How do you cite a law title?
Asked by: Yesenia Pfeffer | Last update: July 19, 2025Score: 4.3/5 (59 votes)
- name of the act.
- title, source (check the Bluebook for abbreviations), and section number of the statute;
- the publication date of the compilation you used to find the statute, in parentheses.
- URL (optional)
How do you cite a legal title?
Legal Citation Basics
Most legal citations consist of the name of the document (case, statute, law review article), an abbreviation for the legal series, and the date. The abbreviation for the legal series usually appears as a number followed by the abbreviated name of the series and ends in another number.
Do you italicize law titles?
Titles of constitutions, like titles of other laws and acts, are not italicized or enclosed in quotation marks.
How do you cite a title?
Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report. Examples: From the book Study Guide (2000) ... or ("Reading," 1999).
How do you properly cite a law?
To cite federal laws (also commonly referred to as statutes or acts) in APA Style, include the name of the law, “U.S.C.” (short for United States Code), the title and section of the code where the law appears, the year, and optionally the URL.
Reading legislation citations
How do you reference a law?
Title of Act including year and chapter (in italics) Country/jurisdiction (only include this if you are referencing legislation from more than one country) Available at: URL (Accessed: date)
How do you cite local law?
When citing to a code section, you generally include the abbreviation for the code and the section number: Example: L.A.M.C. § 48.02 is a citation to section 48.02 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code.
What to do when quoting a title?
Generally and grammatically speaking, put titles of shorter works in quotation marks but italicize titles of longer works. For example, put a “song title” in quotation marks but italicize the title of the album it appears on.
What is a source title example?
For example, imagine you are citing an article from the New York Times titled "The Hunt for an Alaskan Bumblebee." The title of the source is "The Hunt for an Alaskan Bumblebee" and The New York Times is the title of the container.
How do you format the title works cited?
Title the page Works Cited, centered and in plain text (no italics, bold, or underline). Alphabetize the entries by the author's last name. Use left alignment and double line spacing (no extra space between entries).
How to write a legal case title?
The main way to refer to a legal case is by using the case title, which consists of the names of the two parties, separated by the abbreviation “v.” All of these elements should be italicized (set in italic typeface), whether the case title appears within the text of your paper, in the notes, or in the bibliography.
When to italicize bluebook?
Use Italics for the short form of case citations. Use Italics for article titles, introductory signals, procedural phrases in case names, and explanatory signals in citations. Italicize punctuation only when it falls within italicized material in a citation.
Why are laws called titles?
In reference to a code (such as the United States Code ), the word title refers to the broad subject heading under which a law is classified. For example, the United States Code is organized into fifty four titles , each title pertaining to a particular subject.
What is my legal title?
The legal ownership of assets is “title” to those assets. Control of your estate comes from holding legal title to your assets. Personal planning and protections depend on title. Tax savings depend on title.
How to cite case law in MLA?
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a court case in MLA style 9th edition: Name of the court. Title of the case, Volume number. Publisher, Year of case.
How do you cite a report title?
To reference a report with an individual author, include the author's name and initials, the report title (italicized), the report number, the organization that published it, and the URL (if accessed online, e.g. as a PDF). Note that brochures are cited in a similar format.
How do I format a title?
Titles never get both quotation marks and italics. Every time you mention the title of a work, even in the title of your own abstract, you must apply the proper formatting. In a title or a subtitle, capitalize the first word, the last word and all principal words, including those that follow hyphens in compound terms.
How do I reference a title in a paper?
Italicize titles if the source is self-contained and independent. Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks.
What is the rule for titles in a source?
In MLA style, source titles appear either in italics or in quotation marks: Italicize the title of a self-contained whole (e.g. a book, film, journal, or website). Use quotation marks around the title if it is part of a larger work (e.g. a chapter of a book, an article in a journal, or a page on a website).
Do you quote the title of a document?
A general rule of thumb is that within the text of a paper, italicize the title of complete works but put quotation marks around titles of parts within a complete work.
How to write title correctly?
- Always Capitalize First and Last Words in a Title.
- Always Capitalize Nouns and Pronouns.
- Always Capitalize Verbs.
- Always Capitalize Adverbs and Adjectives.
- Don't Capitalize Coordinating Conjunctions.
- Don't Capitalize Articles.
- Don't Capitalize Short Prepositions.
How do I cite a law?
- Laws (or statutes) are typically cited in Bluebook format instead of in individual citation formats like MLA, APA, or Chicago style. ...
- Law's common name (if it has one).
- Title Number (refers to volumes of the United States Code)
- Source abbreviated, the United States Code is abbreviated U.S.C.
What citation style to use for law?
Example of in-text citation to a case:
use the standard Chicago style to cite secondary legal materials such as journal articles and books. use the "McGill-style" citation format to cite primary legal materials, i.e. case law and legislation.
How do you cite public law?
Laws Format: Popular Name, Public Law # or Chapter #, Volume # Title of Book or Abbreviation Page #. (Year Enacted). Example: Endangered Species Act of 1973, P.L. 93-205, 87 Stat. 884 (1973).