Nature of Law term paper

Author: Sharon White

Law term paper writing is very different from other social science paper writing. There are lots of things demanded from the student beyond and above the mere fact of being a student. Why must this be so? It is of common notice in the legal field that there is no significant difference between a law student and the practicing lawyer. While the student is aiming to validating his or her courses, the practicing lawyer’s main aim is to make money. For this reason, any law student writing an end of course paper must write as a professional.

Law papers are also noted for their distinct nature of topic. The topic of any law manuscript should not be direct. The topic is very challenging and most of the times it appears in the form of a question. Most topics in law papers are usually on current and unchanged issues. For example, you may be attempting to prove that a particular section of the law is not longer up to date or that a particular legal decision might open a floodgate of legal actions. The topic can appear in this form: the retrospective effect of section 11 of the 1999 Consumer Protection Act, or Is Section 11 or the 1999 Consumer Protection Act good law? It will be unwise to write on an amended issue. An end of course law paper can be of any type, but must be limited to the law curriculum. The paper can also take the form of an argumentative or analytical paper, but it must never be descriptive. In law, there is no need for a description.

A document in law must normally have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. A write-up in law is not over dependent on facts. You are not writing history or facts. You are writing the law. Facts have little to do in this lecture. You must only state the facts briefly and then proceed to apply the law. The normal procedure is to bring out the facts, state the law relating to the facts and apply the law to that situation. There is no balancing of thoughts or hanging on the fence in any law essay. You must take one decision as a judge.

Another thing to be noted when composing a law paper is that not every part of the law is relevant to the work. In law, there is what is called case law or judge-made law and statute or codified law. There is also the ratio decidendi and the orbiter dictum of a case. Cases in law are decided following previous cases. The ratio decidendi is the binding force in any case law and an orbiter dictum is a statement of law in any judgment which could not logically be a premise on the selected facts of the decision. What is required in legal reasoning is the ratio decidentdi or the binding force in a case.

A legal writer must also know that law is one of the fields with its own distinct terminologies. Law has a longstanding tradition of using Latin phrases. The usage of this is a must; else the paper becomes an English paper. Examples of words include ratio decidendi (for binding force), caveat emptor (let the buyer beware), and he stood in loco parentis (meaning he was acting in place of the parent). These and so many other expressions are what qualify a law paper as a law paper.

Law term paper also provides for a distinct form of citation. When quoting a law, you normally use section, ordinance or article to refer to a particular provision. The words section, ordinance and article are written in full when they appear at the beginning of a sentence. When they appear in the sentence, they are abbreviated as art (for article), sect (for section) and ord or Or (for ordinance or order) and must be followed by a colon or a full stop for Order. For example sect: 72 of the 1999 Constitution, art: 24 of the 1986 Company Act and Or.2 or the Civil Procedure Rules.


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