HOW TO WRITE LEGAL ESSAYS

In a college legal studies course, and in some law school courses, you may be required
to write a research paper addressing a legal topic. These essays can be tricky, because
the law is constantly evolving. To secure a top grade, your essay must be well-
researched and coherently argued. With proper planning and research, you can write a
stellar legal essay. [Note: this article does not address how to write law school essay
exams or bar exam questions, which require different techniques and strategies.]

1. Choosing an Essay Topic

1. Carefully read the assignment prompt. Your instructor will provide a set of
instructions about the contents of your paper and how it should be formatted. Your
instructor may ask you to research and answer a specific question, or give you
flexibility to choose your own subtopic within the overall subject matter of the
course.

 A narrow essay prompt might read, "Discuss the evolution and impact of the
Common Law in the Malaysian legal system." A broad prompt might read,
"Discuss how a civil rights movement led to changes in federal and/or state
law."

 If you are invited to choose your own topic, your instructor may require you to
submit a written proposal or outline to ensure that your chosen topic complies
with the prompt. If you are not sure if your topic is within the parameters of the
prompt, propose your topic to your instructor after class or during his or her
office hours.

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 2. Read any required materials. Sometimes, an essay prompt will require you to
read and write about a certain book or set of materials. Before settling on an essay
topic read any assigned materials and review your textbooks and lecture notes.

3. Brainstorm ideas. Different students favor different methods of brainstorming to

come up with ideas. Try writing a list of ideas, or create an "idea map" by circling
your topic in the center of a page and writing new questions, arguments, and facts
branching off of the central topic.

 Hopefully, your course readings, lectures, and class discussions will have
given you enough background knowledge to select a topic. If not, review your
class notes and browse online for additional background information.

 It is not uncommon to change your topic after doing some research. You may
end up narrowing the questions your essay will answer, or changing your topic
completely.

4. Choose an essay topic of interest to you. It will be easier to write on a topic you
care passionately or curious about than one you have on which you have no
strong feelings. You will feel motivated to research the issue thoroughly and
should enjoy the writing process more.

If you can, try to focus on an area of the law that affects you. For example, if your
family is involved in entrepreneurship, you may be interested in writing about
business regulations.

2. Researching Your Topic

1. Identify what types of sources you are required to use. Academic researchers
use "primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Primary sources are firsthand

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 accounts of the subject matter. Secondary sources analyze primary sources.
Tertiary sources provide an overview of primary and secondary sources.

 Your prompt may require you to use a certain number of primary and
secondary sources, and may prohibit you from citing tertiary sources entirely.
You may also be limited in the number of internet-based sources you can
use, and may be required to do a certain amount of library research.

 If you are prohibited from citing internet resources, you can still use online
research to guide you to physical primary and secondary sources in your local
library or bookstore.

2. Begin with tertiary sources. Tertiary sources include encyclopedias, dictionaries,

guidebooks, and textbooks that distill or collect information from primary and
secondary sources [Encyclopedia articles, well-sourced Wikipedia.org articles].
Usually, you should not cite to a tertiary source in your essay. Use these sources
to find primary and secondary sources.

Look at footnotes, citations, and indexes in tertiary sources. These are great for
finding books, articles, and legal cases that are relevant to your topic. Also take
note of the names of authors, who may have written multiple works on your topic.

3. Speak to a librarian. If you can, go to a law library, which will have more
specialized resources. A librarian can help you locate sources and navigate
through state and federal case law reporters and books of statutory law. He or she
may also provide you with access to subscription-only legal search engines.

4. Consult specialized search engines. Different academic fields often use

different search engines. In Malaysia, law students typically use Lexis Nexis to
look up court opinions, and Google Books for books. Google Scholar is an
excellent free resource for books and case opinions.

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 Also find search engines for related fields, such as history or political science. Ask
your librarian to recommend specialized search engines tailored to other
disciplines that may have contributed to your topic.

5. Gather sources and read them. Highlight or make note of important arguments,
facts, and statistics. When you sit down to write your essay, you will want to be
able to easily refer back to your sources so that you can quote and cite them
accurately.

6. Create an outline for each relevant source. Write down the structure of the
argument and any helpful quotes. This will help you condense the argument when
you reference or summarize the source in your essay.

 Never cut and paste from the web into your notes or essay. This often leads
to inadvertent plagiarism because students forget what quotation is and what
is paraphrasing. When gathering sources, paraphrase or add quotation marks
in your outline.

 Plagiarism is a serious offense. If you ultimately hope to be a lawyer, an

accusation of plagiarism could prevent you from passing the character and
fitness review.

7. Look for arguments on both sides of an issue. Law is a political subject, and
any law adopted by a democracy is the product of debate. Thus, you should be
able to find rich counter-arguments on both sides of any legal issue.

3. Drafting Your Essay

1. Write your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is the argument you are
making. A thesis statement should be phrased as an argument, often using the

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 word "because." For example, "The exclusionary rule furthers justice because it
discourages police and prosecutors from infringing on the rights of the accused,"
or "The exclusionary rule impedes justice because it hampers the prosecution of
criminals."

2. Create an outline. An outline typically begins with the thesis statement, and then
lists each argument and counter-argument that will be addressed in the essay.
Under each argument and counter-argument, include a bulleted list of facts from
your research that support the argument. Note the source of each fact for use in
your citations later.

3. Begin your introduction broadly. Briefly situate your topic within its greater
historical context with a broad introduction. For example, if your topic is about the
freedom to religion in Malaysia, open your essay with the significance and impact
of Article 11 of the Constitution. Finish your introduction with your thesis
statement, which is the narrow question your essay will address.

 An effective introduction takes the reader into the world of your essay. Explain
why the subject is important and briefly summarize the rest of your argument.
After reading your introduction, your reader should know what you are going
to discuss and in what order you will be discussing it.

 Be prepared to revise your introduction later. Summarizing your essay will be

easier after you have written it.

4. Develop your arguments. An essay is more than an outline with the bullet
points removed. Explain each section of your outline in complete sentences, and
remember to do the following:

o State each argument of your essay as a statement that, if true, would

support your thesis statement.

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 o Provide supporting information drawn from primary and secondary
sources that support your argument. Remember to cite your sources.
o Provide your own original analysis, explaining to the reader that based on
the primary and secondary sources you have presented, the reader
should be persuaded by your argument.

5. Outline counter-arguments. A strong piece of writing always addresses

opposing points of view. You should accurately paraphrase any counter-
argument to an argument you put forth, and then use evidence and analysis to
argue why your reader should be persuaded by your argument and not by the
counter-argument.

6. Draft a conclusion. A conclusion briefly summarizes your argument without

restating each individual point. It should cement in the reader’s mind a new way
of thinking about the subject. Conclude by strongly restating your thesis
statement.

4. Formatting Your Essay

1. Review your essay prompt. The prompt provided by your instructor should
include instructions for the formatting of your essay. Make sure that your work
complies with these instructions to avoid having points deducted from your
grade.

2. Use the correct citation format. Use the format requested by your instructor.

3. Check the layout. Make sure that your margins, spacing, font, and page
numbers comply with the prompt. Check the font of the body of your essay, as
well as the footnotes, if applicable. If a heading is required, review any guidelines
for formatting your heading.

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 4. Check the length. Your instructor may impose minimum and/or maximum limits
on your word count or number of pages. You may need to revise your work to
meet those requirements.

5. Proofreading Your Essay

1. Read the essay backwards. Start with the last sentence and read it. Then read
the next one, slowly moving toward the beginning. This forces you to pay
attention to the sentence construction without allowing you to get caught up in
the flow of the argument.

2. Read the essay out loud. When listening to something read aloud, we more
easily hear dropped words, misspelled words, and other errors. Microsoft Word
comes with a “text to speech” function that will read your essay to you. To
activate:

o Open up a Word document. On the Quick Access Toolbar at the top, click
on the down arrow. The words “Customize Quick Access Toolbar” will
appear when you hover over the arrow for two seconds.
o Click on the arrow. Then click on “More Commands.”
o In the “Choose commands from” drop-down box, choose “All commands.”
o Scroll down to find “Speak.” Highlight this and then click “add.” Then click
“okay.” Now the Speak function should appear on your Quick Access
Toolbar.
o Highlight the text you want read back to you, and then click on the Speak
icon. The text will be read back to you.

3. Search for common typographical errors. Certain typos show up over and
over in legal writing. For example, using “statue” when you meant “statute” is a
common error. Other common errors in legal writing include using “well” for “will”

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 or “torturous” for “tortious.” Do not rely on a spell checker exclusively, as it will
not catch typos like "statute" versus "statue."

6. Revising the Essay

1. Share the essay with a classmate. Ask her to poke holes in your argument or
tell you what passages are vague or confusing. An outside reader will read your
work more objectively than you can.

2. Incorporate your instructor’s comments. Your instructor might require that

you submit a rough draft. Read his or her comments carefully and address them
in your final draft. Schedule a meeting with your professor to review any
comments that are unclear.

3. Schedule time to rewrite. After taking some time away from your assignment,
return to it with fresh eyes and an open mind. Sit down with your rough draft and
a red pen and cross out sections that need to be rewritten. Dig back into your
research and re-read your sources. You might see things differently now after
getting outside input on your writing.