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Law Journal Staff Research Guide

Resources of particular interest to law journal student editors.

Citations, Grammar, and Style

Citations

  • Bluebook (Temple Law Library Reserves, KF245 .U55 2020)

  • Prince's Dictionary of Legal Citations (Temple Law Library Reference, KF246 .P73 2017)
    A good resource for determining how to cite obscure and older resources. Prince's takes the Bluebook’s rules and shows how they’re used in real life. Prince's also tries to incorporate local citation rules, but take these with a grain of salt: the Philadelphia District and County Reports citations, for example, don’t include the county in the citation examples, although in practice most courts and practitioners do.

  • Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations (Temple Law Library Reserves, K89 .G85 2009)

  • Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (aka Bieber's) (Temple Law Library Closed Stacks, KF246 .B46 2009)
    This is the go-to source to decipher legal abbreviations.

Grammar and Style

  • Garner’s Modern American Usage (Temple Law Library Reference, PE2827 .G37 2009)
    Garner is one of the foremost experts on American legal writing, so all his publications merit attention. This one is an authoritative guide on how to use (and not abuse) the English language.

  • Chicago Manual of Style (online or in print at Temple Law Library Reference, Z253 .U69 2010)
    If you don’t know how to wield a semicolon or whether to use “different from” or “different than,” the Chicago Manual of Style can help.

  • Strunk and White (aka The Elements of Style) (Temple Law Library Reference, PE1408 .S772)
    Relatively short, with examples of how - and how not - to use certain words and phrases. The 2005 edition has pictures.