Citation Guides/a Law Review Article

How to Cite a Law Review Article in Bluebook Format

Master Bluebook citation format for law review and journal articles. Covers author names, article titles, volume numbers, journal abbreviations, and pinpoint pages for academic legal writing.

Citation Format

[Author], [Title], [Volume] [Journal] [First Page], [Pinpoint] ([Year]).

Citation Components

Author Name

The full name of the author(s) as it appears on the article. For two authors, join with '&'. For three or more, use the first author followed by 'et al.'

Example: Cass R. Sunstein

Article Title

The full title of the article, italicized. Capitalize according to standard title case rules.

Example: Beyond Marbury: The Executive's Power to Say What the Law Is

Volume Number

The volume number of the journal. Always an Arabic numeral placed before the journal abbreviation.

Example: 115

Journal Abbreviation

The abbreviated name of the law review or journal per Bluebook T13. Abbreviate each word in the title.

Example: Yale L.J.

Page Numbers

The first page of the article, followed by a comma and the specific pinpoint page (if applicable).

Example: 2580, 2598

Year Parenthetical

The year of publication, in parentheses.

Example: (2006)

Examples

Single author, law review article with pinpoint

Cass R. Sunstein, Beyond Marbury: The Executive's Power to Say What the Law Is, 115 Yale L.J. 2580, 2598 (2006).

Two authors

Samuel D. Warren & Louis D. Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 Harv. L. Rev. 193 (1890).

Student-written note

Note, Rethinking the Professional Monopoly, 131 Harv. L. Rev. 1050, 1060 (2018).

Article in a specialty journal

Orin S. Kerr, The Fourth Amendment and New Technologies, 102 Mich. L. Rev. 801 (2004).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting to italicize the article title -- titles of articles (not books) are italicized in Bluebook format
Using the full journal name instead of the Bluebook abbreviation from Table T13
Omitting the volume number or placing it after the journal abbreviation instead of before
For student-written works, failing to identify the piece as a 'Note,' 'Comment,' or 'Recent Development' before the title
Confusing the first page of the article with the pinpoint page -- the first page is always required, the pinpoint is optional

Tips for Getting It Right

Always look up the journal abbreviation in Bluebook Table T13 -- common words like 'Law' become 'L.', 'Review' becomes 'Rev.', 'Journal' becomes 'J.'
For student-written pieces, designate them with the label the journal uses (Note, Comment, etc.) in ordinary type before the italicized title
If an article has more than two authors, cite the first author's name followed by 'et al.'
The short citation form for a previously cited article is: [Author's last name], supra note [X], at [pinpoint page]
For forthcoming articles, replace the year with 'forthcoming [year]' and use the expected journal if known