Citing sources is important to avoid accusations of plagiarism. The line between common knowledge and what must be acknowledged as the ideas of another becomes blurred when students use the same materials via a course website, such as Blackboard. You might wish to cite lectures, PowerPoint presentations, or course notes. This is especially true if the presentations were based upon your instructor's personal research. There are multiple citation styles, such as MLA and APA, so use the style your instructor recommends.

Make a list of the resources you wish to cite from Blackboard. For example, you might have used all the lectures, but only one PowerPoint presentation.

Determine which citation style your instructor wants you to use. According to Tallahassee Community College, APA (American Psychological Association) is typically used in science, social science, business and education. MLA (Modern Language Association) is typically used in English or humanities-related courses.

Consult your citation style guide for each resource to determine what to cite. For Blackboard, you will use the Electronic Sources section. If you are citing lecture notes in MLA format, you need to know the author, lecture title, course title and date. If you are citing the same lecture in APA format, you do not need the course title, but you need the full website address.

Complete in-text citations wherever you have used resources within your written work. MLA and APA both require parenthetical citations. For lecture notes in MLA, you will only need to cite the author's name in parentheses. For example, (Jones). For APA, you need to cite the author's name followed by a comma and then the date. For example, (Jones, 2011).

Complete bibliographical citations at the end of your written work. For lecture notes, the MLA style is: "Last Name, First Name. "Title of Lecture in italics." Course name written in italics, Blackboard. Date of lecture. Lecture." For example, "Jones, Bob. "Citing Blackboard." Citations 101, Blackboard. 5 May. 2011. Lecture." For lecture notes in APA, the style is: "Last Name, First and Middle Initials (Year). Title of lecture in italics [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.collegename.edu." For example, "Jones, B.A. (2011). Citing Blackboard [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.anytowncollege.edu."

Many colleges offer writing centers with tutors available to proofread your work. Get someone familiar with the citation styles you have used.

Your teacher may require a lesser-used citation style, such as Turabian. Check the Electronic Sources section of these style guide; if there is no clear style, check with your professor.

Merely citing your sources does not guarantee you will avoid accusations of cheating or plagiarism.