In the Thicket of it! Oh—you meant "In the Thick of It"

I am not one of those individuals that can take pen to paper and five minutes later have a masterpiece. The thought of writing makes me sick to my stomach. Not knowing what to say, feeling lost at every word, and not making sense because I have forgotten what I’m writing about. Panic has set in! I have gone into survival mode, coming up for air only after I’ve realized I have passed out from exhaustion.

With that said, we are writing this whitepaper. Who came up with that concept, who knows? But what is important, is first understanding what a whitepaper is. A whitepaper is an informational document with a specific topic that has been researched. It provides a solution to that specific subject. A document, written by a subject matter expert, is meant to help the reader better understand the concept at hand.

So not only must I write this “whitepaper,” but I also have to cite it! OMG, send a search party because I can’t find my way out of the thicket! It’s been two years since I took Professor Cooper’s class Legal Analysis I, where we had our first introduction to Legal Citation and the Bluebook. Yes, it’s literally a blue book.

So, what is Blue Booking? As noted in LII, bluebooking is the standard format used most for legal citations in the US by law schools, and federal courts, which is why it is commonly used by law journals, professionals, and of course, students too. It is the preferred method for editing and checking the style of legal citation standards.

For now, I’m taking it one step at a time. Professor Townsend-Gard gave me some words of encouragement that have helped. Write this for me, for my development.

To all my peers, remember to breathe; it’s going to be okay. It’s been two years in the making, and we’ve got this!

Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute (LII), https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bluebooking (Last Visited October 17, 2022)

In the Thick of It © 2022 by Cristina Rangel is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0