This is pretty basic and failure to do this will cause us extreme displeasure. If you don't include a table of contents, you will be unlikely to meet the P threshold. In fact, blue book cites are often counter to the basic principle of a pathfinder, which is to make information easily accessible. Clarity, rather than precise form, is what we're looking for. Or when the great sounding periodical title turns out to be a two paragraph throwaway in a legal newspaper.
Research can be tedious, but it can also be stimulating and satisfying.
You learn a great deal from the acts of finding and evaluating information. If you keep a log of your research you will be able to see how far you've come in understanding an area of law simply by looking at the progress of your research. Once you've struggled with a large looseleaf service or spent hours on the phone trying to extract information from a government agency, no big-time partner or law office autocrat will be able to intimidate you. You'll emerge from the trenches in one piece, possessing new knowledge of how to find the law. Copyright 2001, The Regents of the University of California.