OSCOLA Referencing Guide

Know About OSCOLA Referencing Style

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities(OSCOLA) is a trendy referencing style to cite legal sources. Most universities and international law schools in the UK use this referencing style in legal documentation. This OSCOLA citation style is used in footnotes to explain that you can create a bibliography page.

How Does Oscola Referencing Work?

The OSCOLA referencing style consists of three sections that are:

Citation

To mention sources in the content, use a footnote marker ¹ above the last word or at the end of the sentence. But, if you have to mention more than one source, you can place footnote markers at the last of completed sentences or words.

Footnotes

Footnotes are presented at the bottom of the page, allowing the readers to find the original information available in the sources.

Bibliography

This page is created to mention all the sources at the end of the document. You can directly search for that information from the OSCOLA bibliography section.

What Are the General Guidelines of OSCOLA Referencing for Academic Writing?

Every referencing style has its own specific guidelines, and so as OSCOLA referencing has. If you are a law student, then you must know the general guidelines of the OSCOLA referencing style before using them in your academic writing. So, here is the list of important pointers below:

• For clarity, inserting the footnote maker at the end of the sentence, after the word or phrase, or after the punctuation mark after the text is necessary
• If you have used brackets to cite the sources, the footnote should be placed before the closing bracket
• Use less punctuation while citing sources. For example, always write MKLP instead of M.K.L.P.
• Always place footnotes close to the full stop
• Always italicised titles of books and case names
• Use of semicolons is allowed to separate two distinct sources in a footnote
• Always write long quotations within an indented paragraph and avoid using quotation marks

So, these are the basic guidelines for students that they need to follow while using the OSCOLA referencing style to cite legal sources. As now you know the OSCOLA citation guidelines, let's look into the next section to understand how to use the OSCOLA reference to cite the sources in Footnotes and Bibliography.

How to Cite Sources in Footnotes and Bibliography Using OSCOLA Referencing?

So, this is the difference between footnotes and bibliography OSCOLA referencing. Furthermore, you should also know how to include quotations as per OSCOLA referencing.

Know the Use of Quotations Marks in OSCOLA Referencing

It is necessary to use quotations properly while citing sources because if it is incorrect, then there is a chance of plagiarism in the content. So, here are two types of quotations defined as per OSCOLA referencing:

1. Short Quotations

To cite short quotations that are less than three lines, include them as a part of the main text with single quotation marks.

For Example:

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is one of the most influential Scottish architects. Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art ‘heralded the birth of a new style in 20th century European Architecture'.1

2. Long Quotations:

The guidelines to cite long quotations correctly are to always start on a separate line, check the indent and put no quotation marks inside. But, if in case you are using a quotation inside a quotation, then use double quotation marks to represent that. Also, if you omit words, use [...] to signify your actions.

Example:

Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House opens with the following description to set the scene for his story:

London [...] Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the water had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.2

The next section will help you to know about citing primary and secondary sources according to OSCOLA referencing.

How to Cite Primary & Secondary Sources Using OSCOLA Referencing?

To reference different legal sources, OSCOLA is used. So, here is the complete information regarding using OSCOLA for referencing primary and secondary sources.

Primary Sources

These sources are first-hand reports, and it includes cases and legislation. They are defined in the below section.

1. Case

There are some specific guidelines to cite cases in footnotes as per OSCOLA referencing in the UK, which are as follows:

• The parties
• Neutral citation
• The law report
• Titles of the case must be abbreviated
• Never use punctuation in abbreviations

You must include the case reference in this manner in footnotes.

Examples:

Citing in Footnotes

Barrett v Enfield LBC (1999) 49 BMLR 1 (HL)

Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

Moreover, guidelines for OSCOLA quick reference citing sources in the table of cases in the UK:

• Case names must not be italicised.
• Cases must be listed in alphabetical order of the first significant word.

Examples:

Citing in Table of Cases

Barrett v Enfield LBC (1999) 49 BMLR 1 (HL)

Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

2. Legislation

While making a table of legislation, always include the following things in a proper format:

• Short Title of Act
• Year
• Section
• Include (Subsection) in round-brackets
• Include (Paragraph) in round-brackets

Example:

Human Rights Act UK 1998 s 15(1)(b)

So, citing in footnotes and in the Table of Legislation is the same. There is just a tiny difference: while citing in The Table of Legislation, you must omit the full stop.

Example:

Citing in Footnotes

Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995.

Citing in Table of Legislation:

Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995

Secondary Sources

The evaluation of primary sources determines secondary sources. It includes books, journals, articles, blogs, website content, etc. Below is the list of all the secondary sources, so learn how to cite sources in each one of them with the help of an OSCOLA referencing example.

1. Books

2. Journal

3. Newspaper Article

4. Website and Blogs

We hope you find our OSCOLA referencing quick guide helpful. If you want more details related to this guide, then you can get law assignment help from our experts. They know how to cite legal sources using the OSCOLA reference very well. So, if you take academic writing services from Assignment Desk, then you will get the best assistance and a proper OSCOLA referencing example from our end. So, get help from us and ease your academic stress. Still, if you are in two minds, you can call or chat with our customer support supervisors before taking assignment help from us. They are available 24x7 for your support, so anytime, contact us and clear your doubts.