LLM LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING

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LLM LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING

• Riddhi Jani Fall 2006

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Basics Of American Writing

• Pre-writing (thinking)
• Organizing

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Pre-writing (thinking)

• Length
• Purpose
• Audience
• Occasion

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Pre-writing (thinking)

• Length
• Professor / Court specifies length. E.g., FRAP
  28 20-page limit for motion before the United
  States Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Where no length, think about purpose in drafting
  the document an analysis of the law? A summary
  of facts relevant to your case?

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• What are your goals?
• Persuasion?
• Analysis?
• Argument?
• Objective Summary?

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• Analyze Break information into separate parts
  and discuss, examine, or interpret each part.
• Compare Examine two or more pieces of
  information by discussing similarities and
  difference.
• Contrast Examine differences between two or more
  pieces of information.
• Criticize Make judgments. Evaluate comparative
  worth. (Criticism often involves analysis.)

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• Define Give the meaning, usually a meaning
  specific to the course or subject. Explain the
  exact meaning.
• Describe Give a detailed account. Make a
  picture with words. List characteristics,
  qualities, and parts.
• Discuss Consider and debate or argue the pro and
  cons of an issue, presenting a variety of sides
  to an issue. Write about any conflict. Identify
  important questions related to an issue and
  attempt to answer these questions.

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• Enumerate List several ideas, aspects, events
  qualities, reasons, etc.
• Evaluate Give your opinion or cite the opinion
  of an expert, judging the worth or truthfulness
  of the information. Include evidence to support
  the evaluation.
• Explain Make an idea clear. Show logically how
  a concept is developed. Give the reasons for an
  event. Focuses on how or why something has come
  about. May need to discuss evidence that may
  seem contradictory and tell how these differences
  can be reconciled.

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• Illustrate Give concrete examples. Explain
  clearly by using comparisons or examples. Relate
  abstract ideas to concrete examples.
• Interpret Comment upon, give examples, describe
  relationships. Explain the meaning. Describe,
  then evaluate.
• Justify Argue in support of some decision or
  conclusion, to show sufficient evidence or reason
  in favor of something.

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• Outline Describe main ideas, characteristics, or
  events. Present a series in appropriate order.
  Shows correct order and grouping of ideas.
• Prove Support with facts (especially facts
  presented in class, case law or statutes.) Give
  a convincing logical argument.
• Relate Show the connections between ideas or
  events. Show how ideas or events influence each
  other or how a change in one may mean a change in
  the other. Provide a larger context.

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Pre-writing (thinking)Purpose

• Summarize Give a brief, condensed account.
  Include conclusions. Avoid unnecessary details.
• Trace Show the order of events or progress of a
  subject or event. Narrate the course of events.

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Pre-writing (thinking)Audience

• Who are you talking to?
• An individual?
• A group?
• A judge?
• Your boss?
• Your co-workers?

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Pre-writing (thinking)Occasion

• Law school ? seminar assignment, writing a letter
  to a prospective employer or for an exam.
• Outside of law school ? tailor approach to suit
  the occasion.

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Pre-writing (thinking)

• Length
• Purpose
• Audience
• Occasion

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Organizing

• Three points, for now
• Answer the question.
• Thesis/Issue statement.
• Topic sentence.

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Organizing

• Answer the question. 
• Check the list of task words for the definition
  of the word in your question, and make sure you
  do what the definition of the word tells you to
  do. 

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Organizing

• Thesis/Issue statement uses the wording of the
  question and turns it into an statement. 

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Organizing

• A thesis/issue statement will forecast for the
  reader what you will be writing about.
• A thesis/issue statement is a sentence that
  explicitly identifies the purpose of the paper or
  previews its main ideas.
• A thesis statement is an assertion, not a
  statement of fact or an observation.
• People use many lawn chemicals.
• People are poisoning the environment with
  chemicals merely to keep their lawns clean. 

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Organizing

• A thesis takes a stand rather than announcing a
  subject.
• Solving our environmental problems is more
  difficult than many environmentalists believe.
• The thesis of this paper is the difficulty of
  solving our environmental problems.

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Organizing

• A thesis is the main idea, not the title. It must
  be a complete sentence that explains in some
  detail what you expect to write about.
• Thoughts about Minneapolis.
• The lack of good public transportation in
  Minneapolis makes it almost impossible to travel
  around the city quickly and efficiently.

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Organizing

• A thesis statement is specific rather than vague
  or general.
• Vague Gandhis non-violent methods were
  very good.
• Specific Gandhis resistance through mass
  civil disobedience helped drive the Indian
  independence movement.

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Organizing

• A thesis statement has one main point rather than
  several main points.
• More than one main point Kofi Annan supports
  sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur,
  Sudan, and is working with the government of
  Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the
  African Union peacekeeping mission to a UN one.
• One Main point Kofi Annan supports sending
  a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Sudan.

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Organizing

• Each paragraph will need to have a topic
  sentence, which will forecast the ideas presented
  within the paragraph and address the thesis or
  issue statement.   

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Homework

• Compose a 750-word letter to the Mayor of
  Minneapolis or St. Paul (whichever city you live
  in) describing your reactions and thoughts about
  Minneapolis or St. Paul with suggestions for
  improvement.
• Due Friday September the 15th at noon.