If you cite or footnote information in the text of your paper, you also need to include a detailed reference entry for the bibliography at the end of your paper. The McGill citation style groups citations by material type, and items within the groups are listed alphabetically. In the case of named authors, the last name goes first for the first listed author.
Sections:
Bibliographies should be divided into the following sections:
- Legislation
- Jurisprudence
- Secondary Materials
- Other Materials (for any source that does not fit in a previously defined section)
You may also want to further divide some of your Legislation, Jurisprudence, and Secondary Material sections into subsections (ie. Legislation: Canada; Legislation: United States).
Entries:
Entries within each section are listed in alphabetical order, based on the first item listed:
- For legislation, this is by title
- For jurisprudence, this is by style of cause
- For secondary materials, this is by the author's surname(s)
If two citations in a row are linked to the same author, place a 3-em dash in place of the author's name(s) in the second citation. If a source has multiple authors, write the authors' first names before their surnames except for the first listed author (ie. Smith, Bob & Sarah Adams).
Each citation needs a 1/4 inch (0.63 cm) hanging indent. This means that all of the lines below the first line in a citation should be indented.
Sample Bibliography:
LEGISLATION
Canada Health Act, RSC 1985, c C-6.
Child and Youth Advocate Act, SA 2011, c C-11.5.
Off-Road Vehicle Act, SNB 1985, c O-1.5.
JURISPRUDENCE
Buma v. Sikkema (1994), 76 OAC 66, 1994 CarswellOnt 1823, [1994] OJ No. 2791 (Ont CA).
Dorey v. Havens, 2017 BCSC 2206.
Kent v. Laverdiere (2009), 2009 CarswellOnt 1986, [2009] OJ No. 1522, 78 CPC (6th) 182 (Ont SCJ).
SECONDARY MATERIALS
Merryman, John Henry & Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America, 4th ed (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2019).
Savell, Kristin Louise, "Wrestling with Contradictions: Human Rights and Traditional Practices Affecting Women" (1996) 41 McGill LJ 781.
White, R. McKay et al, Canadian Business Law: An Alberta Perspective (Toronto, ON: Emond Montgomery Publications, 2019).
