How to Cite a Book on PowerPoint
PowerPoint has become a prevalent form of communication in the modern world. Businesspeople frequently use PowerPoint to convey ideas in an easy-to-understand manner. As it has become common in business communication, many college classes, particularly business classes, have started to require students to use PowerPoint to complete assignments. However, students are often confused about how to cite sources such as books that are used in their PowerPoint presentations. Citation guides such as MLA and APA do not specify requirements for PowerPoint presentations, which often leaves students confused. However, following a few commonsense guidelines will help students cite books they use in their presentations.
Choose a consistent citation style. Just as in traditional essays and research reports, the most important thing is to choose a consistent citation style and stick with it. If an instructor requires a specific style, such as MLA or APA, use that. If not, choose the style that you are most comfortable with.
Cite quotations, paraphrases, or summaries of the book on the PowerPoint slide where they appear. Just as in an essay, you should use an in-text citation immediately following the quotation, paraphrase, or summary. For books, MLA requires a parenthetical citation of author and page number, for example: (Brown 23). APA requires a similar parenthetical citation, but with the year included: (Brown, 2003, pg. 23).
Include a Works Cited or References page as your last slide or slides. The Works Cited or References should be formatted following the appropriate citation style guidelines, just as in an essay. For MLA, the citation for a book is as follows:
Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of Book (in italics). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year
Example: Brown, Joe. Business Ethics. New York: Routledge, 2003.
APA Citation is as follows:
Author Last Name, Author First Name. (Year). Title [In Italics]. Place of Publication: Publisher.
Example: Brown, Joe. (2003). Business Ethics. New York: Routledge.
Print and distribute a handout of your presentation. PowerPoint makes it easy to print a handout form of your presentation with your slides and room for the audience to take notes. If you are using outside sources, you should print and distribute the handout so that the audience members can refer to the sources later if they choose.
Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator.
References
Writer Bio
David Boyles is a graduate student, teacher and professional writer. He has been teaching writing since 2005, while his own work has been featured in various publications and websites, including "Vegas Seven," "ArtsVegas," "AZ on the Scene Magazine" and the "Las Vegas Review of Books." Boyles holds a master's degree in English literature.
