CITATION MADE SIMPLE
An easy, effective guide for learning legal citation
Citation Made Simple provides a suite of three resources to help students of all learning styles learn legal citation as easily and effectively as possible!
Citation Made Simple helps law students and paralegal students learn how to properly cite when writing legal documents, such as research memos and court briefs. It is also a helpful resource for attorneys and legal professionals to turn to when they have citation questions. Though the requirements for legal citations are nuanced and complex, Citation Made Simple explains the rules step-by-step, simply and clearly, with many examples. It removes the frustration many students feel when learning citation and helps them learn proper citation effectively and efficiently.
Price: $29.99​
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The Citation Made Simple Practice Book is designed to be used with the Citation Made Simple book. After covering a citation topic, Citation Made Simple directs students to complete corresponding exercises in this Practice Book to help students learn citation step-by-step. This Practice Book provides 24 exercise sets, each focusing on a different aspect of legal citation. It also includes answer keys, with explanations, so students can immediately learn from any mistakes. Citing properly in legal writing is critical when submitting to professors, law partners, supervisors, or judges. This Practice Book gives students the opportunity to practice and master legal citation, in a stress-free way.
Price: $19.99 ($10.00 discount available! See below)
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The Citation Made Simple Online Materials. For fall 2025, the online materials will include 22 engaging videos tracking all aspects of citing to cases, and 10 multiple-choice quizzes to help ensure students learn and understand the citation rules.
Price: Free! For fall 2025, students who purchase Citation Made Simple will receive free access to the online videos and quizzes.​​
Students
Coupon for Packages: If you have a discount code, enter your code at checkout.
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Coupon for Online Materials: If you purchase Citation Made Simple, you will receive a coupon for free enrollment in the Online Materials. This coupon code will be packaged and arrive with your books. Coupons allow for one free enrollment---once used, the coupon will not work for any other person. When you receive your coupon, you can enroll by clicking on the link below.
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Professors
Courtesy Copies: Please contact us for a free review copy of the books and for free access to review the Online Materials.
Discount Codes: If you adopt Citation Made Simple and the Practice Book, we will provide a discount code for your students to use! Contact us for details.
Adoptions: If you adopt Citation Made Simple, please let us know at least 3 weeks before your course begins so we can generate your students' coupon codes and ensure your students' copies will be in stock and mailed immediately when ordered. With shorter notice, short delays in shipping are unlikely, but could occur.
Distribution: For flexibility with packages, coupons, and online materials, we distribute Citation Made Simple's resources through this website rather than through brick-and-mortar bookstores. As a result, you do not need to coordinate with your campus bookstore to adopt. Instead, just direct students to this website (www.citationmadesimple.com). Note, the books are also available on Amazon at list price, but students must purchase redeem a discount code and to receive a code to access the online materials for free.
Approach and Testimonials: Please click on the button below to see the approaches taken to make Citation Made Simple, the Practice Book, and the online videos and quizzes as helpful for students as possible, and to see what other legal writing professors are saying about these resources!
Lawyers, Judges, & Legal Professionals
A Perfect Resource. Citation Made Simple is a terrific resource for practitioners who need quick answers to their citation questions. As others have said, "This book should be on every student's desk and every attorney's bookshelf," and "Citation Made Simple is a terrific resource for lawyers wanting a quick refresher on key citation concepts." Judges have already purchased Citation Made Simple for their chambers!
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Discounts. If you would like to purchase copies for your firm, practice group, clerks, or staff, please contact us for a discount code (available when 5 or more copies are purchased).
"A lifeline for students and a boon for busy professors. This book conquers the nemesis of law school's first year. Brilliant!"
Linda H. Edwards
E.L. Cord Foundation Professor of Law, Emerita
UNLV William S. Boyd College of Law
The Author. Jacob Carpenter is a Professor of Legal Writing at Marquette University Law School. He has taught legal writing for 19 years and has presented nationally on innovative ways to teach legal citation. For a decade, Professor Carpenter co-taught the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Advanced Persuasive Writing course in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. He has served as the Editor-In-Chief of the Legal Writing Institute’s Monograph Series and serves on the Legal Writing Institute’s Board of Directors.