Subsequent citations and cross references: using ibid and n
ibid: Use ibid for immediate subsequent citations, i.e. if you are using the same source for 2 or more citations which immediately follow on from each other (you can refer to a different page / paragraph / section as required). For example:
1 Nicola Monaghan, Criminal Law (7th edn, OUP 2022) 7
2 ibid 12
n: n stands for note (or footnote) and replaces the use of op cit (Latin for as above). It is used in cross references to refer to a previously cited footnote and where other publications have been referred to in footnotes in between.
For example:
1 Robert Stevens, Torts and Rights (OUP 2007).
…
6 Stevens (n 1) 110.
7 ibid 271–78.
Essentially, the information in n6 (or footnote 6) means the writer doesn’t have to repeat all the bibliographic information about Stevens’ book again, but instead refers the reader to n1 (footnote 1) for all the bibliographic information. The writer 'pinpoints' page 110 indicating to the reader that information was taken from that page. Footnotes 2-5 incl (not listed here) will refer to different sources such as cases, journals etc. n7 tells us that pages 271-278 are being referred to of Stevens' book.
This example is based on a section in the OSCOLA guide oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012.pdf (ox.ac.uk) which you can read at s.1.2. The example given in this FAQ has been created with Brunel Law School guidance in mind.
Please note that ibid and n are used within the same set of footnotes on each page of your work. For example, if on page 1 of your work you have footnotes 1-7 you can use ibid and n within that set of footnotes. If on page 3 of your work you want to use a source you referred to on page 1 of your work, you will need to provided a full citation to it. You can then use ibid and n (as appropriate) for that source within page 3 of your work.
See attached file (opens in PowerPoint) for another example.
