Style Guides: Look Beyond the Bluebook
Frustratingly enough, you’ve probably realized that the Bluebook doesn’t answer all of your questions when you’re writing a legal document. While the Bluebook is the standard for legal citation, when it comes to basic writing guidelines, it sometimes falls short. Others texts to consult beyond the Bluebook are the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and the Chicago Manual of Style, two standard style guides that are great for basic grammar and writing tips. You can also refer to these for help citing resources not specifically covered in the Bluebook, such as maps, advertisements, or comic strips. Other style guides like The Yahoo! Style Guide focus specifically on writing for the digital world. This resource is excellent to consult for questions about writing emails and online content like blogs or law firm websites. The Yahoo! Style Guide also gives guidance on how to spell and correctly use technology-related words, like whether it’s email or e-mail, username or user name, drop-down menu or pull-down menu.
