bibliography law assignment

Q. What is the format for the bibliography for Law coursework and dissertations? (OSCOLA)

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Answered By: Claire Mazer Last Updated: 16 Oct, 2023     Views: 24156

**Please check for current guidance from Brunel Law School**

In academic work more generally, a bibliography is typically used to show everything you have cited and anything else you have read, even if not cited. Recent advice from the Law School suggests that academic colleagues only wished for cited works to appear in the bibliography and not anything else. So, if you have read a source (book, article etc) , but not cited it in your footnotes, then don't include it in your bibliography.

Bibliography format for law coursework: The key points to note are that sources need to be in categories, with primary sources (cases, legislation) listed first, followed by secondary sources (books, journals, websites) all in alphabetical and then chronological order. Note that case names appear in plain text and not italics.

Note that authors names are inverted. Surname appears first followed by the initial of the first name and then a comma, i.e. Choo A, or Natile S, This does not apply to company, departmental or organisational names (including law firms and barristers chambers), i.e. European Commission, Ministry of Justice, British Red Cross, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which remain as they are in both footnotes and the bibliography.

Electronic versions of cases and journal articles: Many cases and journal articles can be found in legal databases such as Westlaw, Lexis+ etc. However, it is not necessary to cite databases as the source. Almost all law reports and journals are available in printed form. The citation itself is sufficient since it includes the law report or journal in which the case was reported or journal article was published. There are a few journals where only an electronic version is available, usually the clue is in the title: The Internet Journal of Criminology. For these titles it is necessary to add the URL in triangular brackets and the date it was accessed.

Here is a sample bibliography:

Bibliography

Pepper v Hart [1993] AC 593 (HL)

Mastercard Inc v Merricks [2021] Bus LR 25

R v Brockway (Andrew Robert) (2008) 2 Cr App R (S) 4

R v Edwards (John) (1991) 93 Cr App R 48

Legislation

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Dembour M-B, Who believes in human rights?: reflections on the European Convention (Cambridge University Press 2006)

Herring J, Criminal Law: Text and Materials (9th edn, OUP 2020)

Norrie A, Crime, Reason and History (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press 2014)

Ashworth A, ‘Social Control and “Anti-Social Behaviour”: the Subversion of Human Rights’ (2004) 120 LQR 263

Behan C and O'Donnell I, 'Prisoners, Politics and the Polls: Enfranchisement and the Burden of Responsibility' (2008) 48(3) Brit J Criminol 31

Stephens-Chu G, ‘Is it Always All About the Money? The Appropriateness of Non-Pecuniary Remedies in Investment Treaty Arbitration’ (2014) 30(4) Arbitration International 661

Gazard B, ‘What’s happened to crime during the pandemic? How ONS has responded to the measurement challenge’ ( Office for National Statistics , 25 August 2020) <https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2020/08/25/whats-happened-to-crime-during-the-pandemic-how-ons-has-responded-to-the-measurement-challenge/> accessed 16 December 2020

Gowin J, ‘Can We Predict Crime Using Brain Scans?’ ( You, Illuminated. Psychology Today, 2013)  <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-illuminated/201304/can-we-predict-crime-using-brain-scans> accessed 20 October 2020

Metropolitan Police, ‘What is hate crime?’ ( Metropolitan Police, 2021) < https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/hco/hate-crime/what-is-hate-crime/ > accessed 26 February 2021

Bibliography format for law dissertations: Broadly the same as above except that separate tables of cases / legislation / EU or International legal materials (as applicable) should appear between the end of the dissertation and the beginning of the bibliography. The purpose of the bibliography at dissertation level is to provide a list of secondary sources, i.e. books, journals, online documents, websites, blogs.

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How to Cite a Law in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on February 11, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 27, 2023.

To cite federal laws (also commonly referred to as statutes or acts) in APA Style , include the name of the law, “U.S.C.” (short for United States Code ), the title and section of the code where the law appears, the year, and optionally the URL.

The year included is when the law was published in the source consulted, not when it was passed, amended, or supplemented.

Table of contents

Symbols and abbreviations in law citations, citing federal statutes with the public law number, citing state laws, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

The United States Code and most other compilations of laws are divided into parts called “titles,” and within those titles, sections.

No symbol is used for the title in your reference, but the section number is preceded by the symbol §. To insert the section symbol in Word, click on “Insert,” “Symbol,” “More symbols,” “Special characters,” and then find it in the list under “section.”

When a law is spread across multiple consecutive sections, the term “ et seq .” (Latin for “and following”) is added after the initial section number. It is always italicized and followed by a period.

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A law may also have a public law number . This is not used in the citation, except in special cases: when the law is not (yet) included in the United States Code , or when it is spread across non-consecutive parts of the Code .

Laws not included in the Code

A law that has not been codified (published in the United States Code ) should be cited using its public law number and information about wherever it was published.

The law below was published in the United States Statutes at Large , which is abbreviated to “Stat.”

Laws spread across different sections

When an act is codified across different non-consecutive sections of the Code , it is also cited using the public law number and information about its location in the Statutes at Large .

The example below was codified in titles 2, 28, and 42 of the Code , so it is cited using the public law number instead.

The laws and statutes of individual states are cited in a similar format to federal laws where possible. “U.S.C.” is replaced with an abbreviation for the law code of that state, and titles and sections are presented in the same way. However, some state codes use article or chapter numbers instead of or in addition to section numbers, or do not use titles.

Make sure to adapt your reference to the standards of the state. For example, the title for a law from the Virginia Code is included with the section number, separated by a hyphen , as shown in this example.

Generally, you should identify a law in an APA reference entry by its location in the United States Code (U.S.C.).

But if the law is either spread across various sections of the code or not featured in the code at all, include the public law number in addition to information on the source you accessed the law in, e.g.:

No, including a URL is optional in APA Style reference entries for legal sources (e.g. court cases , laws ). It can be useful to do so to aid the reader in retrieving the source, but it’s not required, since the other information included should be enough to locate it.

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How to write a first-class bibliography for a legal essay

• November 9, 2010

How to write a bibliography to conclude your first-class dissertation

There are three stages for completing an abundant and competent bibliography. First, go into the footnotes on your document, select all, copy and paste to the foot of your article, then separate into different categories. Then, second, go back through the materials which you have read and add them. Finally, third, sort alphabetically using Word or Excel.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 7.1. TABLE OF CASES A and others v Denmark [1996] ECHR 2 AG of Zambia v Meer Care and Desai [2005] EWHC 2102 (Ch), appeals dismissed [2006] EWCA Civ 390 Airbus Industrie GIE v Patel [1999] 1 AC 119 Airey v Ireland [1979] ECHR 3 Al-Bassam v Al-Bassam [2004] EWCA Civ 857 Amuur v France (1996) 22 E.H.R.R. 533 Andreucci v Italy [1992] ECHR 8 Ashingdane v United Kingdom [1985] ECHR 8 Att. Gen. v Arthur Anderson & Co [1989] ECC 224 Axelsson v. Sweden, no.11960/86, 13 July 1990 Bensaid v United Kingdom (2001) 33 EHRR 10 Berghofer v. ASA SA Case 221/84 [1985] ECR 2699 Berisford Plc v New Hampshire Insurance [1990] 2 QB 631 Bock v. Germany [1989] ECHR 3 Boddaert v Belgium (1993) 16 EHRR 242 Bosphorus Hava Yollari Turizm Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi(“Bosphorus Airways“) v Ireland (2006) 42 EHRR 1 Bottazzi v. Italy [1999] ECHR 62 Brazilian Loans (PCIJ Publications, Series A, Nos. 20-21, p.122) Bristow Heliocopters v Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation [2004] 2 Ll Rep 150 British Airways v Laker Airways [1983] AC 58 British South Africa Co v Companhia de Moçambique [1893] AC 602 Buchholz v Germany [1981] ECHR 2 Carel Johannes Steven Bentinck v Lisa Bentinck [2007] EWCA Civ 175 Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka AS v Nomura International Plc [2003] IL Pr 20 Chellaram v Chellaram [1985] 1 Ch 409 Connelly v RTZ Corpn plc [1998] AC 854 Credit Agricole Indosuez v Unicof Ltd [2004] 1 Lloyd.s Rep 196 Cumming v Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd, The Times June 8, 1995 Darnell v United Kingdom (1993) 18 EHRR 205 Delcourt v Belgium (1979-80) 1 EHRR 355 Derbyshire CC v Times Newspapers Ltd [1992] QB 770 Deweer v Belgium (1979-80) 2 EHRR 439 Di Mauro v. Italy ECHR 1999-V Drozd and Janousek v France and Spain (1992) 14 EHRR 745 Eckle v Germany (1983) 5 EHRR 1 Elderslie Steamship Company v Burrell (1895) 22 R 389 Elefanten Schuh GmbH v Jacqmain (Case 150/80) [1981] ECR 1671 Erich Gasser GmbH v Misat Srl, C-116/02 [2005] QB 1 ERT v DEP C-260/89 [1991] ECR I-2925 F v Switzerland [1987] ECHR 32 Ferrari v Italy [1999] ECHR 64 Foti v Italy (1982) EHRR 313 Fritz and Nana v France, 75 DR 39 Golder v. United Kingdom [1975] ECHR 1 Gorbachev v Russia, No. 3354/02, Judgment of 15 February 2007. Government of the United States of America v Montgomery (No 2) [2004] UKHL 37 Guincho v Portugal (1984) 7 EHRR 223 H v France (1990) 12 EHRR 74 Hesperides Hotels Ltd v Aegan Turkish Holidays Ltd [1979] AC 508 Hewit’s Trs v Lawson (1891) 18 R 793. Huseyin Erturk v Turkey [2005] ECHR 630. Irish Shipping Ltd v Commercial Union [1991] 2 QB 206. Iveco Fiat v Van Hool Case 313/85 [1986] ECR 3337 Jones v Saudi Arabia [2004] EWCA Civ 1394 JP Morgan Europe Ltd v Primacom [2005] EWHC 508 Katte Klitsche de la Grange v Italy (1994) 19 EHRR 368 Klockner Holdings GmbH v Klockner Beteiligungs GmbH [2005] EWHC 1453 Konamaneni v Rolls-Royce Industrial Power (India) Ltd [2002] 1 WLR 1269 Konig v Federal Republic of Germany (1978) 2 EHRR 170 Krombach v Bamberski Case C-7/98 [2001] QB 709 Kudla v Poland [2000] ECHR 512 Lacey v Cessna Aircraft (1991) 932 F.2d 170 Ledra Fisheries Ltd v Turner [2003] EWHC 1049 Lubbe v Cape Industries Plc [2000] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 383 Malone v United Kingdom (1985) 7 EHRR 1 Malstrom v Sweden (1983) 38 Decisions and Reports 18 Manieri v Italy [1992] ECHR 26 Margareta and Roger Andersson v Sweden (1992) 14 EHRR 615. Markovic v Italy [2006] ECHR 1141 Maronier v Larmer [2003] QB 620 Matthews v United Kingdom [1999] ECHR 12. Messier-Dowty v Sabena [2000] 1 WLR 2040 Netherlands 6202/73 1975 1 DR 66 OT Africa Line Ltd v Hijazy (The Kribi) [2001] Lloyd’s Rep 76 Owens Bank Ltd v Bracco [1992] 2 AC 433 Owners of the Atlantic Star v Owners of the Bona Spes (The Atlantic Star and The Bona Spes) [1974] AC 436 Owusu v Jackson and Others C-281/02 [2005] QB 801 Pafitis v Greece (1999) 27 EHRR 566 Pfeiffer and Plankl v Austria (1992) 14 EHRR 692 Philip Morris International Inc v Commission of the European Communities [2003] ECR II-1 Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein v Germany ECHR 2001-VIII. R (Razgar) v Special Adjudicator [2004] 1 AC 368 R v Jones [2003] 1 AC 1 R. (Alconbury Developments Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Environment [2001] 2 WLR 1389 R. (on the application of Ullah) v Special Adjudicator [2004] UKHL 26 Riccardo Pizzati v Italy [2006] ECHR 275 Robins v United Kingdom (1998) 26 EHRR 527 Salesi v Italy [1993] ECHR 14 Salotti v RUWA Case 23/76 [1976] ECR 1831 Santambrogio v Italy [2004] ECHR 430 Scopelliti v Italy (1993) 17 EHRR 493 Sim v Robinow (1892) 19 R 665 Soc Divagsa v Spain (1993) 74 DR 274. Soering v United Kingdom (1989) 11 EHRR 439 Spiliada Maritime Corporation v Cansulex Lid [1987] 1 AC 460 Standard Steamship Owners Protection and Indemnity Association v Gann [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 528 Stogmuller v Austria (1979) 2 EHRR 155 Stubbings v United Kingdom [1996] ECHR 44 Sunday Times v United Kingdom (1979-80) 2 EHRR 245 The Al Battani [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 219 The Benarty [1984] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 244 The Fehmarn [1958] 1 WLR 159 The Jalakrishna [1983] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 628 The Lakhta [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 269 The Nile Rhapsody [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 399 The Pioneer Container [1994] 2 AC 324 The Polessk [1996] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 40 The Vishva Ajay [1989] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 558 Toepfer International G.M.B.H. v. Molino Boschi Srl [1996] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 510 Trendex v Credit Suisse [1982] AC 679 Turner v Grovit and Others [2005] 1 AC 101 Union Alimentaria SA v Spain (1990) 12 EHRR 24 Vocaturo v Italy [1991] ECHR 34. Wemhoff v Germany (1968) 1 EHRR 55 Winterwerp v The Netherlands [1979] ECHR 4 X v France [1992] ECHR 45 Xn Corporation Ltd v Point of Sale Ltd [2001] I.L.Pr. 35 Z and Others v. United Kingdom (2002) 34 EHRR 3 Zimmermann and Steiner v Switzerland [1983] ECHR 9 7.2. TABLE OF LEGISLATION European Union EC Treaty Art 6(2) Art 307 Council Regulation 44/2001 (Brussels Regulation) Art 2 Art 4 Art 27 Art 28 Art 30 Art 34(1) Art 34(2) Art 35(3) Art 71 Italy Law no.89 of 24 March 2001 (the “Pinto Act”). United Kingdom Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 11 r 3.1(2)(f) Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) s1(1)(a) s2(1)(a) s3(1) s6(3)(a) 7.3. TABLE OF CONVENTIONS Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels Convention) Art 21 Art 22 Art 57 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Art 5 Art 6 Art 7 Art 13 7.4. TEXTBOOKS Anton, A.E., and Beaumont, P., 1995. Anton & Beaumont’s Civil Jurisdiction in Scotland: Brussels and Lugano Conventions. 2nd ed ., Edinburgh: Greens Bell, A., 2003. Forum Shopping and Venue in Transnational Litigation. Oxford: OUP Briggs, A., 2002. The Conflict of Laws, Oxford: OUP. Briggs, A., and Rees, P., 2002. Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments. 3rd ed., London: LLP Briggs, A., and Rees, P., 2005. Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments. 4rd ed., London: LLP Clarkson, C.M.V., and Hill, J., 2002. Jaffey on the Conflict of Laws. 2nd ed., Oxford: OUP Clarkson, C.M.V., and Hill, J., 2006. The Conflict of Laws. New York: OUP Clayton, R. and Tomlinson, H., 2000. The Law of Human Rights. Oxford: OUP Collier, J.C., 2001. Conflict of Laws. 3rd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Collins, L., et al (eds), 2006. Dicey Morris and Collins on the Conflict of Laws. 14th ed. London: Sweet and Maxwell Crawford, E.B., and Carruthers, J.M., 2006. International Private Law in Scotland. 2nd ed, Edinburgh: Greens Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh. The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press. Fawcett, J.J., 1995. Declining jurisdiction in private international law: reports to the XIVth congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, Athens, August 1994. Oxford: Clarendon Press Fawcett, J.J., Harris, J. and Bridge, M., 2005. International Sale of Goods in the Conflict of Laws. Oxford: OUP Grosz, S., Beatson, J. and Duffy, P., 2000. Human Rights: The 1998 Act and the European Convention,.London: Sweet and Maxwell Harris, D.J., O’Boyle, M., Warbrick, C., 1995. Law of the European Convention on Human Rights. London: Butterworth Hill, J., 2005. International Commercial Disputes in English Courts. 3rd ed Portland: Hart Publishing McClean, D. and Beevers, K., 2005. Morris on the Conflict of Laws. 6th ed., London: Sweet and Maxwell North, P.M. and Fawcett, J.J., 2004. Cheshire and North’s Private International Law. 13th ed. Oxford: OUP Ovey, C. and White, R., 2002. The European Convention on Human Rights. New York: OUP Raitio, J., 2003. The Principle of Legal Certainty in EC Law. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers Reed, R. and Murdoch, J., 2001. A Guide to Human Rights Law in Scotland. Edinburgh: Butterworths Scotland Starmer, K., 1999. European Human Rights Law. London: Legal Action Group 7.5. ARTICLES Baldwin, J., and Cunnington, R., 2004. “The Crisis in Enforcement of Civil Judgments in England and Wales.” 2004 PL (SUM) 305-328 Briggs, A., 2005a. “Foreign Judgments and Human Rights.” 121(APR) L.Q.R. 185-189 Briggs, A., 2005b. “The Death of Harrods: Forum non Conveniens and the European Court.” 121(OCT) L.Q.R. 535-540 Clarke, A., 2007. “The Differing Approach to Commercial Litigation in the European Court of Justice and the Courts of England and Wales” 18 E.B.L.Rev. 101-129 Collins, L., 1995. “The Brussels Convention Within the United Kingdom”, 111 LQR 541 Costa, J-P., 2002, Rivista internazionale dei diritti dell’uomo, 435, cited in Kinsch, P., 2004. “The Impact of Human Rights on the Application of Foreign Law and on the Recognition of Foreign Judgments – A Survey of the Cases Decided by the European Human Rights Institutions,” in Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh, The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press, pp197-228, p228 n100 Crawford, E.B., 2005. “The Uses of Putativity and Negativity in the Conflict of Laws.” 54 ICLQ 829-854 Crifo, C., 2005. “First Steps Towards the Harmonisation of Civil procedure: The Regulation Creating a European Enforcement Order for Uncontested Claims.” C.J.Q. 2005, 24(APR), 200-223 Eardley, A., 2006. “Libel Tourism in England: Now the Welcome is Even Warmer.” 17(1) Ent. L.R. 35-38 Fabri, M., and Langbroek, P.M., 2003. “Preliminary draft report: Delay in Judicial Proceedings: A preliminary Inquiry into the Relation Between the Demands of the Reasonable Time Requirements of Article 6(1) ECHR and Their Consequences for Judges and Judicial Administration in the Civil, Criminal and Administrative Justice Chains”, CEPEJ (2003) 20 Rev Farran, S., 2007. “Conflicts of Laws in Human Rights: Consequences for Colonies”, (2007) 1 EdinLR 121 Fawcett, J.J., 2007. “The Impact of Article 6(1) of the ECHR on Private International Law.” 56 ICLQ 1-48 Fentiman, R., 2005. “English Domicile and the Staying of Actions” [2005] 64 CLJ 303 Flannery, L., 2004. “The End of Anti-Suit Injunctions?” New Law Journal, 28 May 2004, 798 Franzosi, M., 2002. “Torpedoes are here to stay” [2002] 2 International Review of Industrial Property and Copyright Law 154 Franzosi, M., 1997. “Worldwide Patent Litigation and the Italian Torpedo” 19 (7) EIPR 382 Green, L., 1956. “Jury Trial and Mr. Justice Black,” 65 Yale LJ 482 Halkerston, G., 2005. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” 155 NLJ 436 Hare, C., “Forum non Conveniens in Europe: Game Over or Time for ‘Reflexion’” JBL 2006, Mar, 157-179 Harris, J., 2001. “The Brussels Regulation.” 20 Civil Justice Quarterly 218 Harris, J., 2005. “Stays of Proceedings and the Brussels Convention.,” 54 ICLQ 933 Hartley, T.C., 1994. “Brussels Jurisdiction and Judgments Convention: Agreement and Lis Alibi Pendens.” 19(5) E.L.Rev 549-552 Hartley, T.C., 2001. “International Law and the Law of the European Union – A Reassessment”, 72 BYBIL 1 Hartley, T.C., 2005a. “Choice-of-court agreements, lis pendens, human rights and the realities of international business: reflection on the Gasser case” in Le droit international privé: mélanges en l’honneur de Paul Lagarde, (Dalloz, Paris, 2005), pp383-391 Hartley, T.C., 2005b. “The European Union and the Systematic Dismantling of the Common Law Conflict of Laws”, 54 ICLQ 813 Higgins, R., 2006. “A Babel of Judicial Voices? Ruminations From the Bench.” 55 ICLQ 791-804. Hogan, G., 1995. “The Brussels Convention, Forum non Conveniens and the Connecting Factors Problem.” 20(5) E.L. Rev. 471-493 Hood, K.J., 2006. “Drawing Inspiration? Reconsidering the Procedural Treatment of Foreign Law.” 2(1) JPrIL 181-193. Hunt, M., 1998. “The “Horizontal Effect” of the Human Rights Act”. 1998 Public Law 423-443 Hunter-Henin, M., 2006. “Droit des personnes et droits de l’homme: combinaison ou confrontation? (Family Law and Human Rights: Can They Go Along or Do They Exclude Each Other?),” 95(4) Revue critique de droit international privé pp743-775. Kennett, W., 1998. “Service of Documents in Europe.” 17(JUL) C.J.Q. 284-307 Kennett, W., 2001. “The Brussels I Regulation.” 50 ICLQ 725 -737 Kennett, W., 2001. “The Enforcement Review: A Progress Report.” 20(Jan) CJQ 36-57 Kennett, W., and McEleavy, P., 2002. “(Current Development): Civil and Commercial Litigation” 51 ICLQ 463 Kinsch, P., 2004. “The Impact of Human Rights on the Application of Foreign Law and on the Recognition of Foreign Judgments – A Survey of the Cases Decided by the European Human Rights Institutions,” in Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh, The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press, pp197-228. Lester, A., and Pannick, D., 2000. “The Impact of the Human Rights Act on Private Law: The Knight’s Move.” 116 LQR 380-385 Loucaides, L.G., 2003. “Questions of a Fair Trial Under the European Convention on Human Rights.” (2003) HRLR 3(1), pp27-51. Lowenfield, A.F., 2004. “Jurisdiction, Enforcement, Public Policy and Res Judicata: The Krombach Case,” in in Einhorn, T. and Siehr, K., 2004. Intercontinental Cooperation Through Private International Law – Essays in Memory of Peter E. Nygh, The Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press, pp229-248 Mance, J., 2004a. “Civil Jurisdiction in Europe – Choice of Court Clauses, Competing Litigation and Anti-Suit Injunctions – Erich Gasser v. Misat and Turner v. Grovit: Address to Second Conference of European Commercial Judges, (“Problems of enforcement of european law”)” Paris – 14th October 2004; http://www.courdecassation.fr/formation_br_4/2004_2034/jonathan_mance_8239.html, (Accessed 10 March 2007) Mance, J., 2004b. “Exclusive Jurisdiction Agreements and European Ideals.” 120 LQR 357 Mance, J., 2005. “The Future of Private International Law.” 1(2) JPrIL 185-195 Mance, J., 2007. “Is Europe Aiming to Civilise the Common Law?” 18 EBLRev 77-99 McLachlan, C., 2004. “International Litigation and the Reworking of the Conflict of Laws” 120(OCT) LQR 580-616 Meidanis, H.P., 2005. “Public Policy and Ordre Public in the Private International Law of the EU: Traditional Positions and Moderns Trends.” 30(1), ELRev, 95-110 Merrett, L., 2006. “The Enforcement of Jurisdiction Agreements within the Brussels Regime,” 55 ICLQ 315 Muir Watt, H., 2001. “Evidence of an Emergent European Legal Culture: Public Policy Requirements of Procedural Fairness Under the Brussels and Lugano Conventions.” 36 Tex. ILJ, p. 539. North, P., 2001. “Private International Law: Change or Decay?” 50 ICLQ 477-508 Orakhelashvili, A., 2006. “The Idea of European International Law.” 17 Eur. J. Int’l L. 315 Peel, E., 2001. “Forum non Conveniens Revisited.” 117(APR) L.Q.R. 187-194 Robertson, D.W., 1987. “Forum Non Conveniens in America and England: ‘A rather fantastic fiction’.” 103 LQR 398 Robert-Tissot, S., and Smith, D., 2005. “The Battle for Forum”, New Law Journal, 7 October 2005, p1496 Robert-Tissot, S., 2005. “The Battle for Forum.” 155 NLJ 1496 Rodger, B.J., 2006. “Forum non Conveniens: Post Owusu.” 2(1) JPrIL 71 Schiavetta, S., 2004. “The Relationship Between e-ADR and Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights pursuant to the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights.” 2004 (1) The Journal of Information, Law and Technology (JILT). http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2004_1/schiavetta/ (Accessed 28 February 2007) Sinopoli, L., 2000. Le droit au procès équitable dans les rapports privés internationaux (doctoral dissertation, University of Paris-I, 2000) Slater, A.G., 1988. “Forum Non Conveniens: A View From the Shop Floor.” 104 LQR 554 Svantesson, D.J.B., 2005. “In Defence of the Doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens.” (2005) HKLJ 395 Van Hoek: 2001. “Case note on Krombach v Bamberski” (2001) 38 CMLR 1011. Wade, H.W.R., 2000. “Horizons of Horizontality.” 116 LQR 217-224 Williams, J.M., 2001. “Forum non Conveniens, Lubbe v Cape and Group Josi v Universal General Insurance.” J.P.I. Law 2001, 1, 72-77 Zhenjie, H., 2001. “Forum Non Conveniens: An Unjustified Doctrine.” 48 NILR 143

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The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC4) is the official citing and referencing style for legal citations in Australia. A free copy of AGLC4 is available to view and download from the publisher's website .

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Footnote citations: rules

2. Bibliography

At the end of your assignment you need to provide a record of all the sources you have cited in your assignment. It is placed on a new page at the end of your essay and has a specific format you will need to follow.  

Bibliography: rules and examples

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Citing and referencing for Law

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Citing & Referencing for academic writing

What is oscola.

• Citing examples
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It is important to cite and reference your sources in any work you produce for your assignments. Referencing is a way of acknowledging that you have used the ideas and written material belonging to another author. It demonstrates that you have undertaken an appropriate literature search and that you have carried out appropriate reading. It enables anyone reading your work to look up your citations and read them for themselves.

Please refer to your 'Student Handbook' or contact your lecturer to determine which reference style you need to use. Remember any piece of written work submitted will be marked for correct reference and citation.

When to Cite?

If the facts are common knowledge, then there is no need to provide a citation. However, if you are in any doubt it is better to cite the source . Here are a few examples:

“The capital of Colombia is Bogota.”  This is a common fact and does not need to be cited.

“Bogota is the best city in Colombia.”  This is an opinion. Who says so? What context? This needs to be cited properly to explain your statement.

“In my personal opinion Bogota is the best city in Colombia.”  This is an opinion but you are clearly stating it is your personal view and you are not actually citing another source. However, you would be expected to illustrate and justify this view in your essay by comparing opinions and illustrating with appropriate evidence. These facts and pieces of evidence would need to be cited.

OSCOLA (the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) is a way of citing and referencing legal materials.

Full guidance on the OSCOLA rules can be found in the comprehensive OSCOLA guide (PDF) , however here are some quick pointers to get you started:

What does OSCOLA look like?

OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style. That means that you have small superscript numbers in your text (e.g.  1, 2, 3, etc.) and these link to footnotes at the bottom of each page.

For longer documents, you may be asked* to include a list of abbreviations and tables of cases, legislation and other primary sources at the start, and a bibliography of secondary sources at the end. This is in addition to your footnotes. The items in your bibliography will take a slightly citation format to those in your footnotes, so read the guidance at pages 10-12 carefully before preparing a list of abbreviations, tables and a bibliography.

*Note: Please check your programme handbook or ask your supervisor whether you are expected to produce abbreviations, tables of cases and legislation and a bibliography, and - if so - if these should be in any particular order/format.

How do I present a quotation within my document?

You will probably want to include quotes from cases, books, etc. in your work. Pages 8-10 provide comprehensive advice on this, but as a rough guide:

• If the quotation is short (up to 3 lines), you should put it into single quotation marks and incorporate it within your text. 
• If the quotation is longer, it should be presented in an indented paragraph.

RefWorks is a bibliographic software tool which allows you to manage your research material by importing and adding your references to an online database. You can then manage your references and use their details to create bibliographies. RefWorks offers an OSCOLA style, but please note that you should always carefully check the references and bibliographies created by RefWorks to make sure that they comply with the rules in the OSCOLA guide.

If you are new to RefWorks and would like to try using it, go to the RefWorks website and  click the “Create account” link. Fill in your information making sure you use your City email address . You will receive an email to your City email address with a link to complete the registration process. Once you activate your account you’ll get access to RefWorks immediately.

City Libraries have created a really useful Refworks guide for new users.

As mentioned above, although bibliographic software tools like RefWorks can be a handy way to manage references, you need to manually check all of the references and bibliographies that they produce, as errors can occur.

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Referencing in law.

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When submitting a piece of academic work, you  must  properly acknowledge the sources of information that you have used in your research.  You must reference your sources whenever you quote, paraphrase, or use someone else's ideas or words. 

At TOP, the style of referencing used in Law is know as the  AUSTRALIAN GUIDE TO LEGAL CITATION (AGLC) . 

Using this system, acknowledgement is in the form of:

• Footnotes : Citations in the body of the page, using a superscript )raised) number placed after the relevant text, which refers to a footnote listed at the bottom of the page.
• Bibliography : Provided at the end of the paper, this gives detailed information about each source featured in the footnotes, as well as details of the other sources consulted in preparation of the assignment.
• Australian Guide to Legal Citation The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) is published by the Melbourne University Law Review Association in collaboration with the Melbourne Journal of International Law and is the most widely used citation standard in Australia. It seeks to provide the Australian legal community with a standard for citing legal sources.
• Deakin University AGLC Guide An easy to use guide to the AGLC from Deakin University.
• UWA Guide to Referencing in Law A helpful library guide from University of Western Australia on legal citations using AGLC.
• Sydney Brief Guide to AGLC University of Sydney simple guide to AGLC.

Adding Footnotes to Microsoft Word

• Adding Footnotes to Word on PC Helpful guide to adding footnotes in Microsoft Word for Windows users.
• Adding Footnotes to Word on Mac How to add footnotes to Microsoft Word using an Apple Mac.

Legal Citation

Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed 2018) (AGLC4) Summary of Key Forms of Citation and Principles Footnotes, Headings and Bibliographies • AGLC4 uses footnotes, not endnotes. (The general rules for footnotes can be found in Part I Chapter 1.1 – 1.4.6, pages 1-14.) • Advice on levels of headings for use in written work can be found at 1.12 (page 34) • Advice on how to set out bibliographies can be found at 1.13 (pages 35-37).

PRIMARY SOURCES OF LAW Case Law (Part II Chapter 2, pages 39 ff)

Example     R vTang                   (2008)      237           CLR                                        1    .                  7

                   Bakker v Stewart      {1980}                       VR                                         17                     22

Element     Case name               Year         Volume     Law Report Series                  Starting Page  Pinpoint Ref.

On when to use round brackets ‘( )’ and square brackets ‘[ ]’, please see the explanation at 2.2.1 (page 49). On using authorized versions of case law, see 2.2.2-2.2.3 (pages 50-51). Legislation (Part II Chapter 3, pages 67 ff)

Example        Crimes Act      1900          (NSW)                 s 10 Element          Title                Year           Jurisdiction        Pinpoint

SECONDARY SOURCES Journal Articles (Part III Chapter 5 pages 91 ff)

Example  Harold Luntz, A Personal Journey through the Law of Torts’ (2005) 27(3)                 Sydney Law Review 393 ,           400 Element    Author           Title                                                                   Year  Volume & Issue   Journal Title             Start page Pinpoint

Books (Part III Chapter 6, pages 98 ff)

Example   Malcolm N Shaw, International Law (Cambridge University Press, 7th ed, 2014) 578 Element    Author                  Title                              Publication details                                  Pinpoint

Chapters in Edited Books (Part III Chapter 6.6.1 page 103

Example Jeremy Waldron, ‘Do Judges Reason Morally? in Grant Huscroft  Expounding the Constitution:(Cambridge University    38. Element    Author              Chapter title                             In Editor                Title                                         Publication details         Start page

Law Reform Commission Publications (Part III Chapter 7.1.4, pages 108-109)

Example Australian Law Reform Commission, Elder Abuse (Discussion Paper No 83, December 2016) ,       339 [7.7] Element  Law Reform Body                               Title               Type of Publication, number, date publication     Pinpoint

Parliamentary Debates (Part III chapter 7.5.1, page 115)

Example Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, Senate,    7 February 2017,      39           (George Brandis, Attorney-General). Element   Jurisdiction        Parliamentary Debates Chamber   Full date of debate   Pinpoint   (Name of Speaker)

For Internet materials, see pages 130-132 For International materials, see Part IV (pages 133 ff)

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NWU Law House Style Referencing Guide

• Introduction
• Bibliography
• Chapters in books
• Conference contributions
• Theses and dissertations
• Journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Other literature resources
• Legislation
• International law instruments
• South African government publications
• Internet sources
• LAW PDF Reference Guide

Other styles

• NWU Harvard Referencing Guide 
• APA Referencing Guide

The bibliography

The basics of the bibliography.

• Example of a bibliography

(a) The document must be provided with a bibliography with sub-headings.

(b)  Do not place a full stop after a listed source.

(c) Sources are alphabetised under the following sub-headings in the order which they appear below:

(i)  Literature – All books, chapters in books compiled by editors, conference contributions, theses, dissertations, journal articles and newspaper articles, arranged in alphabetical order.

(ii)  Case law – All reported and unreported case law.

(iii)  Legislation – All statutes referred to, including the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and statutes of foreign countries.

(iv)  International instruments – including international resolutions, conventions and treaties.

(v)  Government publications – including sources officially published in the Government Gazette such as Government Notices, Proclamations and General Notices. 

(vi) Internet sources – All materials exclusively accessible on the Internet, which do not fall under the list of references above, for example information obtained from websites and blogs. (Note: scholarly journal articles and e-books accessed via online databases should be included under the sub-heading "Literature".)

• Example of Law Bibliography
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Referencing - International Law: Bibliography

• Repeated references
• Bibliography
• United Nations Treaty Series
• League of Nations Treaty Series
• Bilateral treaty
• GATT agreement
• WTO agreement
• International Court of Justice
• International Criminal Court
• International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• Nuremberg Tribunal
• GATT decision
• WTO decision
• International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendation
• Permanent Court of Arbitration
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• UN Security Council (UNSC)
• UN General Assembly (UNGA)
• UN Sixth Committee
• UN Secretary-General
• UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
• UN Special Rapporteurs or Representatives
• UN Diplomatic Conference
• Other UN agencies
• UN Yearbook
• Book with one author
• Book with two authors
• Book with three authors
• Book with more than three authors
• Edited book
• Contribution to an edited book
• Encyclopedia
• Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law
• Journal article
• Newspaper article
• Working paper
• International year book
• Websites/Web documents
• Citing Other Jurisdictions
• Plagiarism & Copyright This link opens in a new window

How do I create a bibliography?

A bibliography contains full references to all the sources you have cited or relied on for your assignment or dissertation.

The bibliography should be divided into the following categories, as appropriate:

• UK statutes (Acts)
• UK statutory instruments
• EU legislation
• International legislation
• International cases
• Official materials (e.g. UN documents, reports)
• Journal articles and year books
• Newspaper articles
• Websites / web documents
• Other materials.

List sources in alphabetical order within each category.

What if an author has written more than one source?

If citing several sources of the same type (e.g. books) by the same author, list the author's works in chronological order (starting with the oldest) within the relevant category.

If an author has written several sources of the same type (e.g. books) that were published in the same year, list them in alphabetical order of first major word of the title within the relevant category.

How do I reference an author's name in a bibliography?

An author's name is referenced differently in a footnote and a bibliography. This applies to ANY source with a named author.

In a footnote, cite the author's name exactly as it is given in the source used (see 'Footnotes' ):

In a bibliography, give the author's last name followed by his/her initial(s) with no punctuation between them:

What if a source doesn't have an author?

If a source doesn't have a named person or an organization as the author, treat it as an unattributed work in the biblography.

Begin the reference with a double dash - - in place of an author's name.

List the unattributed work at the beginning of the relevant section in the bibliography. The example above is a journal article, so it would be listed at the beginning of the 'Journal articles' section.

If there is more than one unattributed work in a section, list them in alphabetical order of first major word of the title.

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Research Guides: Legal Research and Writing Bibliography

The following titles are available in the library to assist in learning the art of studying, researching, and writing in law school.

Legal Research

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Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

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• Bibliography

If you are using Chicago style footnotes or endnotes, you should include a bibliography at the end of your paper that provides complete citation information for all of the sources you cite in your paper. Bibliography entries are formatted differently from notes. For bibliography entries, you list the sources alphabetically by last name, so you will list the last name of the author or creator first in each entry. You should single-space within a bibliography entry and double-space between them. When an entry goes longer than one line, use a hanging indent of .5 inches for subsequent lines. Here’s a link to a sample bibliography that shows layout and spacing . You can find a sample of note format here .

Complete note vs. shortened note

Here’s an example of a complete note and a shortened version of a note for a book:

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated , 27-35.

Note vs. Bibliography entry

The bibliography entry that corresponds with each note is very similar to the longer version of the note, except that the author’s last and first name are reversed in the bibliography entry. To see differences between note and bibliography entries for different types of sources, check this section of the Chicago Manual of Style .

For Liquidated , the bibliography entry would look like this:

Ho, Karen, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.

Citing a source with two or three authors

If you are citing a source with two or three authors, list their names in your note in the order they appear in the original source. In the bibliography, invert only the name of the first author and use “and” before the last named author.

1. Melissa Borja and Jacob Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17, no. 3 (2019): 80-81, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Shortened note:

1. Borja and Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics,” 80-81.

Bibliography:

Borja, Melissa, and Jacob Gibson. “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17. no. 3 (2019): 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Citing a source with more than three authors

If you are citing a source with more than three authors, include all of them in the bibliography, but only include the first one in the note, followed by et al. ( et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others”).

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults,” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1271.

Short version of note:

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability,” 1271.

Nagurney, Justine M., Ling Han, Linda Leo‐Summers, Heather G. Allore, Thomas M. Gill, and Ula Hwang. “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults.” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1270–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14088 .

Citing a book consulted online

If you are citing a book you consulted online, you should include a URL, DOI, or the name of the database where you found the book.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35, https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Bibliography entry:

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Citing an e-book consulted outside of a database

If you are citing an e-book that you accessed outside of a database, you should indicate the format. If you read the book in a format without fixed page numbers (like Kindle, for example), you should not include the page numbers that you saw as you read. Instead, include chapter or section numbers, if possible.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), chap. 2, Kindle.

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Kindle.

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• Citing Sources
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• Bibliographies
• A bibliography appears at the end of a document and lists all sources relied upon (not just those referred to in text and in footnotes)
• Do not include pinpoint references in a bibliography (Note that the starting page of some sources, such as journal articles and reported cases, forms part of the citation and is separate from the pinpoint)
• Do not place a full stop at the end of a citation
• In a bibliography, the author's surname comes before their first name, separated by a comma (if a source has more than one author, only the first author is listed as surname first)
• Case name or legislation title
• The first listed author's surname
• The name of the institution (excluding the word 'the')
• Where there is no author, the first word of the title (excluding the word 'the')
• A bibliography may be divided into the sections as shown below (you may change/remove/add other categories or subdivisions as relevant/needed):

A   Articles/Books/Reports

B  Cases

C  Legislation

D  Treaties

E  Other

Example bibliography

Bibliography.

A   Articles/Books/Reports

Bedford, Narelle and Monica Taylor, 'Model No More: Querulent Behaviour, Vexatious Litigants and the Vexatious Proceedings Act 2005 (Qld)' (2014) 24(1)  Journal of Judicial Administration  46

Boulle, Laurence and Rachael Field,  Mediation in Australia  (LexisNexis Buttersworths, 2018)

Haas, Ulrich and Deborah Healey (eds),  Doping in Sport and the Law  (Hart, 2016)

James, Nickolas et al,  Business and Company Law  (Wiley, 2 nd  ed, 2019)

Kenny, Paul, Michael Blissenden and Sylvia Villios, 'Wine Options of Australian Tax Reform' (2017) 15(1)  eJournal of Tax Research  22

Kirby, Michael, 'Judicial Independence and Accountability: An Asia-Pacific Perspective' [2009] (1)  LAWASIA Journal  1

OECD,  The Future of Education and Skills: Education 2030  (Report, 2018)

Ong,  Denis,  Trusts Law in Australia  (Federation Press, 5 th  ed, 2018)

Svantesson, Dan Jerker B and William Van Caenegem, 'Is it Time for an Offence of "Dishonest Algorithmic Manipulation for Electoral Gain"?' (2017) 42(3)  Alternative Law Journal  184

Vivian, Alison et al, 'Indigenous Self-Government in the Australian Federation' (2017) 20(1)  Australian Indigenous Law Review  215

B   Cases

AAT Case 7422  (1991) 22 ATR 3450

Blundell v Queensland Building and Construction Commission  [2018] QSC 58

Brown v Tasmania  (2017) 261 CLR 328

Moroccanoil Israel Ltd v Aldi Foods Pty Ltd  (2017) AIPC ¶92-533

Morris v Morris  [1982] 1 NSWLR 61

Palmer v Ayres  [2017] HCA 5

R  v Schelvis  (2016) 263 A Crim R 1

R v Visconti  [1982] 2 NSWLR 104

Re Nguyen and Migration Agents Registration Authority  [2012] AATA 925

Ross v Chambers  (Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Kriewaldt J, 5 April 1956)

Waddy v Rabba  [1982] Qd R 20

C   Legislation

Australian Constitution

Constitution of Queensland 2001  (Qld)

Family Law Act 1975  (Cth)

High Court Rules 2004  (Cth)

Refugee Protection Bill 2018 (Cth)

Right to Information Act 2009  (Qld)

Right to Information Bill 2009 (Qld)

Right to Information Regulation 2009  (Qld)

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999  (Qld)

D   Other

CCH Australia,  Australian Family Law and Practice Premium Commentary  (online at 28 February 2019)

Crowe, Jonathan and Zali Brookes, 'How Do We Think About Lolita? Difference, Alterity and Animal Liberation' (Speech, Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Annual Conference, 6–8 July 2018)

Explanatory Memorandum, Freedom to Marry Bill 2016 (Cth)

Explanatory Notes, Right to Information Bill 2009 (Qld)

Jackson, Melanie and Daniel Walker, 'Boolean Guess Who? Using Gamification to Engage First Year Law Students with Advanced Legal Research Techniques', Centre for Professional Legal Education (Blog Post, 3 December 2022) <https://www.cple.blog/posts/boolean-guess-who-using-gamification-to-engage-first-year-law-students-with-advanced-legal-research-techniques>

LexisNexis,  Halsbury's Laws of Australia  (online at 27 February 2019) 10 Administrative Law

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OSCOLA (Law) Referencing Guide

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• Understanding Legal Citations
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Some lecturers may require you to include a bibliography at the end of your assignment. References in a bibliography should include the full details for each source, in the same format as your footnotes, listed in alphabetical order, by author surname.

The only differences are that the author surname comes first followed by the initial, with a comma afterwards (for example, Fisher E,), and you do not include a full stop at the end of your reference.

If there is more than one source for a particular author, list these in chronological order, oldest first.

The bibliography may be divided into sections, for example legislation, cases, books, journal articles, websites etc.

Table of cases:   These are in alphabetical order and the party names should not be italicised.

Table of legislation:   These are in alphabetical order if there are multiple acts with the same name put them in chronological order. 

List of all secondary sources:   These are in alphabetical order by author.  All secondary sources are mixed in the one list.

Guidance for formatting books and journal articles in a bibliography:

• Reverse the name so that the surname is first.
• There is no full stop at the end.
• Use a comma after the final initial and before the title.
• Only book titles, command papers, Law Commission Reports, select committee reports and webpages go in italics .
• Pinpoints, leave these out but retain the starting page number for journal articles.
• Journal titles should appear in their full form in the bibliography. 
• The titles of unattributed works should be preceded by a double em-dash. Arrange works in alphabetical order of author surname, with any unattributed works listed at the beginning in alphabetical order of the first major word of the title. 

In a bibliography, you may find you need to list several books by the same author. These should be placed in chronological order (starting with the oldest). There is no need to repeat the author’s name. This can be replaced by a double em-dash as follows: 

Hart HLA,  Law, Liberty and Morality  (OUP 1963) — — Punishment and Responsibility  (OUP 1968) 

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How to Write a Bibliography for Assignments

Team Desklib

Published: 2022-09-24

Every written assignment must include a bibliography, which is just as important as the material itself. This phrase refers to a list of all the resources you used to complete a particular assignment.

These resources primarily fall under two categories:

Written down, such as in books, articles, reports, etc.

The majority of digital sources are found on the web.

Many students  find it difficult to finish the first, second, and third pages of their bibliography. Continue reading if you want to learn how to effectively compose a  Bibliography for a project  on any subject.

Every written assignment must include a bibliography, which is just as important as the material itself. This phrase refers to a list of all the resources you used to complete a particular assignment. These resources primarily fall under two categories:

The majority of digital sources are found on the web

Things to be noted while writing a Bibliography

A work's author should be credited using their full name;

Title in its entirety (for magazines, be sure to note the volume and number);

Date, location, and publication company (often, the city will suffice);

The name of the publishing house;

The page's border.

When using web sources, the following information is necessary

If there is a clear title, 

The name of the business that designed the website;

The date that you last used this source; 

Copy the URL in its entirety.

What is the Meaning of Bibliography 

A research paper may be required for several academic assignments. The chore of writing a paper for a school project can be challenging. You must keep track of the sources you utilize, whether you are writing for a college or high school audience, and cite them at the end of your paper. Your professor or you will determine the style of a reference list or bibliography you use for your academic project.

Better use end-to-end numbering when compiling a bibliographic list. Before you hit the submit button on your work, go over the basics and double-check that no sources were consulted. All sources must be cited in this manner.

Not sure about the proper order in which to list your sources? Generally, follow the accepted procedure. 

The official literature is the first to be cited in an academic publication. Therefore, the works by foreign authors ought to be removed. You should continue immediately to the native works in the other language.

The alphabet is your best buddy if one author uses a lot of sources.

Theses and term papers have no place in a bibliography. These are instructional pieces. The specific guidelines of a journal govern the sequence of links in a bibliography for academic articles. As a result, before turning in a paper, you should thoroughly research how to create a bibliography for an assignment using, for example, the MLA style.

Last but not least, remember that the bibliographic description includes crucial details about the document. Its presentation often adheres to a set of guidelines. Typically, the goal is the same: to identify and describe the document's general features in the bibliographic record.

Despite the intricacy, adhering to following general guidelines will help you succeed while creating bibliographies for your assignments. 

Understand the Bibliography Format 

You have completed your essay. Make an alphabetical list of all the books, magazines, and websites you used right now. This list is sometimes referred to as the bibliography. Get a sample of a bibliography in the MLA, APA, or Chicago styles because a bibliography example can be more persuasive than words. Then, educate yourself on the many kinds of bibliographies that are available and that you might utilize.

It can be complicated when it comes to bibliography examples. This is due to the fact that, in terms of writing styles, the word "bibliography" can have two different meanings.

A general term for all source listings in all writing styles is "bibliography." It also serves as the heading for the end citation in Chicago/Turabian. However, MLA and APA styles use reference lists rather than bibliographies in actuality. Following are the differences between each style: 

All the sources utilized to construct a piece of literature are included in the bibliography. Even if you didn't cite something in the writing itself, everything you used to create the work falls under this category. This may comprise background materials but need not be confined to them.

Only the sources that were specifically cited in the text of the essay or paper are listed in the references. These are genuine quotations and concepts that have been applied by other authors or materials.

Step-by-step Bibliography Writing

We have put together a thorough, step-by-step guide to help you better understand how to construct a bibliography for an assignment.

Choose your sources:     There aren't many things more crucial when it comes to academic tasks than sources. As a result, college students must become adept at conducting research and locating reliable sources. Here's an illustration for you. Let's say you are political science, security studies, or international relations major. On the other hand, the best strategy would be to search Scopus or Web of Science for the most reliable sources, such as the academic journals listed below: -   Security on a global scale; -   The world's affairs; -   Journal of American Political Science

Analyse Every Source:  Beyond having some seemingly excellent sources available, your primary duty while completing a bibliography goes beyond that. The task includes evaluating each and every one of them. Let's examine some typical traits of reliable sources: -   -  Find current publications, such as those that were released no earlier than 2011; -  The texts should, of course, be authored by reputable authors; -   Whenever a website is required, look for those of governmental and educational institutions; -   If you haven't already, look into the Google Scholar database as well as other academic databases.

Here are some indications that a source is not reliable for you:

Unqualified authors (those without academic degrees or institutional ties) have published texts;   avoid commercial websites to avoid blatantly biassed promotional content;

It is best to omit any texts that lack appropriate references;

Blog posts lack sufficient authority.

Examine the author's experience and credentials.

Lastly, you must be selective while choosing sources and writers if you want to create a stellar bibliography. Before adding a resource, please respond to the following questions at least twice:

Is the author authority in the subject matter of your research questions?

Are you and a certain researcher on any similar intellectual wavelengths? What school of thinking does this scientist represent?

Not everything will always function properly. However, these straightforward responses will enable you to select the appropriate writers to mention.

How to Cite Various Sources

You must follow specific guidelines while working on a variety of sources in order to create a stellar bibliography. You can learn how to cite someone for an assignment, regardless of the subject.

The bibliography item will closely mirror the one for a book if you use the one from the journal. Normally, mention the author's name and the article's title.

Name of the journal, volume, issue (sometimes, the year of publication is included), page range.

When you use evidence from one of your sources in your assignment, you will typically need to include a citation in the text of your paper (references). When you discuss or summarise an idea or piece of information in your either in your own words or a direct quote from that source.

Avoid using a lot of in-depth direct quotes. For direct quotations, even if your in-text citations are exact, these mostly indicate. You are able to point out a pertinent quotation to the reader. 

It is necessary to confirm the significance and intent of the quote after it has been used. transparent to your reader. How does the quotation help to make your point or support it?

The information you provide in your in-text reference must be sufficient for your reader to locate the complete specifics of the source of your evidence in your "List of References" (or "Bibliography").

The extent to which the information in your in-text citation will replicate the detail provided in the ‘List of References’ depends on the referencing system. Systems that use endnotes or footnotes typically provide more information about the entire source than Harvard in-text references that are enclosed in brackets. If a "brief direct quotation is given," Harvard often simply wants the author's last name and the date of publication, with page numbers provided. 

If you keep track of each book, encyclopedia, or article you use as you read and make notes, it will be simpler for you to create your final bibliography. Start a preliminary or draft bibliography by making a list of all your sources on a separate piece of paper. For each source, make a note of the whole title, author, publication location, publisher, and publication date.

List your sources (texts, articles, interviews, etc.) in alphabetical order by the last names of the writers when creating a final bibliography. Encyclopedias and movies are examples of sources without writers that should be arranged alphabetically by title. Use the format that your teacher likes if there are multiple options for bibliographies.

Final Take : 

You must include a specific list called a  bibliography for assignments  or in your essay whenever you refer to a book, magazine, or website. Even if you are only using the source to further your understanding of the subject without really quoting it, you still need to include it. You would just need to include the author's name and the source's publication date when citing the source in the text.

Additional information is required in your bibliography, where the citation about it will appear. The citation style and source type, though, would be important factors. Check out our guide if you're not familiar with the standards and the various citation formats.

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Bibliography for Law Assignments

Introduction.

Before you scheme out to discover and know how to write a bibliography, it is significant to get introduced to the fundamentals of this crucial element. It is a list of references, works and citations used by an individual while writing scholarly assignments.

Not including bibliographies or troubling to learn how to write it is also an sign of acknowledgement-refusal, which in the long run will shake your work on the grounds of ethics. Thus, for students who are sincerely interested in figuring out how to write a bibliography, here is a complete guide on how to make a bibliography look impressive in the eyes of the academic supervisors.

• Bibliography

In the traditional footnote system, it is more common to use a bibliography than a list of references. In some cases when you custom endnotes rather than footnotes, an additional bibliography may not be vital.

At the conclusion of your assignment, attribute a list of all material which you have referred in preparing your work. The list may enclose items which you have preferred not to quote from or which you have decided were not helpful. However, these items have designed part of your preparation and should be encompassed. The list thus created forms your bibliography. It is possible that your bibliography may enclose just one item, the primary text, if that is honestly all you have used. The bibliography is prepared according to the authors’ last names which are organized in alphabetical order.

Bibliographical entries diverge from footnotes or endnotes in a upfront way that is easy to evoke. Bibliographies end assignments, and each section of an individual entry is offered in final form, punctuated by full stops. Bibliographical entries may vary in intricacy. In general, use the following ordering systems as your guide in presenting material.

Types and a basic guide to write bibliography

It is prominent that bibliography can be shattered down into several types, containing enumerative bibliography, analytical bibliography and annotated bibliography.

Enumerative Bibliography : An enumerative bibliography is usually arranged in an order that consist of the name of the author, subject and date. In an enumerative bibliography, the items enumerated belong to a general category or thematic representation. The writer using enumerative bibliography has to practice detailed insight and information about the sources used in his/her work.

Analytical Bibliography : There are 3 sub-categories embracing an analytical bibliography; viz., textual, historical and descriptive. A textual bibliography enlightens and relates the published work with the unique work of the author. However, on the other hand, a historical bibliography elucidates the background or the context discussed or mentioned in the work.

Annotated Bibliography : The author expected to sort a clear list of all bases used in an alphabetical format. Annotations and adding of all important notes to the sources is one crucial element to be well-thought-out if you are enthusiastic to figure out how to create a bibliography in an annotated format. Mentioning the sources used, alongside adding them to the list is a unique attribute of this particular form of bibliography.

Source: https://blog.gregwilson.co. writing-citation/uk/

Dissimilarities between references and bibliography

Well, it is to be illustrious that there is a squeaky line of dissimilarity between referencing and bibliography. The basic variance between bibliography and references is the grade of sources added. In case of a reference, you need to use all bases in the list which has been utilized in your work. While, in case of a bibliography, you want to list all sources, comprising the ones which are not in a straight line associated with your citations. If you are disorganized regarding the dissimilarity between referencing and bibliography, then this clarification is likely to aid you identify the simple difference between bibliography and references and also how to write a bibliography.  Bibliography is a far explanative version of referencing, where every approaching source gets recognized and acknowledged.

Speaking of assignment writing services, we would like to remark that our firm offers all academic writing solutions for case studies, dissertations, essays, homework and more. If you are concerned whether we will be able to guide fully revised and edited solutions on time, then stay confident of receiving assignments with complete referencing, citation and bibliographic additions done on time, without fail. We’re dedicated to prioritizing your preference every single time.

• Dutton, Y., & Mohapatra, S. (2021). COVID-19 and Law Teaching: Guidance on Developing an Asynchronous Online Course for Law Students.  St. Louis University Law Journal .
• Wahyuni, W. (2021, March). Law Enforcement In Creating Good Governance Towards A Value Of Justice. In  The 1st Proceeding International Conference And Call Paper  (Vol. 1, No. 1).
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How to Write Bibliography for Assignment: Best Tips for Students

Table of Contents

What Is A Bibliography?

Why are bibliographies needed, how to write a bibliography for an assignment, example of a bibliography for an assignment, annotated bibliographies.

Bibliographies are generally not the easiest or most fun writing tasks, but they are necessary, so it’s important to get them right!  Read on, to find out ‘how to make bibliography’!

A bibliography is an alphabetized list of resources (e.g., books, journals, articles, websites, images, movies, newspapers, videos) used in the creation of an academic assignment . A bibliography will include resources you have cited within the assignment as well as resources that you used to help your general understanding of the assignment topic (background sources). A bibliography differs from a reference page for an assignment as a reference page (or reference list) only includes cited resources.

Most bibliographies appear on a separate numbered page, use double line spacing, a clear, traditional font, such as times new roman   (font size 11-12), and include the following:

• A centred heading ‘Bibliography’.
• The creators’ names
• The titles of the resources
• The publishers’ names
• The publication years/dates
• The date accessed (for online documents and websites)

Bibliographies do not necessarily list the resource information in this order and different citation styles may have different requirements as regards line spacing and whether a hanging indent* is required Furthermore, additional information such as page numbers, the location of publication, issue numbers, and volume numbers may be required.

*Text in the bibliography entry is indented (excluding the first line). 

The purpose of a bibliography is to enable a reader to locate the resources used, to find out more information on the topic if they desire, and to acknowledge the work of others. If you fail to accurately acknowledge the work of others in your bibliography or reference list, you are claiming it to be yours and you can face the consequences of plagiarism investigations. Thus, although a bibliography may be boring and seem unimportant, they are an essential part of your assignment.

There are five main styles of bibliography that also have different editions e.g., APA 5th, APA 6th, and APA 7th.  Referencing in an assignment is tricky, and you will need to ensure you have included an in-text citation (citation in the assignment) for any resources you directly copied or paraphrased information from.  Your educational instructor can tell you which type of citation style and edition you are required to use if you are unsure but provided below are the most up-to-date editions for each main citation style. The following recommendations are intended as a basic guide only:

APA 7th edition requires the creator’s name, date of publication, title, then publisher. Do not forget about the hanging indent if there is more than one line:

Hamilton, S. (2001). Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford Paperbacks.

Website entry in APA 7th:

Ruhl, C. (2021, June 29). Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology . www.simplypsychology.org. https://www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html

MLA 9 th edition needs the creator’s name, title, publisher, then date of publication and a hanging indent:

Katz, Mark. Groove Music. The Art And Culture Of The Hip-Hip DJ . Oxford University Press, 2012.

Website entry in MLA 9 th :

Ruhl, Charlotte. “Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology.” www.simplypsychology.org , 29 June 2021, www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html.

Harvard Citation style includes the creator’s name, date of publication, title, then publisher:

Burg, D., 2005. Encyclopedia of student and youth movements . New York: Facts on File.

Website entry in Harvard citation style:

Ruhl, C. (2021). Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology . [online] www.simplypsychology.org. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].

Turabian citation style lists the author, title, publisher, then date of publication and a hanging indent:

Dianne Berkell Zager, Autism Spectrum Disorders Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.

Your Bibliography: 

Berkell Zager, Dianne. Autism Spectrum Disorders . Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.

Website entry in Turabian citation style:

Ruhl, Charlotte. 2021. “Montessori Method of Education | Simply Psychology.” www.simplypsychology.org. June 29, 2021. https://www.simplypsychology.org/montessori-method-of-education.html.

Chicago citation style begins each entry with the author’s name, date of publication , then the title of the resource, followed by the publisher and a hanging indent:

Symons, Michael. 2021. “A History Of Cooks And Cooking (The Food Series)”.  Abebooks.Com.         https://www.abebooks.com/9780252071928/History-Cooks-Cooking-Food-Series -0252071921/plp.

Website entry in Chicago citation style:

You can write bibliographies manually, but you may find it easier to use an online citation generator, many of which are free.  However, these are not failproof and none are 100% accurate all the time so be sure to enter the information accurately and skim read over each entry after it has been generated.

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To help you gain a better idea of what a completed bibliography may look like, here’s one of the most common types in the most recent edition (APA 7th):

If you are requested to provide an annotated bibliography, then you will need to include a descriptive summary of each resource (around 150 words) under each bibliography entry.

Bibliographies are complex but are often a requirement in academic writing. Ensure you know exactly which style and edition are used by your educational establishment, then find an online citation generator to help you. Be sure to double-check each generated entry and don’t forget the in-text citation (reference in an assignment) for each bibliography entry you have copied or paraphrased.

We all know the importance of first impressions and an executive summary provides exactly this to your reader. It’s essential to learn how to write an executive summary for an assignment...

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What Is a Conclusion? A conclusion is a summary of the whole assignment. It should restate the thesis, summarize key ideas presented in the assignment, and leave the reader with a final...

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Annotated Bibliography

What is an annotated bibliography.

An annotated bibliography provides an overview or a brief account of the available research on a given topic. It is a list of research sources that takes the form of a citation for each source, followed by an annotation - a short paragraph sumarising and evaluating the source. An annotated bibliography may be a stand-alone assignment or a component of a larger assignment. 

Purpose of an annotated bibliography

When set as an assignment, an annotated bibliography allows you to get acquainted with the material available on a particular topic.

Depending on your specific assignment, an annotated bibliography might:

• review the literature of a particular subject;
• demonstrate the quality and depth of reading that you have done;
• exemplify the scope of sources available—such as journals, books, web sites and magazine articles;
• highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers;
• explore and organise sources for further research.

What does an annotated bibliography look like?

Each entry in an annotated biliography has two components: 

• a bibliographic citation followed by 
• a short paragraph (an annotation) that includes concise descriptions and evaluations of each source. 

The annotation usually contains a brief summary of content and a short analysis or evaluation. Depending on your assignment you may be asked to summarise, reflect on, critique, evaluate or analyse each source. While an annotation can be as brief as one sentence, a paragraph is more usual.  An example is provided below.

As with a normal reference list or bibliography, an annotated bibliography is usually arranged alphabetically according to the author’s last name.

An annotated bibliography summary should be about 100 - 200 words per citation—check with your lecturer/tutor as this may vary between faculties and assessments. Please also check with your lecturer about the elements each annotation should include.

Steps to writing an annotated bibliography

• Choose your sources - locate and record citations to sources of research that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic.
• Review the items that you’ve collected in your search.
• Write the citation using the correct style.
• Write the annotation. 

Questions to consider when selecting sources

The sources for your annotated bibliography should be carefully selected. Start by reading abstracts or skimming to help you identify and select relevant sources. Also keep in mind that, while annotated bibliographies are often ‘stand alone’ assignments, they can also be preliminary research about a particular topic or issue, and further research or a longer literature review may follow. Try to choose sources which together will present a comprehensive review of the topic.

Keep the following questions in mind to help clarify your choices

• What topic/ problem am I investigating?
• What question(s) am I exploring? (Identify the aim of your literature research). 
• What kind of material am I looking at and why? Am I looking for journal articles, reports, policies or primary data? 
• Am I being judicious in my selection of sources? Does each one relate to my research topic and assignment requirements?
• Have I selected a range of sources? Choose those sources that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic
• What are the essential or key works about my topic? Am I finding them? Are the sources valuable or often referred to in other sources?

Surveying the sources

Take notes on your selected texts as you read. Pay attention to:

• the author’s theoretical approach.
• which parts of the topic are covered.
• main points or findings on the topic.
• the author’s position or argument. 

Evaluate and ask questions as you read

Record evaluations in your notes and consider:

• How, and how effectively, does this source address the topic?
• Does it cover the topic thoroughly or only one aspect of it?
• Do the research methods seem appropriate?
• Does the argument seem reasonable?
• Where does it stand in relation to other studies? Agree with or contradict?

How should I write the annotations?

• Each annotation should be concise. Do not write too much—annotations should not extend beyond one paragraph (unless assignment guidelines say otherwise). 
• The summary should be a brief outline of argument(s) and main ideas. Only mention details that are significant or relevant, and only when necessary. 
• Any information apparent in the title of thesourcel can be omitted from the annotation.
• Background materials and references to previous work by the same author usually are not included. As you are addressing one text at a time, there is no need to cross reference or use in-text citations to support your annotation.
• Find out what referencing style you need to use for the bibliographic citations, and use it consistently.
• In-text citations would usually only be necessary for quotations or to draw attention to information from specific pages.
• Unless otherwise stipulated, you should write in full sentences using academic vocabulary.

Contents of an annotated bibliography

An annotation may contain all or part of the following elements depending on the word limit and the content of the sources you are examining.

• Provide the full bibliographic citation.
• Indicate the background of the author(s).
• Indicate the content or scope of the text.
• Outline the main argument.
• Indicate the intended audience.
• Identify the research methods if applicable.
• Identify any conclusions made by the author/s.
• Discuss the reliability of the text.
• Highlight any special features of the text that were unique or helpful e.g. charts, graphs etc.
• Discuss the relevance or usefulness of the text for your research.
• Point out in what way the text relates to themes or concepts in your course.
• State the strengths and limitations of the text.
• Present your view or reaction to the text.

Sample annotation 

The citation goes first and is followed by the annotation. Make sure that you follow your faculty’s preferred citation style. The summary needs to be concise. Please note the following example is entirely fictitious.

In the sample annotation below, each element is numbered (see Key).

Essay and assignment writing guide

• Essay writing basics
• Essay and assignment planning
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• Reflective writing
• ^ More support