Google Slides is an excellent online presentation tool. This free tool works directly out of a browser without any additional software. Perhaps this is the best feature of Google Slides. Its cloud-based system facilitates sharing and collaboration. Like all presentation tools, it allows users to add different elements like texts, images, videos, audio, link, etc. Users can choose from countless themes, fonts, and create amazing presentations easily.
This utilitarian tool allows users to add citations however there is no specific feature for this function. While some may think adding citations is a lengthy and time-consuming process, it is actually untrue. This guide has all the details about citations in Google Slides.
What are citations?
A citation is a mention of the information source that was utilized in your research. Any in-text reference should be used whenever someone’s ideas are used/presented in the research.
Citing Sources in Google Slides
In Google Slides, citations cannot be added directly unlike other platforms like Google Docs where it has a dedicated citation feature. To cite sources in Google Slides, users can use two methods. These methods are simple and straightforward.
Method 1: Citing sources using links
In Google Slides, users can mention the sources that they have used with the help of links. While this is not ideal, it is worth noting that Google Slides is not really used for formal research works. Please keep in mind that it is a presentation tool.
Step 1: Go to the Google Slides presentation you are working on.
Step 2: Go to the slide you want to cite the source in.
Step 3: Select the piece of text you want to cite the source for and click on the ‘Insert Link’ icon located in the toolbar at the top. You can also go to the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Link’ to add the link.
Step 4: Type in or paste the URL of the source you want to cite. Click on ‘Apply’. The link will be added and clicking on it will take you to the source website.
You can also cite images in Google Slides in the same way.
This is the easiest way to cite a source in Google Slides.
Method 2: Citing Sources using Hanging Indents
Hanging indents can be created to add MLA-style citations in Google Slides. It is a slightly longer process since users have to manually create MLA-style indents.
Step 1: Go to the Google Slides presentation you are working on.
Step 2: Go to the slide you want to cite the source in. Enter/Paste the sources you want to cite in the slide.
Step 3: Place your cursor right at the beginning of the second line of the citation and hit the Backspace key to eliminate the space between the two lines. Next, hold down the Shift key and hit the Enter key. Finally, hit the Tab key and the hanging indent will be created. This is now an MLA-style citation.
You can repeat this multiple times to add multiple citations. While this is a bit tiresome, it gets the job done.
Conclusion
Thus, adding citations in Google Slides is not a difficult task. Users can add citations in different styles but only using different tricks since it does not have a dedicated citation tool. If you found this guide helpful then be sure to let us know!