LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING (LAW 411)

2023/2024 SESSION: FIRST SEMESTER

Introduction to Legal Research

Basic Conceptual Issues – Importance of Research to Legal Studies and Practice – Research Methods
– Law and Empiricism – Components of Legal Research

This class is intended to introduce the student to the importance of research to a successful legal career, beginning
at the University level. The student will be taught why adopting adept research skills is of primal importance to all
the other skills that are required for legal studies, including the types of research that may be undertaken by lawyers,
legal researchers and others working in the field. Additionally, the student will learn what the content of legal
research entails, including the abstract, proposal, and chapter outline, amongst other things. At the end of this
class, the student should have a profound appreciation for the role of research in legal studies and practice, the type
of research that is relevant to those in the legal field, and the components of a legal research project.

Key Skills: Define research methods; write a research abstract and proposal; outline a research project.

Research Ethics

Plagiarism - Conflict of Interests - Morality and Research - Culture and Research - Politics and
Research - Consent and Confidentiality - Data Collection and Management

Research has become one of the top priorities for public and private actors all over the world because of the effect of
information gathering and management on governance and lifestyle. With the degree of information that gets
collected, and the manner in which the information is used, and even manipulated, it is important to observe rules
that would govern the management and use of information. This class will help the student understand the
importance of research ethics, both in the conduct of research (information gathering) and in writing. At the end of
the class, the student should be able to apply certain rules to ensure that the rights of others are not violated during
the research process and in the production of the final research work.

Key Skills: Critical reading and comprehension; paraphrase reading materials without plagiarizing;
structure data.

Referencing and Citation

Importance of Referencing - References and Bibliographies - Different types of Referencing Styles -

Citation Guide

This class will be tailored towards teaching referencing skills, which have become very important in an era of
widespread information dissemination. At the end of this class, the student should be able to understand different
methods of referencing and how and when to apply them, as well as the relevant details contained in citations.

Key Skills: Understand how to reference research materials; use of citation guides; cross-referencing.
Pre-Writing and Draft Preparation

Developing an Idea - Choosing a Topic - Words on Paper - Skimming - The First Draft - The Final
Draft - Editing/Proofreading

Before engaging in research, there are certain preliminary matters that must be addressed, such as coming up with
a research question, finding a hypothesis, preparing drafts, and so on. This class will provide the student with
guidelines to handling these preliminary phases, and seek to provide the student with the confidence to begin the
research process, and to do so effectively. At the end of the class, the student should able to comfortably transfer
their ideas from their thoughts into writing.

Key Skills: Formulate a coherent research topic; identify and practise clear steps in developing a
research paper.

Digital Tools

Finding Open Sources - Prudent Searching - Boolean Operations - Academic and Non-Academic
References - Sifting through Sources

This class provides the students with tools for effective internet research, particularly how to use open sources to get
valuable information. At the end of the class, the students should be familiar with general websites that can aid
academic searches, as well as other websites that may be specific to the student’s particular research needs.

Key Skills: Conduct a tailored online search; be adept at selecting relevant sources.

Introduction to Legal Writing

Conceptual Issues - Role of writing in Legal Studies and Practice - Objectives of Legal Writing -
Importance of developing standard writing skills during legal studies - Types of Legal Writing

This class will provide the student with a general introduction to the course, explaining the importance of the
undertaking to the present and future work of the student. It will introduce the student to the different types of
writing exercises to be expected in a legal career, and provide basic insight to addressing such tasks. At the end of
the class, the student should understand and appreciate the reasons for taking such a class, and its importance to a
prospective legal career.

Key Skills: Understand how to use writing as a critical communication tool.

Grammar I: Basic Concepts

Parts of Speech - Tenses - Auxillaries - Verb Forms - Prepositional Groups - Questions - Adjectives
and Adverbs - Connectors and Discourse Makers

Perhaps the most important aspect of this course is the teaching of basic concepts of grammar that will aid proper
writing practice among students. This class will provide a thematic and practical guide to developing those basic
skills that will promote comprehensibility of formal written communications. At the end of the class, the student
should be able to produce basic text with correct grammar.

Key Skills: Construct proper sentences; use tenses and discourse markers correctly.
Grammar II: Syntax and Text

Sentence Construction - Clause Structure - Adjuncts and Conjunctions - Active and Passive Voice -
Paragraph Construction

While the preceding class(es) focus(es) on basic rules in grammar about parts of speech and how to use them in
sentences, this section will focus on stringing words together to form grammatically correct sentences, use of phrases
and clauses, developing the idea of a sentence and combining sentences to form a paragraph. This is an integral
part of the course, as it transitions the student from the basic aspect of the subject to the more intense facets. The
main aim of this class is to train the students to use words collectively in such a way as to elucidate their ideas.

Key Skills: Construct proper sentences and paragraphs.

Punctuation

Importance of Proper Punctuation - Full Stop - Comma - Colon and Semi-colon - Quotation Marks -
Exclamation Marks

The use of punctuations is perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of writing, as it demands a consideration of
several issues such as intent and voice. Improper punctuation can change the message of a sentence completely.
This class will equip the student with basic rules in the use of punctuations. At the end of the class, the student
should possess an understanding of the rules for using punctuations in sentence construction.

Key Skills: Identify and use punctuations correctly.

Spelling and Word Designation

Importance of Accurate Spelling - Commonly Misspelt Words - Commonly Confused Words

This class will instruct the students in learning to identify spelling mistakes and distinguishing between similar
words and their usage. At the end of the class, the student should be able to use words in their proper context and
with their correct spellings.

Key Skills: Spelling and using words correctly.

WEEKLY TEACHING GUIDE

Week Topic Instructor

Week 1 Introductory Class All

Week 2 Introduction to Legal Research Dr Ojomo

Week 3 Research Ethics Dr Afinowi

Referencing and Citation

Week 4 Pre-Writing and Draft Preparation Dr Afinowi

Week 5 Digital Tools Dr Ilobinso

Week 6 Class Exercise/Continuous

Assessment

Week 7 Introduction to Legal Writing Dr Afinowi

Week 8 Grammar I: Basic Concepts Dr Ojomo

Week 9 Grammar II: Syntax and Text Dr Ojomo

Week 10 Punctuation Dr Ilobinso

Week 11 Spelling and Word Designation Dr Ilobinso

Week 12 Revision