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Bluebook Format Guide

Follow these Bluebook (21st edition) paper formatting rules to ensure your document meets the required standards. This guide covers font, margins, spacing, title page, headers, and table of authorities formatting.

Paper Formatting

Below are the core formatting requirements for papers written in Bluebook (21st edition) style.

Font
12 pt Times New Roman
Font Size
12 pt
Margins
1 inch on all sides
Spacing
Double-spaced for law review articles; single-spaced for court briefs
Title Page
Law review articles: author, title, volume, journal, page, and year on the cover page; court documents follow local rules
Headers / Page Numbers
Page numbers required; law review articles use running headers with author name and article title

Table of Authorities Formatting

Your table of authorities must follow these rules to be correctly formatted in Bluebook style:

  1. Court briefs require a Table of Authorities divided into: Cases, Statutes, and Other Authorities
  2. Law review articles list footnotes at the bottom of each page — not in a separate reference list
  3. Case citations: Party v. Party, volume Reporter page (Court Year). E.g., Smith v. Jones, 123 U.S. 456 (2024).
  4. Statute citations: Name of Act, Public Law number, Statutes at Large citation, and codified location
  5. Use signals (See, E.g., Accord, See also, Cf., But cf., But see, Contra, See generally) before citations
  6. Subsequent references use 'id.' for the immediately preceding citation or 'supra note X' for earlier footnotes
  7. Case names are italicized in law review footnotes but not in court documents

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Frequently Asked Questions

What font and size should I use for Bluebook format?
Bluebook (21st edition) requires 12 pt Times New Roman. The standard font size is 12 pt.
What are the margin requirements for Bluebook?
Bluebook papers require 1 inch on all sides. This applies to the top, bottom, left, and right margins of every page.
Does Bluebook require a title page?
Law review articles: author, title, volume, journal, page, and year on the cover page; court documents follow local rules

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