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Nestico87 wrote:I am a 1L at a school that grades, on a curve, its legal research and writing class. On the forums I have come across a lot of helpful advice how to do well in a typical casebook case, but I haven't seen much advice how to do well in legal research and writing (probably because it is pass/fail and a lot of schools).

The class seems pretty straightforward; although there are a few graded assignments, the majority of the grade is determined by a final memo.

So what is it, in writing the final memo, that truly separates the A's from the rest?

Nestico87 wrote:I am a 1L at a school that grades, on a curve, its legal research and writing class. On the forums I have come across a lot of helpful advice how to do well in a typical casebook case, but I haven't seen much advice how to do well in legal research and writing (probably because it is pass/fail and a lot of schools).

The class seems pretty straightforward; although there are a few graded assignments, the majority of the grade is determined by a final memo.

So what is it, in writing the final memo, that truly separates the A's from the rest?

Viktor Vaughn wrote:I agree with the above posters. I will add, make sure you start working on whatever assignment you're given EARLY. Spend the extra time reworking sentences and paragraphs until they shine. Or, if you are given a bunch of cases and have to narrow down which ones to use, spend a significant amount of time reading the cases and determining which ones are most analogous/persuasive. Make a spreadsheet with all of the cases, the holding, what the facts were, etc. so you can compare and contrast before you make your decisions on which to use.

XVII. Acing Legal Writing
I think by far the biggest myth on TLS is that Legal Writing is a crapshoot. I think it's the exact opposite--it's the one class you have most control over your grade. Of course this is what everybody thinks, leading to a groupthink of a pretty gunnerish attitude.

That said, there are certain things you should be doing to ace legal writing:

1) Write the way your professor tells you. This is by far the most important thing. If your LWR professor hates what students use "phrase x," never use that phrase. If he/she doesn't want a bunch of legal jargon, don't use it. So many people go against their professor's words, it's hard to believe.

2) Don't procrastinate. I already covered this, but it's worth re-emphasizing. Start the assignment a day or two after you get it. Revise, revise, revise.

3) Use your professor's grade sheet. Most legal writing classes have two papers due fall semester. Usually, you will write a draft for the first paper and you will get a grade sheet/comments back from your professor. KEEP THIS AND USE IT. What is he/she looking for with your analysis? How many points does he/she give for citations? What writing attributes is he/she focusing on? My professor's grade sheet broke down into 5 main parts (Format, Writing, Organization, Analysis, Citations). I revised my paper just looking at one of those over and over (meaning that I looked just at my organization for an entire revision, just citations on an entire revision, etc.).

4) Your citations should be perfect. The Bluebook is the worst thing that will ever happen to you in law school. That said, learn it and make your citations as perfect as possible. Review them no less than 4-5 times. I actually reviewed them completely separate from my papers (meaning I would edit my draft not even looking at the citations, then go back through and only look at the citations).

5) Go to office hours. I've probably been to office hours a total of 10 times in my life outside of legal writing. That said, I was in my legal writing professor's office hours twice a week when assignments were almost due. She'll either help you out or eventually get sick of seeing you and help you out. It's a win-win.

6) Less is always more. The most brilliant writers, not just legal writers, say the most with the least amount of words. The example my TA used was the Gettysburg Address. That speech is so incredibly profound, addresses so many complex issues, yet it less than 300 words. That's obviously a hard thing to match, but you should always be trying to say as much as possible with as few words as possible. The less it takes you to say something, the more you can actually say.

But, legal writing takes time and effort. Never underestimate an assignment. Start your writing early, start your research even earlier, and never procrastinate.

Nestico87 wrote:I am a 1L at a school that grades, on a curve, its legal research and writing class. On the forums I have come across a lot of helpful advice how to do well in a typical casebook case, but I haven't seen much advice how to do well in legal research and writing (probably because it is pass/fail and a lot of schools).

The class seems pretty straightforward; although there are a few graded assignments, the majority of the grade is determined by a final memo.

So what is it, in writing the final memo, that truly separates the A's from the rest?

Nestico87 wrote:You people are awesome. This is great advice. As the semester goes on if I have any specific questions I'll return and ask them here.

Any additional advice?

ClubberLang wrote:Going against the grain here, but I would not try to get an A in legal writing. It is worth less than your substantive classes, and the time it takes to do well is not worth it. This was my experience anyway, first semester I busted my ass and got an A-. Second semester I made a conscious effort to limit the time I spend in writing (no more than 1 hour on weekly homework assignments, no more than 16 hours on each major assignment) and spend more on 1 other class in particular. My grade in 1.5 hour legal writing went from A- to B+, but my grade in 3 hour substantive class went from B+ to A+. This is obviously a beneficial tradeoff.