], there was an absence in the fine details of how to design a slide for optimal effect—such as the design elements that allow slides to convey meaningful information, to keep the audience engaged and informed, and to deliver the information intended and in the time frame allowed. As all research presentations seek to teach, effective slide design borrows from the same principles as effective teaching, including the consideration of cognitive processing your audience is relying on to organize, process, and retain information. This is written for anyone who needs to prepare slides from any length scale and for most purposes of conveying research to broad audiences. The rules are broken into 3 primary areas. Rules 1 to 5 are about optimizing the scope of each slide. Rules 6 to 8 are about principles around designing elements of the slide. Rules 9 to 10 are about preparing for your presentation, with the slides as the central focus of that preparation.

Rule 1: Include only one idea per slide

Each slide should have one central objective to deliver—the main idea or question [ 3 – 5 ]. Often, this means breaking complex ideas down into manageable pieces (see Fig 1 , where “background” information has been split into 2 key concepts). In another example, if you are presenting a complex computational approach in a large flow diagram, introduce it in smaller units, building it up until you finish with the entire diagram. The progressive buildup of complex information means that audiences are prepared to understand the whole picture, once you have dedicated time to each of the parts. You can accomplish the buildup of components in several ways—for example, using presentation software to cover/uncover information. Personally, I choose to create separate slides for each piece of information content I introduce—where the final slide has the entire diagram, and I use cropping or a cover on duplicated slides that come before to hide what I’m not yet ready to include. I use this method in order to ensure that each slide in my deck truly presents one specific idea (the new content) and the amount of the new information on that slide can be described in 1 minute (Rule 2), but it comes with the trade-off—a change to the format of one of the slides in the series often means changes to all slides.

Top left: A background slide that describes the background material on a project from my lab. The slide was created using a PowerPoint Design Template, which had to be modified to increase default text sizes for this figure (i.e., the default text sizes are even worse than shown here). Bottom row: The 2 new slides that break up the content into 2 explicit ideas about the background, using a central graphic. In the first slide, the graphic is an explicit example of the SH2 domain of PI3-kinase interacting with a phosphorylation site (Y754) on the PDGFR to describe the important details of what an SH2 domain and phosphotyrosine ligand are and how they interact. I use that same graphic in the second slide to generalize all binding events and include redundant text to drive home the central message (a lot of possible interactions might occur in the human proteome, more than we can currently measure). Top right highlights which rules were used to move from the original slide to the new slide. Specific changes as highlighted by Rule 7 include increasing contrast by changing the background color, increasing font size, changing to sans serif fonts, and removing all capital text and underlining (using bold to draw attention). PDGFR, platelet-derived growth factor receptor.

Rule 2: Spend only 1 minute per slide

When you present your slide in the talk, it should take 1 minute or less to discuss. This rule is really helpful for planning purposes—a 20-minute presentation should have somewhere around 20 slides. Also, frequently giving your audience new information to feast on helps keep them engaged. During practice, if you find yourself spending more than a minute on a slide, there’s too much for that one slide—it’s time to break up the content into multiple slides or even remove information that is not wholly central to the story you are trying to tell. Reduce, reduce, reduce, until you get to a single message, clearly described, which takes less than 1 minute to present.

Rule 3: Make use of your heading

When each slide conveys only one message, use the heading of that slide to write exactly the message you are trying to deliver. Instead of titling the slide “Results,” try “CTNND1 is central to metastasis” or “False-positive rates are highly sample specific.” Use this landmark signpost to ensure that all the content on that slide is related exactly to the heading and only the heading. Think of the slide heading as the introductory or concluding sentence of a paragraph and the slide content the rest of the paragraph that supports the main point of the paragraph. An audience member should be able to follow along with you in the “paragraph” and come to the same conclusion sentence as your header at the end of the slide.

Rule 4: Include only essential points

While you are speaking, audience members’ eyes and minds will be wandering over your slide. If you have a comment, detail, or figure on a slide, have a plan to explicitly identify and talk about it. If you don’t think it’s important enough to spend time on, then don’t have it on your slide. This is especially important when faculty are present. I often tell students that thesis committee members are like cats: If you put a shiny bauble in front of them, they’ll go after it. Be sure to only put the shiny baubles on slides that you want them to focus on. Putting together a thesis meeting for only faculty is really an exercise in herding cats (if you have cats, you know this is no easy feat). Clear and concise slide design will go a long way in helping you corral those easily distracted faculty members.

Rule 5: Give credit, where credit is due

An exception to Rule 4 is to include proper citations or references to work on your slide. When adding citations, names of other researchers, or other types of credit, use a consistent style and method for adding this information to your slides. Your audience will then be able to easily partition this information from the other content. A common mistake people make is to think “I’ll add that reference later,” but I highly recommend you put the proper reference on the slide at the time you make it, before you forget where it came from. Finally, in certain kinds of presentations, credits can make it clear who did the work. For the faculty members heading labs, it is an effective way to connect your audience with the personnel in the lab who did the work, which is a great career booster for that person. For graduate students, it is an effective way to delineate your contribution to the work, especially in meetings where the goal is to establish your credentials for meeting the rigors of a PhD checkpoint.

Rule 6: Use graphics effectively

As a rule, you should almost never have slides that only contain text. Build your slides around good visualizations. It is a visual presentation after all, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. However, on the flip side, don’t muddy the point of the slide by putting too many complex graphics on a single slide. A multipanel figure that you might include in a manuscript should often be broken into 1 panel per slide (see Rule 1 ). One way to ensure that you use the graphics effectively is to make a point to introduce the figure and its elements to the audience verbally, especially for data figures. For example, you might say the following: “This graph here shows the measured false-positive rate for an experiment and each point is a replicate of the experiment, the graph demonstrates …” If you have put too much on one slide to present in 1 minute (see Rule 2 ), then the complexity or number of the visualizations is too much for just one slide.

Rule 7: Design to avoid cognitive overload

The type of slide elements, the number of them, and how you present them all impact the ability for the audience to intake, organize, and remember the content. For example, a frequent mistake in slide design is to include full sentences, but reading and verbal processing use the same cognitive channels—therefore, an audience member can either read the slide, listen to you, or do some part of both (each poorly), as a result of cognitive overload [ 4 ]. The visual channel is separate, allowing images/videos to be processed with auditory information without cognitive overload [ 6 ] (Rule 6). As presentations are an exercise in listening, and not reading, do what you can to optimize the ability of the audience to listen. Use words sparingly as “guide posts” to you and the audience about major points of the slide. In fact, you can add short text fragments, redundant with the verbal component of the presentation, which has been shown to improve retention [ 7 ] (see Fig 1 for an example of redundant text that avoids cognitive overload). Be careful in the selection of a slide template to minimize accidentally adding elements that the audience must process, but are unimportant. David JP Phillips argues (and effectively demonstrates in his TEDx talk [ 5 ]) that the human brain can easily interpret 6 elements and more than that requires a 500% increase in human cognition load—so keep the total number of elements on the slide to 6 or less. Finally, in addition to the use of short text, white space, and the effective use of graphics/images, you can improve ease of cognitive processing further by considering color choices and font type and size. Here are a few suggestions for improving the experience for your audience, highlighting the importance of these elements for some specific groups:

• Use high contrast colors and simple backgrounds with low to no color—for persons with dyslexia or visual impairment.
• Use sans serif fonts and large font sizes (including figure legends), avoid italics, underlining (use bold font instead for emphasis), and all capital letters—for persons with dyslexia or visual impairment [ 8 ].
• Use color combinations and palettes that can be understood by those with different forms of color blindness [ 9 ]. There are excellent tools available to identify colors to use and ways to simulate your presentation or figures as they might be seen by a person with color blindness (easily found by a web search).
• In this increasing world of virtual presentation tools, consider practicing your talk with a closed captioning system capture your words. Use this to identify how to improve your speaking pace, volume, and annunciation to improve understanding by all members of your audience, but especially those with a hearing impairment.

Rule 8: Design the slide so that a distracted person gets the main takeaway

It is very difficult to stay focused on a presentation, especially if it is long or if it is part of a longer series of talks at a conference. Audience members may get distracted by an important email, or they may start dreaming of lunch. So, it’s important to look at your slide and ask “If they heard nothing I said, will they understand the key concept of this slide?” The other rules are set up to help with this, including clarity of the single point of the slide (Rule 1), titling it with a major conclusion (Rule 3), and the use of figures (Rule 6) and short text redundant to your verbal description (Rule 7). However, with each slide, step back and ask whether its main conclusion is conveyed, even if someone didn’t hear your accompanying dialog. Importantly, ask if the information on the slide is at the right level of abstraction. For example, do you have too many details about the experiment, which hides the conclusion of the experiment (i.e., breaking Rule 1)? If you are worried about not having enough details, keep a slide at the end of your slide deck (after your conclusions and acknowledgments) with the more detailed information that you can refer to during a question and answer period.

Rule 9: Iteratively improve slide design through practice

Well-designed slides that follow the first 8 rules are intended to help you deliver the message you intend and in the amount of time you intend to deliver it in. The best way to ensure that you nailed slide design for your presentation is to practice, typically a lot. The most important aspects of practicing a new presentation, with an eye toward slide design, are the following 2 key points: (1) practice to ensure that you hit, each time through, the most important points (for example, the text guide posts you left yourself and the title of the slide); and (2) practice to ensure that as you conclude the end of one slide, it leads directly to the next slide. Slide transitions, what you say as you end one slide and begin the next, are important to keeping the flow of the “story.” Practice is when I discover that the order of my presentation is poor or that I left myself too few guideposts to remember what was coming next. Additionally, during practice, the most frequent things I have to improve relate to Rule 2 (the slide takes too long to present, usually because I broke Rule 1, and I’m delivering too much information for one slide), Rule 4 (I have a nonessential detail on the slide), and Rule 5 (I forgot to give a key reference). The very best type of practice is in front of an audience (for example, your lab or peers), where, with fresh perspectives, they can help you identify places for improving slide content, design, and connections across the entirety of your talk.

Rule 10: Design to mitigate the impact of technical disasters

The real presentation almost never goes as we planned in our heads or during our practice. Maybe the speaker before you went over time and now you need to adjust. Maybe the computer the organizer is having you use won’t show your video. Maybe your internet is poor on the day you are giving a virtual presentation at a conference. Technical problems are routinely part of the practice of sharing your work through presentations. Hence, you can design your slides to limit the impact certain kinds of technical disasters create and also prepare alternate approaches. Here are just a few examples of the preparation you can do that will take you a long way toward avoiding a complete fiasco:

• Save your presentation as a PDF—if the version of Keynote or PowerPoint on a host computer cause issues, you still have a functional copy that has a higher guarantee of compatibility.
• In using videos, create a backup slide with screen shots of key results. For example, if I have a video of cell migration, I’ll be sure to have a copy of the start and end of the video, in case the video doesn’t play. Even if the video worked, you can pause on this backup slide and take the time to highlight the key results in words if someone could not see or understand the video.
• Avoid animations, such as figures or text that flash/fly-in/etc. Surveys suggest that no one likes movement in presentations [ 3 , 4 ]. There is likely a cognitive underpinning to the almost universal distaste of pointless animations that relates to the idea proposed by Kosslyn and colleagues that animations are salient perceptual units that captures direct attention [ 4 ]. Although perceptual salience can be used to draw attention to and improve retention of specific points, if you use this approach for unnecessary/unimportant things (like animation of your bullet point text, fly-ins of figures, etc.), then you will distract your audience from the important content. Finally, animations cause additional processing burdens for people with visual impairments [ 10 ] and create opportunities for technical disasters if the software on the host system is not compatible with your planned animation.

Conclusions

These rules are just a start in creating more engaging presentations that increase audience retention of your material. However, there are wonderful resources on continuing on the journey of becoming an amazing public speaker, which includes understanding the psychology and neuroscience behind human perception and learning. For example, as highlighted in Rule 7, David JP Phillips has a wonderful TEDx talk on the subject [ 5 ], and “PowerPoint presentation flaws and failures: A psychological analysis,” by Kosslyn and colleagues is deeply detailed about a number of aspects of human cognition and presentation style [ 4 ]. There are many books on the topic, including the popular “Presentation Zen” by Garr Reynolds [ 11 ]. Finally, although briefly touched on here, the visualization of data is an entire topic of its own that is worth perfecting for both written and oral presentations of work, with fantastic resources like Edward Tufte’s “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” [ 12 ] or the article “Visualization of Biomedical Data” by O’Donoghue and colleagues [ 13 ].

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the countless presenters, colleagues, students, and mentors from which I have learned a great deal from on effective presentations. Also, a thank you to the wonderful resources published by organizations on how to increase inclusivity. A special thanks to Dr. Jason Papin and Dr. Michael Guertin on early feedback of this editorial.

Funding Statement

The author received no specific funding for this work.

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How to Cite Pictures in PowerPoint

Make sure creators get their due credit

What to Know

• macOS: Select Insert > Text Box > click and drag beneath image to create box, double-click inside box, enter text .
• Windows: Select Insert > Text Box > create box beneath image, double-click inside box, enter text .

This article explains how to properly cite pictures and graphic images taken or created by someone in PowerPoint. Instructions apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, PowerPoint for Mac, PowerPoint 365, and PowerPoint Online.

How to Cite Images in PowerPoint for macOS

To get started, navigate to the slide containing the image or images that need to be credited.

Failing to properly cite photos or other original images is not only unprofessional, but can also be a violation of copyright and trademark laws in some instances.

Select Insert , located towards the top of the PowerPoint interface.

Select Text Box .

Your mouse cursor should now be modified to contain the letter A inside of a black box. Click and drag directly under the image in question to draw a text box, which will contain your citation text. 

Don’t be too concerned with the specific dimensions of your text box at this point, as it can be easily resized after you’ve entered your citation details.

Double-click your new text box so a blinking cursor is displayed inside of it, signaling that you can begin typing.

To start, enter Figure 1.

If this example, we’ve typed Figure 1. since it’s our first citation in the document. For citing subsequent images, simply increase the number by one each time.

Highlight the text you just typed, then select Home , located in the upper left-hand corner of the PowerPoint window. 

Select Italic , located in the Font section of the PowerPoint ribbon, so your text is now formatted in italics.

Next, type a valid description of your image. 

To meet APA standards, your description should be typed in the form of a sentence.

Enter the following text after your description: Adapted from “,” . In most cases you should be able to obtain the image’s title from its source. If not, it can be replaced with the image’s subject and type of work.

For more details on AP Style, refer to the APA Style’s official website . 

Following the title, type " by , year the image was created, retrieved from ."

If your image was not obtained from the internet or you can't link to a direct web address, replace the URL value with an accurate source (i.e., Getty Images). 

If you’ve been granted permission to use the image in question, you may also want to include licensing or copyright information at the end of your citation. 

How to Cite Images in PowerPoint for Windows

You can also add citations to your slides in the web-based version of PowerPoint, which runs in any major web browser. The instructions are identical to the Windows version.

Go to the slide containing the pictures or images that need to be credited.

Select Text Box , located in the PowerPoint toolbar ribbon.

The appearance of your mouse cursor should now be modified. Select and drag directly under the image in question to draw a text box, which will contain your citation text. 

Your text box can be resized after you’ve entered your citation details.

Double-click your new text box so a blinking cursor is displayed inside of it, signaling you can begin typing.

For citing subsequent images, simply increase the number by one each time.

Highlight the text you just entered.

In Format , in the Font section, select Italic .

If your image was not obtained from the internet or you cannot link to a direct web address, replace the URL value with an accurate source (i.e., Getty Images). 

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How to cite pictures in powerpoint.

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How to cite pictures and images in powerpoint, grouping citation text and images together in powerpoint.

Billions of images are on the internet---but not all of them are free to use. When you add licensed photos to PowerPoint documents, you'll probably need to cite where it's from and who made it. Here's how.

Before we begin, it's important to remember that how you cite pictures may vary. Formal citation is required in an academic setting, where formal styles like APA are used for documents. Alternatively, copyright licensing may require you to cite images in a different way, depending on the license used.

The process for citing pictures and images in PowerPoint is actually quite simple. Unlike citations in Microsoft Word or other Office software, PowerPoint isn't really designed with referencing in mind. That doesn't mean you shouldn't cite pictures in PowerPoint---it may still be a requirement for academic and licensing reasons.

To cite an image or photo in PowerPoint, you'll need to first open a PowerPoint presentation and  insert a picture or image.

Related: How to Insert a Picture or Other Object in Microsoft Office

To add a citation to the image, you'll need to add a text box. To do this, click Insert > Text Box on the ribbon bar.

Next, draw your text box using your mouse or trackpad---place this under your image or in a suitable position close by to it.

Once the text box is created, you can add the citation.

Refer to the relevant image licensing guide or academic style guide on how to do this. For academic referencing, you can use the Cite This For Me service to create a citation which you can copy into your text box.

Once your citation is in place, you can then format the text using the formatting options in the ribbon bar under the "Home" tab.

It's probably a good idea, once your citation is in place, to anchor it to your image  using the PowerPoint grouping feature.

Related: How to Anchor Pictures to Text in PowerPoint

To do this, select both your citation text box and image using your mouse and then right-click. In the options menu that appears, select Group > Group to bind the image and text box together.

By grouping your citation text box and image together, any changes you make to your image (for instance, resizing or moving it) will now be applied to both simultaneously.

To ungroup them later, simply repeat the steps above by right-clicking your image or text box and then clicking Group > Ungroup instead.

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Locating and Using Images for Presentations and Coursework

• How to Cite Images
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Copyright, Public Domain, and Fair Use

• Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States from Cornell University Library
• Copyright Overview from Purdue University
• Fair Use Chart from the Visual Communication Guy
• ALA Fair Use Evaluator
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Attribution

Attribution : the act of attributing something, giving credit (as of literature or art) to a particular author or artist. When you have given proper attribution, it means you have given the information necessary for people to know who the creator of the work is.

The majority of images you find are under copyright and cannot be used without permission from the creator. There are exceptions with Fair Use, but this Libguide is intended to help you locate images you can use with attribution.

***Please read about public domain . These images aren't under copyright, but it's still good practice to include attribution if the information is available.

Citation General Guidelines

Include as much of the information below when citing images in a paper and formal presentations. Apply the appropriate citation style (see below for APA, MLA examples).

• Image creator's name (artist, photographer, etc.)
• Title of the image
• Date the image (or work represented by the image) was created
• Date the image was posted online
• Date of access (the date you accessed the online image)
• Institution (gallery, museum) where the image is located/owned (if applicable)
• Website and/or Database name

Citing Images in MLA, APA, Chicago, and IEEE

• Directions for citing in MLA, APA, and Chicago MLA: Citing images in-text, incorporating images into the text of your paper, works cited APA 6th ed.: Citing images in-text and reference list Chicago 17th ed.: Citing images footnotes and endnotes and bibliography from Simon Fraser University
• How to Cite Images Using IEEE from the SAIT Reg Erhardt Library
• Image, Photograph, or Related Artwork (IEEE) from the Rochester Institute of Technology Library

Citing Images in Your PPT

Currently, citing images in PPT is a bit of the Wild West. If details aren't provided by an instructor, there are a number of ways to cite. What's most important is that if the image is not a free stock image, you give credit to the author for the work. Here are some options:

1. Some sites, such as Creative Commons and Wikimedia, include the citation information with the image. Use that citation when available. Copy the citation and add under the image. For example, an image of a lake from Creative Commons has this citation next to it:  "lake"  by  barnyz  is licensed under  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 .

2. Include a marker, such as Image 1. or Figure 1., and in the reference section, include full citation information with the corresponding number

3. Include a complete citation (whatever the required format, such as APA) below the image

4. Below the image, include the link to the online image location

5. Hyperlink the title of the image with the online image location

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What is the proper method to give credits in lecture material

To prepare the lecture material. I use the book, my own slides, but I also take a few slides from MIT or other top universities open courses. What is the best way to give credit? I must provide source information on each slide? Or Is it better to enlist all the resources/citations in the first/final slide?

• lecture-notes

• Do as you'd expect your students to do; set an example. –  user2768 Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 8:49
• I downvoted this answer because it does not provide an explanation that helps the OP and other readers understand why this is a useful answer. –  Bryan Krause ♦ Commented Apr 3, 2020 at 18:57
• @BryanKrause Isn't it obvious? Setting an example is a known concept. Elaborating would surely be condescending. –  user2768 Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 10:01
• 2 Clearly is it not obvious, as someone felt the need to person asked the question. This answer does not provide concrete guidance to the OP. –  eykanal Commented Apr 5, 2020 at 2:36
• @eykanal I never suggested my answer nor the question was obvious (indeed, someone felt the need to...ask ). The motivation behind my answer seems obvious. Others seemingly like my answer, since it was the top-voted answer (but has now been removed by administrators), so I presume some were happy with it. –  user2768 Commented Apr 6, 2020 at 7:39

2 Answers 2

Do you include the slides verbatim (e.g., by copying a pdf or image into your slides), or do you just base your slides on those other slides in the same way in which you might base them on a textbook?

In the first case, I think that a note on that slide (on the first slide, if you copy several slides in a row) is mandatory – probably not only a reference, but a copyright notice.

In the second case, I'd include the reference in a bibliography section, like for other journal papers or textbooks that you base your slides on. If I can avoid it, I prefer not to clutter every slide with details that are irrelevant for understanding the content.

• I am doing the second case –  Mohaqiq Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 4:35
• @MBK Then it's one reference out of many, so treat it the same way as, say, a textbook. –  Uwe Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 12:42

What is the best way to give credit?

Apply the same rules you'd use for slides presented at an academic event. Personally, I'd include source information in a footnote on each slide.

• I ask them to cite at the end. The reason I like to put at the end because I want a clear screen to write on the slides during the online lecture. But I feel putting on each slide is is more appropriate. –  Mohaqiq Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 8:54
• Did you mean to post two answers? –  Azor Ahai -him- Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 14:37
• @AzorAhai Yes, they're distinct –  user2768 Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 15:51
• 1 It is strange to give two different answers. Either they two pieces of advice are compatible, or they are incompatible. If compatible, they could be combined into one answer which explains both pieces of advice. If incompatible, that raises doubt about both answers as it is unclear whether you hold the opinion that that answer is the correct one. –  Caleb Stanford Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 16:59
• 1 @user2768 This appears to have been covered on meta before here and the answer is that having a single answer is preferred instead of two answers. I asked on meta here (but then noticed the other question and closed as duplicate) –  Caleb Stanford Commented Apr 3, 2020 at 17:03

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