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Legal Writing: Research
Legal Writing: Research
Legal Writing: Research
In the first instance, careful planning, sound research, a considered structure and consistent writing style are the basis of a good piece of legal writing. Well-conducted research acts as the foundation, whilst the structure should be laid out coherently, always keeping in mind legal argument posed.
Research
In order to write a quality piece of legal writing, one's research materials need to be carefully considered. The use of secondary sources and legal opinion must be balanced with the application of primary source material, i.e. actual legal case judgments. In addition, one should very carefully consider the weight of the secondary sources that are used. For example, if one is going to use a legal opinion, to make sure that the opinion is an authoritative one by a leading legal peer (including those deceased) so that it may not be called into contention is likely to be a widely upheld opinion.
Style
When writing a good piece of legal writing, style is an essential component. There are long-standing/established considerations traditions that constitute the effective practice of law today, and that is assisted by a minimum standard of legal writing. It goes without saying that a good piece of legal writing is build on sound application of grammar and spelling. It is absolutely fundamental to the work that there are no spelling
errors and equally, no grammatical/syntactical mistakes. This is especially relevant to the use of clauses and sub clauses. This is especially relevant to writing a good piece of legal writing, irrespective of the objectives, as legal arguments can become complex and it is vital not to distract from the main points of the argument. Keep language simple, precise and avoid writing in the negative, such as not impossible' or not unreasonable' etc. For clarity, avoid the use of sub clauses wherever possible and keep sentences short, succinct and always to the point. Further still, the use of the active voice, and not the passive voice, is important in a good piece of legal writing. For example, the prosecution held that as opposed to it was held by the prosecution that. In accompaniment to an effective and good piece writing, one will need to correctly apply the use of established legal abbreviations, particularly those of Op. Cit. Opus Citato (already cited) Ibid. Ibidem; (in the same place); Cf. (in conferment). These are just some of the most commonly employed abbreviations, and these will commonly used in a good piece of legal writing.
according to the source materials; Statutes, Case Law, Books, Journals and e-sources. It is useful to note that the word count is exclusive of the Bibliography.