If I cite a slide lecture uploaded to an online course, should I list the date the lecture was written or the date of the course?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

As the MLA Handbook notes, “When a source carries more than one date, cite the date that is most meaningful or most relevant to your use of the source” (42). If you are citing a slide lecture uploaded to an online course, the most relevant date is the date of the course, since it is the date when the lecture was made available to the class on the course website. To see an example of a citation for material uploaded to a course, read our post on citing online lessons

Work Cited

MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.