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LEGAL WRITING

FOOTNOTES. OSCOLA. BLUE-BOOK. E-RESOURCES.

PLAGIARISM. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Submitted By:- Jayasankar Jayasoman

PROV/LLM/7-19/031
Roll No. 31
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I.N.D.E.X
o LEGAL WRITING.
o FOOTNOTES.
o WHERE FOOTNOTES SHOULD BE GIVEN.
o DIFFERENT FORMS OF FOOTNOTES.
o LATIN TERMS IN ACADEMIC REFERENCING.
o Ibid.
o Supra Note.
o Infra Note.
o Loc. Cit.
o Op. cit.
o OSCOLA.
o BLUE-BOOK.
o E-RESOURCES.
o PLAGIARISM.
o AVIODING PLAGIARISMBIBLIOGRAPHY.
o BIBLIOGRAPHY.
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LEGAL WRITING
• Legal writing refers generally to the analysis of fact patterns and
presentation of arguments in legal memos and briefs. The vast majority of
legal internships and permanent positions will require the deployment of legal
writing skills. Those working in settings where client-based or impact litigation
are the principal focus will draft and file legal briefs that coherently present
their side’s written arguments to the court.
• Certain positions might entail the drafting of predictive memos, which
anticipate the arguments of opposing counsel. Even non-litigation positions
may require you to research a legal question, analyze the relevant legal
precedents, and present an answer in a memo.
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LEGAL WRITING
• Work in academia may involve not only writing for scholarly publications
but also teaching law students the basics of legal writing and citation.
Some larger government agencies and non-profit organizations may also
hire someone to provide legal writing training to new hires or to oversee
their legal publications.
• Hence, in layman’s sense legal writing involves the analysis of fact
patterns and presentation of arguments in documents such as legal
memoranda and briefs. One form of legal writing involves drafting a
balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue.
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FOOTNOTE
• A footnote in simplest sense is basically a note of reference,
explanation, or comment usually placed below the text on a printed
page.
• Footnotes usually appear as superscripts and correspond with
numbers placed at the bottom of the page, next to which appears
further information that is both necessary and supplementary.
• Sometimes this information will come in the form of citations, but
sometimes it will simply present additional notes about the topic at
hand
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WHERE FOOTNOTES SHOULD BE

GIVEN
Book reports Jurist Writing

Article Review Case Law

Court Judgments Magazine Citations

Translation Amendments

Case Reviews Other Research Papers

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DIFFERENT
FORMS OF FOOTNOTES
1. OSCOLA: Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal
Authorities
2. MLA: Modern Language Association of America
3. ASA: American Sociological Association
4. APA: American Psychological Association
5. AAA: American Anthropological Association
6. CSE: Council of Science Editors
7. CBE: Council of Biology Editors
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LATIN TERMS IN
ACADEMIC REFERENCING
1. Ibid. (In the Same Place) (Ibid)
• One of the most widely used Latin terms in academic referencing is “ibid.” This is short
for ibidem, which means “in the same place.” It is therefore used for repeat citations:
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2. Supra Note
• Supra (Latin for "above") is an academic and legal citation signal used when a
writer desires to refer a reader to an earlier-cited authority.
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3. Infra Note
• Infra Note is legal shorthand to indicate that the details or citation of a case will come
later on in the brief. Infra is distinguished from supra, which shows that a case has
already been cited "above.".
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4. Loc. cit. (loco citato)

• Loc. cit. (Latin, short for loco citato, meaning "in the place cited") is a
footnote or endnote term used to repeat the title and page number for a
given work (and author). It can only be used when a reference is given to
an authors writing
5. Op.Cit (opere citato)
• Op. cit. (Latin short for opere 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 can only be
used when a reference is given to an authors writing
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Basic Elements and

Content’s of Citation
Book book title, publisher, date of publication, page number(s),
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

Journal/Article author(s), article title, journal title, date of publication, page

number(s)

Newspaper author(s), article title, name of newspaper, section title and page
number(s) if desired, date of publication

Websites author(s), article and publication title, a URL, a date when the site
was accessed,

Case Law 1st party Versus (v.)2nd party, name of the Law Journal or
Reporter, name of the Court (HC/SC) and then page
number
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OSCOLA
• The Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal
Authorities or fondly referred to as the OSCOLA is
designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities,
legislation, and other legal materials.

• It is widely used in law schools and by journal and

book publishers in the UK, India and beyond

• The OSCOLA found its origin in the Oxford

University and was developed by Peter Birks

• OSCOLA is widely followed by all the National,

Private and Governmental Law Colleges all around
India, and it’s the standard accepted norm for
submissions regarding Thesis, Dissertations, Summary
Writings, Article Presentation and others.
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BLUE-BOOK
• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of
Citation, a style guide, prescribes the
most widely used legal citation system
in the United States.
• The Bluebook is compiled by
the Harvard Law Review Association,
the Columbia Law Review,
the University of Pennsylvania Law
Review, and the Yale Law Journal. It
is so named because its cover is blue.
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E-RESOURCES
• An electronic resource is defined as a resource which require computer access or any
electronic product that delivers a collection of data, be it text referring to full text
bases, electronic journals, image collections, other multimedia products and numerical,
graphical or time based, as a commercially available title that has been published with
an aim to being marketed
• In the simplest sense E-Resources are those materials that are in digital format
accessible electronically some examples are :-
 E-Books  E-Newspaper
 E-Journals  E-Reference Book
 E-Magazines  CD-ROMs
 E-Thesis and Dissertation  Databases
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PLAGIARISM
• Plagiarism is the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and
publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or
expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work.
Plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic
ethics.
• Plagiarism is not in itself a crime, but like counterfeiting fraud,
for prejudices caused by copyright infringement, violation of moral
rights, or torts. In academia and industry, it is a serious ethical offense.
• Basically it’s the practice of stealing someone else’s idea’s and passing
them of as their own.
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•The term Plagiarism first took note in the year

1601 when dramatist Ben Jonson introduced
Plagiary, a derivative of plagiarus which was
introduced into English in 1601 during the
Jacobean Era to describe someone guilty of
literary theft.
•The derived form plagiarism was introduced into
English around 1620.
Benjamin Jonson
(1572-1637)
Although plagiarism is not a criminal or civil offense, plagiarism is illegal as it
infringes an author's intellectual property rights, including copyright or trademark.
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AVIODING PLAGIARISM
• To avoid the problem of plagiarism when submitting any
article review or any research work one must always have
the following points to follow.
1. Paraphrase Appropriately
2. Cite Properly
3. Quote Perfectly
4. Cite Own Material
5. Referencing
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PARAPHRASE

CITE PROPERLY

QUOTE PERFECTLY

CITE OWN MATERIAL

REFERENCING
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AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
• “At the end of the Second World War when the full extent of the genocide in Europe was becoming
apparent, the founders of the United Nations were conscious that political agreements only would be
insufficient to guarantee a lasting peace. Ethical objectives had also to be pursued, in particular, respect
for human rights and fundamental freedoms”
• (Word Count 57) (Source: The Convention on the Rights of Child, UNESCO)
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• During the mass genocide of Europe during the late 1940s, United Nations leaders came to a
desolate conclusion that for an everlasting peace, political agreements was not the in-hand solution
and other ways had to be devised.
• In the respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom, people’s ethics had to be considered
also and given note
• (Word Count 57) (Source: The Convention on the Rights of Child, UNESCO Contribution)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
• A Bibliography includes all the sources that has been used in the Thesis,
Dissertation, Article Writing, etc so far.
• It can include
BOOKS DECLARATIONS

ARTICLES WEB REFERENCES

STATUTES DICTIONARIES

RULES AMENDMENTS

RECOMMENDATIONS
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