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QUICK CHECKLIST
Bibliography.
Word count.
Formatting matters (it may show you didn’t have time).
If possible, have someone else read the work.
Poor capitalization, grammar and punctuation may get
in the way of your idea.
Cite everything!
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HOW TO CITE (ORIGINAL)
Alvin Kernan, The Playwright as Magician. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1979. pp. 102–103.
“From time to time this submerged or latent theater in becomes almost
overt. It is close to the surface in Hamlet’s pretense of madness, the
“antic disposition” he puts on to protect himself and prevent his
antagonists from plucking out the heart of his mystery. It is even
closer to the surface when Hamlet enters his mother’s room and
holds up, side by side, the pictures of the two kings, Old Hamlet and
Claudius, and proceeds to describe for her the true nature of the
choice she has made, presenting truth by means of a show. Similarly,
when he leaps into the open grave at Ophelia’s funeral, ranting in
high heroic terms, he is acting out for Laertes, and perhaps for
himself as well, the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of
grief.”
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/08/plagiarism/
VERBATIM UNACKNOWLEDGED PLAGIARISM
Almost all of Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be understood as a
play about acting and the theater. For example, there is
Hamlet’s pretense of madness, the “antic disposition” that he
puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists from
plucking out the heart of his mystery. When Hamlet enters
his mother’s room, he holds up, side by side, the pictures of
the two kings, Old Hamlet and Claudius, and proceeds to
describe for her the true nature of the choice she has made,
presenting truth by means of a show. Similarly, when he leaps
into the open grave at Ophelia’s funeral, ranting in high
heroic terms, he is acting out for Laertes, and perhaps for
himself as well, the folly of excessive, melodramatic
expressions of grief.
SELECTED PASSAGES UNACKNOWLEDGED
“Almost all of Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be understood as a
play about acting and the theater. For example, in Act 1,
Hamlet adopts a pretense of madness that he uses to protect
himself and prevent his antagonists from discovering his
mission to revenge his father’s murder. He also presents truth
by means of a show when he compares the portraits of
Gertrude’s two husbands in order to describe for her the true
nature of the choice she has made. And when he leaps in
Ophelia’s open grave ranting in high heroic terms, Hamlet is
acting out the folly of excessive, melodramatic expressions of
grief.”
PROPER CITATION
Kernan [Insert Footnote] believes that almost all of
Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be understood as a play
about acting and the theater. He says:
“From time to time this submerged or latent theater in
becomes almost overt. It is close to the surface in
Hamlet’s pretense of madness, the “antic disposition” he
puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists
from plucking out the heart of his mystery.” [You can also
insert footnote here]
PROPER CITATION Paraphrase

Kernan [Insert Footnote] believes that almost all of

Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be understood as a play
about acting and the theater. He says:
“From time to time this submerged or latent theater in
becomes almost overt. It is close to the surface in
Hamlet’s pretense of madness, the “antic disposition” he
puts on to protect himself and prevent his antagonists
from plucking out the heart of his mystery.” [You can also
insert footnote here]
Verbatim quote
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“WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE FOR THIS STATEMENT?”
In a legal essay, any statements about the law generally fall into one of
three categories:
1. Describing the law (as it is created out in statute or legal precedent)
2. Explaining what the law means in a binding way (as a general rule,
only the courts are competent to interpret the law in a binding way.
Note: Some regulators also have that authority, but they can often only
provide guidance, i.e. their opinion, see below)
3. Analysing or challenging the law (mostly done by academics (and
others) in books and journal articles on how the law should be
interpreted or what it can and cannot or should and should not do.
Note: Non-binding regulatory guidance also falls within this category )
 HE
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 DESCRIBING THE LAW
“consent means any freely given, specific, informed and
unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which
he or she […] signifies agreement to the processing of personal
data relating to him or her”
• You may come across this definition of consent in a judgment, an article or
any other resource
• It is, however, the (statutory) definition of consent that is included in Art.
4(11) of the GDPR
• The correct citation for this statement is therefore “Art. 4(11) GDPR” – not the
article or the judgment where you may have first read this definition.
• ALWAYS CITE THE LAW ITSELF AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE!
 EXPLAINING WHAT THE LAW MEANS
IN A BINDING WAY
“users must be free to refuse individually, in the context of the
contractual process, to give their consent to particular data
processing operations not necessary for the performance of the
contract, without being obliged to refrain entirely from using the
service offered by the online social network operator”
• This is how the CJEU clarified the “freely given” requirement in Art. 4(11)
GDPR in the context of online (social network) services.
• This interpretation is legally binding on social networks and data subjects
because it comes from the competent court.
• The correct citation for this statement is therefore “CJEU, Meta v
Bundeskartellamt, C-252/21, margin no. 150” – not the article where you may
have first read this interpretation.
 ANALYSING OR CHALLENGING THE LAW
“[C]onsumer protection law is unlikely to constitute an effective
constraint where the individual’s consent to the processing of his or her
personal data may not only result in adverse effects for himself or herself,
but also affects collective or societal interests.”
• This is a hypothesis about whether or not restrictions on individual consent
through consumer protection law would be effective in preventing collective or
societal harms.
• It is an opinion of two academics on the ability of existing laws to prevent such
harms (most likely followed by a suggestion how such law could or should be
amended to be effective in this regard). It is not (yet) law and has not (yet) been
confirmed by the courts (who might disagree).
• The correct citation for this statement is therefore “Rauhofer and Schafer, (2023)
Article-by-Article Commentary on the GDPR, Art. 4(11), Nomos/Hart Publishing”
HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK