bluebooking tips for the write-on & beyond bonnie shucha [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
BLUEBOOK CONTENT & STRUCTURE
Part I
Part One - Bluepages
A how to guide for basic legal citation used by courts & legal practitioners
See also LRW’s Citation Handbook
Part Two
Rules of citation and style required by
law journals
Rules 1-9 establish general standards of style and citation
Rules 10-21 present rules for citation for specific kinds of authority
Part Three
Tables that show which authorities to cite and how to abbreviate them
Tables 1-5 show which authorities to cite and how to cite them
Tables 6-16 show how to abbreviate specific authorities
Index
Use the index to quickly find the applicable rule
ERRORS IN THE TEXT
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not...look[ing] upon them
as their bondsmen.1”
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not...look[ing] upon them
as their bondsmen.1”
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not...look[ing] upon them
as their bondsmen.1”
Omissions - Ellipsis dotsRule 5.3
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not . . . look[ing] upon
them as their bondsmen.1”
Omissions - Ellipsis dotsRule 5.3
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not . . . look[ing] upon
them as their bondsmen.1”
Alterations in quotesRule 5.2
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not . . . look[ing] upon
them as their bondsmen.1”
Placement of footnotesRule 5.1(ii)
The employer should recognize the dignity of
the firm members, “not . . . look[ing] upon
them as their bondsmen.”1
Placement of footnotesRule 5.1(ii)
ERRORS IN FOOTNOTES
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 SAN. FRAN.
ATT’Y 17, 17 (2009); MICHAEL YODER,
President’s Page: Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51
J. OF BUSINESS L. 7, at 7 (2009).
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 SAN. FRAN.
ATT’Y 17, 17 (2009); MICHAEL YODER,
President’s Page: Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51
J. OF BUSINESS L. 7, at 7 (2009).
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 SAN. FRAN.
ATT’Y 17, 17 (2009); MICHAEL YODER,
President’s Page: Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51
J. OF BUSINESS L. 7, at 7 (2009).
Multiple citationsRule 1.3
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 SAN. FRAN.
ATT’Y 17, 17 (2009); MICHAEL YODER,
President’s Page: Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51
J. OF BUSINESS L. 7, at 7 (2009).
Periodicals, Author TypefaceRule 16.2
Small Caps
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 SAN. FRAN.
ATT’Y 17, 17 (2009); Michael Yoder,
President’s Page: Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51
J. OF BUSINESS L. 7, at 7 (2009).
Periodicals, Author TypefaceRule 16.2
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 SAN. FRAN.
ATT’Y 17, 17 (2009); Michael Yoder,
President’s Page: Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51
J. OF BUSINESS L. 7, at 7 (2009).
AbbreviationsTables 13, 10
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 S.F. ATT’Y 17,
17 (2009); Michael Yoder, President’s Page:
Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51 J. BUS. L. 7, at 7
(2009).
AbbreviationsTables 13, 10
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 S.F. ATT’Y 17,
17 (2009); Michael Yoder, President’s Page:
Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51 J. BUS. L. 7, at 7
(2009).
Pinpoint pages, (non)consecutive paginationRules 16.4 & 16.5, 3.2(a)
Leslie A. Gordon, The Economic Crisis: Law
Firms Brace for Rocky 2009, 35 S.F. ATT’Y 17,
17 (2009); Michael Yoder, President’s Page:
Our Profession’s Déjà Vu, 51 J. BUS. L. 7, 7
(2009).
Pinpoint pages, (non)consecutive paginationRules 16.4 & 16.5, 3.2(a)
TIPS
Before the Write-on
Get familiar with the structure and content of the Bluebook
Before the Write-on
Review rules 1-9, especially quotations and footnote placement
Will be helpful for spotting & correcting errors in text
Before the Write-on
Review rules 19-20 for foreign & international citations
25% of citations will be to foreign & international materials
Before the Write-on
Practice if you have time
Try the LexisNexis Interactive Citation Workstation
Bluebook tutorial at http://tinyurl.com/nynwn7l
During the Write-on
Don’t stress out about or overthink the citation exercise
They aren’t out to trick you
During the Write-on
But don’t blow off the citation exercise either
Note writing scores are often very close – At 20% of your total write-on score,
your performance on the citation exercise can make the difference
During the Write-on
Don’t leave the citation exercise until the very end when you’re
burnt out & pressed for time
Use it as a break from note writing
During the Write-on
Keep the grading rubric in mind
1 pt deducted for failing to correct error½ pt deducted for changing something that
was already correct
If in doubt, correct it
ASK A LIBRARIAN
Questions?
http://library.law.wisc.edu/help/