How you cite remarks made in the context of a debate will depend on how you access the material. For example, you might cite a video hosted on a website, a transcript, or an event you attended in person. You might begin the works-cited-list entry with the participants’ names or with a title or description, and you might want to include another contributor, such as a moderator, if it is relevant to your discussion.
Here are a few examples of different ways to cite the same debate:
Video, listed by author, with video title
McCain, John, and Barack Obama, participants. “Presidential Candidates Debate.” Belmont University, 7 Oct. 2008. C-SPAN, www.c-span.org/video/?281621-2/presidential-candidates-debate.
Transcript, listed by title, with a description as middle supplemental element
“The Second Presidential Debate.” Debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, moderated by Tom Brokaw, 7 Oct. 2008. The New York Times, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/elections/2008/president/debates/transcripts/second-presidential-debate.html. Transcript.
Attended in person, listed by description in the title element
Second 2008 presidential debate. John McCain and Barack Obama, moderated by Tom Brokaw, Belmont University, 7 Oct. 2008.