Is Legal Writing your weakest class? Forum

[vacations]

hey all,

How many of you guys are in the same boat as I am - I do fairly well in all my casebook classes, but for some reason my Legal Writing class just brings me down. I worked my butt off on my appellate brief and after getting it back today, I realized my chances of ending the year with a very solid grade in that class are long gone.

Did you guys struggle with writing as well?

[thwalls]

I actually go the other way. With minimal effort I dominate Legal Writing, but I have to brief and extensively outline my regular classes. I think my brain just works better when I can sit down and methodically plan out a brief or other legal instrument. But walking into an exam and responding to questions on the fly takes considerably more preparation.

[Cupidity]

Below median in writing, very high in class.

[vacations]

Below median in writing, very high in class.

I sure hope I end my 1L that way. I actually did fairly well in Writing my first semester, but this semester I find myself dedicating way more time to my casebook classes which I assume yall would agree is the right move? Due this this, my efforts aren't really invested into legal writing. I just find it so frustrating that I spent so much time putting together a brief only to find that I got median on it....

Just want to see if you guys are on the same boat...

[BeenDidThat]

Below median in writing, very high in class.

EDIT: For me, it's not that I can't handle the material. It's that my prof is big into organization yet provides us little practical guidance as to how to organize anything. Prof gives us examples of thirty page briefs and then assigns us a 12-pager. Cutting it down is not some intuitive thing.

[BarbellDreams]

Writing is my lowest grade right now. I would bet I am worse off with the bluebook than anyone else on TLS in the world.

[keg411]

I'd say I'm slightly stronger at LRW than my doctrinal classes, but the difference is pretty negligible.

[luckdragon]

No, because I'm not learning anything new. My worst classes were the ones I skipped majority of classes in, like Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, etc.

[xyzbca]

Median both semesters in LW. Well over top 10% at the end of year (probably top 5%). In all fairness, I messed up pretty badly first semester and knew it was coming. Second semester grade surprised me.

[vacations]

If I end my 1L year with fairly strong grades in my casebook classes and my legal writing grade happens to be the lowest, will this look bad during 2L OCI interviews?....Or is (for the most part) overall GPA / class rank the most significant factor besides stellar resume, etc.?

Thanks.

[dakatz]

My LRW grade has been right on par with my other grades so im very satisfied with it. Got better as time went along since I obviously became more familiar with the writing style and with what my LRW instructor was looking for

[Stanford4Me]

P/F for me.

[romothesavior]

Great grades in my other classes, sub-median in Legal Practice. And my mediocrity seems to be continuing this semester.

[soaponarope]

I'd say I'm slightly stronger at LRW than my doctrinal classes, but the difference is pretty negligible.

Really?

[keg411]

I'd say I'm slightly stronger at LRW than my doctrinal classes, but the difference is pretty negligible.

Really?

Well, I got the same grade in my LWR class as in one doctrinal class, and I got a slightly lower grade in my two other doctrinal classes first semester. I have no idea about this semester yet. What am I supposed to say? There just wasn't a difference for me. For all most people know I could have gone B+ B+ B B (or A- A- B+ B+ or any other similar combination) in my 4 courses, and that would still be a negligible difference.

Plus, there is a CW that I disagree with that has started permeating the boards that LRW and doctrinal classes has an "inverse relationship" and that people who do well in LRW do poorly in the "real" classes.

[romothesavior]

Plus, there is a CW that I disagree with that has started permeating the boards that LRW and doctrinal classes has an "inverse relationship" and that people who do well in LRW do poorly in the "real" classes.

I think you are misinterpreting what people are saying re: LRW vs. doctrinal classes. And in any case, I think enough people with strong grades have noticed this inverse relationship, so it's not total B.S.

[dakatz]

Plus, there is a CW that I disagree with that has started permeating the boards that LRW and doctrinal classes has an "inverse relationship" and that people who do well in LRW do poorly in the "real" classes.

I think you are misinterpreting what people are saying re: LRW vs. doctrinal classes. And in any case, I think enough people with strong grades have noticed this inverse relationship, so it's not total B.S.

I don't see where this "inverse relationship" would come from. LRW is almost entirely based on how your professor grades and what he is looking for. No one would reasonably say "The smarter you are and the better you do in your real courses, the worse you are at adapting your writing to meet the specific demands of your writing professor". It just doesn't make sense.

[romothesavior]

I don't see where this "inverse relationship" would come from. LRW is almost entirely based on how your professor grades and what he is looking for. No one would reasonably say "The smarter you are and the better you do in your real courses, the worse you are at adapting your writing to meet the specific demands of your writing professor". It just doesn't make sense.

How did you get that out of what I just posted?

[dakatz]

I don't see where this "inverse relationship" would come from. LRW is almost entirely based on how your professor grades and what he is looking for. No one would reasonably say "The smarter you are and the better you do in your real courses, the worse you are at adapting your writing to meet the specific demands of your writing professor". It just doesn't make sense.

How did you get that out of what I just posted?

I'm not getting it from you. You just mentioned the inverse relationship I hear lots of people talk about, so I was just sharing my thoughts on it. Wasn't really in response to anything in particular that you said.

[forty-two]

My legal writing grade last semester was a full letter grade lower than what I got in my doctrinal classes. I wouldn't say there is definitely an inverse relationship in that if you do well in one then your other grades will suck, but I wouldn't say that it's total bs either. I do know a bunch of people whose legal writing grade is consistent with their other classes, but I also know a lot of people whose legal writing grade is either a lot higher or lower than their grades in their other classes.

Honestly, I just think that doctrinal classes and legal writing require entirely different skill sets. Some people are lucky enough to be awesome at both, but I think a lot of people are just naturally better at one than the other.

[nealric]

It was my worst grade in law school. Still got two CALI awards in upper division paper classes, and an A in an upper division writing class. Go figure.

[soaponarope]

I'd say I'm slightly stronger at LRW than my doctrinal classes, but the difference is pretty negligible.

Really?

Well, I got the same grade in my LWR class as in one doctrinal class, and I got a slightly lower grade in my two other doctrinal classes first semester. I have no idea about this semester yet. What am I supposed to say? There just wasn't a difference for me. For all most people know I could have gone B+ B+ B B (or A- A- B+ B+ or any other similar combination) in my 4 courses, and that would still be a negligible difference.

Plus, there is a CW that I disagree with that has started permeating the boards that LRW and doctrinal classes has an "inverse relationship" and that people who do well in LRW do poorly in the "real" classes.

You missed the point.

[keg411]

Negligible = not really a difference. I don't get it.

[LoriBelle]

LRW was my worst grade both semesters...but even though it was my worst grade, I still got the highest grade in my section. I also won the awards for overall best memo and brief. So while I was awesome at LRW, my professor just graded really hard. In fact, nobody got an A in LRW in the entire 1L class, and there were only 3 A-s in the entire 1L class (I was not one of them).

[quiver]

LRW was definitely worse for me first semester (basing this off assignment grades) but we're only graded after the full year of LRW. Doing much better this semester after adapting to what my professor is looking for but it might be too late to salvage my first semester LRW grades.