OSCOLA 5 Legal Academic Citation and Footnotes
Repair a later OSCOLA 5 footnote
Adapted from the course lessons: Books, journal articles and online legal commentary; Subsequent citations, cross-references, tables and bibliography. Original public adaptation of the named written lessons, using fictional sources for academic citation practice. No real legal authority, client record, legal advice or human marking is involved. The six-lesson OSCOLA specialist is also included in the Academic Referencing Complete Course.
A new footnote has its own number. A cross-citation inside it points to the earlier full citation, while the final pinpoint identifies the passage being used. OSCOLA 5 uses a clear shortened citation with the appropriate cross-citation instead of ibid. Check the edition required by your institution or journal.
Worked example
All names and publications here are fictional. Note 2 gives Asha Rao, Access and Archives (2nd edn, Lantern Law Press 2025) 42. Note 7 cites Leena Roy's separate article. Note 8 intends to use page 55 of Rao's book but currently says 'Ibid 55.'
Try it yourself
Rewrite note 8 so it identifies the intended book, the earlier full citation and the new page. If a new note is later inserted before note 2, what else must you check?
Reveal the answer and reasoning
Use: Rao, Access and Archives (n 2) 55. Italicise the book title in the formatted footnote. The current note number is 8; (n 2) points to the full book citation, and 55 is the page pinpoint. The original ibid does not meet OSCOLA 5 and misleadingly follows Roy's different work. After inserting an earlier note, update the cross-citation to the full book citation's actual new number and verify it in the exported document. Correct numbering does not by itself prove that page 55 supports the manuscript's claim.
Try your own answer before comparing it with the worked explanation. This optional check is not a grade or a saved course-completion record.