How to Write a Law Essay
Essay Wriring
A law essay is an academic writing assignment that requires you to discuss a particular legal matter. You may have to argue for or against a particular issue, or simply explain the law in your jurisdiction. Law essays are often assigned at the undergraduate and graduate levels. They can also be found on professional exams, such as those for the bar exam or other certifications. If you're looking for tips on how to write a law essay, here are some tips to get started:
Start with a question
When writing an essay, you need to start with a question. The best way to do that is by answering the law essay question. But it's not enough just to answer the question; rather, you should make sure your answer is relevant.
You need to know the law, and this means having a firm understanding of what is stated in case law and statutes. You'll also have to analyse the question so that you can form an argument on behalf of one side or another of a legal issue. This will involve discussing arguments for each side and then deciding which one is more convincing or fits better with precedent cases.
Don't just describe the law; instead, try taking a clear and concise line of argument regarding how judges might interpret particular pieces of legislation when faced with new situations or scenarios that fall under their scope but weren't contemplated at its inception—and don't forget signposts!
Answer it
To do this, you will need to use evidence to support your legal argument and show that you have understood the question. The best way to answer the law question is by using at least two pieces of evidence, one from your own work and one from someone else’s work. You can do this by quoting cases or legal literature, or by quoting experts in the field who have written books or articles about it.
Make sure the answer is relevant
In order to make sure your answer is relevant, you must ask yourself a few questions. What does this question mean? Is there a particular aspect of the question that I need to address? How can I best address this aspect of the question in my answer?
If you don't understand what a question is asking, reread it until you do. Your instructor can be very specific about how they want their questions answered. If they haven't provided any guidance on how they would like their questions answered, or if it seems like there are multiple ways to answer them, then ask them for clarification before starting any research for your essay.
Don't waffle on when answering your essay topics! If there's not much information available about an issue or topic you're writing about in your essay and no one has ever studied it before, then don't generalize too much: just state what we do know and keep going from there.
Discuss each argument critically
In your essay, you should discuss whether you agree or disagree with the viewpoint expressed by each side. Keep in mind that your analysis does not have to be purely objective; if you wish, you may express your personal opinion and explain why.
You should also note any weaknesses in either argument and highlight any important information that was omitted from one or both sides' arguments. You could even include examples from court cases or legislation that support or refute the points made by each side.
It is important that you avoid over-reliance on any one source of information when writing your essay—this means textbooks, journals, and other academic writing can't replace direct experience as a lawyer!
Consider the law in relation to other legal authorities
You should make sure you are referring to the right laws and legal authorities. It is important to know what other legal agreements have been made in relation to your topic, as well as any other relevant legislation.
If you are discussing healthcare law, for example, it would be a good idea to look at how other countries deal with similar issues and how they differ from your system.
Use signposts, and other markers of structure, in your essay
Another way you can make your essay easier to read is by using signposting. Signposting is a method of writing that helps the reader follow your argument and shows them how the different parts of an essay relate to one another. You can use it to explain your argument, like this:
As this signpost suggests, there are two parts—a positive statement ("medical marijuana can be effective") and a negative ("but it has side effects"). The second part helps readers understand the first part better by describing why medical marijuana has side effects (because it's not treated like other drugs).
This kind of structure enables you and others who read your essay later on down the road (for example, if someone wants to cite it in their own work) to see what goes where within each paragraph:
● Introduction: establishes topic & thesis statement
● 3 supporting paragraphs each with 1 or 2 sub-points from above
● Conclusion: reiterates topic & thesis statement
Take a line of argument that is both concise and clear
This is the main point you are going to make, so it needs to be both concise and clear.
Concise means that you don't repeat yourself—or anything already said by someone else.
Clear means easy-to-understand language with no ambiguity or overly technical vocabulary included unless absolutely necessary for clarity purposes; again, think about how frustrating it can be when something doesn't make sense!
Write an introduction that is concise and coherent
The introduction should be concise and coherent. It should not be too long, as it will put off the reader and make them lose interest in your argument. The first paragraph is the most important section of your essay and it should summarise what you are going to discuss in more detail later on. You can also include a question that has been posed by a previous scholar or judge if you want to start with an interesting question or topic for discussion.
Write an analytic conclusion that addresses the question directly
You've already done the hard work in writing your introduction and body paragraphs, so there’s no need to introduce any new ideas in the conclusion. Instead, you should be focusing on summarising the main points of your essay.
In particular:
● Reiterate and restate the question (this will help you focus on exactly what you were asked)
● Summarise each of your main points in turn - but don't spend too long on this or you'll risk repeating yourself (a good rule of thumb is that a paragraph should take up about one-third of a page).
Reorganise – reword – rewrite – revise as you go along until you are satisfied that it addresses the question
It is important to be prepared to do a lot of rewriting and reorganizing as you go along. This is because the process of organizing your thoughts will cause you to change them, and this is where your essay will really come into its own. You should not be afraid of making big changes at this stage, as it will help you write an excellent essay. Your marker will not penalise you for making changes, especially if they improve the quality of your ideas or writing style. The only thing that matters is that when they are finished reading your essay, they feel satisfied by what they have read – so if there are any areas that need addressing then do so in order to make sure that this happens!
Learn to write essays
We have been working in this industry for years and we have seen every kind of problem imaginable when it comes to law essay writing. Our team knows how to write an effective essay and how to ensure that it will get you the grade that you need.
