The mention of a law essay is enough to cause jitters among law students. For many first-year students, writing a law assignment may feel like a daunting task they are not capable of performing.
Unlike other assignments, law assignment requires a great deal of mastery of the law and vast research to analyze contradictions of the law. In this article, we will guide you on the steps for handling your law homework and highlight some tips to guide your writing efforts.
What is an assignment in law?
A law assignment is a paper meant to test the concepts and knowledge of various laws encountered in the coursework. The aim of these assignments is usually to analyze the transgression of various laws through a case study and determine breaches and suggest various mitigations.
How to write a law assignment
Law assignment writing is a technical undertaking that heavily relies on in-depth research and extensive content mastery. Like most academic papers, there are various rules to follow when writing your law homework.
Some of these rules include:
- Formatting and language
Language mastery is key to the clear expression of your ideas. Although you may feel inclined to spam your paper with legalese, it would be best if your paper was easy to read and straightforward.
Also, be concise in your argument to ensure that you’ve properly debated your issue within the provided word count. However, don’t fall to the urge to dumb down each technical term as this could result in unnecessary wording.
Ideally, use the terms you’ve encountered in the course of your study as your professor is well-versed with this legalese. Be keen to also follow the format provided by your tutor or use the IRAC structure when no format has been specified.
- Credible sources
There is no room for emotional arguments in law homework. As such, do vast research to support your claims and cover various holes that could be subject to opposition.
Also, be keen to ensure that your conclusion is supported by your premises and engage experts to evaluate your work for various errors. Ensure that you remain within the confines of your research question and avoid overindulging in any particular premise.
We recommend that you select the key statutes supporting your argument as opposed to liaising with all materials related to the topic.
- Outlining your argument
Alike other academic essays, we recommend that you develop an outline to gain the flow of your arguments and gauge the completeness of your research. In some instances, the outline may be checked by your tutor for guidance before you start writing your homework.
You could also share your outline with an expert for suggestions on how to improve your premises.
- Editing and proofreading
An erroneous law assignment is often frowned upon by professors and awarded low credits. Ensure to proofread your work for grammatical errors, structural errors, and fallacies. Also, ensure that you countercheck your citations to avoid plagiarism.
IRAC structure of writing law assignments
The IRAC structure is the standard approach vouched for by many tutors and institutions. This approach ensures clear communication of legal issues and ensures a smooth flow of your premises.
IRAC is the acronym for issue, rule, application, and conclusion.
Issue
This is usually the question you are presented with and often entails a situation where the available evidence contradicts the law.
Rule
This part should cover the applicable jurisdiction originating from statutes and common law. The laws are the essence of law homework as they are key to preparing your analysis.
Application
This part shows how various rules apply to your essay case and should only include rules that are covered in the previous section. The application part should show why various rules should/ should not apply and apply these rules to reach a verdict on the case at hand.
Conclusion
This part should highlight the key result of your analysis and show your stand on the law homework question.
Tips for writing law school homework
- Start early – a common pitfall for students is pushing aside their law homework for the days nearing the deadline. This together with other pending tasks limits time for in-depth research and thus results in a shoddy paper.
- Delegate various tasks – often, you may be assigned homework when your schedule is filled by pending tasks and personal commitments. In such situations, consider delegating some tasks, making room for your assignment. However, ensure that you seek expert law homework help to avoid shoddy work.
- Consult experts on your assignment – when researching for your paper, engage your librarian as they are well versed with materials on various topics. Also, consider engaging your lecturer after you’ve prepared your outline for highlights on possible angles that need further analysis.
