Bluebook Citation

Secondary sources include books, articles, encyclopedias and other non-primary sources.  Each kind of secondary source has a slightly different set of rules for citation.

Books

Rule 15 in the Bluebook explains how to properly cite a book.  The basic format will include:

• Full name of the author(s)
• Book title (underlined or italicized)
• Pinpoint page number (if needed)
• Publication information (if applicable)
• Year of publication

[Example:  John Doe, My Book 93 (2nd ed, 2012).]
 

Author NOTE:  

• Give the name of the author just as it appears, not surname first, as is common in other citation formats.
• If there are two authors, include both names, joined by an ampersand (&).
• If there are multiple authors, put the first listed author followed by "et al."
• If no author is given and only an editor is provided, leave the author portion of the citation blank and include the editor in the publication information section of the citation.

Publication NOTE:  

• If the book has multiple editions, be sure to include the edition number you are using.

Remember to pay attention to comma placement!

Collections

Citing a collection (of articles, essays, etc.) is also covered by Rule 15 of the Bluebook.  The basic citation format will include:

• Full name of the author(s)
• Title of the specific work (underlined or italicized)
• Title of the collection (underlined or italicized)
• Page number
• Publication information (if applicable)
• Year of publication

NOTE:

Rule 15.8 gives instructions for citing specific works, including The Bible, The Federalist, William Shakespeare's plays, etc.

Periodicals

Refer to Rule 16 when citing a journal or law review.  The basic elements of a periodical citation include:

• Full name of the author(s)
• Title of the article (underline or italicize)
• Volume number
• Name of the periodical, properly abbreviated (see T13)
• Page number
• Year of publication

NOTE:

-Some periodicals will not have a volume number.  These are known non-consecutive paginated periodicals.  For these, omit the volume number part of the citation and include the full publication date in the parenthetical.  Newspapers should be cited as non-consecutive paginated periodicals, giving the month, day, and year of the newspaper source.

Legal Encyclopedias

The basic elements when citing an encyclopedia are:

• Volume number
• Encyclopedia name, properly abbreviated
• Title of the article/entry (underlined or italicized)
• Section symbol (§)
• Section number
• Year of publication

Legal Dictionaries

The basic elements when citing a legal dictionary include:

• Dictionary Name
• Pinpoint page number
• Edition number
• Year of publication

Nonprint Sources

The Bluebook rules for nonprint sources are outline in Rule 17.  These include sources like interviews, letters, emails, or unpublished works.  The Bluebook contains sections that detail how to properly reference these varied sources.

Use the following table for quick reference when determining how to cite a secondary source.