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John Milovich
John Milovich
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Former college customer turned freelance writer, shares insider insights on the essay industry.

General Rules of OSCOLA

The main idea of the OSCOLA (The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) is to facilitate accurate citation of legislation, authorities, and similar legal resources. OSCOLA referencing is widely recognized and used by book and journal publishers, as well as law schools within the UK and beyond its borders. Proper use of the OSCOLA style is indispensable for the accuracy of the paper and its expertise. While the professionals are usually quite aware of the basic rules and guidelines, students should start with the general formatting rules before diving into the differences betweenOSCOLA footnotes and bibliography. 

Following the general rules, any document should be written in Times New Roman or a similar font, 12 pt for the main text and 10 pt for footnotes. Double-spacing for the main text and single spacing for footnotes are required. The margins are 1 inch on all sides. Additionally, multiple other aspects should be taken into account. 

  • Citations in the footnote should be placed at the bottom of the page, providing readers with the full details of the cited work. The short form of the citation can be used for sources that have already been cited. As for bibliography, it is included at the end of the whole document, containing all the cited sources in alphabetical order. Check out the examples of the footnote and bibliography formatting to get a better idea of the critical differences. 

Footnote: V. Johnson, ‘Legal Malpractice Law in a Nutshell’ (West Academic Publishing 2021) 35.

Bibliography: Johnson V, Legal Malpractice Law in a Nutshell (West Academic Publishing 2021).

  • Case citations require extra precision, especially when it comes to the name. It should be italicized and contain information about the year of the case and other details. 
  • Secondary sources in OSCOLA formatting styles should also be italicized. The name of the publisher should come before the year of publication.

As for the differences in formatting of the OSCOLA bibliography and footnotes, it is indispensable to emphasize that a bibliography is a more sophisticated and comprehensive list of the use of sources, while footnotes are about giving basic citation information with later referencing. The structure of the two options differs, as well as the referencing rules, numbering elements, and a plethora of other issues.

OSCOLA for Online Sources

As you could have already noticed, the OSCOLA format contains a lot of significant details that should be taken care of when working on various source formats. Thus, citing the official and unofficial organization websites, PDF documents, and social media posts will require an absolutely different approach.

For official websites, including international bodies, government departments, and similar legal institutions, the format will be quite simple. You start with the name of the organization, the title of the document, the name of the website, and the corresponding URL. 

For example: 

When it comes to unofficial platforms, the formatting style will be similar, but may require a little bit more details about the source. 

For example: 

Citing blogs can be a bit tricky, as it will require more time to detect the author and the date of publication. Anyway, the main information that seems obligatory includes the name of the post, the website name, and the name of the author. 

For example:

Similar information, with the clarified URL and the name of the platform, is required for social media posts.

For example: 

Citing PDF documents, writers should include the information about the title of the file, its format, and URL.

For example: 

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Although OSCOLA citation style is quite straightforward, a lot of people make the same mistakes again and again. Working with this type of paper formatting, it is indispensable to be aware of the specific requirements and guidelines that could contribute to the success of the undertaking. As you cope with the OSCOLA style guide, make sure you are aware of the most common mistakes people make working with this citation style, and you can mitigate related risks.

  • Wrong citation of cases. Italicize the case name and use square brackets for the year if it is a part of the official report, and round ones if it is not.
  • Avoiding full citation in the first footnote. Provide full citation with no abbreviations or shortened titles in the first footnote citation of the source.
  • Bibliography formatting issues. Watch for the proper format in bibliography and stick to other formatting rules, italicizing and capitalizing the titles when needed.
  • Wrong choice of quotation marks. Add quotation marks to the book chapters and journal articles in the footnotes, and italicize the book name and journal, instead.
  • Trivial typos and mistakes. A lot of people neglect the proofreading stage, which results in tons of small errors that can cause unwanted results. Make sure you proofread and edit the bibliography and footnotes to avoid such issues.