home > official faculty publications > oscola > oscola faqs
	text:  larger  smaller		Here are some frequently asked questions about OSCOLA. They include questions about sources that are not included in this edition of OSCOLA. If you have unanswered questions, please email Sandra Meredith. Do I put quotation marks before or after the punctuation? Is it OK to use just the author's surname? How do I cite unreported cases? Which journals use square brackets in the citation? Do I put quotation marks before or after the punctuation? Generally, quote marks go before the punctuation unless the punctuation belongs to the quote (as a question mark might). If the quote is a whole sentence, put the quote marks after the full stop. If it's part of a sentence, put the quote marks before the full stop. It's not always this clear cut. Fowler's Modern English Usage gives many examples to try to deal with fuzziness in this area, but the overall advice is that you have to use your own judgement. So, for example, if the quote ends with a full stop at the same point at which the sentence ends, do whatever looks best. Is it OK to use just an author's surname? The 2002 edition of OSCOLA was strict about using initials then surname, eg P Birks or J Gardner, no first names spelt out. This version allows either initials or first names, eg HLA Hart or Joseph Raz, but doesn't discuss using surname only. The argument against surname only is that it can make it difficult to find the author in an index or catalogue. How do I cite unreported cases? The information on page 9 of OSCOLA 2006 is not clear on citation of unreported cases. It should say: For an unreported case with no neutral citation, cite the party names followed by the court and date of the judgment in brackets, eg Peter Scott v Process Mechanical Ltd (Bradford County Court 20 July 2006).The example in the list on page 9 is Berk v Hair (DC 12 September 1956).   Which journals use square brackets in the citation? Journals that use the year rather than a consecutive number to identify the volume have the year shown in square brackets, as shown in the following citation: J Ip, 'The Rise and Spread of the Special Advocate' [2008] Public Law 717.   A partial list of square bracket journals: Acta Juridica British Tax Review Criminal Law Review International Family Law Journal of Business Law Journal of Planning and Environment Law Journal of Personal Injury Litigation Legal Action Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly Public Law Private Client Business. Note:  Some journals  change from consecutive volume numbers to year identification (eg Cambridge Law Journal used the year from 1954 to 1967).