Interactive Legal Research & Writing Lessons: Writing Basics - Citation (Trevor)

Imprint
West Academic Publishing
ISBN-13
9781685610432
Primary Subject
Legal Writing
Format
Interactive Videos
Copyright
2022
Series
Modular LRW
Online access will expire 365 days from the date of purchase.

Description

In this two-lesson module, you will gain an understanding of some of the basics of legal citation. Whether you are new to the idea of citation or already know a different system of citation, you can use these lessons to get a jump start on the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the system law students and practicing lawyers use to acknowledge the sources that have played a role in their writing.

Lesson One introduces citation and how to use the two main citation manuals taught in law schools: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, and the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation. You will learn some basic citation concepts such as the types of legal sources often cited, full vs. short citation, and pinpoint cites. You will learn about how the citation forms used by legal practitioners—the forms addressed in these lessons—differ from those used by legal scholars. You will also learn the basics of full citation for cases, one of the more complex but also fundamental areas of citation for beginning legal writers.

Lesson Two will first present how short citations work and how pinpoint cites work, using case citation to demonstrate the concepts. It will then move on to how to cite, both in full and short forms, other commonly cited sources: constitutions, statutes and rules, books, and periodicals (law review and law journal articles, as well as magazine and newspaper articles). You will also learn about citing some of the different types of documents created during litigation (court documents).

By the end of the two lessons, you should feel more confident in several areas: in your grasp of what legal citation is, how to use a legal citation manual, and the fundamentals of how to cite different types of legal sources. Overall, you should feel confident in your ability to use your citation manual as a guide to solving whatever citation challenges come your way.