OSCOLA referencing generator
The Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities: footnote citations with almost no full stops, square or round brackets that tell you how the law report is organised, and a table of cases.
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL)
Subsequent citation: Donoghue (n 1).Anatomy of an OSCOLA reference
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OSCOLA rules at a glance
| Punctuation | Minimal: no full stops in abbreviations (Harv L Rev, HL, edn). |
|---|---|
| Cases | Name [Year] Report Page (Court), Pinpoint. |
| Legislation | Short title and year, no comma: Human Rights Act 1998, s 3. |
| Articles | Author, ‘Title’ (Year) Vol Journal Page. |
| Books | Author, Title (edn, Publisher Year) pinpoint. |
| Websites | Author, ‘Title’ (Site, date) <URL> accessed date. |
| Footnotes | Close every footnote with a full stop; the citation itself has none. |
Short forms and footnotes
- Citations go in footnotes; the footnote marker sits after the punctuation.¹
- Later references: short form plus a cross-reference to the first note — Donoghue (n 1) 580.
- Ibid is permitted for the immediately preceding footnote (no full stop, not italic).
Ask about OSCOLA
Answers are AI-generated from the published style rules and can be wrong. Check your journal’s or school’s author guidelines for house variations.
OSCOLA examples
Real works, formatted by the generator above.
Case (law report)
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL)
Act of Parliament
Human Rights Act 1998, s 3
Journal article
Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis, ‘The Right to Privacy’ (1890) 4 Harv L Rev 193, 195
Book
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (Allen Lane 2011)
Website
World Health Organization, ‘Hypertension’ (World Health Organization, 16 March 2023) <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension> accessed 20 September 2026
Source types supported here: Court case, Statute, Journal article, Book, Book chapter, Web page.
OSCOLA citation questions
When do I use square brackets in OSCOLA?
Use square brackets when the year is essential to find the report ([1932] AC 562 — the AC series is organised by year). Use round brackets when the report has its own volume numbers and the year is only for information.
How do I cite an Act of Parliament?
Short title and year, with no comma between them: Human Rights Act 1998. Add the section as “s 3” or “ss 3–4”.
Does OSCOLA need a bibliography?
Longer work (dissertations, theses) needs a bibliography with separate tables of cases and legislation. In the bibliography the author’s surname comes first.
Should OSCOLA references end with a full stop?
The citation has no full stop of its own, but each footnote ends with one.