NLSBLR Style Guide 2021-22
NLSBLR Style Guide 2021-22
The NLSBLR Style Guide requires authors to write out numbers between one and ninety-nine in words. Numbers for percentages should be followed by a '%' symbol. Dates should be formatted as '9th September, 2021'. Measurements and monetary amounts should use numeric digits (e.g., 27 km, $500), and statutory provisions or paragraph numbers should also use numbers (e.g., Section 43)
The NLSBLR Style Guide requires strict adherence to the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities ('OSCOLA') for all referencing purposes. This is crucial in legal writing to ensure uniformity, proper attribution, and credibility by providing a clear and consistent method of citing legal sources, which helps in verifying references and maintains academic integrity.
In NLSBLR-style manuscripts, superscript reference marks for footnotes should appear after the punctuation marks, not before. This styling rule maintains uniformity and professional document formatting as per the guide’s conventions.
The guide instructs to italicise the names of cases, publications, books, journals, emphasised words, and non-English legal terms like 'locus standi'. By italicising these elements, the text distinguishes these items, which are either titles or require emphasis, making documents clearer and more professional.
When first introducing an abbreviation in an article under the NLSBLR Style Guide, authors must spell out the full form of the term followed by the abbreviation in bold and within single quotation marks. For example, 'United Kingdom (‘U.K.’)'. The abbreviation can then be used in all subsequent references without bold or quotation marks. This method provides clarity and consistency for readers unfamiliar with the abbreviation.
The NLSBLR Style Guide proposes a hierarchical heading system with up to four levels to ensure article structure and coherence. Headings are formatted with variations in alignment, size, and style (such as bold or italics) to establish a clear hierarchy, assisting readers in navigating through sections and understanding the relative importance of each heading within the article's framework. Effective use of this structure leads to better organized and easier-to-follow manuscripts.
The NLSBLR Style Guide mandates the use of the Oxford comma for clarity in separating elements in a list. By including a comma before the 'and' or 'or' in a list of three or more items, it helps to avoid ambiguity. For example, the guide specifies using 'India, South Africa, and Russia' which clearly separates each element, whereas omitting the Oxford comma could result in misinterpretation of parts of the list as being grouped together.
Adhering to British spelling conventions, as mandated by the NLSBLR Style Guide, ensures consistency and aligns with the journal's audience's expectations. This standardization across articles enhances readability and is critical in academic publishing for maintaining a uniform approach that supports the credibility and professional appearance of academic works.
In the NLSBLR Style Guide, long extracts exceeding fifty words should start in a fresh indented paragraph using double quotation marks and be italicised. Shorter quotations of less than fifty words should remain in the continuous text surrounded by double quotation marks but without indentation. This separation highlights the significance of longer excerpts and maintains readability.
For the main text, the NLSBLR Style Guide specifies Times New Roman font, size 12, with 1.5 line spacing. Footnotes should use the same font, Times New Roman, but at size 10 with single line spacing. This ensures consistency and readability across manuscripts.