OSCOLA 4: journal article (with DOI)
- Journal names are not italic.
- Put the year in round brackets when the journal has volume numbers, and in square brackets when the year identifies the volume.
- In the bibliography, give the surname then initials, with no full stops.
OSCOLA 4: book
- Publication details go in brackets with no comma between publisher and year, and no place.
- The pinpoint page follows the bracket with no “p”.
OSCOLA 4: chapter in an edited book
- Use (ed) for one editor and (eds) for more, without full stops.
OSCOLA 4: web page
- Put the URL in angle brackets, followed by the date you accessed it.
OSCOLA 4: thesis or dissertation
Not shown for OSCOLA 4: report. We publish only patterns we've checked against the OSCOLA: The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities, 4th edition; for these, see the manual or your course's guide.
OSCOLA 4 footnotes
Put a footnote marker in the text and the citation in the footnote.
| In the text | …a pattern Doe describes in detail.¹ |
| First footnote | 1 Jane A Doe, Evidence and Argument in Student Research (Example University Press 2021) 14. |
| Later footnote | 4 Doe (n 1) 16. |
| Same source as previous note | 5 ibid 18. |
- Footnote markers go at the end of a sentence or clause, after the punctuation.
- For a later citation, give the author's surname and a cross-reference to the first full note: Doe (n 1).
- Footnotes end with a full stop.
Common OSCOLA 4 mistakes
- Full stops in initials and abbreviations. OSCOLA writes Jane A Doe and ed, not Jane A. Doe and ed.
- Italicising journal names. In OSCOLA only case names and book titles are italic.
- Putting the footnote marker before the punctuation.
Format a reference in OSCOLA 4
Our free in-browser formatter covers journal articles in six styles (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver). OSCOLA 4 is one of the 2,500+ styles in the full MoreMind workspace.
OSCOLA 4 questions
Do I need a bibliography in OSCOLA?
For longer work such as theses and dissertations, yes; many courses also ask for one in essays. Cases and legislation go in separate tables, and secondary sources in the bibliography.
How do I cite a source I cited earlier?
Use the author's surname and a cross-reference to the note with the full citation, e.g. Doe (n 1) 16. Use “ibid” when citing the same source as the immediately preceding note.
Does OSCOLA use page abbreviations like “p”?
No. Give the pinpoint page after the citation, with no “p” or “pp”.
How do I cite cases and legislation?
OSCOLA has detailed rules for cases and legislation that this page doesn't cover; see the OSCOLA guide.
About the examples
Every style guide on this site formats the same six sources, so you can compare styles side by side. The journal article is real; the others are fictional, with placeholder names.
- Journal article (with DOI) (real): Hannah Jergas and Christopher Baethge, “Quotation accuracy in medical journal articles—a systematic review and meta-analysis,” PeerJ, volume 3, article e1364, published 27 October 2015, DOI 10.7717/peerj.1364.
- Book: Jane A. Doe, Evidence and argument in student research, Example University Press, London, 2021.
- Chapter in an edited book: Richard B. Roe, “Reading statistics critically,” pages 45–67 of A handbook of research methods, edited by Maria C. Sample and Lee D. Example, Example University Press, London, 2020.
- Web page: Pat Q. Public, “How to check that a source exists,” Example Research Hub (London), published 12 March 2024, https://www.example.org/guides/check-a-source, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Report: Example Institute for Education (author and publisher, London), Student research practices in higher education, 2023, https://www.example.org/reports/student-research-2023, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Thesis or dissertation: Alex B. Placeholder, Peer feedback and revision in first-year writing, unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Education, Example University, London, 2022.
Based on the OSCOLA: The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities, 4th edition. Last reviewed 2026-11. Your instructor's or journal's own guidelines take precedence. Spotted an error? Email support@moremind.ai.