REFERNCING AND FORMATTING

REFERENCING AND FORMATTING: MEET YOUR NEW BFFS

YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE SO MANY NEW FRIENDS IN YOUR FIRST YEAR OF LAW, BUT NONE MORE LOYAL OR KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN THESE TWO MVPS:

THE AUSTRALIAN GUIDE TO LEGAL CITATION (4TH EDITION) AKA AGLC4 You will be asked to adhere to AGLC4 referencing rules in your law school assessment. The AGLC4 is a document you can download online or in the Library. (APA, Harvard, Vancouver, etc.) It’s critical that you set aside time before your assessment due date to make sure you have follow these rules. It’s not acceptable to use any other set of referencing rules. Complying with the AGLC4 will not only boost your grade, but is also important for upholding academic integrity in your work.

For an overview of using the AGLC4, we recommend QUT CiteWrite, which provides referencing guidelines in an easily understood format (just make sure you click the “AGLC” tab for the right information.

QUT CITEWRITE AGLC4 - CITEWRITE

WRITTEN ASSESSMENT IN THE LAW SCHOOL AKA WALS WALS is the document that sets out how all of your written assessment should be formatted. It also contains important guidance on correct usage of grammar and punctuation. It’s super important to get into the habit of formatting your assignments according to WALS (soon it will be second nature, we promise!). The name of the game here is compliance; if you format your essays in size 24 Comic Sans, your work will stick out like a sore thumb to your markers (which is not a good thing).

THESE ARE THE BIGGEST THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN USING AGLC4: • Footnotes, footnotes, footnotes! Instead of using ‘in-text’ referencing like you might use in APA referencing, you will used footnotes whenever you need to provide an authority for your point or give credit for an idea (see

AGLC4 rule 1.1.1). • You will need to provide ‘pin-point’ references to refer to the specific section of a source. There are often used to refer to page numbers or paragraphs (1.1.6). • Your first reference of a source will be different to your subsequent reference of that source (see rule 1.4.1). • You can use short titles to make your footnotes and writing clearer with long case or legislation titles (see rule 1.4.4). • You should use gender-inclusive language in your writing. This means using phrases like ‘humankind’ instead of ‘mankind’ (rule 1.9.3). • You won’t always be asked to provide a bibliography, but if you are, you should follow the specific layout set out in the AGLC4. This includes dividing sources into sections depending on their type (rule 1.13).

• When referencing the cases, legislation and secondary sources, you will need to identify their specific

type and use the rules set out for that type of source in the AGLC4. Here is a quick reference to some of the different sections: cases (rule 2, page 39); legislative materials (rule 3, page 67); secondary sources (rule 4, from page 83).

AGLC4 QUICK REFERENCE

CASES (REPPORTED DESCISIONS)

AGLC4 Rules 2.1-2.2 Below is a quick introduction to what your citations for cases, legislation and journals in footnotes using AGLC4 might look like, using the QUT CiteWrite page:

FOOTNOTE

Case Name (Year)/ [Volume] Law Report Series Starting Page, Pinpoint (‘Short Title’). SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES

Short Title (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint.

Elle (n 2) 527. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Elle v Emmett Pty Ltd (2001) 81 CLR 522, 525 (‘Elle’)

ACTS AND REGULATIONS

AGLC4 Rules 3.1.1 -3.1.7

JOURNAL ARTICLES

AGCL4 Rule 5.1-5.7 Elle v Emmett Pty Ltd (2001) 81 CLR 522, 525 (‘Elle’). Title Year (Jurisdiction) Pinpoint (‘Short Title’).

Bruiser’s Law Against Animal Testing Act 2003 (Qld) (‘BLAAT Act’). Author, ‘Title’ (Year) Volume(Issue) Journal Starting page, Pinpoint.

Elle Woods, ‘Pooches and Poison: Animal Testing in Queensland’ (2002) 28(2) Paws for Thought Law Journal 100, 104. Short Title (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint.

BLAAT Act (n 4) s 23.

Author Surname (n Footnote Number) Pinpoint.

Woods (n 20) 101. Bruiser’s Law Against Animal Testing Act 2003 (Qld)

Woods, Elle, ‘Pooches and Poison: Animal Testing in Queensland’ (2002) 28(2) Paws for Thought Animal Law Journal 100.

Note that the examples above are a starting point only. Cases, legislation and secondary sources will all have to be referenced differently depending on their specific type. For example:

• Cases should be referenced differently depending on whether the decision is reported or unreported. • Legislation should be referenced differently depending on whether it is an act or regulation, a bill or explanatory memorandum etc. • Secondary sources should be referenced differently depending on whether you’re dealing with a journal article, book, chapter of an edited book, or report etc.

Always refer to the AGLC4 or QUT CiteWrite when referencing, especially while you’re still getting the hang of AGLC4 rules. And don’t despair if you’re feeling overwhelmed – simply seek out help through the Library or other the resources discussed in this Guide.