How to cite a working paper
Bluebook (22d ed.) citation format · B16 / R17.4 · Books, periodicals & other secondary
Example
Dan Black et al., Demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population in the United States: Evidence from Available Systemic Data Sources 9 (Ctr. for Pol’y Rsch., Working Paper No. 12, 1999).
What the citation needs
Required
- Author — The author’s full name as it appears on the publication (R15.1; R16.2).
- Title — The title as it appears on the source. R8(a): capitalize every word except articles, conjunctions and prepositions of four or fewer letters, unless they begin the title or follow a colon.
- Sponsoring organization — The organization that issued the working paper.
- Working paper designation and number — The number that identifies the document in its series.
- Year — The year that goes in the date parenthetical at the end of the citation.
When they apply
- Pincite — The exact page (or section, or paragraph) your point is on — not the first page. R1.2(f): pincites are required except after “see generally”.
- URL — The web address, where you cite the source online (R18.2).
In a brief and in a law review
The Bluebook sets citations two ways: the Bluepages for court documents and legal memoranda, the Whitepages for law review footnotes. Here is the first example above as each one prints it, in its typeface.
Court documents (Bluepages)
Dan Black et al., Demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population in the United States: Evidence from Available Systemic Data Sources 9 (Ctr. for Pol’y Rsch., Working Paper No. 12, 1999).
Law review footnotes (Whitepages)
Dan Black et al., Demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population in the United States: Evidence from Available Systemic Data Sources 9 (Ctr. for Pol’y Rsch., Working Paper No. 12, 1999).
For this source the two are set the same way.
Common mistakes
Each of these is a citation the checker refuses, with what it says is wrong and the corrected form.
Wrong
Dan Black et al., Demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population in the United States: Evidence from Available Systemic Data Sources 9 (Working Paper No. 12, 1999).
Why
R17.4: name the sponsoring organization before the working paper designation (R15.1(c)).
Right
Dan Black et al., Demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population in the United States: Evidence from Available Systemic Data Sources 9 (Ctr. for Pol’y Rsch., Working Paper No. 12, 1999).
Governing rules
B16 / R17.4
- 17 — unpublished & forthcoming sources (ordinary roman type).
- 17.4 — working papers.
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Related source types
Books, periodicals & other secondary: