DEPARTMENT OF LAW

LLAW1013
Legal Research and Writing 1
2014-15 Semester 1
TUTORIAL 3
LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING
STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS
PREPARATION
A. Memo
Based on your Tutorial 2 discussions and in preparation for Tutorial 3, you need to draft a
short memorandum (of less than 400 words) on the following question:
Please advise Ambrose Leung as to whether he is committing an offence under the
Weapons Ordinance. Please provide reasons for your advice.
Please bring a hard copy of your memo to Tutorial 3. Your memo should be double spaced
and typed. Please do NOT put your names on the memo.
B. Reading
You should also read the following:
1. Anthony Weston, A Rulebook for Arguments (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing,
2009), Chapters 1-4 and 7-8.
2. George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, in Why I Write (London:
Penguin Books, 2004 [1946]), pp 102-20.
Note: although Orwell is discussing political language in particular, the criticisms
he outlines are applicable to all writing including legal writing.
ACTIVITIES
In the tutorial, you will be asked to do some legal research. In addition, you will share your
memorandum with your peers, and will edit / re-write one of your peers work.
AIMS
In this tutorial, you will practice basic legal research skills by doing some research. Again,
this is something that can only be developed through practice. You need to learn to use a
range of sources, as there is no single database or source that is always correct, always
comprehensive, and always available. You should develop a habit of cross-checking your
answers and using more than one source of your research.
You will continue to develop the skills to write succinctly, clearly, and persuasively. You will
learn about the principles underlying good writing and effective arguments. You will develop
more awareness about the choices you make when you write.

Mi Zhou | zhoumi@hku.hk
August 2014