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Introduction to "The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation": Authors

Quick References

Author Names
General Rules.........................R16.2
Institutional Abbreviations.............T6
Geographical Terms....................T10

Typeface Conventions

Author name in regular typeface regardless of placement.

Notice


This guide is currently being updated to reflect the recent changes made in The Bluebook (20th edition). Please be aware that pages containing this notice may contain out-of-date information.

General Rules for Author Names

The author is indicated at the beginning of the citation in regular typeface. Some general rules are given below:

Individual Author - Give the author's full name as it appears on the publication, including any suffix such as "Jr." but omitting titles such as "Dr." or "Prof."

Two Authors - List the authors' names in the order they appear on the title page, separated by an ampersand

More than Two AuthorsEither use the first author's name followed by "et al." or list all of the names.

Institutional Authors - Include the institution's full name, abbreviating according to Table 6 and Table 10 if the result is unambiguous.

Individual on Behalf of Institution - Use the individual's name and then the institution's name, separated by a comma.

Author Abbreviations

What should you abbreviate when naming an author?

  • Words in Table 6 and Rule 10.2.1(c)
  • Geographic regions in Table 10
  • Common acronyms in Rule 6.1(b) (e.g. NAACP, FCC)

Tips

If no author is given, simply omit the author information, beginning the cite with the article title in italics.