Law school is full of assignments, papers, mock trials, and ungodly amounts of coffee. The thing about becoming a lawyer that few people tell you is that you have to be good at writing to excel in the field.
Not only that, you have to be an exceptional reader too because the field of law is full of jargons, fine print, and complicated terms.Â
To be successful, you have to practice your reading and writing skills which is why there are so many writing assignments in law school.
It’s practically a given that you will have to write a research paper, whether that is for your legal ethics class, a mock trial, or even when you look to ‘write my paper online‘ based on a specific law that you need to research.
So, here is the ultimate guide to writing a research paper for law school:Â
Brainstorming And Outlining
The most important part of the writing process is arguably the brainstorming and outlining process. Surprisingly, this is also the most skipped phase of writing a research paper as most people directly jump to writing.Â
The brainstorming and outlining process is important because it is the one where you do the majority of the work involved in creating a thesis and the arguments that support it.
In your outline, you should ideally start with a couple of thesis statements or arguments you think you want to write about.Â
Then gather at least 3 credible evidence sources that support your claim along with 1 source that disproves your claim for each of those statements.Â
The moments you feel that you have exhausted all legal databases and cannot seem to find enough evidence to support your claim, eliminate that thesis statement from the running.
As you keep doing this, you will eventually have maybe two thesis statements that make it through and arguments ready to go with credible sources to support them. Outlining in this way can add structure to your brainstorming sessions making them useful.
Sections To Include
There are only a few sections you need to include in a research paper. This includes the introduction, the main body, a conclusion, and a list of references.Â
If you are having trouble writing any specific section or with the paper in general, you can always hire professional writers to do your research paper for you instead. Getting into law school is no easy feat so you can give yourself a break now and then.
Set The Tone
Setting the tone is quite important for a research paper as your thesis will make it clear what your paper is about right off the bat.Â
For example, your research paper about a new proposed bill that the government wants to pass and make a law should be clear on the side you are arguing for.
Thus, the tone of your paper should change accordingly.Â
If you are supportive of the bill, you need to set an informative tone that highlights the advantages. If you are arguing against then you need to argue persuasively without being disrespectful to the other side.
Edit And ProofreadÂ
The final important piece of the puzzle is editing and proofreading. Ideally, your paper should be at least a little longer than the required length. You can then edit it down to be more concise and clear once you get to the end.
Proofreading and editing are quite important as professors will catch even the smallest of mistakes. Remember, professionalism in this field is extremely imperative.Â
You do not want to ever lose a case because of a typo that creates just enough ambiguity for the judge to rule against you.
ConclusionÂ
All in all, just because you are in law school does not mean that your previous experience in writing research papers for other subjects is out the window.Â
Use all that you have learned in your past to evaluate how you can further improve your legal writing skills.