Citation Guides/a Legal Book or Treatise

How to Cite a Legal Book or Treatise in Bluebook Format

Learn the correct Bluebook format for citing legal treatises, hornbooks, casebooks, and other legal books. Covers single-volume works, multi-volume treatises, editors, and edition parentheticals.

Citation Format

[Author], [Title] [Pinpoint] ([Edition] [Year]).

Citation Components

Author Name

The full name of the author(s). For institutional authors, use the organization name. For two authors, use '&' between names. For three or more, use the first author followed by 'et al.'

Example: Erwin Chemerinsky

Title

The full title of the book in small caps (in printed form). In typed manuscripts, use ordinary type or as directed by your journal.

Example: Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies

Pinpoint

The specific page, section, or paragraph being referenced. Place after the title with no intervening punctuation. Use § for section, 'at' for page numbers in single-volume works.

Example: § 6.3

Edition & Year

The edition number (if not the first edition) and year of publication, enclosed in parentheses. For the first edition, include only the year.

Example: (6th ed. 2020)

Examples

Single-author treatise with section pinpoint

Erwin Chemerinsky, Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies § 6.3 (6th ed. 2020).

Classic single-volume work, first edition

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., The Common Law 1 (1881).

Multi-volume treatise

5 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1216 (4th ed. 2015).

Edited book

The Federalist No. 78 (Alexander Hamilton) (Jacob E. Cooke ed., 1961).

Hornbook with page cite

Dan B. Dobbs, The Law of Torts 52 (2000).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Italicizing the book title instead of using small caps -- in Bluebook format, book titles appear in large and small capitals, not italics
Omitting the edition number for second and subsequent editions -- always indicate which edition you are citing
Placing the pinpoint reference inside the parenthetical instead of before it -- the pinpoint goes between the title and the parenthetical
For multi-volume works, forgetting to include the volume number before the author's name
Confusing the section symbol pinpoint (§) with page pinpoints -- use 'at [page]' for page numbers in single-volume works without section or paragraph numbers

Tips for Getting It Right

For books with named editors, include '(ed.)' or '(eds.)' in the parenthetical after the editor name(s) and before the year
Multi-volume treatises place the volume number before the author name: '5 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure ...'
Use 'supra note [X], at [pinpoint]' for short-form citations to previously cited books
When citing a specific chapter or named portion of a book, include the subdivision after the title
For supplements and pocket parts, include 'Supp.' and the supplement year in the parenthetical