APA Style
- The Trinity Law School MLS Program uses the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style.
- This website provides helpful guidance regarding how to provide citations using the APA style.
- This website provides guidance on citing legal references, which you will frequently do in your MLS writing assignments.
HELPFUL TIP
When working on an assignment for the MLS Program, always err on the side of providing too many citations rather than not enough!
WHEN IS A CITATION NECESSARY?
If the idea did not originate in your own brain, then you must identify from where you obtained the information.
Did you read it in a book, case, newspaper, magazine, or article?
On a blog or website?
In an interview with another person?
While attending a conference or watching a film?
Wherever or however you learned that information, it’s your responsibility to tell the reader the source of the information (in proper APA style).
Without proper attribution, you are taking credit for someone else’s work – and this is when a failure to cite can be considered an Honor Code violation.
CAN’T I JUST PROVIDE ONE CITATION AT THE END OF A PARAGRAPH?
NO!
When an assignment requires the student to research and then cite the original source for the information, students must produce their own work product; e.g., it is unacceptable to copy and paste multiple sentences at a time and then provide one citation at the end of the paragraph.
HOW A FAILURE TO PROPERLY CITE COULD BE AN HONOR CODE VIOLATION
Trinity Law School’s policies on plagiarism and cheating are set forth in the Catalog. Students should familiarize themselves with the Standards of Conduct and Honor Code in the Catalog. Penalties for these transgressions may be severe.
Plagiarism, whether intentional or indirect, gives the impression that the words or ideas in a person’s writings are one’s own, whereas in reality they are taken from someone else’s written or oral presentation(s), even when a reference to the original source is made in footnotes or bibliography.
To prevent and detect cases of plagiarism and cheating, assignments will be scanned with Turnitin plagiarism prevention software. In addition, the professor will audit assignments to assess the level of academic engagement. Any such violations (e.g., plagiarism, sharing explanations with other students who have not completed the assignment, or other attempts at working around the system) may be reported by the instructor to the Registrar’s Office for appropriate action.