Best examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers

Most legal research papers rely heavily on judicial opinions, so it makes sense to start with cases. When students ask for examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers, what they usually want first is: “How do I cite a case correctly?”

In Bluebook, a basic case citation on your reference page (often called a Table of Authorities in formal legal writing, but used like a reference list in many student papers) looks like this:

Case name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year).

Here’s an example of a U.S. Supreme Court case entry the way it would appear in a reference list for a research paper:

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

If you’re using a federal appellate case, your best examples will look similar, just with a different reporter and court abbreviation:

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015).

A federal court of appeals case:

Riley v. California, 728 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2013), aff’d, 573 U.S. 373 (2014).

A state supreme court case:

People v. Anderson, 493 P.2d 880 (Cal. 1972).

Notice the pattern in these Bluebook reference page examples: italicized case name, volume number, abbreviated reporter, first page, court (if needed), and year in parentheses.

For deeper guidance on case reporters and court abbreviations, many students cross-check the Bluebook with online resources like the Cornell Legal Information Institute, which explains reporters and court structures in plain language.

Examples include statutes and codes for Bluebook reference pages

If your topic touches on public health, education, or criminal law, you’ll almost certainly cite statutes. When people search for examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers, they’re often looking for how to format U.S. Code or state statutes correctly.

The basic pattern for a federal statute is:

Title Number U.S.C. § Section Number (Year).

Here are some real examples you might actually use in a 2024–2025 paper:

42 U.S.C. § 12101 (2018).

20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2018).

A state statute example:

Cal. Penal Code § 187 (West 2024).

Another state code example:

N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2805-d (McKinney 2024).

If you’re citing regulations instead of statutes, the pattern shifts slightly:

45 C.F.R. § 164.502 (2023).

These examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers show how you combine the title or chapter, the code abbreviation (U.S.C., C.F.R., state code), the section symbol, the section number, and the date of the code edition you used.

For updated statutory text, students often rely on official sources like Congress.gov or the U.S. Government Publishing Office, then convert that information into Bluebook format.

Law review and journal article examples for a Bluebook reference page

Legal research papers in 2024–2025 almost always cite secondary sources like law review articles and peer‑reviewed journals. These are some of the best examples to study because the format is slightly different from APA or MLA, and students regularly mix them up.

The basic Bluebook pattern for a journal article is:

Author’s Full Name, Article Title, Volume Journal Name First Page, Pinpoint Page (Year).

Here are real examples you might see on a well‑formatted reference page:

Cass R. Sunstein, On the Divergent American Reactions to Terrorism and Climate Change, 107 Colum. L. Rev. 503, 510–12 (2007).

Kimberlé Crenshaw, Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, 43 Stan. L. Rev. 1241, 1245–46 (1991).

If you’re citing a student note or comment:

Note, The Right to Counsel in Civil Cases, 92 Yale L.J. 103, 110–11 (1982).

For interdisciplinary work, such as a public health article you’re analyzing in a legal context, you still use Bluebook formatting, but the journal might not be a traditional law review. For instance, a paper on vaccination policy might cite:

Saad B. Omer et al., Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 360 New Eng. J. Med. 1981, 1983–84 (2009).

(You could locate this article through sources like the National Institutes of Health or CDC and then format it in Bluebook style.)

These examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers highlight the small but important details: commas between elements, the order of volume–journal–page, and the pinpoint citation after the first page.

Book and chapter examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers

Books still matter in legal research, especially for foundational topics like constitutional law or legal theory. When you’re building your reference page, having an example of a correct book citation in Bluebook style saves you a lot of second‑guessing.

The basic pattern for a book is:

Author’s Full Name, Title of Book Page (Publisher Year).

Here are real examples you could model:

Erwin Chemerinsky, Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies 123–25 (6th ed. Wolters Kluwer 2019).

Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 47–49 (New Press 2012).

If you’re citing a chapter in an edited collection, the pattern shifts:

Author’s Full Name, Chapter Title, in Book Title Page (Editor Name ed., Publisher Year).

For example:

Martha Minow, The Constitution and the Family, in The Constitution and the Family 1, 5–6 (Martha Minow & Mary Lyndon Shanley eds., Beacon Press 1996).

These Bluebook reference page examples show how to handle editions, page ranges, and editors. Once you see a few examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers that use books and chapters, the pattern becomes much easier to repeat.

Website and online source examples for a Bluebook reference page (2024–2025)

Legal research in 2024–2025 almost always includes online sources: government pages, agency guidance, and data‑heavy sites. Students often struggle with these more than with cases. When you look for examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers that involve websites, pay attention to three things: the organization, the title, and the date.

A typical pattern for a web page is:

Organization Name, Title of Page (Date), URL.

Here are some real examples using reputable sources you might actually cite:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) (Nov. 15, 2024), https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html.

U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection (Mar. 1, 2024), https://ocrdata.ed.gov/.

National Institutes of Health, Understanding Clinical Studies (Jan. 10, 2025), https://www.nih.gov/health-information/clinical-research-studies.

For a PDF report hosted online, you still treat it as an online source, but make sure the title is accurate and complete:

U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2023 (Dec. 2024), https://bjs.ojp.gov/.

These examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers show how to prioritize official names, include dates when available, and give a stable URL. Government and major nonprofit sites like CDC.gov, NIH.gov, and Mayo Clinic are perfect candidates for this kind of citation.

Putting it together: what a Bluebook reference page for a student research paper looks like

Now let’s imagine you’ve written a research paper on vaccine mandates in public schools. You’ve cited cases, statutes, law review articles, books, and government websites. What do examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers actually look like when everything is pulled into one list?

In many law school papers, you’ll see a separate Table of Authorities for cases and statutes, plus a bibliography or reference list for secondary sources. In undergraduate or interdisciplinary courses, instructors often just say “Bluebook format” and expect a single reference list at the end. Either way, the individual entries look the same.

Here’s an example of a mixed Bluebook‑style reference list you could hand in:

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905).

42 U.S.C. § 12101 (2018).

20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2018).

45 C.F.R. § 164.502 (2023).

Cass R. Sunstein, On the Divergent American Reactions to Terrorism and Climate Change, 107 Colum. L. Rev. 503, 510–12 (2007).

Saad B. Omer et al., Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 360 New Eng. J. Med. 1981, 1983–84 (2009).

Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 47–49 (New Press 2012).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) (Nov. 15, 2024), https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html.

National Institutes of Health, Understanding Clinical Studies (Jan. 10, 2025), https://www.nih.gov/health-information/clinical-research-studies.

This is not the only way to organize a Bluebook‑style reference page, but it’s the sort of layout many professors accept for research papers outside of formal law review settings. The important part is that each entry follows Bluebook rules and resembles the best examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers you’ve seen.

Quick tips for using these Bluebook examples effectively

Seeing examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers is helpful, but you still have to adapt them to your own sources. A few practical habits make that easier:

• Match the source type first. Before you format anything, decide whether it’s a case, statute, regulation, journal article, book, or website. Then look at the matching example above.
• Copy the pattern, not the words. Use these entries as templates. Replace the case name, volume, pages, and dates with your own, but keep the punctuation and order.
• Use current dates and editions. If you’re citing a 2025 statute supplement or a 2024 web update, reflect that date in your citation.
• Double‑check abbreviations. The Bluebook has specific rules for abbreviating journal names, courts, and reporters. When in doubt, compare your citation to examples from law school libraries, such as guides hosted by major universities like Harvard Law School Library.

Once you’ve practiced with a handful of real examples, you’ll find that building a Bluebook reference page feels much more like filling in a pattern than decoding a mystery.

FAQ: Bluebook reference page examples

How many examples of Bluebook reference page examples for research papers should I study before writing my own?
You don’t need dozens. Working carefully through five to ten real examples that match the types of sources you’re using (cases, statutes, articles, books, websites) is usually enough. The key is to slow down, compare your draft to the model, and notice where the commas, italics, and parentheses go.

Can I mix Bluebook with APA or MLA on one reference page?
In almost every academic setting, no. Your instructor or law professor expects you to choose one system and stick with it. If they’ve asked for Bluebook, then your entire reference page should follow Bluebook rules, even if the sources are social science or medical studies you found through sites like NIH or Mayo Clinic.

Is there an official example of a Bluebook reference page online?
The Bluebook itself is the official source, but many law school libraries publish free guides with sample citations. Look for research guides from U.S. law schools hosted on .edu domains; they often include example of case citations, statutes, and secondary sources formatted the way your professor expects.

Do I need a separate Table of Authorities and a reference page?
If you’re writing for a law review or a formal appellate brief, you usually create a Table of Authorities for cases and statutes, plus footnotes for sources. For many student research papers, instructors simplify this and just ask for a Bluebook‑style reference page at the end. When in doubt, ask your professor which layout they prefer.

What’s the fastest way to check if my Bluebook references are correct?
Compare each entry to a trusted example of the same type. If you’re citing a case, put your citation next to a case example from this guide or a law library handout and check every element: italics, volume, reporter, page, court, year. Doing this side‑by‑side comparison for each source is much faster than trying to memorize every Bluebook rule from scratch.