Format for Writing a Law Review Paper Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

How to write a law review article? what does it consist of? there should be four principle sections in your article. In this section, first of all, you should state the subject matter of your paper. When writing a law review article introduction part you may provide brief information on other cases which concern the same legal issue you are going to discuss. While writing a law review article case section you should depict the litigation, reveal different opinions and point out the outcome of the case. When writing a law review article case part you must provide all important details of the case, so that the reader could understand why this or that decision was made. While writing a law review article analysis part you should provide your arguments supported by some background information. When writing a law review article conclusion section you should summarize the whole paper.

Essay Topics British Empire

finally, you should remember that while writing a law review article you must be precise and coherent. Larr read more aboutshort essay + 1 8 827 0150 + 1 302 351 4405 + 44 20 3006 2750 this week i have offered study and test taking tips for the common law school exam formats. This post i also write as an adjunct professor of law who will grade final papers in the coming weeks. Preparing for law school exams? read our other exam week posts: find out what your professor expects.

How long should the paper be? is the page limit really a page maximum, minimum or specific length mandate? what about font, margins, spacing? find out if the paper and the footnotes should be spaced the same. Does your professor care about proper bluebooking of footnotes? should you have oodles of footnotes like in law review articles? or would the professor find that tedious and unnecessary. If footnotes count in the page limit, this is a real consideration make sure you know the answer. Does your professor have a preference as to how the paper should be organized? what about the ratio between background and analysis? how about headings and subheadings? does your professor care? consider content. Does your professor have any pet peeves or strong preferences regarding what should be in your paper? i have answered all these questions for my students because i have strong preferences.

They know i care little about how they format citations, but that i consider the rigor of their research to be important, that analysis is the most important part of the paper, and that i expect them to be concise, write plainly, and edit well. A common problem that students make is tackling a topic that is too large or too amorphous to analyze in the page limit. Another common misstep is to choose a paper topic that does not allow you to demonstrate course knowledge. My best advice is therefore to choose a narrow topic that will allow you to demonstrate mastery of course material. Once you identify the issue that you want to address in your paper, create a research plan. Start by determining how will you get the necessary background information to address the subject. Then dig deeper into cases, statutes, articles, and other sources to inform your analysis of the topic.

On at least some level, your professor is an expert on the subject matter and will know whether you invested time in your research. The more discrete the course subject, the more likely your professor has deep knowledge of the area and the harder it will be to impress him or her with your research. Most professors who ask students to write papers want students to enjoy writing their papers and to put a great deal of effort into the pursuit. Demonstrate to your teacher that you are indeed trying hard, see if he or she asks you to try harder. Since a final paper has no time limit, the professor will expect a well organized paper.

It should start with the taxonomy of the course subject and then drill down to the issue addressed in the paper. Finish the first draft of your paper without fussing over the background length or brevity. A law school paper allows you to demonstrate mastery of the course material by applying it to a problem that interests you. Do not think the self directed paper format means the professor does not care whether you understand the concepts learned in class.

Think of it this way: the professor has chosen to allow you to identify the fact pattern to which you will apply what you learned in the course. If you find that no or few course themes apply to your topic, do yourself and your gpa a favor and pick a new one. If you think of your final paper as i suggest in 6, the importance of analysis should become clear. Consider the supreme court cases you read in con law or pick up a law review article from a top school. Try this: write a quick outline of what you think should be in your analysis and then ask a series of questions about the points you raise.

Here are some questions that tend to work well in a variety of situations: why? why not? who disagrees with this? what is the logical extension of that thought? is that good policy? who should bear the risk? work hard on the analysis in your paper and it will stand out. Once you have a full first draft in hand, read through it and see if it flows logically. Is anything missing? when you are confident that it is all in there, tighten your writing. Sloppy papers are hard to read and indicate to me that the student did not really try. This is the only law school exam format without a time constraint and professors expect you to edit.

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