For each of the below rules, please find an explanation of any major changes to the rule between the 21st and 22nd editions of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Legal Citation.
Each rule change will be explained in a chart like this:
| Rule | Rule Subject |
Change |
Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
In the "Change" Column, you'll see a symbol noting the type of change. Here is a key to those symbols:
📚 TERMINOLOGY Change
🆕 NEW rule added
💡CLARIFICATION or new clarifying example of an existing rule
☠️ REMOVAL of a rule in the 21st edition
🔗 CROSS-REFERENCE update of which writers should be aware
| RULE 1 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Introductory Signals** **For guidance on when to use pincites and parentheticals with signals, see the signal chart below. |
🆕 | Parentheticals are now required for see also, cf., and see generally. | In the 21st edition, explanatory parentheticals providing the reader with an understanding of the sources following the signals’ relevance were merely encouraged or “strongly recommended.” The 22nd now makes such explanatory parentheticals required when see also, cf., and see generally are used in the text of a citation. |
| 1.2(b) | Introductory Signals: Signals that suggest a useful comparison | 🆕 | New Signal: “Contrast … with …” | The old rule’s Compare signal was to be used when the cited sources following the signal are “similar or different in important respects.” The new rule splits this into two signals:
|
| 1.2(f) | Introductory Signals: Pincites** **For guidance on when to use pincites and parentheticals with signals, see the signal chart below. |
🆕 | Pincites required for resources preceded by all signals other than see generally | The 22nd edition adds a separate rule 1.2(f) stating that pincites are required for all citations except those introduced by “see generally.” This was not explicitly called out in the 21st. |
| 1.5(a) | Parentheticals: Substantive Information | 🆕 | Parentheticals now “required” when relevance is unclear | Previously, parentheticals explaining relevance were “recommended” when the relevance of a cited authority might not be otherwise clear to the reader; the 22nd now says they are required. |
| 1.5(b) | Parentheticals: Order of Parentheticals within a Citation | ☠️ | Removal (minor) of “degree granting institution” as one of the items in a list of parentheticals | The 22nd edition removed “degree granting institution” from the list of possible parentheticals writers could use and in what order to list them. There’s no explicit statement about its removal; it simply no longer appears. |
| 1.5(b) | Parentheticals: Formatting nested parentheticals | 💡 | New explanation of how to format a parenthetical within a parenthetical | Guidance on nesting—i.e., putting one parenthetical inside another—is now explicit, which was absent in the 21st edition. |
| RULE 2 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Typography for Law Reviews: Introduction | 📚 | “Typefaces” is now “Typography” | The title was revised to better reflect the scope of formatting guidance provided. |
| 2.2(a) | Typeface Conventions for Citations: Case Names | 💡 | Article titles where a case name comprises the entire title | Reinforces that case names alone in article titles are not italicized, although case names in article titles containing other words are italicized. |
| 2.1(g), 2.2(d) | Typeface Conventions for Citations: Omissions and Alterations in Citations AND Text | 💡 | Formatting otherwise italicized quoted text with an omission or alteration | When quoting text, ellipses and brackets must be in roman type, regardless of surrounding formatting. |
| 2.3 | Other Punctuation Conventions: Spacing | 💡 | When to use double spacing after punctuation | Clarifies when to use single vs. double spacing after punctuation (proportional vs. monospaced fonts). |
| RULE 3 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION: No Substantive Changes |
|---|
| RULE 4 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Short Citation Forms: General | 🔗 | Updated cross-references to new rules | New rule references for Tribal Materials (22.3) and Archival Materials (23.12) have been added to the list of rules that provide specific short form guidance. |
| 4.2 | Short Citation Forms: “Supra” and “Hereinafter” | 🆕 | Short forms for legislative materials--supra and hereinafter only appropriate for legislative hearings. | Clarification that the ban on using short forms other than id. for legislative materials includes "legislative debates." Only citations to legislative hearings may use supra and hereinafter. |
| RULE 5 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1(a)(i) | Quotations: Quotations of 50 or More Words | 💡 | Explicit statement of “single spaced" requirement in block quotation formatting | The 22nd edition adds that block quotations (50+ words) should be “single spaced, fully justified.” This phrase was not present in the 21st edition but it and all previous editions had examples of block quotations with single-spaced text so this addition likely only cements what was already common practice. |
| RULE 6 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION: No Substantive Changes |
|---|
| RULE 7 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7(b) | Italicization for Style and in Unique Circumstances: Foreign words and phrases | 💡 | No italicization of text from non-Roman alphabet using languages | The 22nd edition explicitly states: “do not italicize text from languages that do not use the Roman alphabet, such as Mandarin Chinese or Modern Standard Arabic.” This is a new rule clarifying treatment of non-Roman script. |
| 7(e) | Italicization for Style and in Unique Circumstances: Mathematical expressions | 🆕 | No italicization of mathematical expressions from special typographical programming languages | The 22nd edition adds that formulas and variables should only be italicized “if they can be produced using standard word processors,” and explicitly excludes those using specialized typographical programming languages such as LaTeX or MATLAB. |
| RULE 8 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8(c) | Capitalization: Author Last Names | 🆕 | New section: capitalization of author last names according to original publication's conventions | The 22nd edition adds a new 8(c), offering guidance on how to capitalize authors’ last names when citing to a work written by that author. Authors' names should appear as they do in the periodical’s table of contents or the title page of the work. |
| RULE 9 CHANGES IN 22ND EDITION: No Substantive Changes |
|---|