Citation signal

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[edit] Legal Citation

A citation signal indicates how a writer views the relationship of a citation to some statement being made. If no signal is used, then the reader may assume that the citation supports the statement. Citation forms have precise meanings in United States courts, which are largely determined by the "Blue Book", published by a consortium of law schools. ^[1] The meanings of legal citation signals is widely used in other academic settings. Following is a short explanation of the meaning of signal terms in legal context:

(no signal)

No signal is used only when the citation is quoted, or paraphrased accurately both as to the diction and the meaning in context of the matter cited.

See:

"See" indicates that the cited authority directly supports the proposition given.

Accord,

"Accord," is used primarily in legal settings and is less often seen in general settings. It indicates that the authority agrees with the proposition, but less directly than "see". For example, the citation may be from a different jurisdiction.

See also:

This indicates that the cited authority supports the proposition with which the citation is associated, but less directly than that indicated by "see" or "accord". "See also" is sometimes used to refer readers to authorities already cited or discussed. It is most useful when followed by a parenthetical explanation of the source material's relevance.

See generally:

This signal indicates that the cited authority provides useful background information about a given point.

Cf.:

This signals (for the Latin confer, meaning "compare") that the cited authority states a proposition different from that stated by the person citing to the authority, but that the cited authority's proposition is sufficiently analogous to lend support.

Compare _____ with _________

While not precise as to the degree of support the citation gives to the proposition, this form is very useful in a number of circumstances, where the comparison of two or more sources may give illumination to a proposition that is otherwise difficult to show. Either "compare" or "With" may be followed by more than one source, using "and" between each of them. In legal practice, the writer italicizes "and".

Contra:

This signals that the cited authority directly contradicts a given point: opposition.

But ____

Any of the signals may be preceded by "but" to indicate the negative of the signal's meaning. One would not use "but" by itself; one would use "contra" to show direct negative authority.

e.g.

"E.g." is used with any of the foregoing signals to indicate that there are numerous sources to which the signal would apply, but that citing them in full would be repetitive or wasteful of space. The preceding signal is separated from "e.g." by a comma, except a direct citation, where "E.g." is used by itself.