> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://drew-m-loewe.gitbook.io/undergraduate-legal-writing-an-open-resource/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://drew-m-loewe.gitbook.io/undergraduate-legal-writing-an-open-resource/legal-citation/legal-citation-concepts-and-moves.md).

# Legal Citation: Concepts and Moves

### Why are Citations Necessary?

<figure><img src="https://90638399-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FylmSOlSmjSxfrYD0Xu21%2Fuploads%2FvMZEbyrokaM4409b2xdX%2FScreenshot%202025-05-30%20at%203.38.02%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=cf166489-0524-483a-84fe-737b660b265e" alt=""><figcaption><p>Ryan McCarl, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmccarl/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmccarl/</a>, on LinkedIn, May 30, 2025</p></figcaption></figure>

* Attorneys cite legal authorities to show how the facts and the law support what they are analyzing or arguing. Same with courts: look at how the cases you are reading use citations.
* The core idea is that the lawyer or judge must ground their analyses and arguments in what the law actually says. So they have to back up their analyses and assertions with precise citations.&#x20;
* Citations are where you “put your cards on the table.” Citations answer the question: “What is the legal basis of that statement, that claim, or that analysis?”
* As legal writing professor Brian Larson explains, “Often \[citations] provide premises to legal arguments in the form of rules, examples for legal analogies, or policy concerns; without such premises, legal arguments cannot stand.” \
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  The pages that follow help you learn basic techniques for supporting your analyses and arguments and start you on the path to becoming adept at citations.