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I currently have the highest grade in my legal writing class (A) out of about 16-18 students. We've had 2 graded assignments worth a total of 55% of our grade. Our final paper is worth the remaining 45%.

Should I note that on my resume? Should I tell employers during interviews? Should I bring my high-scoring memo to show them? any other advice? I could REALLY use a job that pays me.

top 1% legal writing grade? you're kidding right?

1) It's not a final grade
2) There are lots of LRW sections, so you're not the only one with a good writing grade
3) It's pretty late for large firm hiring
4) The post makes it sound like your doctrinal grades are middling at best, no one will hire you just because of a good LRW grade

aca0260 wrote:top 1% legal writing grade? you're kidding right?

i dont know how my entire section is doing, but in our writing classes there's usually a single A, an A-, couple B+'s...i dont need to explain how a curve works. There are 5 other writing sections, which, after 1 minor assignment and 1 major assignment, would put me at the top 1% of my class and the top 5% of my section. does that sound right? could be wrong.

That's not really how percentages work...

bdubs wrote:1) It's not a final grade
2) There are lots of LRW sections, so you're not the only one with a good writing grade
3) It's pretty late for large firm hiring
4) The post makes it sound like your doctrinal grades are middling at best, no one will hire you just because of a good LRW grade

1) yes
2) also yes
3) also yes, in addition to 1 and 2
4) you sound like a british blogger, blogging from britain. no but seriously my other grades are good too. i always thought that my LR grade was most important when it came to a 1L summer job.

No, you shouldn't put this on your resume. Sheesh!

sandaltan wrote:

aca0260 wrote:top 1% legal writing grade? you're kidding right?

i dont know how my entire section is doing, but in our writing classes there's usually a single A, an A-, couple B+'s...i dont need to explain how a curve works. There are 5 other writing sections, which, after 1 minor assignment and 1 major assignment, would put me at the top 1% of my class and the top 5% of my section. does that sound right? could be wrong.

The point is no one refers to their grade in a single class as the "top 1%," nor do they refer to their grade halfway through a class. The only time someone would put this on their resume is if they earned a Book Award or something similar at the end of the class.

You wanted advice and you got it. Take it or leave it, but don't argue with the people you came to for advice.

California Babe wrote:

sandaltan wrote:

aca0260 wrote:top 1% legal writing grade? you're kidding right?

i dont know how my entire section is doing, but in our writing classes there's usually a single A, an A-, couple B+'s...i dont need to explain how a curve works. There are 5 other writing sections, which, after 1 minor assignment and 1 major assignment, would put me at the top 1% of my class and the top 5% of my section. does that sound right? could be wrong.

The point is no one refers to their grade in a single class as the "top 1%," nor do they refer to their grade halfway through a class. The only time someone would put this on their resume is if they earned a Book Award or something similar at the end of the class.

You wanted advice and you got it. Take it or leave it, but don't argue with the people you came to for advice.

where the hell in this thread did you find any advice?

Yes--put it on your resume--that way the firm will be able to throw it out even faster than they would normally throw out a Loyola 1L resume applying for a paying summer firm job...LOL

sandaltan wrote:where the hell in this thread did you find any advice?

My apologies. The posts telling you this is crazy, or implying it by saying things like, "you're kidding, right?" should be interpreted as advice not to do that.

Anonymous User wrote:Yes--put it on your resume--that way the firm will be able to throw it out even faster than they would normally throw out a Loyola 1L resume applying for a paying summer firm job...LOL

you have posted on tls 74,000 times in two years. you have no friends. whats that like 100 times a day, every day, for two years? well done anonymous.

California Babe wrote:

sandaltan wrote:where the hell in this thread did you find any advice?

My apologies. The posts telling you this is crazy, or implying it by saying things like, "you're kidding, right?" should be interpreted as advice not to do that.

i would never put "top 1%" on my resume next to my writing grade. i guess i should have been more clear. what i meant was should i tell potential employers that i currently have the top grade in my LR class in an email or cover letter, or should i tell them during an interview? i dont see anything wrong with telling the people interviewing me that my last memo earned the highest grade in my class - thats all, but if it really does sound pompous then i wont do it!

Don't put that information on your resume, in an email, or in your cover letter. If you are an excellent writer, that will be demonstrated by your cover letter. If you can work it eloquently into an interview, then feel free to mention it.

Edit: Why don't you just submit your best paper as a writing sample? My theory is if you have to tell a potential employer you are a good writer, you are doing it wrong. Show, don't tell.

sandaltan wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Yes--put it on your resume--that way the firm will be able to throw it out even faster than they would normally throw out a Loyola 1L resume applying for a paying summer firm job...LOL

you have posted on tls 74,000 times in two years. you have no friends. whats that like 100 times a day, every day, for two years? well done anonymous.

...

sandaltan wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Yes--put it on your resume--that way the firm will be able to throw it out even faster than they would normally throw out a Loyola 1L resume applying for a paying summer firm job...LOL

you have posted on tls 74,000 times in two years. you have no friends. whats that like 100 times a day, every day, for two years? well done anonymous.

Clearly you know how the anonymous feature works.

sandaltan wrote:

California Babe wrote:

sandaltan wrote:where the hell in this thread did you find any advice?

My apologies. The posts telling you this is crazy, or implying it by saying things like, "you're kidding, right?" should be interpreted as advice not to do that.

i would never put "top 1%" on my resume next to my writing grade. i guess i should have been more clear. what i meant was should i tell potential employers that i currently have the top grade in my LR class in an email or cover letter, or should i tell them during an interview? i dont see anything wrong with telling the people interviewing me that my last memo earned the highest grade in my class - thats all, but if it really does sound pompous then i wont do it!

The misinterpretation probably came from you explicitly asking if you should note it on your resume.

Anyway, you should definitely tell an employer you earned the highest grade on your fall memo, if that's the case. I think this could be done non-pompously in a cover letter or in an interview. I would not say something like you have the highest grade in the class currently—and definitely not refer to anything as being in the top 1%, but rather focus on the high grade of a particular assignment. Obviously you should use that assignment as a writing sample, but don't bring in an actual graded copy as "proof" of your high grade.

sandaltan wrote:

California Babe wrote:

sandaltan wrote:where the hell in this thread did you find any advice?

My apologies. The posts telling you this is crazy, or implying it by saying things like, "you're kidding, right?" should be interpreted as advice not to do that.

i would never put "top 1%" on my resume next to my writing grade. i guess i should have been more clear. what i meant was should i tell potential employers that i currently have the top grade in my LR class in an email or cover letter, or should i tell them during an interview? i dont see anything wrong with telling the people interviewing me that my last memo earned the highest grade in my class - thats all, but if it really does sound pompous then i wont do it!

Post number 74,001--NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY cares that you are "top 1%" in your 18 person section after 2 assignments in LRW at LOYOLA!!!! Did I emphasize that NOBODY cares! BUT PLEASE DO EMPHASIZE it somewhere when you apply to jobs this summer--I'm sure it would make a hilarious Abovethelaw article if whatever recruiter actually even looks at your resume notices it and sends it off for an amazing joke...lol

Isn't top of an 18 person class only top 5.5%?

I would laugh at someone who cited an interim grade in LRW anywhere. It's not a final grade, you could still screw up. I mean, you're saying you still have 45% more points to earn in your class, you haven't proven anything.

This is like someone boasting that they are really good at leading at halftime. WHO CARES, THE GAME ISN'T OVER!

DCDuck wrote:Don't put that information on your resume, in an email, or in your cover letter. If you are an excellent writer, that will be demonstrated by your cover letter. If you can work it eloquently into an interview, then feel free to mention it.

Edit: Why don't you just submit your best paper as a writing sample? My theory is if you have to tell a potential employer you are a good writer, you are doing it wrong. Show, don't tell.

thanks, that sounds like good advice.

California Babe wrote:

sandaltan wrote:

California Babe wrote:

sandaltan wrote:where the hell in this thread did you find any advice?

My apologies. The posts telling you this is crazy, or implying it by saying things like, "you're kidding, right?" should be interpreted as advice not to do that.

i would never put "top 1%" on my resume next to my writing grade. i guess i should have been more clear. what i meant was should i tell potential employers that i currently have the top grade in my LR class in an email or cover letter, or should i tell them during an interview? i dont see anything wrong with telling the people interviewing me that my last memo earned the highest grade in my class - thats all, but if it really does sound pompous then i wont do it!

The misinterpretation probably came from you explicitly asking if you should note it on your resume.

Anyway, you should definitely tell an employer you earned the highest grade on your fall memo, if that's the case. I think this could be done non-pompously in a cover letter or in an interview. I would not say something like you have the highest grade in the class currently—and definitely not refer to anything as being in the top 1%, but rather focus on the high grade of a particular assignment. Obviously you should use that assignment as a writing sample, but don't bring in an actual graded copy as "proof" of your high grade.

ok cool - thanks. i was actually wondering if i should bring in the graded copy lol. im trying to impress my interviewers without being a douche. it seems like a fine line.

It's not that fine a line. Don't put things on your resume that aren't official honors or awards. Honestly, if they want a writing sample and your writing sample is actually exceptional, then they'll see it. But making a big deal about being a better writer than 15 other 1Ls is going to make you look silly. Excessive highlighting of minor accomplishments just draws attention to how minor they are.

NotMyRealName09 wrote:Isn't top of an 18 person class only top 5.5%?

Yes, or if you are OP, it could also be top 1% apparently. Personally, I prefer top .0000001%, but that's just me.

OP, I second the advice that you simply note (professionally) in a cover letter that you received the top grade for you memo.

You're not going to get a paid job this summer except maybe as a research assistant. If you put down something like best grade in legal writing class in your cover letter for that kind of job it could help or probably wouldn't hurt. Anyway you should be focused on keeping your grades up so you can transfer out of that school. FYI, most of the transfers at UCLA got decent jobs.

ITT: major anon abuse