How to cite quotations from speeches

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Martin Luther King Jr. would inspire millions of people for years to come when he made this declaration on August 28, 1963, in his speech delivered during The March on Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Indeed, many well-known quotes originate from speeches.

How do you cite a speech in APA Style? Keep it simple: Create a reference that matches the source where readers can retrieve the speech.

Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech can be found in many sources, both online and in print. For example, I found the quotation in a book titled I Have a Dream. The following example includes the correct in-text citation:

The associated reference is as follows:

I also found the quotation in a recording of the speech on YouTube. An example of the in-text citation is as follows:

The citation includes the author, year of the original speech and year the video was published, and the time stamp for the beginning of the quotation in place of a page number.

The associated reference is as follows:

Other sources for speeches are archival documents found in museums, libraries, and other physical archives. Guidance for citing those kinds of archival documents can be found on the Archival Documents and Collections page.

Incorporating speeches in APA Style writing can provide historical context and add precision and clarity to your writing. Comment below with the speeches you’ve cited in your APA Style papers.