Writing essays is still difficult as it was; now imagine you are in law school and it appears almost unbearable to write a perfect law essay. Still on writing law essays, Francine Ryan, a professor of law and core member open justice team gives important guide on writing law essays.
It is this time of the year where tress are changing gold, the crisper air is crippling in and colleges are welcoming learners to start another academic year! Whichever level you are at as law student, the probability that you will write a law essay during the semester is high. Francine Ryan gives five best tips to that will help to write law essay perfectly from scratch.
Table of Contents
Pre Writing Stage
It was once said by Franklin Benjamin, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. Therefore, preparation and organization are crucial for effective essay writing. To begin with, collect and arrange your research- you ought to think how you will apply the information and develop a plan that will answer the question at hand. Generally, a plan refers to a working document that can be improved on as you come with an essay-it aids the writer to center on writing by ensuring that all elements of the question are answered.
It is true, preparation and actual writing can be done concurrently, begin by drafting sections of the law essay and by so doing you are likely to spot parts that will need further research. In order to deliver on time, you should factor duration of research, then plan, write, edit and proofread to perfect the paper. It has been proved that last minute rush is stressful and you are likely to write a poor quality paper.
Structure
A perfect essay requires a good structure- that is introduction, main body and a conclusion. The introduction parts reveals the question to be handled. This informs the reader what the law essay will be addressing. Secondly, the body, which consists of a number of paragraphs ideally develops a reasonable and comprehensible responses to the question that was introduced in the introductory section. Within the body, each paragraph builds and grows an argument that connects from one paragraph to the other. The last paragraph is what we call the conclusion, it summarizes the arguments within the body and gives a final observation about the question at hand within the legal essay.
Description V Argument
A perfect law essay should provide a perfect answer to the question asked. Since, it is not a common dialogue of the legal topic it is supposed to have the correct balance of analysis and description. The essay ought to articulate legal thoughts but then go ahead to examine, critic and engross with arguments in the question. For example, answering a question centering on judicial precedent and judicial law making probably will elucidate judicial practice and then examine to which level it can be contended judiciaries do or do not create law. It is crucial to come up with the right description that will second the analysis.
Word Limits Matter
Ensure you know the word limit that your question is supposed to be covered within before you begin writing a law essay or any other essay like business essay that you want to write. Depending with the university or college, penalties can be applied when you exceed the word limit or deliver less words. While planning, ensure you factor in the word count. However, if it happens during planning that you have excess content, you will be forced to re-draft your essay by removing weak points. Likewise, if the final copy has less words, then go back to spot gaps within each sections and fill them with resources that argue well towards answering the question.
Review And Polish
Once you have come up with a draft, you ought to review it once more- If you find that it requires some revisions, then you will have to fill the gaps, edit and proofread to perfect it. A good essay should be free from grammatical mistakes and poor English. While editing try to read loud, this will help you identify mistakes with the essay faster. Remember to check your references both at the citation page and the in- text ones. In order to ensure they confirm with the university guidelines.
Finally, note that tailoring legal essays requires a lot of practice and patience, therefore, take advantage of your lecture advice. This will help you come up with a perfect legal essay in your next assignment.