Always use a signal unless 1 the cited authority directly states the. Generally, keep these three rules in mind while you write so youll have to do less work when its time for book formatting. Iupac recommendations and preferred name 20 blue book was published in december 20. Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. The blue book has been developed with recognition of the fact that soil, traffic, weather, and other conditions vary considerably across the state.
Everything you wanted to know that the bluebook does not. Always check the blue pages in the back of the bluebook table 1 to ensure that the spacing of reporters is correct. Name of the case underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to rule 10. These tips are based on the 19th edition of the bluebook. Of course, a local court rule will trump the general bluebook rule. California case citation, the bluebook a uniform system of citation student name. Reviving the rules of typography 2004published in switzerlandclarifies the contemporary typographic position on sentence spacing. Block quotations citations academic guides at walden. California style manual for many years, the california style manual has served as the official guide for styling citations to legal materials in documents filed with state courts in california. Jun 23, 2014 naturally, the quality of the content of your book is the number 1 priority. Conventions for spacing vary among languages, and in some languages the spacing rules are complex. Common mistakes bluebook citations libguides at william s. Spacing between abbreviated words and periods in abbreviations.
When abbreviating courts and reporters, you may notice some funny spacing. Learn keyboarding spacing rules with free interactive flashcards. Study 256 bluebook rules 1 11 flashcards on studyblue. Aug 25, 2011 it seems that in addition to the normal seven character ellipsis the bluebook also has specific rules for the eight character ellipsis and the nine character ellipsis. Difference between alwd and bluebook difference between. If you are submitting to a court a real one, check the jurisdictionspecific rules at bt2 bluepages table 2 include volume number b 10. Should be singlespaced, indented on both sides, justified, and without quotation marks. With the dawn of computers, word processing programs not only began offering an absurd number of fonts, but each font was programmed to space characters proportionally l. In this respect, the requirements contained in the blue book should be viewed as general guidelines. Experienced writers know that these marks are not interchangeable. This translates to having 23 fewer lines on a 8 12 x 11 page. According to the apa manual, quotations that are 40 words or more are considered block quotations and are formatted differently than regular quotations. Semicolons punctuation rules the blue book of grammar and.
The following is a list of the unique formatting that is needed for block quotations. Numbered volumes are cited in arabic numerals 1,2,3, not roman numerals i,ii,iii, even if. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. Two or more words that, together, function as an adjective are joined with a hyphen. Effective january 1, 2008, however, california rule of court, rule 1. Rules do change spacing after periods, colons, question marks, and exclamation marks originally, typewriters had monospaced fonts skinny letters and fat letters took up the same amount of space, so two spaces after ending punctuation marks such as the period were used to make the text more legible.
All citations must include a pin cite, unless the citation is merely providing. Clarifies that ordinals should be formatted and abbreviated as prescribed by rule. For further information on federal statutes, please click here. Personally, for my outofcourt documents, i use 15point spacing. Members of this profession really, really like rules, especially rules about proper english grammar and usage. Information and requirements for the supply of electric service, or silver book on or after that date will not be. The bluepages rules for case citations are under rule b10, starting on page 10 of. Citation format examples for footnotes general rules times new roman, size 10, 1 line spacing, justified. Inc 4 the con edison system for more than 180 years, onsolidated edison, inc. People mimicked what they believed to be the format theyd grown used to by adopting two spaces after a periodand thats how the socalled twospace rule was born. Aug 12, 2011 members of this profession really, really like rules, especially rules about proper english grammar and usage. Its customary to use at with appellate record cites, but the 19th edition does not require at with other page number references in record cites. Citing to the record in briefs marquette university law. The bluebook contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal documents.
Currently these rules are only available in the print version due to. Roaring spring exam blue book, margin rule, 812 x 7 inches, white, 12 sht24 page 775. Alwd or association of legal writing directors was formed as an alternative to bluebook. The first nine rules in the bluebook apply to all of the other rules and they are all about style. Statutes it is common to see florida statutes cited in a variety of different ways, but there is only one correct form of citation. All words in case names, other than the first word of either partys name, is abbreviated if it is listed in table 6 on pages 30203 of the. Below are some notable features from the greenbook about texas citations. Name and original section number as it appears in the session laws only if the statute is commonly cited that way. Specifications for electric installations consolidated edison co.
Word spaces, preceding or following punctuation, should be optically adjusted to appear to be of the same value as a standard word space. A b c d e f gh i jk l m n o p qr s t u vwxyz show all. Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede, punctuation. The ideal line spacing is 120145% of your font size. The following rules are not only used most often but misused most often too. Thus, when following the pc rule, by naming the court report, the court is also identified. Consult the bluebook in conjunction with these tips. May 19, 2012 true double spacing for a 12point font means setting your line spacing at exactly 24 points. Rather than supplanting the bluebook, the greenbook supplements it with regards to citation issues that are unique to texas. Unfortunately, theres no simple trick to memorizing all the rules but over time youll get a feel for what looks right. Do not put a space between the two symbols see examples above. Clarifies that words listed in table t6 that appear in case names in citations should be abbreviated even when they are the first word in a partys name.
The two major instances in which a parallel citation may be needed are. In writing, a space is a blank area that separates words, sentences, syllables in syllabification and other written or printed glyphs characters. Readability is an interesting topic, and there are a number of readability formulas that can be used to test the readability of text. Include material that would otherwise be included in parenthetical explanations as part of the sentence itself, and do not italicize the signals. Aug 27, 2007 while we think the world would be a better place if everyone owned and carried a hard copy of the blue book of grammar and punctuation for handy reference wherever they happen to go, it does not currently have content that applies to dialogue writing. Introduction bluebook guide guides at georgetown law library. Where the rules conflict, you should follow the greenbook when citing texas authorities. It is now in its 20th edition, more than an inch thick, and consists of over 500 pages of guidance on legal citation.
Quotation marks are used for components, such as chapter titles in a book, individual episodes of a tv series, songs from a broadway show or a music album, titles of articles or essays in print or online, and shorter works such as short stories and poems. In the parentheses, identify the court deciding the case by using table 1 of the bluebook. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences. Jun 25, 2019 lawyers who like to get worked up over unimportant issues often grow contentious in their opinions over whether to put one space or two spaces after the period in legal documents. Bluebook rule 12 covers how statutes should be cited in legal documents.
Jul 19, 2019 however, it is an essential book that every lawyer should know how to use. This on its own is confusing, but then when you consider whether the last period of the ellipsis is followed by a single or double space you can easily begin to have nightmares. These rules supercede 1979 and 1993 recommendations. Pages, paragraphs, and pincites bluebook legal citation. The typewriter, on the other hand, can accommodate only a. In a diverse and rapidly changing legal profession, the bluebook continues to provide a systematic method by which members of the profession communicate important information to one another about the sources and legal authorities upon. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and for matting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. If there is a state reporter that prints the case in addition to a regional reporter, cite both the state and regional reporters rule 10. Using microsoft words default double space will give you line spacing greater than 24 pointsabout 15% greater, in fact. So if you plan to commit your future to lawrelated fields, knowing how to cite in bluebook format is a must for you. We plan to remedy that with the next edition in a year or so. But when you format your book, the layout of your content, structure and readability is just as important as the content itself.
Debate about two spaces after a period in legal writing. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Quotation marks punctuation rules the blue book of. For example, if you are citing a secondary authority with a title, consult rule 8 capitalization, to know whether you need to capitalize certain words or not. It seems that in addition to the normal seven character ellipsis the bluebook also has specific rules for the eight character ellipsis and the nine character ellipsis. As men of law rely upon a great number of various sources, legal citation also covers the usage of signals that present citations and explain. In footnotes, signals may be used as the verbs of textual sentences. Specifications for electric installations consolidated. None of us anticipated seeing the book on the new york times bestseller list, but we took note since the bluebook is the appellate lawyers bible for legal citation. Bluebook style is one of the less known systems of citations that is used majorly in the legal system to provide reference and citations for the literature and sources that are used in legal documents and that build the foundation for the current case. Citation practices and the bluebook cuny school of law. Times or closest comparable font available, they should be single spaced, and there should be a footnote separator rule line. For further information on state statutes, please click here consult the blue pages, rule b12, if you are writing a brief or memo.
Be it confusion over a homophone, misuse of a hyphen, or incorrect placement of a. These tips are based on the 20th edition of the bluebook. Citing legislative related materials statutes rule 12 1. Alwd published its manual in 2000 whereas bluebook was introduced in 1926. Blue book is an authentic source of rules that defines how to properly refer a legal reference. All prior specifications that conflict with the specifications in this book cease to be effective on january 1, 2017, and work done to those specifications including all specifications contained in the. Keep in mind the typeface differences between academic documents and non academic legal documents.
That is, if you are using a 12point font, you should set your line spacing between 14. Introduction bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Books, reports, treatises bluebook legal citation tarlton. Its no accident that a semicolon is a period atop a comma. A quiet buzz circulated last january at the appellate practice sections publications committee to the effect that a new edition of the bluebook had been published. However, the general spacing rules found in both bluebook rule 6. It was published as a collaboration of the universities of harvard, columbia and yale.
Pages, paragraphs, and pincites bluebook legal citation tarlton. Citing legislative related materials according to the bluebook, nineteenth edition statutes rule 12 1. Like commas, semicolons indicate an audible pauseslightly longer than a commas. Pay attention to the spaces between the dots, these actually count. Supreme court case, you must cite to the official reporter, the united states reports, if the case is published therein table 1, p. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. A uniform system of citation, is the style manual for citing to legal documents within the united states.
So when it comes to your book format, youll have to do some research. With a computer, use only one space following periods, commas, semicolons, colons, exclamation points, question marks, and quotation marks. There are too many rules for this introductory guide to cover. You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me. Where the bluepages and local court rules are silent regarding the citation of a particular document, you may use the other rules in the bluebook, referred to as the whitepages, to supplement the bluepages. Cases bluebook guide libguides at university of illinois law. Most of the bluebook, however, is irrelevant for many people who create legal documents. Cite to the current official code or its supplement or an unofficial code or its supplement. Just as substantive law changes, citation rules also. Few books cause law students as much dread, pain, anger, and frustration as the bluebook the bluebook, formally titled the bluebook. Specifications for electric installations consolidated edison. Further, the blue pages contain state and courtspecific information. The heavy abbreviation system all words in case names, other than the first word of either partys name, is abbreviated if it is listed in table 6 on pages 30203 of the. Many lawyers are sharply divided on this issue, with opinions often breaking along generational lines based on when the lawyer originally learned how to type.
Lawyers who like to get worked up over unimportant issues often grow contentious in their opinions over whether to put one space or two spaces after the period in legal documents. Choose from 183 different sets of keyboarding spacing rules flashcards on quizlet. However, the following are rules and examples for other types of legal documents that many firstyear law students may need to cite in addition to cases and statutes. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. Spacing with punctuation periods commas semicolons colons question marks parentheses and brackets apostrophes hyphens dashes ellipses quotation marks exclamation points slashes.
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