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Lloydminster Campus Library
 library@lakelandcollege.ca
 780 871 5731

Hours:
Monday to Friday:  8:15 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday:  closed

Contact Us

Vermilion Campus Library
 library@lakelandcollege.ca
 780 853 8463

Hours:
Monday to Friday:  8:15 am - 4:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday:  closed

Several citation styles are used at Lakeland College, including: APA, MLA and Chicago.

Environmental Sciences has its own referencing guide.

Be sure to check with your instructor about the citation style you should use for your assignments. 

If you have questions about plagiarism, the library staff encourage you to communicate with your instructor.

  • APA Citation Style Quick Guide: produced by librarians at the University of Alberta.
  • For further information, please refer to the APA website or consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association available at the library.
  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) - BF 76.7 P83 2020 REF (both campuses). A copy of the official handbook is available at each campus library.

Environmental science students follow the style adopted by the Rangeland Ecology and Management journal. A copy of the Environmental Sciences Literature Referencing Guide was compiled by communication instructors. It's the citation guide for all environmental sciences programs. A copy of the guide is available on D2L.

Using the work of others without giving credit to your source is considered plagiarism.
 
Plagiarism is one of most serious academic offenses you can commit at college. Details of the Lakeland College policy on plagiarism and academic dishonesty can be found in the Lakeland Student Policies and Procedures, Rights and Responsibilities document.

10 ways to avoid plagiarism in your papers
  1. Understand what plagiarism is - Taking and using other people’s ideas, thoughts, pictures, writings, inventions, etc. as your own. If you don’t cite it, it’s assumed to be your own work, even if you just forgot.
  2. Understand paraphrasing - Put ideas into your own words, without changing the author’s intention, and make sure you give credit with both an in-text citation and an entry in your reference list.
  3. Manage your time - Don’t leave your paper until the last minute—rushing can lead to forgotten citations. Start well ahead of the due date so you can do your citations properly.
  4. Take careful notes - It’s easy to accidentally plagiarize if you don’t keep accurate notes as you research your paper. Every time you write anything down, jot down where the idea came from, so you’re ready to cite it later if you do use it.
  5. Use citation style guides - Ask your instructor what style is required (APA, MLA), and then get the correct style guide from the library. The full guide has examples of almost all the possible sources you could use, from books to websites, even radio shows.
  6. Copy and paste with caution - Research on the internet has made it easy to copy and paste, and then forget to cite. Make it a practice to never copy and paste anything without also copying the URL (web address) and date that you retrieved the information.
  7. Understand common knowledge - You don’t have to cite “common knowledge”, but what’s “common”? If you read the information somewhere, cite it.
  8. Keep hard or electronic copies of all sources - When you finalize your reference list, it’s way easier to check for all the details from a copy than having to look up the source all over again.
  9. Manage your stress - One of the top reasons students give for plagiarism is stress. They feel overwhelmed, and end up plagiarizing either accidentally or intentionally. The consequences are still the same, so don’t risk it. If you find yourself overwhelmed, seek help or ask for an extension.
  10. When in doubt, always ask - If you have any questions about citations, ask your instructor, library staff or the teaching commons. Better to be sure than to unintentionally plagiarize.
 

These tips were developed by the University of Alberta and are used with permission.