Project Materials

How to Write a Law Research Paper

Writing a law research paper is quite different from writing any other research paper in any academic discipline. The foundation of any wonderful law research paper is a good legal background and the researcher’s capacity to conduct a good legal analysis. Also, the researcher should ensure that the paper is clear, logical, and concise.

A law research paper is not all fixated on the details in the body of work or even the citing of legal opinions in your paper. It is also concerned about the opinion of the students.

It is important to note that writing a good law research paper depends on different factors; however, it is based on your University and style of writing accepted in your department. In place of this, we have curated a detailed guideline for you to write a good paper below:

Set clear deadlines and stick to them

Before you begin to write, it is important to establish an outline determining the time before you will submit the paper and know how to schedule a time for writing and research profess.

Read, Understand and Deconstruct the Question

Before you commence even research, talk more of writing, ensure you deconstruct and try to comprehend all the angles of the question your paper is focused on. Break down the questions asked and consult your academic supervisor for guidance and more understanding of what is required from you. This will go a long way in understanding the question and writing of the paper.

Analyze the Question

When writing a law research paper, the first stage is analyzing the question and comprehending the question. Normally, the first thing is identifying the area of law your topic falls under. Immediately you have done this, try to understand what is required of you to do in the body of the work to answer your research question. To ensure you are on point throughout your writing, it is ideal to create a rough draft to highlight issues that will be discussed during the writing of the research paper. With the plan having been established, you can now write your paper, which includes an introduction to the topic, the work’s body, and a conclusion.

Include a Thesis

For your research paper to be valid, you must include a thesis. This is your opinion on the issue you want to write about. Pick a view point and defend it. Determine whether the position you have taken can be fully covered in the research paper.

Writing Guide

Provide context

Indeed, you may be thinking of starting your points at the beginning of your paper; however, an excellent way of starting a law research paper is to start with one to three sentences of background information that provides context for the argument that follows. For example:

In 2009, the […..] Act was introduced to remedy problems of […..] However, from its inception, it has been criticized for […..]

Write an Introduction

In the introduction, you present the topic that you will deal with on the following pages. You explain why you decided to deal with this topic. These should be objective and less personal reasons, for example, because they are currently being discussed controversially or have not been adequately researched. Please also remember that it is not only about introducing the topic but also about generating interest in it. Your introduction should not be lengthy.

In combination with these tips, it is advisable to look for good examples of introductions to theses and draw inspiration from them. Insightful contact points are university libraries, search engines like Google Scholar, or your department’s chairs. The academic staff and lecturers of their faculty will certainly have some advice ready and can point out where good examples for introduction can be found. It is helpful to read the introductions to well-graded theses to find a feel for the correct structure and the right tone. It could be particularly revealing to look through bachelor theses by former students of the respective lecturer to understand what scores particularly well.

Create the Body of the Essay

In all academic disciplines, the paper’s body is the central focus or heart of the paper. It is the core of your term paper and shows the viewpoints from which you are dealing with the topic. It would help if you wrote in a free-flowing and clear manner for everyone reading your paper to understand your paper’s purpose. In case the body of your paper touches on some points in law, it is best to write the law as a new paragraph and make your analysis and arguments. You can also decide to write the body of your work under different sub-headings. Every argument you make in your paper should be supported by a law proposition that applies to it.

A lot of students lose precious marks when writing a law research paper because they fail to cite and reference the ideas used within the body of their papers. Whereas backing up your paper with relevant references gives more credibility to your work. Take, for example, imagine that you are talking about the illegality of an act, and you refer to a previous case in which the judge also determined the act to be illegal, this gives your argument more credibility.

Create a Conclusion

The last stage in a law research paper is the conclusion. The conclusion takes up the questions in the introduction again, briefly outlines how you came to your result (in the main part), and then names the result and classifies it accordingly. With a conclusion, you write an evaluative summary of your paper. In other words, your conclusion should provide a legal analysis of the questions your paper is working around. It is important to note that new knowledge should not be introduced at this stage. The conclusion concisely provides the most important results. The conclusion and the introduction are the parts many people read in a research paper.

Proofreading Tips

Check Legal Analysis

Another step in the writing of a law research paper is the correctness of the legal analysis and the quoted law. It is important to get familiar with the area of law one wants to work on by carrying out adequate research.

Check for Plagiarism

A good law research paper must be devoid of plagiarism. When quoting another writer’s idea, it is important to give credit to the author by reference in a footnote; failure to do this is plagiarism. And remember that those law professors you are attempting to submit your work to are familiar with a lot of works; hence, they can easily detect a copied work or idea.

Revise

When you are done writing your paper, it is time to review your work. Regardless of your accuracy in writing and analysis, you might have overlooked certain things and even make typographical errors. This stage doesn’t take much time, and you can carry this out by rereading your work or ask a friend or family member to help read through and highlight the mistakes noticed in work.

Final Thought

In sum, your law essay should answer the question being looked into it and contribute to the existing knowledge of your audience. With the steps we have mentioned in this short guide, we are sure you are taking the right steps towards producing a good law paper.