Overview of ALWD Manual
The ALWD Citation Manual (published by the Association of Legal Writing Directors) provides a comprehensive set of rules for formatting legal citations in academic and professional writing. It serves as an alternative to The Bluebook, with the goal of making citation rules more accessible through clearer explanations and more detailed examples.
The manual covers cases, statutes, regulations, secondary sources, and electronic materials, establishing standardized formats so that citations look consistent across legal documents.
Purpose and Scope
The ALWD manual exists to create uniform citation formats for legal sources. Uniformity matters because legal readers need to locate and verify sources quickly. If every writer cited differently, research would grind to a halt.
The manual covers:
- Primary sources: cases, statutes, constitutions, regulations
- Secondary sources: books, treatises, law review articles, legal encyclopedias
- Electronic sources: online databases, websites, blogs
Its aim is to simplify citation practices without sacrificing the accuracy or completeness that legal writing demands.
Comparison to Bluebook
The ALWD manual and The Bluebook accomplish the same basic task, but they differ in presentation. ALWD tends to use more straightforward language and a more intuitive organizational structure. Where The Bluebook sometimes requires you to cross-reference multiple rules for a single citation, ALWD often consolidates that guidance in one place.
ALWD also offers slightly more flexibility in certain formats while still preserving the essential information a reader needs to find the source.
Target Audience
The manual is designed primarily for law students, but it's also used by legal practitioners, paralegals, legal secretaries, and academic researchers. Whether you're writing your first memo or your fiftieth brief, the manual provides guidance on proper citation form.
Basic Citation Principles
Three principles run through the entire ALWD manual: accuracy, clarity, and consistency. Every citation should give the reader enough information to find the exact source you're referencing, and it should do so in a predictable format.
Full Citation vs. Short Citation
- A full citation includes every element needed to identify and locate a source. You use it the first time you reference a source in a document. It contains the complete information: author, title, publication date, reporter or database, and specific page numbers.
- A short citation is an abbreviated version used for subsequent references to the same source. It typically includes just the author's last name or a shortened title plus the relevant page number. Short citations reduce repetition and save space while still pointing the reader to the right place.
The key rule: always give the full citation first, then switch to the short form for later references.
Order of Citation Elements
Each source type has a standardized sequence of elements. For most sources, you move from identifying information (author or case name) to publication information (reporter, publisher, date) to specific locators (page or section numbers). Following this sequence consistently across source types makes citations predictable and easier to read.
Case Law Citations
Case citations are the backbone of legal writing. The ALWD manual provides detailed rules for citing judicial opinions from federal and state courts.
A typical case citation includes: case name, volume number, reporter abbreviation, first page of the opinion, specific page cited (if applicable), court identification, and year of decision.
Court Identification
You must clearly indicate which court issued the opinion. The manual provides standardized abbreviations:
- U.S. for the United States Supreme Court
- 9th Cir. for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- S.D.N.Y. for the Southern District of New York
For state court cases, include the jurisdiction to avoid ambiguity. If you're citing a state appellate court rather than the highest court, specify which level.
Party Names
Case names list the parties involved and are typically italicized (or underlined, depending on the document). The ALWD manual provides rules for:
- Abbreviating common words (e.g., Corp. for Corporation, Gov't for Government)
- Omitting certain procedural phrases in short-form citations
- Handling cases with multiple parties (generally, use only the first party on each side)
Reporter Information
The reporter portion of a citation tells the reader exactly where to find the case. It includes the volume number, reporter abbreviation, and starting page number.
Common reporter abbreviations include:
- F.3d for the Federal Reporter, Third Series
- S. Ct. for the Supreme Court Reporter
- N.E.2d for the North Eastern Reporter, Second Series
Some jurisdictions require parallel citations, meaning you cite to both the official and unofficial reporter for the same case.
Statutory Citations
Statutes have their own citation formats, and accuracy here is critical because a wrong section number sends the reader to entirely different law.
Federal Statutes
The preferred citation is to the United States Code (U.S.C.). A federal statute citation includes:
- Title number
- Code abbreviation (U.S.C.)
- Section number (using the § symbol)
- Year of the code edition
When the official U.S.C. is unavailable, you may cite to unofficial compilations like U.S.C.A. (West) or U.S.C.S. (LexisNexis), but indicate which one you're using.
State Statutes
Citation formats vary by state because each state has its own official code compilation. Generally, a state statute citation includes the state code name, title or chapter number, section number, and year. Always check the ALWD manual's jurisdiction-specific tables for the correct format.
Session Laws
When a law has been recently enacted and not yet incorporated into the codified statutes, you cite it as a session law. This citation includes the jurisdiction, year of enactment, and the chapter or act number. Session law citations are temporary; once the law is codified, switch to the code citation.
Secondary Source Citations
Secondary sources support your arguments but don't carry the same authority as cases or statutes. The ALWD manual provides formats for books, articles, encyclopedias, and other non-primary materials.
Books and Treatises
A book citation includes: author name, title (italicized), edition number (if not the first), publisher, and year of publication. For specific references, include the page or section number. Multi-volume works and books with multiple authors have additional formatting rules.
Law Review Articles
A law review citation includes: author name, article title (italicized), volume number, journal name abbreviation, first page, specific page cited, and year. Student-written notes or comments should be identified as such. The manual also covers citing articles available only online.
Legal Encyclopedias
Citations to encyclopedias like American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2d) or Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) require the encyclopedia name, volume number, topic name, section number, and year. For online versions, include the database information.
Electronic Source Citations
Digital sources are increasingly central to legal research, and the ALWD manual has expanded its coverage of electronic citations over successive editions.
Online Databases
When citing from databases like Westlaw or LexisNexis, include the database name, the document's unique identifier (such as a Westlaw citation number), and the date of access. Use database citations only when the source isn't available in a traditional print reporter.
Websites and Blogs
For web pages and blog posts, include: author name (if available), title of the page or post, website name, URL, and date of access. The access date matters because online content can change or disappear. The manual also addresses citing social media posts and other non-traditional digital content.
Formatting Rules
Consistent visual presentation makes citations easier to read and signals professionalism. The ALWD manual specifies formatting details that apply across all citation types.
Typeface Conventions
Different citation elements require different typeface treatments:
- Case names are italicized (or underlined) in text and in citations
- Book and article titles are italicized
- Signals (like see or cf.) are italicized
- Reporter names, code abbreviations, and most other elements use regular (roman) typeface
Spacing and Punctuation
The manual has specific rules about spacing between abbreviation elements. For example, abbreviations made up of single capital letters are closed up with no spaces (e.g., U.S.), while abbreviations with longer components have spaces between them (e.g., S. Ct.). Commas, periods, and other punctuation marks follow prescribed patterns to maintain clarity.
Abbreviations in Citations
Legal citations rely heavily on abbreviations to keep them concise. The ALWD manual includes extensive tables of standard abbreviations.
Court Names
Standardized court abbreviations prevent confusion:
- 9th Cir. for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- D. Mass. for the District of Massachusetts
- Bankr. for Bankruptcy Court
Geographic Terms
States and other geographic entities have standard abbreviations used in citations. The manual specifies when to use the full name versus the abbreviation, which depends on where the geographic term appears in the citation.
Common Legal Phrases
Frequently used legal phrases have standard short forms:
- cert. denied for certiorari denied
- aff'd for affirmed
- rev'd for reversed
- overruled by for subsequent negative history
These abbreviations save space and are universally understood by legal readers.
Parenthetical Information
Parentheticals let you add context to a citation without cluttering the main text. They appear at the end of the citation, inside parentheses.
Explanatory Parentheticals
An explanatory parenthetical briefly describes the cited source's holding or relevance. It typically begins with a present participle (e.g., holding that..., noting that..., discussing...). This helps the reader understand why you're citing the source without having to look it up.
Weight of Authority
Parentheticals can also indicate the precedential value of a cited source. For example, you might note that a citation is to a dissenting opinion, a concurrence, or a plurality opinion. Standard phrases include:
- (per curiam)
- (en banc)
- (Smith, J., dissenting)
These details help the reader gauge how much weight to give the cited authority.
Signals and Introductory Phrases
Signals tell the reader what relationship exists between your proposition and the cited source. Choosing the right signal is important for the precision of your argument.
Supportive vs. Contradictory Signals
The most common signals include:
- [no signal]: The source directly states the proposition
- See: The source clearly supports the proposition but doesn't state it directly
- See also: The source provides additional support
- Cf.: The source supports the proposition by analogy
- But see: The source directly contradicts the proposition
- But cf.: The source contradicts by analogy
Using the wrong signal can misrepresent your authority, so choose carefully.
Explanatory Phrases
Sometimes a brief introductory phrase before the citation provides necessary context. These phrases explain why you're citing a particular source and are not italicized (unlike signals). The ALWD manual provides formatting and punctuation guidelines for these phrases.
Citation Placement
Where you place citations within a document affects readability. The ALWD manual addresses two main approaches.
In-Text Citations
In-text citations appear directly in the body of the document, typically in a citation sentence or clause immediately following the proposition they support. Most legal memoranda and briefs use this approach. The goal is to integrate citations smoothly so they support your argument without breaking the reader's flow.
Footnotes vs. Endnotes
Some legal documents, particularly law review articles, place citations in footnotes rather than in the text. Endnotes collect all citations at the end of the document. The ALWD manual provides guidance on when each method is appropriate based on the document type and audience. Whichever method you use, stay consistent throughout the document.
Tables and Other Components
Longer legal documents often include reference tables that help readers navigate the sources cited.
Table of Authorities
A table of authorities lists every source cited in the document, organized by category (cases, statutes, secondary sources, etc.). Each entry includes the page numbers where the source appears. This table is required in most appellate briefs and helps judges and clerks quickly verify your citations.
Table of Cases
A table of cases is an alphabetical list of all cases cited, with corresponding page references. In some documents, this is part of the table of authorities; in others, it stands alone. Proper formatting of case names and accurate page references are essential.
Recent Updates and Changes
The ALWD manual is periodically updated to reflect changes in legal publishing and research practices.
Comparison to Previous Editions
Each new edition refines existing rules and addresses gaps in earlier versions. Changes might include updated abbreviations, revised formatting for electronic sources, or simplified rules for commonly cited materials. When transitioning between editions, pay attention to the edition's summary of changes so you don't carry forward outdated practices.
New Citation Formats
Recent editions have introduced formats for citing social media posts, online-only publications, and newer legal databases. As legal research increasingly moves online, the manual continues to evolve to cover these emerging source types.
ALWD vs. Bluebook
These are the two dominant citation systems in U.S. legal writing, and you'll likely encounter both during your career.
Key Differences
While the two systems produce similar-looking citations for most sources, differences exist in:
- Organization: ALWD uses a single set of rules for all users; The Bluebook has separate sections for practitioners and law review editors
- Typeface rules: The Bluebook distinguishes between "practitioner" and "law review" typeface conventions; ALWD uses one set of typeface rules
- Specific formatting details: Minor differences in abbreviations, spacing, and punctuation appear across various source types
For most common citations, the end result is nearly identical. The differences tend to matter most in edge cases or specialized sources.
Jurisdictional Preferences
Some law schools teach exclusively from ALWD, while others use The Bluebook. Most courts specify which system they prefer (or accept both). Before submitting any document, check the relevant court rules or publication guidelines to confirm which citation system is required.
Common Citation Mistakes
Catching citation errors before submission is a mark of careful legal writing. Here are the most frequent problems.
Format Errors
- Incorrect spacing in reporter abbreviations (e.g., writing "F. 3d" instead of "F.3d")
- Missing or misplaced punctuation (periods, commas)
- Wrong typeface (forgetting to italicize case names or signals)
- Using full citations where short citations are appropriate, or vice versa
Content Errors
- Incorrect volume or page numbers
- Misspelled party names
- Wrong court or year of decision
- Citing to a superseded statute or overruled case
Always verify your citations against the original source. Cross-check case names, dates, and page numbers before finalizing any document.
Citation Management Tools
Software tools can help you create and organize citations more efficiently, though they're not a substitute for understanding the rules yourself.
Software Options
Common tools include Zotero, EndNote, and built-in citation features in Westlaw and LexisNexis. Each has different strengths in terms of legal citation support, ease of use, and integration with word processors. Evaluate which tool best fits your workflow and citation system needs.
Integration with ALWD Manual
Some citation tools allow you to customize output formats to match ALWD rules. However, no tool is perfect. Always review auto-generated citations against the ALWD manual to catch formatting errors or missing elements. The tool speeds up the process, but your knowledge of the rules is what ensures accuracy.