legislation according to jurisdictions (United Kingdom, United States, Canada
etc). Where the text deals with a specific section or regulation, the table of
legislation cites the number of the section or regulation. Then the table
indicates the page or pages in the text where the legislation, the section or the
regulation is dealt with. Thus the table of legislation is an invaluable aid to find
where a textbook deals with a statute or a section of a statute.
Obviously the table of legislation enables a user to find where the text mentions
or discusses a piece of legislation. Apart from this function, a table of
legislation helps a reader in a number of other ways. (i) It may assist a reader
who is researching the law on a particular subject, as distinct from being
interested in the text itself. It functions as a research tool by indicating the title
of statutes that deal with a subject within a jurisdiction. (ii) As with the table of
cases, the table of legislation indicates by inclusion or omission which
legislation was or was not dealt with in any way in the text. This indicates the
scope and purpose of the book with regard to its coverage of legislation.
Tables of Names
A table of names sets out in alphabetical order the name of every person
(many of whom are authors) who is referred to in the textbook and indicates
where in the text that person’s name is mentioned (which is commonly the
place where their ideas and publications are discussed). A table of names is
common in texts in social sciences but not in law, although it would add value
to a legal textbook.
Bibliography
A book or article should have a comprehensive bibliography or list of
references. A bibliography performs three functions. It stores information, it
interprets information, it assists a reader to verify information and it may assist
citation. These functions are all accounted for in the discussion below of the
bibliography in the treatment of interpreting information.
Table of Prominent Inclusions
If there is some important item that occurs and recurs in the text it is
worthwhile inserting a table to enable readers to find the item. Examples of
such items are photographs, maps or diagrams.
Interpreting Information
Introduction
Once a book has delivered information it may be helpful or even necessary to
interpret this information. By interpreting information a book enables a reader
better to understand and evaluate the information in the book. Some
interpretation is conceptual, for example, providing a statement of purpose to
show what approach or theory the author has used to portray the information.
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