Memo - Tips Forum

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Bruce W. 1991

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Memo - Tips

Post by Bruce W. 1991 » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:29 am

There's not a lot of information about LRW Memos on the forum.

I just got my closed Memo back and got a B+, which is above the mean. Not happy at all.

I'm meeting with my professor today to go over it. My citations were good, but her main comment was about how I was doing my rule statements.

Does anyone have any advice on how to make my next open memo (45% of my grade) really shine and stand out from my peers?

I thought I really did well on this, but I guess my classmates did better. Not sure what to do...

mister logical

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Re: Memo - Tips

Post by mister logical » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:09 pm

Writing a good memo is very professor-specific. Some like flowery writing, some like no bullshit hardcore CREaC statements throughout the entire paper.

It'll look something like:

Global introduction
CREaC #1
CREaC #2
CREaC #3
CREaC #4
Global conclusion

What you can do is ask your professor lots of questions, and then follow the answers to an absolute T. Seriously, if they say one thing, and you disagree for some reason, just do what they say, even if it sounds asinine.

Don't be afraid to email your professor with questions too. If you have a writing TA, get on them ASAP. They made an A in that class, and they'll give you gold.

Just make sure that your analysis follows throughout your entire paper and progresses logically. if you make an inferential leap through analogizing to a case, make sure to cite the source, and then explain the leap, don't leave it to the reader to figure out. Hold their hand and guide them through, just like you would on an exam. For example, "This is a battery because Phill punched Jake" is not what you want to say. "Phill raised his hand and clenched his fist, lifted his arm and began to make his fist go towards Jake's face, making contact, this shows some kind of intent" blah blah.

Also, do not make a single spelling mistake, and make sure you use active voice a lot. Those are easy points that a lot of people will stupidly lose.

Bruce W. 1991

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Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 4:30 pm

Re: Memo - Tips

Post by Bruce W. 1991 » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:28 pm

mister logical wrote:Writing a good memo is very professor-specific. Some like flowery writing, some like no bullshit hardcore CREaC statements throughout the entire paper.

It'll look something like:

Global introduction
CREaC #1
CREaC #2
CREaC #3
CREaC #4
Global conclusion

What you can do is ask your professor lots of questions, and then follow the answers to an absolute T. Seriously, if they say one thing, and you disagree for some reason, just do what they say, even if it sounds asinine.

Don't be afraid to email your professor with questions too. If you have a writing TA, get on them ASAP. They made an A in that class, and they'll give you gold.

Just make sure that your analysis follows throughout your entire paper and progresses logically. if you make an inferential leap through analogizing to a case, make sure to cite the source, and then explain the leap, don't leave it to the reader to figure out. Hold their hand and guide them through, just like you would on an exam. For example, "This is a battery because Phill punched Jake" is not what you want to say. "Phill raised his hand and clenched his fist, lifted his arm and began to make his fist go towards Jake's face, making contact, this shows some kind of intent" blah blah.

Also, do not make a single spelling mistake, and make sure you use active voice a lot. Those are easy points that a lot of people will stupidly lose.

Thanks for the tip. I think my professor wants "no bullshit hardcore CREaC statements throughout the entire paper."

Do I need to do anything to make it stand out? I think my classmates had more case law or CREACs in their paper. I can't think of anything else aside from my rule statements not being concise enough.

Also what kind of questions should I ask her when I meet with her today? I don't have a TA and don't want to sound like a moron begging for an A on the next memo. Sorry if this is a stupid question...

mister logical

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Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:15 pm

Re: Memo - Tips

Post by mister logical » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:06 pm

Bruce W. 1991 wrote:
mister logical wrote:Writing a good memo is very professor-specific. Some like flowery writing, some like no bullshit hardcore CREaC statements throughout the entire paper.

It'll look something like:

Global introduction
CREaC #1
CREaC #2
CREaC #3
CREaC #4
Global conclusion

What you can do is ask your professor lots of questions, and then follow the answers to an absolute T. Seriously, if they say one thing, and you disagree for some reason, just do what they say, even if it sounds asinine.

Don't be afraid to email your professor with questions too. If you have a writing TA, get on them ASAP. They made an A in that class, and they'll give you gold.

Just make sure that your analysis follows throughout your entire paper and progresses logically. if you make an inferential leap through analogizing to a case, make sure to cite the source, and then explain the leap, don't leave it to the reader to figure out. Hold their hand and guide them through, just like you would on an exam. For example, "This is a battery because Phill punched Jake" is not what you want to say. "Phill raised his hand and clenched his fist, lifted his arm and began to make his fist go towards Jake's face, making contact, this shows some kind of intent" blah blah.

Also, do not make a single spelling mistake, and make sure you use active voice a lot. Those are easy points that a lot of people will stupidly lose.

Thanks for the tip. I think my professor wants "no bullshit hardcore CREaC statements throughout the entire paper."

Do I need to do anything to make it stand out? I think my classmates had more case law or CREACs in their paper. I can't think of anything else aside from my rule statements not being concise enough.

Also what kind of questions should I ask her when I meet with her today? I don't have a TA and don't want to sound like a moron begging for an A on the next memo. Sorry if this is a stupid question...
The memo's purpose is to inform your boss about an issue regarding one of your law firm's clients. You're not writing to persuade a court, you're writing to let your boss know about all of your client's liabilities. As such, you don't want to argue one way or another on any of the issues. You want to present an issue, then say how you think the issue should be handled (analysis and using cases,) and then highlight any weaknesses in your argument. That is how you best prepare your boss to go to trial or to settle. You don't want to hide anything, you're not in court (yet). If you see there is a gaping hole in some logic somewhere, you bring it up and address it. Stay neutral, but take a side at the end to say "but in the end I think things will come out this/that way."

Using the most cases doesn't mean anything. Using the right cases means everything. If a memo uses 6-7 cases that are on point and you can use to analogize to, and another one uses 20 random cases, the former is the better paper. It is likely that you won't find any case that is "on point," but if you can find a few "off the beaten path" cases, use those to standout perhaps, but only if they're useful. Read law review articles that talk about the issues and use the cases they cite too. Make sure you're using cases from within your jurisdiction as these hold the most weight. If you're going to end up in state court if this things goes to trial, use cases from the appellate court that's the next stage from the trial court. If your case is federal, try to use either supreme court cases or cases from within the circuit that you'll maybe be in eventually.

I'm not sure about questions to ask, these should have come up when you were searching for courses etc.

"don't want to sound like a moron begging for an A on the next memo." - Don't be ridiculous about not wanting to sound a certain way. Professors know they only have an A or 2 to give it in LRW, if you're asking questions, that is enough to say to them that you care and want to write a good paper. You can never sound like a moron in a professors office hours asking questions. The only time this happens if its a week before finals and you're asking "so what is this 'consideration' I hear so much about?"

Now get off TLS and go hassle your professor.

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