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Legal Citation with the 10th edition of the McGill Guide

This guide provides an introduction to legal citation in Canada.

William R. Lederman Law Library

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William R. Lederman Law Library
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Introduction

Interactive Legal Citation Tutorial

A free online resource that allows learners to practice legal citation according to the 10th edition of the McGill Guide with interactive exercises. This tutorial complements the contents of this Guide. No log-in or registration is required:

The Importance of Legal Citation

Legal research relies very heavily on citation. In the first year of law school, citation focuses primarily on cases, statutes, articles and book citation. Accurate citation provides a road map that directs the reader to where to locate the law. As with actual road maps, users of citations depend on their accuracy.

This guide provides an introduction to the citation of:

  • Cases
  • Statutes, Regulations, and Indigenous Legislative Documents
  • Books and Journal Articles
  • Other Online Resources

Under each of these headings, you will find an explanation and detailed breakdown of how to construct a citation, followed by a series of examples.

While this guide currently focuses on the McGill Guide, there is an exciting new development in legal citation guides in Canada, which we encourage you to explore:

McGill Guide/Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation

The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 10th ed (Toronto: Thomson Reuters, 2023), a.k.a. the McGill Guide, was created in an effort to standardize Canadian legal citation and provide a nationally acceptable reference system. The guide has been adopted by a number of courts and Canadian legal publications, including the Queen's Law Journal. In this guide, we will focus on giving an introduction to the most recent edition of the McGill Guide. To clarify any points, and for further details, please consult the McGill Guide itself.