# How do I cite something a professor said during lecture?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 1, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562 "2008-05-01T03:27:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562/1 "2008-05-01T03:27:04Z")

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I am writing my Master’s thesis proposal, in computer science. I would like to cite some observations / predictions / statements made by one of my professors in lecture. There are some lecture slides that back them up, but most of the information was presented only orally. How do I cite this in my proposal?

Specifically, one the things I would like to cite is his prediction that we will see 1000-core processors within a few years (not that far-fetched, there are 64-core processors commercially available already).

“Private communication” seems technically sufficient, but implies a connection that does not exist.

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**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562/2 "2008-05-01T03:43:32Z")

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I am a college instructor. I would say there are two ways you can go about it as I had to do this in my Dissertation.

1. Email the professor and ask him to further elaborate on the concept. Then, in your paper, document it as follows:

We will see 1000-core processors within a few years (John Smith, personal correspondence).  
2. Document it as a cite, but just reference it as best you can:

We will see 1000-core processors within a few years (Smith 2008).

And then in the References:

Smith, J. (2008) _Lecture Title._ Lecture given at the Univ. of XXX on April 30th, 2008.

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**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562/3 "2008-05-01T03:49:51Z")

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This question actually came up here today, I couldn’t find the answer either. What style are you using?

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**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562/4 "2008-05-01T10:37:12Z")

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In MLA format, I have used:

Smith, John. “Name of Lecture.” Class lecture. Business 2430. University of XXXX, Whatever City, Tennessee. 1 May 2008.

Of course, this is double spaced, with a hanging indent and all that but you already know that.

[Easybib.com](http://Easybib.com) is a good website to help format cites.

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**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cite-something-a-professor-said-during-lecture/447562/5 "2008-05-01T15:09:36Z")

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I recently wrote a CS paper where this came up. We simply marked with a footnote “personal communication” and left it like that. I’ve seen that in other refereed papers too, so I presume it’s the prevailing style.

Otherwise, I presume you’re using LaTeX and BiBTeX for bibliography generation (you mentioned you are writing a CS dissertation). Just use the @misc BiBTeX entry and mention the fact that the information was gleaned from a lecture in the “note” field.

You may want to e-mail your lecturer, first, as he may wish to correct himself.