A writer should be able to refer to the applicability of law … First, it gives the author’s thesis. !�6����������"�����3�&oN�+��������ԯ���ZD�;+����X�ғ ��EH��y.�`���V���1f����M]�[�Dje; >2���9D4� ';�S�#zW:F�ͳ�i�����D�����>JE�: Here are some expert tips, Last modified on Mon 24 Aug 2020 08.45 BST. endobj endobj You must anticipate and respond to those possible rebuttals. 12 0 obj My answer often surprises students. In law, that means ensuring your writing skills and technique are tip-top. Once you have your essay written, it is now time to turn to the editing process. This is part of your first paragraph. The writer should back up all of his arguments in the essay with a proposition of law where applicable. s a law teacher, the most common question I hear from new students is: what should I do to prepare for studying law at university? 9 0 obj (2) Often the local population does not see a proportion of the profits from local tourism as companies that specialize in tourism are often owned by other interests outside of the immediate community. Discuss. Leave the actual argument and analysis for the body paragraphs. By reading good argumentative essay examples, you can learn how to develop your essay and provide enough support to make readers agree with your opinion. <> For example, in each of the conclusions below, the highlighted words help show how certain the author is: It does suggest that CCTV cameras can have a negative effect on society. We spend a lot of time twisting the words used by our opponents in court. Rather than try to get a “head start” on their studies, the best thing a student can do is make sure their academic foundations are solid. Rather than try to get a “head start” on their studies, the best thing a student can do is make sure their academic foundations are solid. Law teachers are, after all, training you to be lawyers. How a paragraph argument can be organized as: perhaps some more explanation of the focusing sentence. After describing the "other" side, present your own viewpoint and then provide evidence to show why your position is the correct one. Then you must defend your thesis from counterarguments. If you’re writing an argument essay/paragraph, you need to select the kind of language that reflects how sure you are of the conclusion. (3) Take Belper, for example, where several operators are owned by national or international companies (Keck et al., 2003). 4 0 obj 2 0 obj As the Italians say, lawyers “play with words”. So if you are not clear about the basics please re-read the guide and try out the exercises again. Consider what point you want to get across before you start writing. endobj Steps on Writing Your Argumentative Essay Step 1 - Choosing A Topic. For example, if we are saying necessity should be a defence to murder, one might anticipate a counterargument that some individuals will lie, claim necessity and avoid murder charges. 7 0 obj To examine context and analysis of the legal concern effectively, it is important to give context and analysis of legal issue in a body paragraph. They are your opportunity to give, and defend, your opinion on a topic. %PDF-1.5 –Prepare carefully. Argumentative essays are persuasive essays that use facts and evidence to support their side of the argument. endobj 15 0 obj This involves providing the reasons which support your thesis statement. endobj The body of your essay should: Address one idea per paragraph; Support arguments with scholarly references or evidence; Contextualise any case studies or examples ; Style. The time for that is long gone. <> Phrase your thesis statement as an argument, using words like “because” or “therefore” to state your point. This increased charge most probably prevents sub-Saharan countries from investing in treatments for HIV/AIDS. <> Public Defender Trainer & Consultant 6 Saratoga Circle Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 583-6730 FAX: (518) 583-6731 imickenberg@nycap.rr.com . Use correct punctuation and proofread your work; Keep writing impersonal (do not use 'I', 'we', 'me') Be concise and simple ; Be confident ("The evidence suggests..." rather than "this could be because...") The length of paragraphs in these parts will vary depending on the length of your essay assignment. <> Law is a subject where essays are very important. It should take up around 10% of the essay and should do two things. ‘That guy’s soaking’ is a statement, whereas ‘It must be raining’ is a conclusion based on that statement. As a law teacher, the most common question I hear from new students is: what should I do to prepare for studying law at university? Let’s say we are arguing that necessity ought to be a defence to the charge of murder. So what makes a good essay? <>>> <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 720 540] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Expressing academic arguments is a core part of your degree and you will be expected to develop your skills with each essay you write so that you can produce an in-depth dissertation in your final year. Fundamentally, essays are written arguments. 3 0 obj 13 0 obj ?��'����yĶm��xĚ����ƣ��X��t*0�]�q$4�J��(��Rʉ�z�>$|��� ��on4s�J��O�m��SV �d�1+(�y�h����#7�Y]�\e���ˮ�\��cV ��k�)�[��8��E#��M�YvC��a*���¶Td�����U˕��+�x@۪��[��#z��7!��ߖ�7����kHC��7j�X��GX5H���~��b�fF+h���6ֿDT�8���u��k��LhC����î_���~�XI%�do1�rc�}�� ,�?��r�c�@��}>-2��-�ax�D9����VE]W��s��|��ɾ�Xj>eT���\+f�K۾ǁ��D�z����Rmgg�d��֋�������1���n�a�eK�� ;ڧ�4��I$"�Q?���w6�g�mL0���*aA]M��6\KQ�:�>>R�Eݽ+�(S"���x�v׀ð-�wV���5���E�T1�7�a���ک���u����4E��a��Q�p���p� �c������7�3r4��=�[��k[����н.�D�{prl�M��/@vXy�� �h�ZT�گ���WY���j���=��SmCK*����b:.� �n�6�l�ѽpM��,��V��b�I��PԮ{$�hO��� 6 0 obj The first part is obviously the introduction, which does not need to be long. Law teachers are, after all, training you to be lawyers. WRITING THE LEGAL ARGUMENT: A FEW WRITING SAMPLES Ira Mickenberg, Esq. Your introduction must have a “thesis statement”: a sentence or two saying “In this essay, I will argue…” Second, the essay includes a roadmap. It could be argued that local tourism has, overall, a negative effect on the local population, especially considering the environmental issues associated with any increase in tourism. <> Introduce Your Evidence The keyword is "introduce." Maybe your reason is that the likelihood of fraud is low, or maybe you say that even if conviction rates are lower, this is necessary to ensure fairness in genuine cases of necessity; the potential responses are long and varied. By the way, expository is usually an argument essay and one kind of argument essay is a problem solution. In this case it is a less strong conclusion. Good academic arguments contain conclusions that follow from sound analysis and interpretation of appropriate evidence. endobj )%*%c���(���{�����k��(��^.|����!8�0�}or����/�+Hj��:�B(�����"z)"���]�����|��+�s��ހ�l��S�m�/5�{Dv��E�v\���1�ixʆ��������p�RA����H1��3�̲��9j6t��P5��Ք�iQ��q��z:���P�#P��T4K~������t.a�W%Xc�6@^m(�q��.ԇ. 5 0 obj endobj Often students want to know what books they should read over the summer to get a head start on their studies. The most common pitfall for students is producing a descriptive or generic essay. You might then want to practise constructing paragraph arguments for a real essay you are working on. They are your opportunity to give, and defend, your opinion on a topic. For example, you may discuss the famous case of R v Dudley and Stephens in one paragraph. The Strength of conclusions exercise will help you with writing appropriate conclusion statements. \��Ů��s����/±~�TiV8dJ*�,I5��-*ܽGdvm�w=.Y�B@�c=r,��%��#���I� �V#1H�. For example: How can we solve the problem of students being absent too often from school? The trick is to choose the right language that reflects the evidence you have put forward. x��VKo�8���#Ul��^��-v�݅�={PeY�B�������3��ȏ顇�Dq��C��7����z����[�{����3�!�R"�D �������� v>�P��K��?�g�g���=����-���”�X�rM;�v ! It’s worth saying at this point that a weak conclusion is not a bad conclusion, and neither is a strong conclusion. �z/��D�bM5(Ez���&�:����_ All good law essays contain the principle and source of legal commentaries, that is to say articles and case notes written by academics. State the main points that back up your argument and end it there. The thesis statement. How you can express conclusion statements differently to make them stronger or weaker, according to the evidence. Identify relevant legal issues & apply the law to the facts endobj So if you are not clear about the basics please re-read the guide and try out the exercises again. WRITING THE LEGAL ARGUMENT: A FEW WRITING SAMPLES Ira Mickenberg, Esq. [ 13 0 R] Law is a subject where words matter. For example, let’s say that you’ve been given the essay question: Tourism in London is generally beneficial. An argumentative essay seeks to prove to the reader that one argument—the writer's argument—is the factually and logically correct one. stream How an argument is made up of statements and conclusions. This part is simple: reiterate your thesis statement and summarise your main supporting arguments. Whichever style of argument you choose, you will still need to choose an appropriate topic for an argumentative essay. –This applies whether you are writing an essay, arguing before a judge, advising a client, conducting negotiations or offering a legal opinion. 11 0 obj An argument essay, as with all essays, should contain three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. 16 0 obj A good argumentative essay should follow this structure: Introductory paragraph. For instance, if the writer is making a point relying on a piece of legislation, he should refer to the Act of Parliament in issue. Again, this should be no more than 10% of your essay. (1) There are problems with the view that tourism is overwhelmingly beneficial to all. �!�~����>��$z�g��R�0%��}����.�ܓ� 9��m��0d�x���מ��ENT������pT��g� 14 0 obj Patrick Goold is a lecturer and co-director of the LLB programme at the City Law School, A law student's guide to the new solicitor super-exam, 'Expect questions meant to throw you off': how to ace a pupillage interview, ‘Essays are your opportunity to give, and defend, your opinion on a topic.’. �6���=�JX�a��|�iy�: B��C�Zs�����B�rЍir�Z`���>��/�`Yϭ�L��-!��8d��)X�:�v�|G/� endobj When writing your essay, remember to … Expressing academic arguments is a core part of your degree and you will be expected to develop your skills with each essay you write so that you can produce an in-depth dissertation in your final year. Fundamentally, essays are written arguments. If you are asking how to write a good law essay, the answer would be – pay most of the attention to a body of it. Copyright ©2020 University of East London, Employability and Professional Development, Institute for Health and Human Development (IHHD). It’s vital that law students are able to produce a convincing written argument. 2. Often, essay questions use expressions like: These types of question want a discussion in the form of an academic argument. endobj <> Often students want to know what books they should read over the summer to get a head start on their studies. No argument is free from criticism. Choose your examples wisely. My answer often surprises students. Write the topic idea in the middle of a piece of paper. A perfect essay has four parts. Then there’s structure. In this case, sailors at sea would have died of starvation if they had not killed, and eaten, a cabin boy. <> An argument can be broken down into ‘statements’ and ‘conclusions from statements’. And lastly comes the conclusion. endobj •A good legal argument must be carefully organised and effectively presented. Remember, the point is not to tell the reader every case you know, but to select the ones that illustrate your argument. Tell your reader what you will discuss first, what you will discuss second, and third. The profits from such companies will not be funnelled into the local economy but will go to shareholders. <> You may use this example to show how it would be unfair to judge people by ordinary standards in extraordinary circumstances. –Give reasons. The second part is where you give your argument. BIJ/|_�@8�����9,]+�d���Kb�e�MB0;;����(�̩�6F�?�藥�W,��` �#]lU�o5�w�&>T�"�xʒ��r�? This means that an argumentative essay must use only evidence-based support to back up a claim , rather than emotional or philosophical reasoning (which is often allowed in other types of essays). If you draw a very strong conclusion from weak evidence, you open yourself up to criticism. endobj Whatever you do, do not bring up new topics or new arguments here. If we take the idea of arguments as statements and conclusions, it’s a small jump to organising an argumentative paragraph. 8 0 obj endstream Students, anxious to show off their knowledge, often try to write down every case they know on the topic. And you plan to structure your essay something like this: Looking at Paragraph Three in more detail, we can see how statements and conclusions work to build a paragraph that (partly) answers the question. It matters, therefore, that your written product clearly expresses what you intend to say. endstream These reasons alone strongly support a ban on small arms production. Write an outline of the arguments you will use to support your thesis statement, then use that outline to build the body of your paper. This is an entirely understandable mistake. (y���q J���\a���݅����Z�~g %�Evެ���)8�lX P⬳�h��?3�+8�#���4*�oI7��/���cE#,�C�ڳ��4�x'I�Ϊ������T�`�~�f�X)j�������h��h� <> <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 720 540] /Contents 17 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 2>> 10 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 720 540] /Contents 10 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 1>> x��V�n�6}7��Gr�0$u�U�l�M���@Q}�ʲ,D]Ɏ7�RJ�8q�}���gf�9��.//���}yuןo���H�RJ��4`��$����_������H�*�}4�4�1����� T���tb4P�d"Lq��K�ED�R$2ū�����2ݳ���*�e�p%��O� 1 HOW NOT TO START YOUR LEGAL ARGUMENT The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that any defendant who … <> endobj endobj (4) If this is representative of the country in general, it could be argued that local tourism has, overall, a negative effect on the local population, especially considering the environmental issues associated with any increase in tourism. To write a law essay, start by writing a thesis statement on your chosen topic. By the end of the intro, your reader will know that you have grasped the essential point of an essay and can logically structure an argument. Once you've given yourself a solid foundation of information, begin to craft your essay. 1. �[,�C|�#�5����Ϳ��g��s����)� ���4�����Aľ�� %���� <> The body of your essay should contain the meat of your argument. Now do the exercise to check that you can distinguish between Statements and conclusions. But in doing so, they fail to show the analytical and evaluation skills needed to receive top marks. An argument essay is best served by a topic that can be argued strongly either for or against. stream Write the Essay . Start your paragraph with a sentence like: “I reject the argument that necessity will lead to lower murder rate convictions …” And then back that point up with reasons, examples and evidence. stream Now try the Organising an argument exercise to practise structuring a paragraph as an argument. endobj endobj I usually tell my students to frame this as a question. In law, that means ensuring your writing skills and technique are tip-top. 17 0 obj This demonstrates that you have a sound understanding of the topic in discussion. Public Defender Trainer & Consultant 6 Saratoga Circle Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 583-6730 FAX: (518) 583-6731 imickenberg@nycap.rr.com . 1 0 obj ‘I haven’t seen her’ is a statement, whereas ‘She might be in the canteen’ is a conclusion based on that statement. Include any counter-arguments, but use your evidence to convince the reader why … Let’s say, for example, that you must write an essay responding to the question: “Should necessity be a defence to murder in criminal law?” The descriptive essay is one that does not produce an argument, but instead generally describes the law on necessity in criminal law.