CITATION STYLES AND REFERENCING

A. GENERAL
In the course of reading law or practicing law or professional life one will be required to
produce different kinds of written work including opinions and articles. A piece of
academic legal writing should include good written English as well as be well referenced.

B. WRITING STYLES

1. Language
1.1 While an informal style of writing may be used in day-to-day work, one needs to
develop good formal writing skills which should be used in one’s scholastic and
professional work. This means that one should not use language which is
colloquial or that used in short messaging systems i.e. sms language.

1.2 Although there is no one real appropriate style to employ in legal writing, one
should have some formality in one’s writing style and there are some
commonalities which one can adopt:
a) Use of the first person
When one refers to oneself as “I” one if writing in the first person and this
is appropriate in informal writing. However, when writing formally, one
should preferably use an objective alternative.
Eg: “this essay will outline the elements…”; “alternatively, it could be
argued that…”; “in conclusion the majority of writers do not see…”

b) Gender neutral language

It is an accepted convention in legal writing to use the masculine word
forms to include the feminine.

c) Latin
Although there are many legal words and phrases which use Latin, there is
a move towards a lessening in the use of Latin words. If one is using Latin
words, then one should firstly ensure that the manner in which one is using
such words or phrases is entirely correct and remember when using it as
part of written work, that all Latin words should be italicized.

d) Legal words
There are many words which have a different meaning when used in
everyday language than when used in a legal sense. Eg: intention, assault,
consideration, nuisance, land, property.
Therefore when one is using these words in legal writing, it would be best
not to use them as one would use them in the ordinary sense in the same
 piece of legal work i.e. if a word has a legal meaning then when writing a
legal essay, only use that word in terms of its legal context.

2. Grammar and punctuation

2.1 Grammar and punctuation are in important in that words need to be arranged in
such a way that they make proper sense to the reader and punctuation helps to
change a mindless collection of words into meaningful statements. Bad grammar
and punctuation may also affect one’s grades.

2.2 Firstly, if one is getting low grades, part of the reason may be due to brad
grammar and punctuation. As such, one should check with one’s lecturer and/or
tutor whether this is the problem.

2.3 There are many rules of grammar and punctuation which can be confusing. The
following are the more common mistakes which can be avoided:
a) Do not start a sentence with a conjunction.
A conjunction is a word that joins two parts of sentence together such as
‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’ and ‘because’. These words should only appear in the
middle of a sentence.
b) Do not end a sentence with a preposition.
Eg: “I was told to find a cse that I had never heard of”. ‘Of’ is a
preposition and should be in the middle of a sentence.
c) The use of contractions/elisions is not appropriate.
This is the practice of shortening two words into a single form by using an
apostrophe to replace the missing words. Eg: ‘shouldn’t’; ‘couldn’t’;
‘doesn’t’. These words are too informal for legal writing.
d) Apostrophes should be used with care.
An apostrophe shows either a missing letter or possession. In academic
writing an apostrophe should only be used to show possession. Eg ‘it’s’
should not be used instead of ‘it is’.
e) There is no such thing as primary and secondary paragraphing.
Each new idea should be in a separate paragraph. If a sentence is closely
related to the previous sentence then it should be in the same paragraph. If
not then it should be in a separate paragraph.

2.4 In the event that one is unable to master the rules of language and grammar, then
it would be advisable for one to either seek assistance from a lecture and/or tutor
or take a short course in English to ensure that one will not at a disadvantage.

C. PLAGIARISM, REFERENCING & FOOTNOTING

It is vital that written work is fully and correctly referenced otherwise one will be
vulnerable to accusations of plagiarism.
1. Plagiarism
1.1 Plagiarism is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘the action or practice
of taking someone else’s work, idea etc and passing it off as one’s own; literary
theft’. Therefore, in essence, plagiarism is the failure to give an indication of the
source of material which one has relied on in one’s written work.

1.2 There are 2 forms of plagiarism: inadvertent plagiarism and deliberate plagiarism.

1.3 Inadvertent plagiarism occurs when one is uncertain what has to be referenced
and inadvertently fail to reference one’s sources of information. To avoid this, the
following information must be referenced:
a) statements of law should be attributed to the relevant case or statutory
provision;
b) direct quotations should be attributed to their source in a book, article,
case or other material;
c) factual material such as statistics or the findings of a research study should
be attributed to their source where an official report or an academic or
commercial study;
d) definitions of legal concepts should be attributed to the appropriate source
such as a legal dictionary, case law, statute, article or any other material;
e) in the event that material is read during the course of research but is not
referred to specifically in one’s written work, then two general rules would
apply:
(i) if one is using one’s own words to express an idea that is specific
to a particular writer then a reference to the source of the idea
should be provided even if one has used one’s own words.
(ii) If in doubt, then REFERENCE. It is better to have numerous
references than to be accused of plagiarism.

1.4 Deliberate plagiarism occurs when one make a deliberate decision to try and pass
off the work of others as one’s own. The reasons one should not indulge in
plagiarism are:
a) most institutions have plagiarism detection mechanisms in place and proof
of plagiarism may result in barring from examinations or actual expulsion
from an institution;
b) plagiarism is often seen as a sign of bad character and this stigma will
remain with one’s reputation and may be a hindrance to one’s professional
life.
c) Plagiarism deprives one of the opportunity of testing one’s actual
knowledge of a particular subject as well as of the opportunity to improve
oneself.
d) There is no guarantee that the source one plagiarizes is a good source of
information.
2. Referencing
2.1 There are various forms of referencing material. Before one chooses a particular
form, it might be best to check the ‘house style’ of one’s particular department or
university as each may have their own requirements. If so, then one must ensure
that one adheres to the guidelines of the house style.

2.2 In the event that there is no house style, then a style which may be adopted is that
of Harvard Referencing which is as follows:
a) With a publication, it is sufficient to identify the author and year of
publication with the specific page number and incorporate it in the text.
Eg.: “…(Finch and Fafinski, 2007:235);
b) If the same author has written more than one book or article in a particular
year then one would use letters to differentiate between them. Eg.: “…
(Finch and Fafinski, 2007a)” and “…(Finch and Fafinski, 2007b)”;
c) If one is citing a work that has more than two authors, then on the first
occasion the work is mentioned, one should state it in full and then may
use a shortened form later. Eg.: “…(Smith, Jones, Collins, and Ryan,
1990: 230)” and later in the work: “…(Smith, et al., 1990);
d) In relation to citing cases, under this system of referencing, one can either
choose to include the full citation in the body of the text, or to not include
the full citation in the body of the text but refer to the same in the
footnotes.

3. Footnoting

3.1 Footnoting is a system of referencing where the details of a source of information

is provided for at the bottom of the same page and their position in the text is
denoted by a small raised number. Footnotes should not contain information on
the particular subject. Information on the subject is to be included in the body of
the text and NOT in the footnote. Footnotes are merely meant to give details of
the source of the particular resource.

3.2 Footnotes are numbered consecutively regardless of the number of pages of one’s
written work. The number can be placed either before or after punctuation i.e.
before or after the full stop or comma. However, one must ensure that a single
mode of placing the number is adopted.

3.3 The following is a method by which footnotes may be stated:

a) Citation of statutes:
(i) statutes are usually cited using its short title and while the full
provision may be stated in the text, the footnote should contain the
particular section and statute.
(ii) for this it is important not to change the order of referencing and
not to fluctuate between the abbreviations and full statute names.
 (iii) Eg in the footnote:
1. Section 2(1)(a) Theft Act 1968
2. Theft Act, s.2(1)(a)
3. TA, s2

b) Citation of cases:
If a case is used as an authority for a specific point of law then the
footnote for this would have to refer to the citation of that case.

c) Citation of periodical articles:

To be cited in the footnotes as follows:
(i) author’s surname, followed by the given name;
(ii) title of the article;
(iii) the year of publication in parenthesis followed by the volume;
(iv) the title of the periodical;
(v) the page on which the article begins; and
(vi) the reference to the particular page in the article.
(vii) Eg: Markesinis, Bert, “Negligence, Nuisance and Affirmative
Duties of Action”, (1989) 105 LQR 104, 106

d) Citation of periodical articles found on the internet

To be cited in the footnotes as follows:
(i) author’s surname, followed by the given name;
(ii) title of the article;
(iii) the year of publication in parenthesis followed by the volume;
(iv) the title of the periodical;
(v) total number of pages of the periodical;
(vi) the date the website was accessed; and
(viii) the website address.
Eg: Markesinis, Bert, “Negligence, Nuisance and Affirmative Duties of
Action”, (1989) 105 LQR 10 pages, [date], [website address]

e) Citation of law books:

(i) Books with one author:
(aa) author’s surname, followed by given name;
(bb) title of the book, (edition, year);
(cc) name of the publisher; and
(dd) reference to the particular page in the textbook.
(ee) Eg. Cross, Rupert, Precedent in English Law, (3 rd ed.,
1977), Oxford University Press, 45

(ii) Books with two or three authors:

(aa) first author’s surname, followed by given name;
(bb) second and third authors’ name, followed by the surname
(cc) title of the book, (edition, year);
(dd) name of the publisher; and
 (ee) reference to the particular page in the textbook.
(ff) Eg. Smith, J.C. and Brian Hogan, Criminal Law, (7 th ed,
1992), Butterworths, 119

(iii) Books with more than three authors:

(aa) first author’s surname, followed by given name only;
(bb) first author’s surname and name to be followed with the
words ‘et al’
(cc) title of the book, (edition, year);
(dd) name of the publisher; and
(ee) reference to the particular page in the textbook.
(ff) Eg. Smith, J.C. (et al), Criminal Law, (7 th ed, 1992),
Butterworths, 119

f) Citation of Halsbury Laws of England:

To be cited as follows:
(i) title;
(ii) edition number;
(iii) volume number; and
(iv) particular paragraph that is being referred to;
(v) Eg.: Halsbury’s Laws, (4th ed), Vol 4392), para 1480

3.4 Abbreviations
One should not use abbreviated references in footnotes as this is an unacceptable
and lazy practice. However, the following Latin abbreviations may be used in the
footnotes. Remember that when using a Latin word, the same is to be in lower
case and italicized.
a) ibid
(i) This is short for ibidem and means ‘in the same place’.
(ii) This is used to refer to an immediately preceding reference
provided that it is identical in every respect. It should not be used
as the first reference on a new page as there is no immediately
preceding reference.
(iii) Eg.: 7. Smith, J.C. and Brian Hogan, Criminal Law 97th ed,
1992) Butterworths, 119
8. Ibid
This means that footnote 8 repeats footnote 7 exactly.

b) id
(i) This is short for idem which means ‘the same’.
(ii) It is used when the preceding reference is to be repeated and
appears closely, when there are no intervening footnotes and when
the two footnotes refer to the same source but not the same page.
(iii) Eg.: 7. Smith, J.C. and Brian Hogan, Criminal Law 97th ed,
1992) Butterworths, 119
8. Id. 115
 This means that footnote 8 refers to the same source as footnote 7
but at a different page i.e page 115

c) op.cit. - This means ‘the work previously cited’ and is used to refer
to a book, article or case that has already been reference in
the essay.

d) loc. cit. - This means ‘the page previously cited in the book
previously cited’ and it a more specific reference than op.
cit. and should only be used to refer to a particular page.

4. Bibliography
4.1 At the end of each piece of written work, one should provide a bibliography
which details all the material which one has used in the preparation of that work
regardless of whether one has made specific reference to them. Note that this is
separate from the index which one may have prepared at the beginning of the
written work and which would show the division of topics in one’s written work.

4.2 When preparing a bibliography, one should ensure that the list of resources is
grouped according to the type of resources i.e. books, articles, internet sources.

4.3 The details in a bibliography are to be presented as follows:

a) Books:
(i) name(s) of author(s);
(ii) year of publication;
(iii) title in italics, bold or underlined;
(iv) edition number;
(v) place of publication; and
(vi) name of publisher.

b) Articles:
(i) name(s) of author(s);
(ii) title of article;
(iii) name(s) of journal in italics, bold or underlined;
(iv) year;
(v) volume number;
(vi) pages on which the article appears.

c) Internet sources:
(i) name(s) of author;
(ii) title in italics, bold or underlined;
(iii) date of access;
(iv) website address.