LEGAL WRITING: POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. Citation: To quote or refer. A citation is a reference to a published or unpublished

source (not always the original source). Citation, whether they are prepared to
document the sources consulted for course papers or articles submitted to scholarly
journals, must follow certain rules of style and structure. The rules put forward in
each of these style manuals provide writers with guide for determining the sequence
in which component of the citation are to be presented, the print attributes to be used
to format the text, and the punctuation to be used to separate different components.
Examples: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, OSCOLA. The Oxford
University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities, Indian law institute, Standard
Indian Legal Citation (SILC).

2. The body of the article is TEXT and the source or explanation is citation or reference.
Citation can be of a judgment, book, legislation, article in journal etc.

3. When to cite (on which sentence/phrase, footnote or reference has to be given

generally)- Citation can be any time when the fact is not based on a well- known fact
or common knowledge. Follow this basic rule: if it isn’t your idea, make sure you
have a citation. If in any doubt, err on the side of caution and cite your source.

Examples of Common Knowledge or well- known Facts-

Common knowledge is basically a fact that practically everyone knows, like the fact
that George Washington was a U.S. president. Fresh water freezes at 32 degrees F. A
well known fact is something that many people know, but it is also something that a
reader could look up easily if he/she didn’t know. E.g. Holland is famous for its tunps.
Canada has a multilingual population.

4. Citation are to be used while quoting, paraphrasing, using someone else’s idea, etc.

5. Object of citation:
• Identify the document and document part to which the writer is referring,
• Proves that the paper is well- researched – giving it credibility and authenticity,
• Gives credit to the author of an original concept presented,
• Furnish important additional information about the referenced material and its
connection to the writer’s argument to assist readers in deciding whether or not to
pursue the reference.

Citations are important, not only because they give credit to the original author, but
also because they allow your reader to find the original information. Working ith sources can
inspire your own ideas and enrich them, and your citation of these sources is the visible trace
of that debt.
 6. Footnotes and end notes are usually marked within the text of the document by small
numbers. These small numbers correspond to the citation or explanation at the bottom
of the page (for a footnote) or at the end of the document (for an end note).
7. Citation while paraphrasing: paraphrase means that you take some words or sentences
from yours and put them in your own words. You still need to mention the original
author of the words and sentences by appropriate citation style. If you rewrite the
original text in your own words, you must cite the source.
8. Reference can be given to even a single word or expression or the entire sentence,
never ever for a paragraph. Each sentence has to be given footnote separately.
9. Footnote can be in the form of a reference- mentioning the author and source of
information. Or it may explanatory in nature. Explanatory footnotes are also called
Discursive footnotes.
10. The article should have objective of the study. E.g.- the article/research paper aims to
be examine, explore, throw light etc. other words that may be used are: Analyze,
Comment, Compare, Criticise, Define, Describe, Discuss, Examine etc.
11. The writer should be objective. You should avoid use of pronouns like- I, me, mine,
my, we, us, our, etc. rather their, society’s people may be used.
12. Conclusion must be includes each of the main heads of the article. It should not throw
any new angle/point, just suggestion. It should not have generally any
footnote/citation.
13. Reference/citation can be used in various ways:
• Footnotes (at the end of each page) footnotes are notes place at the bottom of
the page. They cite references or comment on a designated part or text above
it.
• Endnotes (at the end of the article)

Chicago style (University of Chicago) is especially popular in historical research. It uses both
footnotes and endnotes. Thus it is also called notes form citation.

Parenthetical Citation (along with the text itself- in the body). In law parenthetical citation is
not adopted. (it is also known as in text citation). American Psychological Association &
Modern Language Association have introduced this pattern of citation.

The term bibliography means literally, “writing about books.” Generally, bibliography
starts with author’s last name. E.g.- Seth, Karnika.

14. It is one of the research ethics that data should not be left UNCITED, wherever
citation is required.
15. Three words may be used while using the same source again:

Ibid: continuous use of same source at same page number. (short for ibidem meaning
at the same place)
Id: same source but different page number (short for idem meaning at the same)
Supra note: same source, not in continuous order. (Supra means above). Op. Cit.: it
is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase opera citato, meaning “ in the work cited”. It is
 used in an endnote or footnote to refer the reader to a previously cited work, standing
in for repetition of the full title of the work. It is equivalent to supra note.
16. Et alia: and others. It is used in formal writing to avoid a long list of names of the
people who have written something together.
17. Various method of citation exist. In law, the most common method of citation is of
Indian law institute. Various international universities have their own method of
citation. Bluebook is also a universally adopted method of citation.
18. Plagiarism is the act of passing of somebody else’s ideas, thoughts, pictures, theories,
words, or stories as your own.
19. Citation should not have words such as Mr., Dr., and Justice etc.
20. In case where the source mentioned in work of another is not available with the
researcher, he should cite the material/ source available with him, not the original
source.
21. The paper may use different methodologies- Doctrinal (library based) and Empirical
(field work using survey, questionnaires etc).
22. In empirical research, two kinds of data exist- Primary data & Secondary data.
Primary data is the one collected by researcher himself. Secondary data is data
collected by someone else.
23. Any legal topic should have following points:
• Meaning/origin/concept.
• Statutory /legal framework/constitutional provision.
• Judicial approach (cases).
• Evaluation.
• Conclusion.
24. Whenever figures are to be written in the text of the article, it has to be stated in
WORDS. E.g. 1,000 (wrong) one thousand (right).
25. As a rule, while mentioning the name of the Act it is only required to be written only
Once in the beginning i.e. at the first place where it appears. After giving short form
of such an Act at the first place only the short form has to be written later.
26. Whenever any sub point has to be started a fresh firstly the main point must follow
few introductory lines. For e.g. 1 ------- ------------1.1.
27. Footnote must be in CONTINUITY i.e. even with change of the page the footnote
number should not be started again. E.g. If in one page 1 to 4 than in other page
started from 5.
28. As a practice, sentences should be kept short.
 ILI Style of Citation
1. Books: Name of the author, Title of the book p.no. (if referring to specific page orpages)
(Publisher, Place of publication, edition/year of publication).

E.g. M.P.Jain, Indian Constitutional Law 98 (Kamal Law House, Calcutta, 5thedn., 1998).

2. Articles/essays: Name of author of the article, title of the essay within inverted
commas,volume number of journal, Name of the journal in abbreviation & pagenumber
(year).

E.g. K. Madhusudhana Rao, “Authority to Recommend President’s Rule under Article 356 of
the Constitution” 46 JILI 125 (2004).

3. Citation of a write- up published in a news paper/periodical:

Name of the writer, Title of the write-up within inverted commas, Name of the newspaper,
date.

E.g.-Robert I. Freidman, “India’s Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption are
Leading to an AIDS Catastrophe” The Nation, Apr. 8, 1996.

4. Acts:

The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000)

5. Websites:

If the websites gives information as to when it was last modified, the must be cited, if not one
must cite the date of visiting the website.

E.g.- Information Technology Act 2000, India, available at: http://www.mit.gov.in/it-bill.asp

(Last Modified July 29, 2003).

6. Reports:

Law Commission of India, 144th Report on Conflicting Judicial Decisions Pertaining to the
Code of Civil Procedure,1908 (April, 1992).

Government of India, Report: Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System (Ministry

of Home Affairs,