Skip to Main Content

MLA 9th ed. Style Guide: Speeches

On This Page

Speech Found on a Website
Format: Transcript (printed copy of the speech)
Format: Audio Recording
Format: Video Recording

Speech Found in a Book

Speech Found in a Library Database

Speech Heard in Person

Sample Citations - Books

Speech Found on a Website

Format: Transcript (a printed copy of the speech)

The original date of the speech is not required, but it may be included if the date is certain and considered helpful for your reader. The type of source (in this case, “Transcript”) is also optional, and may be included if the format is unexpected.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “‘I Have a Dream,’ Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” 28 Aug. 1963. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University, 23 July 2014, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-march-washington-jobs-and-freedom. Transcript.

 

 

 

 

 


Format: Audio Recording and Transcript

In this case, Martin Luther King, Jr. is considered the author since this is primarily his speech. The date of the speech and the name of the host are optional elements. The date the show aired should be included since it is clearly stated in the article. The type of source (“Audio” and “Transcript”) are optional, but may be included if this is considered helpful information for your reader.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “‘I Have A Dream’ Speech, In Its Entirety.” 28 Aug. 1963. Talk of the Nation. Hosted by Rebecca Roberts, NPR.org, 18 Jan. 2010,  www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety. Audio and Transcript.

Format: Video Recording

Example 1:

Since this is a YouTube URL, it is assumed that the format is a video, and the source type (“Video”) has been omitted.
Reagan, Ronald. “Challenger: President Reagan’s Challenger Disaster Speech.” 28 Jan. 1986. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7icmqgsow. Accessed 8 June 2020.

 

 

 

Example 2:

In this case, “May 2015” refers to when the lecture was posted to the website, not the date of the actual lecture. Therefore, the date comes after the name of the site, pointing back to the element closest to the date.

Headlee, Celeste. “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, May 2015, www.ted.com/talks/celeste_headlee_10_ways_to_have_a_ better_conversation.

 



 


Speech Found in a Book

When speeches are republished in an anthology or book, the original date of the speech is not required, but may be included if it is considered helpful for your reader. The page range is also optional. If the speech is found in an eBook, the name of the database and the URL should be included.

Truth, Sojourner. “A’n’t I a Woman?” 28 May 1851. The Will of a People: A Critical Anthology of Great African American Speeches, edited by Richard W. Leeman, and Bernard K. Duffy, Southern Illinois UP, 2012, pp. 46-48. ProQuest Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/ lib/wfu/detail.action?docID=1354630.

 

 

 

 


Speech Found in a Library Database

In this case, the date that the speech was given is included in the title, so there is no need to repeat the date.

Roosevelt, Theodore. Mr. Roosevelt's Speech on Suffrage, Delivered at St. Johnsbury, Vt., August 30, 1912. [Allied Printing], [1914?]. Nineteenth Century Collections Online, link.gale.com/apps/doc/AYWGWQ418686666/NCCO?u= nclivew fuy&sid=NCCO&xid=10b0e6a5. Accessed 8 June 2020.

 

 

 

 


Speech Heard in Person

The terms “Lecture” or “Address” are optional and may be used to indicate that the speech was heard in person.

Noonan, Peggy. Voices of our Time Series. 8 Sept. 2016. Brendle Recital Hall, Wake Forest University. Address.