How To Write A Law Essay
A law essay is one of the most common tasks in the lives of law students. However, the fact that you often need to write a law essay doesn’t make the assignment any easier. Plus, there are so many types of law essays you will have to master that it’s not uncommon for students to get confused.
What Is a Law Essay?
Even if it’s not your first time writing a law essay, the best way to approach this assignment is to learn the definition of a law essay first. So what is a legal essay and how is it different from all other academic assignments you have completed before?
A law essay is an academic paper that explores various sides of the law. The definition of a law essay may sound simple, but that’s exactly what makes the writing of law essays so challenging. The spectre of potential topics and subjects is just too broad to consider this assignment fast and easy.
Types of law essays
A legal essay is a very diverse assignment and your professor can mean different things when tasking you with this paper. Right now, there are three most common types of law essays:
- Legal theory essay, which is possibly the easiest type of law papers. In this essay, your job is to define and explain any legal theory in history.
- Quote explanation essay, where you need to interpret a quote from a legal point of view.
- Jurisprudence essay, which may be the hardest writing task for a law student. In this essay, you need to analyze a specific legal document or case.
Law Essay Outline
When learning how to write law essays, your next step is studying the required law essay structure. Here is where you will probably be relieved to know that law essays follow the typical essay structure that consists of the following chapters:
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs
- Conclusion
When working on your law essay outline, you first need to draft your ideas and divide them between the corresponding parts of the outline. Whichever evidence from outside sources you are using also needs to be included in the necessary chapters of the outline.
Now let’s talk about writing each chapter of a law essay in detail.
Introduction
Your introduction must captivate the readers, but it also has a specific purpose: to prepare the audience for what they are about to read. That is why your essay introduction not only needs to include a hook, but also provide the necessary context and define the thesis statement of the paper.
In the case of a law essay, it’s perfectly normal for the readers to get frustrated with the amount of information. For this reason, it’s also a good idea to create a brief roadmap in your introduction and indicate which points will be discussed in every upcoming chapter of the essay.
Body paragraphs
The body paragraphs are where most of the action in your law essay will take place, so you need to take this part of the writing process especially seriously. Each body paragraph should be dedicated to a separate idea and start with a topic sentence.
A topic sentence gives a clear definition to the body paragraph and helps you focus your thoughts and ideas. Then you need to use solid evidence from credible sources to support your ideas and convince the readers.
An essential aspect of law essay writing is the use of transitional words and phrases. They put your writing to another level and help readers navigate through your points better. Words and phrases like “In addition to”, “Similarly”, “Moreover”, “In reference to”, “Nevertheless”, and others should be used in your essay when needed.
Conclusion
The conclusion to your law essay should not contain any new information that hasn’t been mentioned in the previous parts of the paper. It should be directly linked to everything that has been said before and make it even more evident for the readers why you fully proved your point.
The conclusion of a law paper always works in a connection with the main idea of the essay. If you phrased the main idea in the form of the question, view the conclusion as one final answer to that question.
The most powerful conclusions also not only summarize the points of the law essay, but also promote additional thinking and research. You can use the last sentence of the conclusion to encourage your readers to explore the topic further.
Whether you specialize in municipal or international law, writing a well-structured essay may be daunting. This is because our criminal justice system evolved into a complex of convoluted procedures. When studying law school, you must figure out the intricacies of existing laws and find the best way to achieve criminal justice goals.
Main Tips for Writing an Essay on Law
Before starting to write, think about the peculiarities of your topic. The structure of your essay will also depend on the area you specialize in. For example, arguments stemming from precedents and analogy are widely used in the common law. However, you might need to take a different approach when writing on international law.
By following the handy tips listed below, you can win your professor over and demonstrate that you can handle any topic.
Start By Stating Your Goals
You must first outline a case or legal rules that you will examine. By making your thesis statement clear and concise, you can ensure that your main idea will be clear from the start.
At law school, it is crucial to show that you can stick to the point when developing your argument. A concise introduction with briefly listed goals will help you write a perfectly-structured essay.
Think Through Your Argument Carefully
In case you study international law, you may need to learn more about the legal principles used by other countries. Always consider the context to ensure that your argument remains sound.
If you specialize in common law, refer to legal precedents to support your claim. Essays on criminal justice require hooking your readers and providing substantial evidence.
Create a Well-Thought-Out Structure
You must create law essays demonstrating your knowledge of a topic and ability to build an argument. Then, after presenting your claim and adding supporting arguments, you need to consider the other side’s position.
To write a brilliant essay and win the highest praise, follow these steps:
- Conduct thorough research and use reliable sources written by experts
- Create a plan and follow it closely. Your essay should provide a reader with an answer to a specific question
- Whether you study common law or other subjects, write a short introduction with a thesis statement
- Add counterarguments and prove that they have no solid ground under them
- Write a conclusion outlining the main points
Following this structure can convince your reader that you have a winning argument.
Convey Your Main Points Clearly
When writing on international law, avoid using specialized terms. Instead, concisely present your ideas and meet all the requirements. Pay attention to the word count and required font size to get high marks.
Please don’t get distracted from the main idea and search support articles to use them as sources. It’s advisable to add 1-3 references to lend authority to your key points. For example, when writing an assignment on case law, indicate the titles of the cases and additional information about them.
Additional Tips to Consider
For a law student, learning how to write a law essay is a never-ending process, as there are always ways to improve your writing skills. Here are 5 law essay writing tips that will help you become an even better essay writer:
- The only type of language you should use in your law essay is formal language. You should never use colloquialisms or words and phrases that don’t belong in academic writing, unless it’s an essential quote you can’t throw out.
- You need to find the right balance between personal insight and references to credible sources. A good law essay is impossible to write without using both, but you can easily go overboard.
- To make it easier for the readers to follow the narrative of your law essay, you need to arrange your points and paragraphs in a logical flow.
- Writing a good law essay is not just about knowing the law, but also about being able to analyze outside sources. Law is evolving so quickly that you need to make sure your knowledge is not outdated while writing each essay.
- If you are overwhelmed with other assignments and cannot possibly complete your upcoming law essay task, we have the perfect solution for you. We are a USA essay writing service specializing in law papers and we know exactly how to write a law essay for the highest grade!
Wrapping Up
Before submitting your assignment on international law or other related topics, check it is on point. Then, re-read it to ensure your argument is easy to follow. In addition, you may need to check the formatting and style to improve your chances of getting top marks.
