Bluebook Guide: Mechanics

It is also helpful to consider other style guides when drafting academic papers or court documents.

• MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing - PN147 .G44 2008
• Style Manual: An Official Guide to the Form and Style of Federal Government Printing - Reference Desk
• The Chicago Manual of Style - Z253 .C5714 2017
• Guide to Legal Writing Style - KF250 .L3913 2011
• The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style - KF250 .G375 2023
• Style Manual for the Supreme and Appellate Courts of Illinois

• Michael B. Hyman, Embracing Style, 112 ILL. B.J. 42 (2024).  A quick and useful overview of the Style Manual for the Supreme and Appellate Courts of Illinois by Justice Michael B. Hyman, Illinois Appellate Court, First District.  Available via WestLaw.

Another trove of resources for legal citation and legal writing can be found from the Georgetown Law Writing Center.

The Bluebook covers some other preliminary matters before delving into citation conventions.  Be sure to review these sections in the Whitepages for a general overview.

• Structure & Use of Citations (R1, pp. 61-68; See Sections on Sentences & Clauses and Signals & Parentheticals)
• Typefaces for Law Reviews (R2, pp. 68-72; See Section on Typeface for Law Reviews)
• Subdivisions (R3, pp. 72-79; See Section on Other Mechanics)
• Short Citation Forms (R4, 79-82; Discussed in parts of other relevant sections)
• Quotations (R5, pp. 83- 87; See Section on Other Mechanics)
• Abbreviations, Numerals & Symbols (R6, pp. 87-90; See Section on Abbreviations)
• Italicization for Style & in Unique Circumstances (R7, pp. 90-91; See Section on Other Mechanics)
• Capitalization (R8, pp. 91-94; See Section on Other Mechanics)
• Titles of Judges, Officials & Terms of Court (R9, pp. 94-95; See Section on Other Mechanics)

Similarly, these topics are addressed in the corresponding sections of the Bluepages (See pp. 3-10, as well as the Section on Typeface for Court Documents).