Notable Differences between
ALWD (3d) and Bluebook (18th)
. . . for law review members and
research assistants
Copyright 2003, 2006. Darby Dickerson.
Permission given to use for educational
purposes.
Tips for Using the Bluebook

Use the “Quick Reference: Law Review
Footnotes” inside the front cover.
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Do not use the Quick Reference in the back.
Use the index to find pertinent rules.
Consult ALWD if you need clarification; most
rules are similar.
Signals (BB 1.2; ALWD 44)
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The definitions of signals in ALWD and the
Bluebook are very similar, but read them
carefully.
Under Bluebook form:
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Insert a comma whenever “e.g.,” is used (ALWD
does not use the comma).
When you move from one category of signal to
another, insert a period (in ALWD, you would use
semicolons).
Order of Authorities
(BB 1.4; ALWD 45)

Federal district courts: Treat as one court
and put in reverse chronological order. (In
ALWD, courts are first ordered alphabetically,
then in reverse chronological order.)

Federal courts of appeals: Treat as one court
and put in reverse chronological order. (In
ALWD, courts are first ordered by ordinal,
then in reverse chronological order.)
Related Authority (BB 1.6; ALWD 46)

Append related authority with an italicized
explanatory phrase (in ALWD, related
authority is included within a parenthetical
and is not italicized), unless a particular
primary source discusses, quotes, cites, or
otherwise mentions the source, then include
the information in an explanatory
parenthetical like ALWD:
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STATUTE, construed in Case One
Case One (construing STATUTE)
Typeface: Small caps
(BB 2; ALWD 1)
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The Bluebook uses large and small capital letters
for the following sources (ALWD does not use this
typeface at all, but explains it in Rule 23):
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Constitutions: Abbreviations (CAL. CONST.)
Statutes: Statutory abbreviation (FLA. STAT.)
Books: Author names and titles (AUTHOR, TITLE OF
BOOK 55–56 (2005).
Periodicals: Periodical abbreviation (MICH. L. REV.)
Restatements: Title (RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF
TORTS)
Typeface: Cases (BB 2; ALWD 1)
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Bluebook:
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Full case names in textual sentences: italicize
Full case names in citations: regular type; no
italics (exception: procedural phrases)
Short case names in the text and citations:
italicize
In ALWD, case names are always italicized.
Volume numbers (BB 3.1; ALWD 22)
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Under the Bluebook, place the volume
number for a book before the author’s name:
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1 AUTHOR NAME, BOOK TITLE 105 (2005).
In ALWD, the volume appears after the book
title, like other subdivisions:
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Author Name, Book Title vol. 1, 105 (Publisher
name 2005).
Page Spans (BB 3.1; ALWD 5)
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Under the Bluebook, drop repetitious digits,
but always retain two digits on the right hand
side:
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1354–57
101–05
Note: This rule does not apply to section or
paragraph numbers.
ALWD gives the same option and the option
to retain all digits
Internal Cross-References (BB 3.6;
ALWD 10)
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The rules are very similar, but under the
Bluebook, spell out “note” or “Part”:
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BB: Infra note 45 and accompanying text.
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ALWD: Infra n. 45 and accompanying text.
Id. (BB 4.1; ALWD 11.3)
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The rules are very similar; however, the
Bluebook has a “5 id.” rule that ALWD does
not.
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Under the Bluebook, do not use id. or another
short form unless “it can be readily found in
one of the preceding five footnotes”
(emphasis in original)
Bluebook Rules 10.9 and 12.9 contain this “5
footnote” rule.
Quotations (BB 5; ALWD 47)
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The Bluebook has a stricter rule and says to
block indent when fifty or more words are
quoted.
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ALWD says to block indent when the
quotation spans more than four typed lines of
text or exceeds fifty words.
Abbreviations (BB 6.1; ALWD 2)
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The spacing rules are virtually identical.
The lists of specific abbreviations in tables
differ. The Bluebook sometimes uses a
format that includes an apostrophe.
BB examples
ALWD examples
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Comm’n
Dep’t
Env’t
Int’l
Nat’l
Commn.
Dept.
Env.
Intl.
Natl.
Capitalization (BB 8; ALWD 3)
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Most capitalization rules are consistent.
Two differences to watch out for:
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Under the Bluebook, do not capitalize prepositions
unless they are five or more letters long.
Under the Bluebook, do not capitalize “Court”
when referring to a state supreme court.
Cases (BB 10; ALWD 12)
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Remember the typeface differences
discussed earlier.
Remember the differences in abbreviations
for words in case names.
Under the Bluebook, you may, but are not
required, to note the district or department for
state intermediate courts (Rule 10.4(b)).

ALWD requires the district or department to be
noted.
Cases - continued
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Under Bluebook Rule 10.5, “[w]hen citing a
case with several different decisions in the
same year, include the year only with the lastcited decision in that year.”
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So, if the F. Supp. decision and the F.2d
decision were both 2005, include the date only
with the F.2d decision.
Under ALWD, include the date for each
decision, even if the dates are the same.
Cases on Electronic Databases
(BB 18.1.1; ALWD 12.12)

Under the Bluebook, include the docket
number as part of the citation:
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Case X, No. ABC-123, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS
789, at *2 (3d Cir. Jan. 10, 2003).
ALWD deletes the document number.
Constitutions (BB 11; ALWD 13)

The forms are identical, except for typeface.
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BB:
U.S. CONST. art I.
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ALWD:
U.S. Const. art. I.
Restatements (BB 12.8.5; ALWD 27)

The forms are virtually identical, except for
typeface.

BB: RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF UNFAIR COMPETITION
§ 3 (1995).
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ALWD: Restatement (Third) of Unfair
Competition § 3 (1995).
Books (BB 15; ALWD 22)
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Remember the typeface differences.
Remember volume placement.
Typically do not include the publisher in a
Bluebook citation; do include publisher in
ALWD citation format.
Periodicals (BB 16; ALWD 23)
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Remember the typeface differences.
There are a few periodical abbreviations that
differ; look each up to ensure accuracy.

BB: Kenneth R. Feinberg, Mediation—A
Preferred Method of Dispute Resolution, 16 PEPP.
L. REV. 5, 14 n.19 (1989).

ALWD: Kenneth R. Feinberg, Mediation—A
Preferred Method of Dispute Resolution, 16 Pepp.
L. Rev. 5, 14 n. 19 (1989).
Periodicals - continued
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The form for nonconsecutively paginated
periodicals differs:

BB: Jodi Wilgoren, Prosecution Lays out Case for
Harsh Sentencing of B.T.K. Killer in Gory Detail,
N.Y. TIMES, Aug. 18, 2005, at A14.

ALWD: Jodi Wilgoren, Prosecution Lays out Case
for Harsh Sentencing of B.T.K. Killer in Gory
Detail, N.Y. Times A14 (Aug. 18, 2005).
Student-Written Pieces
(BB 16.6.2; ALWD 23.1)

The Bluebook uses terms like “Note” and
“Comment” to designate student works.

BB: Author, Note, Title, 20 AAA L. REV. 14, 37
(2003).
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ALWD: Author, Student Author, Title, 20 AAA L.
Rev. 14, 37 (2003).
Internet (BB 18; ALWD 40)
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There are slight format differences.
The Bluebook has different formats for
material posted only on the Web and for
material reprinted on the Web (at v. available
at formats).
As a date option, the Bluebook uses a “last
visited” format, which is similar to the ALWD
“accessed” format. (And “last visited” should
be used instead of “last updated” or “last
modified”.)
Summary
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Use the index to find rules.
Check forms with the “Quick Reference”
inside the front cover.
You may use the examples within the
Bluebook as guides for law review footnotes.
Consult ALWD for additional explanation if
you do not understand the Bluebook rule—
but keep typeface differences in mind.