Speech Citation Generator
Cite a speech, an address or a keynote you heard live, watched as a recording or read as a transcript. Enter the speaker, the title, the date, the event and the link, and get the reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles. Free, no sign-up.
How to Use the Speech Citation Generator
- 1. Decide what you used. A recording, a transcript or the live event. The citation should point to the one you used, because a reader can retrieve the first two and not the third.
- 2. Enter the speaker and the title. Put the speaker in Author(s). Use the speech's title; if it is untitled, give a short description.
- 3. Add the date and the place. Type the date as year-month-day. Put the event and the venue in Publisher / Site, or in Format / medium for the style that wants them in brackets.
- 4. Set the descriptor and the link. Type Speech audio recording or Speech transcript in Format / medium for APA. Paste the URL of the recording or transcript.
- 5. Pick a style and copy. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles.
Recording, Transcript or Live?
APA prefers a recording, then a transcript, then the live event; the others expect you to say where the text came from. A speech reprinted in a book is cited as a part of that book, not as the speech itself.
| What you used | APA 7 descriptor | MLA 9 approach |
|---|---|---|
| An audio or video recording | [Speech audio recording] | Speaker, title, site, date, URL |
| A transcript on a website | [Speech transcript] | Speaker, title, site, date, URL |
| A speech reprinted in a book | Cite the book chapter | Speaker, title, book, editor, publisher, year |
| A speech you heard live | [Speech] with the event and place | Speaker, title, event, venue, date |
APA 7 gives the speaker, the full date, the title in italics, the descriptor and the site or archive that holds it, then the URL. MLA 9 cites an online speech as the speaker, the title in quotation marks, the site in italics, the date and the URL. If the site shows no posting date, MLA puts the speech's own date in an optional middle element, as in its Eisenhower example. Chicago 18 follows its pattern for a talk: the title, the type of event, the venue and place, the date, the medium, and the URL.
Speech Citation Examples
Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream,” delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. The APA entry follows the pattern APA library guides use for a speech audio recording. The MLA and Chicago lines apply the manuals' patterns.
A recorded speech
APA 7:
King, M. L., Jr. (1963, August 28). I have a dream [Speech audio recording]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
APA in-text:
(King, 1963)
MLA 9:
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have a Dream.” 28 Aug. 1963. American Rhetoric, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.
MLA in-text:
(King)
Chicago 18 note:
Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” speech, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, August 28, 1963, audio, https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.
Chicago 18 bibliography:
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have a Dream.” Speech, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, August 28, 1963. Audio. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.
A speech reprinted in a book, from the MLA Style Center: the book is the source, and no original publication details are needed.
A speech in a book
MLA 9:
Goldman, Emma. “What Is Patriotism?” Great Speeches of the Twentieth Century, edited by Bob Blaisdell, Kindle ed., Dover Publications, 2011.
What the Generator Gives You
Enter the King details with Speech audio recording in the format box, and the APA entry above comes back exactly, with Jr. handled correctly. MLA and Chicago print the format as a plain sentence, and the MLA line leaves out the speech's date, so type 28 Aug. 1963 in yourself, between the title and the site. For Chicago, put the event and the venue in the format box, after Speech, and the generator places them after the title.
Which Tool Do You Need?
- A speech or address — this page.
- A class lecture — the Lecture Citation Generator.
- A TED or TEDx talk — the TED Talk Citation Generator.
- A webinar — the Webinar Citation Generator.
- An interview — the Interview Citation Generator.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite a speech in APA 7?
- Cite the recording if there is one: King, M. L., Jr. (1963, August 28). I have a dream [Speech audio recording]. American Rhetoric. URL. For a transcript, use [Speech transcript]. For a speech you heard live, use [Speech] and add the event and the place. In text: (King, 1963).
- How do I cite a speech in MLA 9?
- Give the speaker, the title in quotation marks, the site in italics, the date and the URL: King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have a Dream.” 28 Aug. 1963. American Rhetoric, URL. Add the speech's own date after the title if the site does not date the posting.
- How do I cite a speech in Chicago style?
- Use a note with the speaker, the title in quotation marks, speech, the event and venue, the date, the medium and the URL, as the Chicago Quick Guide does for a talk. The bibliography entry reverses the first element and ends with the link.
- How do I cite a speech I heard live?
- Name the speaker, the title, the event, the venue and the date. APA uses [Speech] and adds the place; MLA and Chicago add the event and venue.
- How do I cite a speech from a book or an archive?
- Cite the book, with the speech as a part of it, and do not give the original date. For an archive scan, use the original details the archive gives. The Book Chapter Citation Generator handles a speech printed in a collection.
- Which citation styles does the speech generator support?
- All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.
Related Tools
How to cite a Speech in each style
Format rules, templates, and worked examples for the styles most often required.