LibGuides: Paralegal Technology: Citation Style

The Bluebook

The Bluebook: Quick Style Guide
Examples illustrate how to cite commonly used sources in accordance with The Bluebook's Whitepages, which are intended for use in law review footnotes.
The Bluebook by Harvard Law Review Association (Compiled by); Columbia Law Review (Compiled by); University of Pennsylvania Law Review (Compiled by); The Yake Law Journal (Compiled by)
Call Number: KF245 .B58 2020
A Uniform System of Citation: The Bluebook is the definitive style guide for legal citation in the United States. For generations, law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on The Bluebook's uniform system of citation in their writing. 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 which they rely in their work.

Why Cite?

Why do we cite?

When a scholar or researcher writes a research-based paper, new knowledge is created. The credibility of the new knowledge depends on the credibility of the sources that author uses. When we write research-based papers, we show our sources because it gives greater authority to our conclusions. It also helps us avoid committing plagiarism.

Why are there different styles?

There are many citation styles: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, AMA, etc. Why so many? Each style is ideal for a different type of scholarship. The Chicago style, for example, is perfect for historians because of the way it handles footnotes. The AMA style, on the other hand, is better suited to medical research.