6 Tips for Better Source Citations
January 17, 2009
by Thomas
The only thing more boring than listening to evidence in a speech is listening about who said the boring stuff you are about to hear. No judge likes to be bored.
So, What is the goal of reading a citation?
The only goal as far as I am concerned is to amplify the evidence by establishing its authority. If you cause the judge to zone out, you loose. Short and simple always beats long and boring.
Here are some tips to keep your judge paying attention to your evidence:
- Use no more than ten words on a citation. Period. If your citation is longer than ten words strike unnecessary information. Striking is better than deleting because the info is there if you need it.
- Never state the day. Don’t say “Chris Edwards, March 28, 2007″ Just say “Benjamin Powel, 2005.”
- Only state the month if the quote is from this year. Even then you can probably leave it out.
- The organization is more important than the name. It is better to say “Cato Institute 2007.” than “Chris Edwards 2007.” The exception to this is if the person is a known public figure like President Obama.
- Someone’s title is more important than their name. This is particularly true if the person has a non English name. Better to say the Prime Minister of India 2009 than “Manmohan Singh 2009.”
- Abbreviate the citations ahead of time. Shortening on the fly will give you a less than an optimal citation. Strike what you won’t read so it is still handy if the opposing side asks for it. If you forgot to do that when you made the brief, have your partner strike citations in prep time.
What do you think. Are there any tips missing? Leave a comment and let us know.