Bluebook Citation 101 -- Academic Format

Attribution

If writing a scholarly article, you will need to provide correct attribution to your sources. Failure to do so can result in plagiarism issues!

Citation Manuals

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is generally the default legal citation manual. It is compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal and began in 1926. It is now in its 20th edition. Other general legal citation manuals include ALWD, and The Redbook. Additionally, each jurisdiction and court may have its own citation rules. Ohio, for example, has its own writing manual.

Bluebook Organization

• Quick Reference:  Law Review Footnotes
• Blue Pages (these are practitioner oriented)
• General Rules (R. 1 – 9)
• Specific Source Rules (R. 10-21)
• Tables (T. 1-15)
• Index
• Quick Reference: Court Documents and Legal Memoranda