OSCOLA Referencing Guide

1. Referencing with OSCOLA
October 2018
Rachel.white@rhul.ac.uk

2. Todays Session
• Importance of referencing
• How to reference:
- Primary Sources - cases and legislation
- Secondary Sources – books and articles
• Footnotes
• Bibliography

3. Importance of referencing

4. What is referencing and why do I need
to do it?
• Acknowledge when using
someone’s work
• To make clear to the reader that
this idea is not your own
• Demonstrate the breadth of
reading and individual research
• Support and improve your
argument
• An academic skill for all levels
• To allow you, your tutor and other
readers to retrieve items that you
have mentioned
• To avoid accusations of plagiarism

5. What is Plagiarism and how to avoid
it?

6. What is plagiarism?
• Passing off as your own a piece of work
that is partly or wholly the work of
another student
• Citing and referencing sources that you
have not used
• Quoting, summarising or paraphrasing
material in your assignment without
citing the original source
• 'Recycling' a piece of your own work that
you have previously submitted for
another module or course (i.e. self-
plagiarism).
(Palgrave Study SkillsOnline, 2018)

7. Avoiding plagiarism
• Take effective notes
• Don’t leave assignments
to the last minute
• Keep a note of the
sources you have used
• Reference accurately and
correctly

8. Importance of Referencing

9. Importance of Referencing

10. OSCOLA
Oxford Standard for Citation
Of Legal Authorities

11. Footnotes
Oscola works using a system of Footnotes, when you make reference to another source
you add a number next to this in your essay.This then corresponds to a full reference at
the bottom of the page e.g.

12. OSCOLA – Primary Sources: Cases
In your essay, write the party names in italics e.g. R v Coulson1
Footnote at the bottom of the page
With neutral citation
Without a neutral citation

13. OSCOLA – Primary Sources: Cases
Use Pinpoint referencing if you are referring to a particular paragraph in the
judgement, if there are no numbered paragraphs but the page number:
Numbered Paragraph
No Numbered Paragraph
If you cite a particular judge

14. OSCOLA – Primary Sources
Use [square brackets] around the year in your citation when the year
is necessary to identify the volume
Brady v Brady [1989] AC 755 (HL).
Use (round brackets) when the volumes of the law report series are
independently numbered, so that the year of publication is not
needed to find the volume. (The year being given is the year of the
judgement NOT the year of publication)
Barrett v Enfield LBC (1999) 49 BMLR 1 (HL).

15. OSCOLA – Primary Sources: Legislation
You will need to use footnotes when referring to a particular art or part of the act. Don’t
use popular titles of acts, but the short title e.g. Human RightsAct 1998.
• Footnotes are not required if all of the information is provided in the text e.g.
Changes to bail conditions imposed by the Criminal JusticeAct 2003 caused much debate
• If the text doesn’t include the name of the Act or the relevant section then you must
provide a footnote with this information.
The British police are now in a much stronger position to impose mandatory
drug testing1.
1. Criminal JusticeAct 2003, s 19.
If you are referring to a particular section of this act you will need to include this as well

16. OSCOLA – Primary Sources: Legislation

17. OSCOLA – Primary Sources
Section Abbreviation
Part/Parts pt/pts
Section/Sections s/ss
Subsection/Subsections sub-s/sub-ss
Paragraph/Paragraphs para/paras
Subparagraph/Subparagraphs subpara/subparas
Schedule/Schedules sch/schs

18. OSCOLA – Primary Sources: Legislation
The Energy Efficiency (Eligible Buildings) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3220

19. Secondary Sources

20. OSCOLA – Secondary Sources: Books
Use footnotes throughout your essay when you quote someone, summarise or
paraphrase their work
Author, | title | (additional information, | edition |publisher | year)
Jonathan Herring, Criminal Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (4th
edn, OUP 2010)
If quoting from a specific page put this at the end e.g.
Jonathan Herring, Criminal Law:Text, Cases and Materials (4th edn, OUP 2010) 34

21. OSCOLA – Secondary Sources: Journal
Articles
Use footnotes throughout your essay when you quote someone, summarise or
paraphrase their work
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
author, | ‘title’ | [year] or (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of
article
Paul Craig, ‘Theory, “Pure Theory” and Values in Public Law’ [2005] PL 440
Or
Alison L Young, ‘In defence of Due Deference’ (2009) 72 MLR 554
If quoting from a specific page put this at the end e.g.
Paul Craig, ‘Theory, “PureTheory” andValues in Public Law’ [2005] PL 440, 445

22. OSCOLA – Secondary Sources: Online
Journals
Where journals are only published electronically cite as you would hard copy journals,
but with the URL in angled brackets <> and the date you accessed the article

23. OSCOLA – Secondary Sources
Even though you find the articles through
our online databases you reference them
as if they are hard copy articles.
Only follow the follows the rules for online
if the journal is only published online.

24. Footnotes –TopTips

25. Footnotes
Pieces of legislation with longer names can be referred to
in the body of your work by a shortened name, without the
need to footnote, providing that a full citation has been
given once, with the shortened version you will be using
specified in brackets at the end
15. Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (DCOA).
…
27. DCOA s2.

26. Footnotes
There is no need to repeat the name of the case in your footnote if you
have included this in the main body of your work – just start with the
neutral citation or law report citation, as appropriate.
Austin v Commissioner3 of Police for the Metropolis showed that being
in one place without food, shelter, or water was not a deprivation of
liberty.
3. [2009] UKHL 5, (2009)AC 564

27. Bibliography

28. Bibliography
Table of cases
- In alphabetical order, and the party names should not be italicised.
Table of legislation
- In alphabetical order, if there are multiple acts with the same name put the
in chronological order
List of all secondary sources
- In alphabetical order by author. All secondary sources mixed in one list.

29. Bibliography
Remember in the bibliography that the authors surname goes
first, and only the first initial is given.
In footnote:
Timothy Endicote, Administrative Law (OUP, 2009)
In bibliography:
EndicoteT, Administrative Law (OUP, 2009)

30. Any Questions?
Remember, you can always get in contact
with me: Rachel.white@rhul.ac.uk