AN INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL WRITING

Students often tell lecturers that they find the way they are assessed a complete mystery. They explain that they write an essay or an answer to a problem question, but do not really understand what they are supposed to do, how to go about it and what the marks they are awarded really mean about the quality of their answer. It is all just too confusing. A number of factors contribute to a good written answer, including the extent to which the student has: (a) understood the task that has been set; (b) understood how he or she will be assessed; (c) carried out research of the relevant law; (d) taken appropriate notes on relevant legal and related issues; (e) identified issues that are relevant to answering the question; (f) planned the answer; (g) written and presented the issues to answer the question; (h) referenced others’ work; and (i) polished the final draft. It all sounds terribly hard work and rather complicated. Having said that, some of these writing stages come naturally to each one of us and others can be learnt. This book will take you through each one in turn to help you to improve your written work in law.