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Anyone have any tips for editing Legal Writing assignments. I have a complete draft that I am pretty sure is garbage, but I have no idea how to tell if my edits are helping or hurting. I know the best possible option is to get feedback from the professor or some other source, but I want to be able to at least make some progress on my own (also for this paper I do not have much time for feedback).

The main advice I hear is to read it again and again over time, but I do not get a sense that is really helping for me.

You could meet with the TA for an additional perspective.
I've also found that reading your assignment out loud in front of a mirror reveals flaws very quickly. Sounds corny, but has worked for me.

unsweetened wrote:You could meet with the TA for an additional perspective.
I've also found that reading your assignment out loud in front of a mirror reveals flaws very quickly. Sounds corny, but has worked for me.

Have you had success with your TA? I am a little worried that the advice I get from the TA will not match up with what the professor actually wants. Is this just paranoia on my part?

unsweetened wrote:You could meet with the TA for an additional perspective.
I've also found that reading your assignment out loud in front of a mirror reveals flaws very quickly. Sounds corny, but has worked for me.

I think reading it out loud is excellent advice.

rcharter1978 wrote:

unsweetened wrote:You could meet with the TA for an additional perspective.
I've also found that reading your assignment out loud in front of a mirror reveals flaws very quickly. Sounds corny, but has worked for me.

I think reading it out loud is excellent advice.

I will try that advice then. Thanks for the help!

Have a non-law student read it to see if it makes sense to them. That is the best litmus test for any legal writing, whether it be a 1L assignment or SCOTUS brief.

Make sure it is properly IRAC'd. Look at each sentence and think about where it falls into IRAC in your memo or where it should maybe go.

Edit it as much as possible. Put it away for a half-day or so and then review it again.

CountingBlue wrote:

unsweetened wrote:You could meet with the TA for an additional perspective.
I've also found that reading your assignment out loud in front of a mirror reveals flaws very quickly. Sounds corny, but has worked for me.

Have you had success with your TA? I am a little worried that the advice I get from the TA will not match up with what the professor actually wants. Is this just paranoia on my part?

I get a lot out of office hours with both TA's and Profs, but definitely go in with a list of specific talking points and questions that you want to discuss. I think TA's are usually the students with the highest grade in the class, so they should have a very good idea of what the professor wants. If you meet with both and you get different opinions, professor wins.