Key points at a glance
- Check access for your audience.
- Identify the deck and slide.
- Find the original study for research claims.
Check reader access first
Public slides, or slides available to markers through the learning platform, can often be referenced as retrievable course material. Slides unavailable to the intended audience may require a personal-communication treatment under some styles. Your institution’s rules decide the final form.
Identify the actual deck
Example: A lecturer uploads “Introduction to Research Ethics”, revised on 12 April, to the course site. Record the author, year, deck title, material type, platform and accessible URL where required. Add a slide number to locate a specific figure or definition.
Prefer the original research
Lecture slides often summarise someone else’s findings. If that finding supports your argument, read and cite the original publication. Cite the slides themselves when their presentation, teaching claim or course context is the subject of your discussion.
Respect access restrictions
Do not publish a deck from a restricted course room or reuse its images without checking rights. An LMS URL helps only when intended readers can open it. Ask your supervisor or library when the audience and access rules are unclear.
Final submission context
Formal details can feel like a separate writing task, but they matter just as much for a printed submission. Anything missing, misplaced or inconsistently formatted in the document will also appear in the bound copy.
Use this guide together with your cover page, table of contents, page numbers, source notes and appendices. Prepare the final PDF for printing and binding only after the complete file has been checked.
Practical check before PDF export
- Do headings, chapter structure and page numbers match?
- Are sources, figures and tables included completely?
- Are required elements such as declarations, appendices or the cover page included where required?
- Did you open and check the final PDF after exporting it?
Checklist
- Reader access established.
- Author and version recorded.
- Slide located.
- Original study checked.
Common mistakes
- Presenting private slides as public.
- Citing a whole deck for one slide.
- Treating a summary as the primary study.
Prepare the finished thesis for submission
Once the content and university requirements are checked, review your PDF and the available printing and binding options.
Review printing optionsRelated content
Explore related guidance on thesis structure, sources, formatting and final submission.
Frequently asked questions
Do LMS slides belong in references?
Often when the intended audience can access them, subject to the style.
What if examiners cannot open them?
Check your style’s rule for nonretrievable communication.
Can I reproduce a slide image?
Only after checking permission and university rules.