Scholarly Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes, and Law Review Competition Papers

by Fajans, Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780314249098
• ISBN10: 0314249095
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: West Group

Table of Contents

Scholarly Writing in Law School	1	(18)
The Scholarly Enterprise	1	(4)
Seminar Papers, Student Law Review Articles, and Law Review Competition Papers	5	(9)
The Comment: Examining One Aspect of the Law	6	(4)
The Casenote: Analyzing One Opinion	10	(2)
The Law Review Competition Paper: A Special Case	12	(2)
The Process of Scholarly Writing	14	(5)
Further Reading: Selected Student Law Review Articles	16	(3)
Inspiration: Choosing a Subject and Developing A Thesis	19	(32)
Choosing a Subject	20	(7)
Finding a Subject	23	(1)
Narrowing Your Subject	24	(3)
Developing a Thesis	27	(24)
Reading Critically	28	(1)
Probing the Text	29	(1)
Read for Argument Type	29	(3)
Read for Inconsistency, Logical Error, and Omission	32	(3)
Take A Problem-Solving Approach	35	(1)
Read for Jurisprudence	35	(3)
Read for Rhetoric and Style	38	(1)
Probing the Context	39	(3)
Still Fishing: Further Thoughts	42	(1)
Keeping a Reading Journal	43	(2)
Experimenting with Freewriting	45	(3)
Testing Your Thesis	48	(1)
Further Reading	49	(2)
Research Strategies	51	(12)
Gathering Information	52	(7)
Be Thorough	52	(2)
Stay Current	54	(1)
Reach Out and Ask Someone	54	(1)
Start with Secondary Sources	55	(2)
Use the World Wide Web (Wisely)	57	(2)
Assimilating Information	59	(4)
Further Reading.	61	(2)
The Writing Process: Getting It Down on Paper	63	(18)
Working toward an Outline	64	(7)
Freewriting ``Dump'' or ``Zero'' Drafts	64	(4)
Using Charts and Diagrams	68	(1)
Case Charts	68	(1)
Cluster Diagrams	69	(1)
Issue Trees	70	(1)
Creating an Outline	71	(7)
Adapting the Traditional Casenote or Comment Outline	72	(1)
Using Paradigms	73	(5)
Writing the Draft	78	(3)
The Writing Process: Revising and Polishing	81	(24)
Revision and the Reader	81	(2)
Gaining Perspective	83	(1)
Revising: Content	84	(4)
Revising: Organization	88	(9)
Large-scale Organization	89	(1)
Small-scale Organization	90	(1)
Signposts	91	(1)
Headings	91	(3)
Section Introductions and Conclusions	94	(1)
Topic Sentences and Transitions	94	(3)
Polishing: Paragraph Structure	97	(2)
Polishing: Sentence-Level Revision	99	(2)
Polishing: Proofreading	101	(4)
Proofreaders' Marks	102	(1)
Further Reading	103	(2)
Footnotes and the Ethical Use of Borrowed Materials	105	(16)
Authority Footnotes	107	(2)
Attribution Footnotes, Plagiarism, and Fair Use	109	(6)
Textual Footnotes	115	(6)
Exercise	117	(4)
Writing With Care	121	(20)
Grammar and Usage	121	(11)
Agreement: Subject/Verb and Pronoun/Antecedent	122	(1)
Avoiding Sexist Language	123	(1)
Beginning Sentences with Conjunctions	124	(1)
Complex Subjects	124	(1)
Interrupting Clauses and Phrases	125	(1)
Modifiers: Misplaced and Dangling	125	(1)
Nominalizations	126	(1)
Parallel Construction	126	(1)
Passive v. Active Voice	127	(1)
Sentence Coherence: Using the Right Word	127	(1)
Split Infinitives	128	(1)
That or Which?	128	(1)
Verb Tenses	129	(1)
Who or Whom?	129	(1)
Wordiness: Diagnosis and Cure	130	(2)
Editors' Abbreviations	132	(1)
Punctuation	132	(9)
Punctuation Styles	132	(1)
Periods	133	(1)
Commas	134	(1)
Semicolons	135	(1)
Colons	136	(1)
Dashes	136	(1)
Apostrophes	136	(1)
Quotation Marks	137	(1)
Ellipses	137	(1)
Exercise	138	(3)
Writing with Style	141	(22)
Making the Most of Introductions and Conclusions	142	(8)
Use Narrative	143	(3)
Open or Close with a Quotation	146	(1)
Begin Quickly and End Forcefully	146	(4)
Creative Syntax	150	(7)
The Syntax of Conversation	150	(2)
The Syntax of Ceremony	152	(5)
Diction	157	(2)
Mixing Styles	159	(2)
Some Final Thoughts	161	(2)
The Law Review Process: Editing the Work of Others	163	(22)
Gatekeepers: Article Selection	164	(3)
Midwives: Stages in the Editing Process	167	(10)
Peer Editing	167	(1)
Beginning (The Reading and Exploring Stage)	168	(2)
Drafting (Getting Ideas Down on Paper)	170	(1)
Revising (Writing for Readers)	171	(2)
Polishing	173	(1)
Editing the Work of Experts	174	(3)
Writing Constructive Comments	177	(6)
Editing Protocol	177	(1)
Types of Feedback	177	(1)
Exploratory Feedback	178	(1)
Descriptive Feedback	178	(1)
Prescriptive Feedback	178	(1)
Judgmental Feedback	179	(1)
Organizing Your Comments	180	(3)
Editorial Cooperation and Communication	183	(2)
Getting Mileage: Winning Awards and Publishing Your Work	185	(4)
Appendix A: Sample Casenote/Competition Paper	189	(16)
Appendix B: Answers to Exercises	205	(6)
A. Proofreader's Corrections for Chapter 5, Part G.	205	(2)
B. Answers to Exercise on Ethical Borrowing	207	(2)
C. Answer to Exercise on Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation	209	(2)
Appendix C: Scholarly Writing Workshops and Courses	211
A. Workshops	211
B. Scholarly Writing Seminars	212
1. Syllabus: Two-Term Scholarly Writing Seminar	213
2. Syllabus: One-Term Scholarly Writing Seminar	215
3. Schedule for Writing Projects in a Doctrinal Seminar	217
C. Collaborative Groups	217