Public Speaking: Citing Sources

So we all know plagiarism is bad, but do we always know when we are doing it?  Here are some resources to help you understand all the facets of plagiarism, both intended and unintended, including a short video, websites and a tutorial, and an exercise to work through.

Oral citations help you establish credibility during your speech, demonstrating that you did your research and helping your audience understand where your facts came from.  

Oral citations generally include the following info:

• Author - give the name of the person or organization, help the audience understand why they are credible by including their credential or affiliation
• Title - the name of the book, magazine, journal or website where the information was published, you generally don't need the full article title unless you have multiple items from the same source
• Date - if no date is given, use the date it was last updated or the date that you accessed it

Examples:

During your speech you might say something like...

A 2022 paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology by a team of researchers from Stanford University found that home gas stoves emit methane even when they are turned off in an amount equivalent to half a million cars each year in the U.S. alone.

For more examples, see this YouTube video from an instructor at Galveston College: 

• Orally Citing a Source in a Speech (video; 3:52)

Or see this handy printed guide:

Don't forget that you still need to have a Reference page as well.  Check out this video for tips:

• Tricks to format a reference page (video, 4:11)