For first year students considering applying to law review, the write-on competition happens right after your last exam this spring. The write-on competition is a closed universe assignment, requiring citations as footnotes. First year students have written memos and briefs so far in law school, both requiring in-text citation, and should be aware that there are some differences between citations for legal documents and citations for law review articles, among them placement and typeface. The Bluebook has a helpful chart delineating some of the typeface differences on page four. The examples throughout the white pages, the tables, and the inside front cover use the typeface required in footnotes for law review articles.

To help you we have put together a chart with examples of the major differences, including a comparison of text written in a legal document with in-text citations, and the same text written for a law review article with citations in footnotes. It doesn’t cover everything but does cover some of the big differences. We hope that you find it helpful.

We have a Guide to Legal Writing and Style that includes books on scholarly writing, some specifically for law review write-on competitions (Making Law Review and Make Law Review).

Finally, if you are competing in the write-on, good luck!