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Leicester Law School Writing Guide 2018-19 2 Table of Contents Identification o

Leicester Law School Writing Guide 2018-19 2 Table of Contents Identification of Relevant Issues ............................................................................................................. 4 What area of the law is the question asking me to demonstrate knowledge of? .............................. 4 Have I understood all the important legal terms? .............................................................................. 4 Have I subdivided the question into all the parts that will need addressing? .................................... 4 The introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 Show Knowledge of Relevant Rules of Law ............................................................................................ 4 Have I referred to primary sources of law – legislation and case law? .............................................. 4 Is the law I have referred to still ‘good law’ – relevant and up-to-date? ........................................... 5 Have I referred to secondary sources of law where necessary? ........................................................ 5 Problem questions .......................................................................................................................... 5 Essay questions ............................................................................................................................... 5 Have I considered the use of quotations? .......................................................................................... 6 Knowledge and Understanding – Logic and Analysis .............................................................................. 6 Have I critically analysed the question? .............................................................................................. 6 Have I undertaken critical analysis in my answer? ............................................................................. 6 Essay questions ............................................................................................................................... 6 Problem questions .......................................................................................................................... 7 Am I clear about what a question doesn't include? ........................................................................... 7 Have I evaluated whether the law (as it now stands) is good law? .................................................... 8 What kind of answer does it imply? ................................................................................................... 8 Broad models to help me answer essay questions and problem questions ...................................... 9 Essay questions ............................................................................................................................... 9 Problem questions ........................................................................................................................ 10 Structure ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Is there a clear and organised presentation of the issues, facts, and core materials to be addressed? ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Have I separated sections that are descriptive from sections that are analytical? .......................... 10 Do the materials and analyses I have used provide enough evidence for my conclusion? ............. 11 Have I got clear signposts at the beginning of paragraphs? ............................................................. 11 Have I broken-up any very long paragraphs? ................................................................................... 11 Essay questions ............................................................................................................................. 11 Problem questions ........................................................................................................................ 12 Is the title page correct? ................................................................................................................... 12 Presentation .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Have I read my essay aloud to check my sentence structure? ......................................................... 12 Have I checked my spelling, grammar and vocabulary? ................................................................... 12 3 Have I used gender neutral language? ............................................................................................. 12 Referencing ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Have I referenced all sources and ideas cited in my essay? ............................................................. 13 Does my referencing follow the OSCOLA referencing style guide? .................................................. 13 If I reference something more than once, have I shortened the subsequent citations? ................. 14 The bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 15 Finally – Make sure you check and proof read your work .................................................................... 17 Am I sure this is an answer to the question set? .............................................................................. 17 Do my introduction and conclusion now make sense as answer to the question? ......................... 17 Have I used the terms of the question throughout the essay? ........................................................ 17 Do I know when this has to be handed in? ....................................................................................... 17 Have I stuck to the word limit? ......................................................................................................... 17 Have I relooked at the marking criteria in the Assessment Handbook ............................................ 18 This guide complements and should be read in conjunction the Law School Assessment Handbook. First Years should also refer to: • The Contract Law (What to do at Law School) Guide • Your Analysing Legal Systems Module 4 Identification of Relevant Issues The following preparatory steps are designed to help you ‘identify the issues raised by the question’. What area of the law is the question asking me to demonstrate knowledge of? What part of the syllabus does the question concern? Does it cover more than one part of the syllabus? • Check – and double-check – that the question is about what you think it is about. • Remember, you cannot re-write the question to suit your own preferences. Have I understood all the important legal terms? Get definitions clear before you do anything else. • Have you used your lecture notes and a law dictionary? • If a specialist or unusual term is used in the question do you know if there is a specific case or other legal instrument where the key term is defined? Have I subdivided the question into all the parts that will need addressing? Spend some time isolating all of the different aspects of the question. • Do not assume that a broad overview will answer the precise question set. • Try to map the points you will need to raise, moving from the general to the specific. The introduction A good introduction will involve telling the reader that you have identified the legal issues, context and terms of the question. It is particularly important that you have an introduction for essay questions; it may be less important for problem questions. • It may be helpful to write your introduction last. This means you will know what you are introducing, and it means you will be able to state – from the outset – your answer to the question set. • For examples of how to formulate an introduction, see the ‘What to do at Law School Guide’ guide for Contract Law. Show Knowledge of Relevant Rules of Law Showing knowledge of relevant rules of law is an important part of the marking criteria. Have I referred to primary sources of law – legislation and case law? • All statements in your essay must be supported by evidence or authority. You will find examples of the use of authority to answer questions in the What to do at Law School Guide. • While secondary sources like textbooks and journal articles can help you understand an area of law, legislation and case law are the primary sources of law, and it is important to cite them in your essays. Where possible, cite authority for every proposition of law that you put in your answer. 5 Is the law I have referred to still ‘good law’ – relevant and up-to-date? • It is important to use good quality sources of law, and you are strongly recommended to use a legal database like Lexis Library or Westlaw UK, in preference to Google or an internet search engine. Jackie Hanes, our librarian, will talk to you in your first year lectures about finding sources. • For legislation, use sources like Lexis Library and Westlaw UK (not Legislation.gov.uk or JustisOne), that are fully updated and consolidated, and include all amendments and repeals. For case law, use the most authoritative series of law reports available, preferably The Law Reports, Weekly Law Reports, All England Law Reports or another specialist series, again available on Lexis Library or Westlaw UK. • Your lecturer will warn you if the law is about to change, but is good practice to check that law is relevant and up-to-date. For relevancy, ensure that it relates to the right subject and jurisdiction; and for currency, ensure that you have the most up-to-date version. Legal databases include 'traffic-light' based legislation and case law citators, which can indicate if legislation is in-force, amended or repealed, or if a case has been overruled or not followed. Law textbooks are republished frequently to reflect changes to the law, and it is important to use the most recent edition of a textbook, not out-of-date old editions. Have I referred to secondary sources of law where necessary? • The legal research process often starts with a textbook, which can provide a broad understanding of the law, and identify key legislation and case law. It is advisable to start with the textbooks recommended by your tutor in your module reading list. Problem questions • It is not usually necessary to refer to secondary sources of law when answering problem questions. However, it will be useful in terms of your understanding to have a look at alternative textbooks to the ones on your module reading list to gain a greater understanding of the law. Journal articles and other secondary sources can also help you to gain a better and clearer understanding of the law and its context. Essay questions • You should show evidence of wider reading and use the ideas of others to support your own ideas. You may wish to use additional secondary sources, for example practitioner texts and research monographs (advanced textbooks), journal articles and official (government and parliamentary) publications. Journal articles can be very useful for discussing new laws, presenting new research, and expressing opinions on the law. • As with primary sources, it is important to evaluate secondary sources to ensure that they are appropriate to use in your essay. This simple mnemonic, referred to as the 'CRAAP test', can help you evaluate information. • Currency: when was it published, is it the most recent edition, has the law changed? • Relevance: to my essay title or research question, to the English and Welsh jurisdiction? • Authority: who is the author, is the author an expert, who is the publisher, is it peer- reviewed? • Accuracy: is it well written, does it have references, can statements be verified? • Purpose: why was it written, who is the audience, who paid for it, does it sell a product? 6 Books and journal articles are the traditional secondary sources and are generally considered uploads/Litterature/ writing-guide 3 .pdf