TASK 1: ORAL CITIATION RESEARCH PRESENTATION TIPS & ADVICE

COMM1001: Presentations and Speaking International College Beijing

ORAL CITATION*

How to prepare an oral citation

As a rule of thumb, these are three basic elements, but this will vary with the type of
source:
• WHO: Identify the element of the source (author or title) which provides the
greatest authority and/or secondary credibility. Does the author have credentials?
• WHAT: What type of publication is it—newspaper, government report,
magazine, journal? (In other words, would everybody know that the Beijing
Times is a newspaper? If not, tell them!)
• WHEN: When was the book, magazine, newspaper or journal published (date)?
When was the person interviewed? When was the website last updated and/or
when did you access the website?

Why do you need oral citations?

Many speakers concentrate more on content, rather than worrying about where they
sourced the information. Oral citations are an important way of showing you are an
ethical speaker. Verbally presenting source references shows your audience that you have
done research, have knowledge on the topic and can be trusted. Accordingly,
incorporating oral source citations into your speech is very important. Be aware that
citations become part of the overall timing of the speech.

Tip: Do not say "quote, unquote" when you cite a direct quotation. Pause briefly instead.

Examples

- Articles
If you are quoting from a magazine, newspaper or journal article, give a quick statement
of the author (if relevant) as well as the (full) date and title of the source. This applies to
both print sources and those found in the Library Databases.
“According to Len Zehm, a sports columnist for the Chicago Sun Times, in an article
from May 31, 2006…”
“Newsweek magazine of December 4, 2005 lists bankruptcy as the…”
“In the latest Gallup Poll, cited in last week’s issue of Time magazine…”

You do not need to give the title of the article, although you may if it helps in any way.
For example, if you are quoting one or more articles from the same newspaper, this
would help differentiate the sources. You do not need to give the page number nor the
name of electronic database that catalogued the periodical/publication.

*Information taken/adapted from College of DuPage Library research guide on Oral Citations

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 TASK 1: ORAL CITIATION RESEARCH PRESENTATION TIPS & ADVICE

COMM1001: Presentations and Speaking International College Beijing

- Books
If you are citing information from a book, provide the title of the book,year of publication
and a brief mention of the author's credentials. You don’t have to mention the page,
publisher or city of publication:
"In his 2005 book, Eating to Be Smart, Charles Larson, a registered dietitian, notes that
consuming yogurt…”

- Websites
If you are citing a website you need to establish the credibility, currency and objectivity
(fact vs. opinion) of the site.
Mention:
• The title of the website the “author”/organization/sponsor that supports
• The site’s “credentials” You can confirm a site’s “credentials” by looking for
links as: “About us” or “Our Mission” or “Who we are”
• The last date it was updated, if known
• The date you accessed the site.

Tip: If you cannot find this information on a web site, you may want to consider finding a
different source.

“One of the most active developers of neurotechnology, Cyberkinetics.com, claims on

their website, last updated on March 24, 2006, that…”

“From the website maintained by the Wisconsin Council of Dairy Farmers entitled
“Dairy Products and Your Diet”, as of January 10, 2007, yogurt…” (or “of an unknown
date which I accessed on September 18th of this year”), yogurt proves to be…”

In an oral citation of a website, you do not need to give the URL.

Caution: If a website quotes a book, magazine or newspaper, remember that your source
is the website, not the book/magazine/newspaper from which the quote originates.

“From a website supported by Beconvinced.com, a commercial website promoting the

religion of Islam, the book Principles of Oceanography is quoted as stating that…”

- Interviews
If you are quoting the source of an interview, give the person's name and statement of
their credentials, date of interview, as well as the fact that the information was obtained
from a personal interview. Remember, interviews are not the same as conversations/
undocumented recollections or class lectures. Interview sources must be credentialed
“experts” in their fields.

“In a personal interview on January 15 that I conducted with Nancy Manes, head of
cardiac care at Central DuPage Hospital, the most important…”

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