Bluebook Guide: Periodicals

The Bluebook provides much coverage on periodic materials, which include, among other things, law review journals!  See R16, pp. 157-69 for the Whitepages rules and B16, pp. 23-24 for the Bluepages rules.  

As noted previously in the section on Typeface, law review articles will use three typefaces for periodical materials.  The author’s name is in ordinary type, the article title is italicized, and the periodical name is in large and small caps.  

In a court document under the Bluepages, only the article title will be italicized (or underscored depending on preference).  The rest of the citations will be in ordinary type.

See the overviews and examples presented in The Bluebook for the following Whitepages Rules on these highly specific topics on periodical materials.

• Consecutively Paginated Journals (R16.4, p. 160)
• Nonconsecutively Paginated Journals and Magazines (R16.5, pp. 160-61)
• Signed & Unsigned Student-Written Law Review Materials (R16.7.1(a) & (b), pp. 163-64)
• Student-Written Book Reviews (R16.7.1(c), p. 164)
• Non- Student-Written Book Reviews (R16.7.2, p. 164)
• Symposia, Colloquia & Surveys (R16.7.3, p. 165)
• Commentaries & Other Special Designations (R16.7.4, p. 165)
• Multipart Articles (R16.7.5, pp. 165-66)
• Annotations (R16.7.6, p. 166)
• Proceedings, Regular Publications by Institutes & ABA Section Reports (R.16.7.7, pp. 166-67)
• Newsletters & Other Noncommercially Distributed Periodicals (R16.7.8, p. 167)
• Electronic Databases & Online Sources (R16.8, p. 167)

The Bluebook provides more examples of basic citation forms for various periodicals for academic legal writing at R16.1, pp. 157-58, and for court documents at B16, pp. 23-25.  Also, there are some examples on The Bluebook's Quick Style Guide.

The Whitepages instruct to follow R15.1, pp. 148-49, "[f]or signed materials appearing in periodicals (including student-written materials."  However, the typeface for an author will be ordinary type.  In the following example for a law review article, three typefaces are used:  ordinary type for the author’s full name, italics for the article title, and large and small caps for the name of the law journal.  See R16.2, p. 159. In addition to the following example, The Bluebook provides numerous examples on this point.

Michael Seng & F. Willis Caruso, Forty Years of Fair Housing:  Where Do We Go from Here, 18 J. Affordable Hous. & Cmty. Dev. L. 235 (2009).

The full periodical title will be cited as it appears on its title page.  The title will be capitalized in accordance with R8(a), p. 91, and it will be in italics.  However, if the title is not in English, follow R20.2.2(b), p. 189.  Importantly, do not abbreviate or omit words in the title.  In addition to the following example, The Bluebook provides noteworthy examples on this point.

Edward B. Arnolds & Michael P. Seng, Picketing and Privacy:  Can I Patrol on the Street Where You Live?, 7 S. Ill. U. L.J. 463 (1982).

Note that if the title contains material that would be ordinarily italicized in the main text according to R2.2(a), that material should appear in ordinary type.  The Bluebook provides the following examples for clarification.

• Nathaniel A. Vitan, Book Note, Grounded Paratroopers: On Collins and Skover’s The Death of Discourse, 13 J.L. & Pol. 207, 210 (1997).
• Seth F. Kreimer, Does Pro-Choice Mean Pro-Kevorkian? An Essay on Roe, Casey, and the Right to Die, 44 Am. U. L. Rev. 803, 812 (1995).

• The Table “Institutional Names in Periodical Titles” (T13, pp. 320–22) provides some insight into how to approach the citation of periodical names.  
• The title of the periodical appearing on the title page of the cited issue will always be used, even if the title of the periodical has changed over time.
• The Bluebook instructs to abbreviate periodical titles (in English-language publications) following T13, T6, and T10 (in that specific order).
• Many individual journals differ as to a preferred abbreviation convention from those listed in The Bluebook’s tables.
• The abbreviation conventions listed in The Bluebook are geared towards a national audience to clearly indicate the cited source.
• For more detail on periodical names, refer to R16.1, p. 158.

Works appearing in newspapers will be cited by author, title of work, periodical name, date of issue as it appears on the cover, the word "at," the first page of work, and (if applicable) the page(s) on which specific material appears.  Also, the following considerations may be applicable for works appearing in newspapers:

• If appropriate, the work should be designated as an "Editorial," "Opinion," or "Letter to the Editor," in ordinary type, following the author’s name but before the title, or at the beginning of the citation when there is no author
• After the date, present the section designation where the work is located (in a parenthetical if necessary) to identify the page unambiguously
• Give only the first page of the work and do not indicate the location of specific material
• Substitute "Letter to the Editor" or another designation for an untitled work
• Include the place of publication in ordinary type in a parenthetical after the newspaper’s name if not clear from the name

The following is an example of a general newspaper citation.

Paul Mozur et al., China’s Rush to Dominate A.I. Comes With a Twist: It Depends on U.S. Technology, N.Y. Times, Feb. 21, 2024, at 1.

The Bluebook provides examples for the foregoing points.  See R16.6(a) & (b), pp. 161-162.

The Bluebook also offers instruction on the following newspaper-related topics:

• Consecutively Paginated Newspapers (R16.6(c), p. 162)
• Wire Services (R16.6(d), p. 162)
• Commercial Electronic Databases (R16.6(e), p. 162)
• Internet & Online Newspapers (R16.6(f), p. 162)

Like other materials, once a periodical piece has been cited in full, id. or supra may be used to refer to it in subsequent citations.  See R16.9, pp. 167-69.

To use id.:

• Id. may be used when the work cited is the same as the immediately preceding authority within the same footnote
• Or as the sole authority within the immediately preceding footnote 
• Also provide any difference in page number

To use supra:

• Include the author’s last name before supra
• If there is no author, use the title of the piece or the designation of the piece (if listed before or instead of a title)
• When the first citation to the work uses a hereinafter form, then use the hereinafter form in place of the author’s name, the title, or the designation
• Indicate the footnote in which the full citation appears unless the full citation is in the same footnote, if so, supra may be used without a footnote reference
• To use a supra form, always give the page(s) cited except when citing the work in its entirety

Use the normal short form citation appropriate for the source for materials available only online.  A URL does not need to be repeated after a full citation.

As always, The Bluebook is replete with relevant short form citation examples.  See R16.9, pp. 167-69.