Referencing for Law

Referencing Your Work

It is important to cite work referred to or quoted from in your essays, to avoid plagiarism.

Legal Citation

You should cite references in a consistent style (see below). Check with your tutor as to which referencing style you are expected to use. The School of Law's Blackboard Course "General Student Information" contains full instructions on how to reference your coursework with examples.

An excellent book: French, D. (1996) How to Cite Legal Authorities. Oxford, Blackstone, is available in the Wills Library reference section by the issue counter or at KL155 FRE.

Another excellent book is Pears, R., Shields, G. (2008). Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide. Newcastle: Pear Tree Books. One copy is available from the law short loan collection at KL155 PEA. There is a further copy in the Wills Library reference section by the issue counter.

Referencing Styles

• OSCOLA (Oxford Standard Citation of Legal Authorities) is produced by the Oxford University Law Faculty. As well as a PDF guide to the OSCOLA style, their website has a helpful online tutorial on citing the law.
• The Harvard style of referencing is also very commonly used and many guides are available on the web, for example at the University of Sussex or at Monash University.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations can be an issue for law students - ensure you are using the correct abbreviation for journals and law reports by checking online with Cardiff Index of Legal Abbreviations or in print with Raistrick's Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations which can be found in the Wills Library reference section at K112

General Advice

The University Library also provides general guidance on citing references