Writing for Law Journals

Professor Ursula WeigoldAEP Workshop for 1Ls

April 2014

Introduction

Background

Analysis

Conclusion

The traditional case note

I. Have a clear viewpoint or thesis.

II. Organize and explain the law.

III. Revise and polish your writing.

For a strong submission

A. Decide what you think.

B. State your thesis in one sentence.

C. Modify it as you write and edit.

I. Have a clear viewpoint

How do your sources expand, limit, or change the law?

Do they further the law’s underlying policies?

What impact will this rule have? Whatproblems may arise? Is it good or bad?

A. Decide what you think

“This ruling subordinates a Native-American tribe’s compelling interests in its children and culture to the local prejudices of state courts.”

“This ruling undervalues the best interests of adoptive children to serve outdated federal policies relating to Native-American tribes.”

B. State your thesis in one sentence

◦Don’t be too wedded to your thesis at first.

◦Use the writing process to clarify your thinking.

C. Modify your thesis as you write and edit

Remember the goals of each section.

Be mindful of the differences betweenscholarly writing and practitioner

writing

II. Organize your discussion

Give a roadmap of your key points in your Introduction and follow it.

Use topic sentences where appropriate.

Use transitions to link previous points to new ones.

II. Organize your discussion

Explain the leading case carefully.

Connect it to the law’s context or history.

Anticipate and answer questions.

Take counter-arguments seriously.

II. Explain the law

Sample case notes are posted on the Law Review’s website:

http://wisconsinlawreview.org/membership-faq

II. Examples

Check your substance.

Check your organization.

Check your writing style.

Check your mechanics.

Check your citation use and form.

III. Revise and polish

Edit surplus words.

Keep your sentences short.

Keep your sentence structure simple.

Use ordinary words.

Avoid passives and shortcuts.

Check your style.

Check for typos.

Check your grammar.

Check your punctuation.

Use the Redbook or the Texas Manual on Style.

Check your mechanics.

Use the Bluebook’s inside cover for examples. (Use the

examples for scholarly writing.)

If in doubt, look it up!

Check your cite form.

Divide your project into smaller chunks.

Start with something easy.

Give yourself permission to write a bad first draft.

Keep track of your source pages as you write, to avoid having to re-trace your steps

later.

Leave enough time for revising andpolishing.

Final advice