Sample Bluebook Citations

The following samples cover basic citation format for secondary sources. Many of the complicated variations on rules are not shown in these samples. Always consult the Bluebook for additional information.

Legal Dictionaries

Cite to the name of the source/dictionary, page number (if pinpoint citing), edition and year. See R. 15.8 (p.155), B15.1 (p. 23).

Black's Law Dictionary 513 (10th ed. 2015).

Ballentine's Law Dictionary 936 (3d ed. 1969).

Legal Encyclopedias

Cite to the volume, name of the source, article title/broad topic (this is NOT the section name -- it is the title of the main topic within which the section you are citing falls), section number, and year. See R. 15.8 (p. 155), B15.1 (p. 23). Note: Article names are not abbreviated and are always italicized.

67A Am. Jur. 2d Sales § 940 (2003).

29A C.J.S. Eminent Domain § 412 (2007).

18 I.L.P. Evidence § 178 (2003). or 18 Ill. L. & Prac. Evidence § 178 (2003).

5 Ill. Jur. Criminal Law and Procedure § 55:01 (1999).

Supplements to legal encyclopedias: Remember that you only cite to a supplement if new text is there. Do not cite to the supplement if case annotations, footnotes, or references to secondary sources are the only new information in the supplement. See R. 3.1(c) (p. 71).

When the material you are citing is in both the main volume and the supplement:
30 C.J.S. Eminent Domain § 412 (2007 & Supp. 2016).

When the material you are citing is only in the supplement:
30 C.J.S. Eminent Domain § 412 (Supp. 2016).

Citing Books & Treatises

There are many permutations of citing to a book or treatise. Be sure to consult the Bluebook for specifics.

In general, cite to the volume number, author(s), title (in italics), section number and/or page number and/or paragraph number (when pinpoint citing), editor(s) and/or translator(s) (if listed), and year. See R. 15 (p. 149) generally, B15.1 (pp. 22-23).

Single author: See R. 15 (pp. 149-150), B15.1 (pp. 22-23).

John Humbach, Whose Monet?: An Introduction to the American Legal System 21 (2007).

Multiple authors: See R. 15.1(a) & (b) (pp. 149-150), B15.1 (pp. 22-23). For editors see R. 15.2 (p. 151). For an edition see R.15.4 (pp. 152-153).

Reynolds Robertson & Francis R. Kirkham, Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States §445 (Richard F. Wolfson & Philip B. Kurland eds., 2d ed. 1951).

Volume within a multi-volume set: See R. 15.1 (p. 149).

4 Charles Alan Wright & Arther R. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1006, at 35 (3d ed. 2002).

Shorter work within a collection: See R. 15.5.1 (p. 142).

Hon. Kathleen M. Pantle & Crystal H. Marchigiani, Arrest, Search and Seizure, in 1 Defending Illinois Criminal Cases § 1.43, at 1-60 (2010).

Citing Articles in Legal Periodicals

Legal periodicals include law reviews, journals, and newspapers. There are many permutations of citing to legal periodicals. Be sure to consult the Bluebook for specifics.

In general, cite to the author(s), title of the article (in italics), volume number of the source, title of the source (i.e., name of the journal/publication), page number on which the article begins (and if pinpoint citing, also give the page or range of pages to which you are citing), and publication year of the issue.

The following Bluebook sources are useful in constructing citations to periodical articles:

• R. 16 (pp. 159-171)
• Table 10, Geographical Terms (pp. 502-509)
• Table 12, Months (p. 510)
• Table 13, Periodicals (pp. 510-516)
  • Table 13 helps you construct the appropriate abbreviations for journal/publication titles. Institution names are provided in the first section (T 13.1, pp. 511-513) and common words in the following section.
  • For each word in the journal/publication title, look at both sections of Table 13 to see if there is an abbreviation listed for that word. If there is no abbreviation listed in Table 13, then spell out the word.
  • Note the exception to closing up single adjacent capitals in abbreviations at R. 6.1 (p. 87).

  Article in a consecutively paginated journal:

  • In consecutively paginated journals, each new issue within a given volume starts with the page number which follows the last page number in the prior issue. The volume number (before the journal title abbreviation) and the year in parentheses (at the end of the citation) are used to identify the issue. Seasons, months, etc. are not used.
  • Most traditional law reviews and law journals are consecutively paginated.
  • See R. 16.4 (p. 162), B16.1.1 (p.23), T. 13 (pp. 510-516).

  Stephen Garvey, The Attorney's Affidavit in Litigation Proceedings, 31 Stan. L. Rev. 191 (1979).

  Student-written article in a consecutively paginated journal with a pinpoint citation: See R. 16.7.1 (pp. 165-166), B16.1.3 (p. 24), T. 13 (pp. 510-516).

  Dawn M. Johnsen, Note, The Creation of Fetal Rights: Conflicts with Women's Constitutional Rights to Liberty, Privacy and Equal Protection, 95 Yale L.J. 599, 601 (1986).

  Article in a non-consecutively paginated journal:

  • In non-consecutively paginated journals, each issue of the journal starts over at page 1. Months or seasons (depending on the journal) are used to uniquely identify the issue. Volume numbers are not used.
  • See R. 16.5 (pp. 162-163), B16.1.2 (p.24), T. 12 (p. 510), T. 13 (pp. 510-516).

  Joan B, Kelley, Mediation and Adversarial Divorce: Respondent's Perceptions of Their Processes and Outcomes, Mediation Q., Summer 1989, at 71.

  Newspaper article: See R. 16.6 (pp. 163-164), B16.1.4 (p.24), T. 10 (pp. 502-509), T. 12 (p. 510), T. 13 (pp. 510-516).

  David B. Caruso, Think Tank: Law Should Encompass Homosexual Unions, Chi. Daily L. Bull., Dec. 5, 2002, at 1.