• Publication Date: January 4, 2010
  • EAN: 9781862877559
  • 112 pages; 6" x 8⅝"
Filed Under: Legal Writing

Students’ Guide to Legal Writing, Law Exams and Self Assessment

$16.95

Product Description

This popular and modestly priced work by experienced law teachers continues to offer law students succinct but essential practical advice on to how to prepare well researched and written work required for assessment in law courses and the strategies for effective preparation and sitting of law exams.

The third edition been updated first, to reflect the increasing reliance of law students upon electronic modes of communication, for learning, for research, for interaction with the University and their friends, for organising and planning and for recreation. It contains a fully revised section dealing with the use of electronic resources, including guidance on using search tools such as Google, and a discussion of the need for a critical and careful approach to reliance upon internet sources. It outlines processes for electronic submission of assignments and discusses the benefits and pitfalls of using resources such as recorded lectures online. Further advice regarding the dangers of plagiarism and the possible consequences for the future of law graduates seeking admission to practice has also been incorporated.

Second, the material on examination formats has been updated to reflect the changing modes of assessment in law schools.

Third, is the inclusion of a new section on Self Assessment. This will help new law students test whether they have adopted successful study practices and have attitudes conducive to success in law. It will also help them evaluate for themselves what type of student they are and what more they need to do to get the most out of their law studies and the larger opportunities for personal development in a university setting.

Part 1: Preparing Written Work

Decide the Purpose and Scope of the Writing Task

Prepare a Preliminary Plan

Gather Research Material

Prepare a First Draft

Revise the Draft

Check the Final Version

Retention of Written Assignments

Submission

Part 2 : Matters of Style

Quotations

Numbers, Quantities, Dates and Currency

Enumeration

Italics

Abbreviations and Contractions

Capitalisation

Spelling and Punctuation

Use of Brackets

English Usage

Use of Official Titles

Cases

Legislation

Avoiding Sexist LanguageAvoiding Jargon, Weasel Words and Padding

Part 3: Notes and References

Purpose

Books

Classical Works

Articles in Periodicals

Cases

Legislation

Newspapers or Weekly Journals

Media Releases

Official Publications

Unpublished Material

Unwritten Sources: Interviews, Speeches, etc

Second-hand Citations

Citation of Electronic Material

Later References

Cross-references

Quotations in Footnotes and Endnotes

Indicating the Weight and Significance of Citations

Abbreviations and Contractions in Notes

Position and Spacing of Notes

Numbering of Notes

Part 4: Approaching Law Exams

Pre-exam Preparation

Types of Exam

What the Examiners are Looking For

On the Way to the Exam

In the Examination Room

How to Approach Law Exams?

Part 5 : Selected Bibliography

Guides to Writing Essays and Assignments

Style Guides (non legal)

Research Guides

Citation Guides

Exam Guides

Part 6: Self Assessment

Self Assessment of Research SkillsWhat Type of Student are You?Successful or Struggling Student?

Reviews of previous editions:The book is well laid out with the key points ‘boxed’. In the 79 pages of text, readers will find answers to those perennial problems encountered by students in preparing preliminary plans for legal writing, gathering research material and preparing and revising drafts. …

Where teaching materials are accessible and student exercises are submitted and corrected over the Internet, a legal writing text is required for this 21st century method of instruction. This excellent publication meets the challenges of this new technology. …

This forward-looking primer is an invaluable aid to all law students who want a practical text … – Law Institute Journal (Victoria), December 2003

What a terrific little book! Full of information all of it well presented. … The second edition is an enlarged revision of the original with a new section on law exams and other items such as a checklist of basic research skills.

Part 4 on law exams is short – only 12 pages – but essential reading for any student. If you have one in your house give them a copy of the book. It will help make their lives (and yours) a lot less stressful! Not that this book is only for students. A quote used on the back cover by the publishers is from the review of the first edition in a 1998 Law Society of Tasmania Law Letter. It says, ‘sound advice for both lawyers and students’. The second edition has continued to offer the same. – Tasmanian Law Society Newsletter, June 2003

Every law student should have a copy of this. – Ross Anderson, Senior Lecturer in Law, The University of Sydney

Sound advice for both lawyers and students… – Law Letter – Law Society of Tasmania

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