There are two major legal citation formats.
The ALWD Manual was created by the Association of Legal Writing Directors with a focus on usability and teachability. Unlike Bluebook, the ALWD guide makes no distinction between citation formats for court documents and journal articles. Therefore, Bluebook Bluepages and ALWD share more commonality. The ALWD Manual is consistent with the Bluebook on most practices and is increasingly so with the seventh edition changes released in 2024.
The Bluebook was released in its twenty-first edition in 2020. The work is compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal. A new edition is released every five years and until the ALWD Manual was published in 2000, the Bluebook was the only national citation system that was widely recognized.
You may have used either in your Legal Writing courses, but The Bluebook is the style guide used by the Law Review (including the Write On competition.) The Law Review uses the Whitepages for its publications. The Whitepages of The Bluebook are reserved for more formal writing and may have greater distinction from ALWD citations. This tab of the guide will help those moving from ALWD to The Bluebook navigate some of the changes.
If you're comfortable using ALWD and are now transitioning to The Bluebook for law review citations, here are some important differences to keep in mind:
Commas After Case Names: Unlike ALWD, The Bluebook requires a comma between the case name and the reporter citation (e.g., Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803)).
Journal Name Abbreviations: The Bluebook heavily abbreviates law review names using its Tables (especially Table 13), while ALWD spells out full journal titles (e.g., Harv. L. Rev. vs. Harvard Law Review).
Case Name Short Forms: The Bluebook typically includes more information in short forms, such as volume, reporter, and pincite (e.g., Marbury, 5 U.S. at 139), whereas ALWD often allows just the case name.
Author Names: The Bluebook permits using just initials and last names for authors in academic citations, while ALWD usually calls for full first names.
Citation Structure Nuances: While both systems are similar in core structure, The Bluebook tends to have more intricate rules and variations depending on context (practitioner vs. academic), so expect more rule-specific guidance.
In addition to this guide, you can find more comparison charts, rules, and explanations at: