UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

SCHOOL OF LAW
LEGAL SYSTEM AND REASONING (LAWS 1012)
2012/2013

LEGAL RESEARCH SKILLS WRITING GUIDE

Dr James MacLean (J.Maclean@soton.ac.uk)

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

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PART I
1. Summarising a case

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PART II
2. Answering problem-based questions
3. Writing a law essay

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Appendix: Submission checklist

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION
In all of the modules on which you are enrolled in the Law School you will
be asked to submit a variety of different types of assignment: some of
these will be relatively short assignments, such as summarising legal
texts (cases, statutes, decisions, opinions), or problem-based
assignments; others will be longer, essay-type assignments; in your final
year, you will be asked to submit a dissertation on a chosen topic. In
every instance, regardless of the form that an individual assignment
takes, you must ensure that each submission you make represents the
highest standard of your written work and this always means that you
must allow sufficient time to prepare; that is, to plan, research, and write
a draft, before you produce and present your finished paper.
Fine, so far? Well, remember too that you will be enrolled on more that
one module, and all of these will be competing with each other for your
time and energies; in other words, you will always, necessarily, be
working on more than one assignment or essay at a time. Of course,
these may have slightly different due dates, or carry different weight,
and this may help you prioritise your work, but you must, nonetheless,
always be prepared to concentrate on several different subject and
assignment types at any given time. Put simply, you will find that you
are, most of the time, working under pressure to meet deadlines set for
you by your module coordinator or tutor. To perform consistently to the
best of your abilities you must learn not only how to prioritise, work
under pressure and meet deadlines, but also how to perform different
legal tasks efficiently and well.
Legal System and Reasoning will introduce you to the legal skills you will
be expected to develop in order to achieve this, and this writing guide
has been produced to help you get started. In your tutorial programme
you will be given opportunities to practice these skills and your module
tutors will be available to assist you and to answer any questions that
arise. However, it must remain YOUR responsibility to ensure that you
practice them. The major part of this module it is not primarily about
learning the law but about ensuring you develop essential legal skills:
you must learn how to think, and how to reason, like a lawyer.

PART I
1. SUMMARISING A CASE
Understanding cases, being able to convey their meaning and use them
constructively and creatively, is central to your law degree at
Southampton. Ultimately, it is from within case law that the law draws its
living breath, and it will matter nothing that you are able to recite all the
rules of a legal system if you are not also able to demonstrate what
these rules actually mean in practice. Case law provides us with crucial
insights into understanding how lawyers - solicitors, barristers, judges
and academics - reason and argue, and being able to summarise a case
well is an essential legal skill that you will be relying on throughout your
legal career.
Summarising a case is also a particularly valuable aid to studying and
learning: as you summarise, you are in effect forcing yourself to analyse,
and therefore to understand, the cases you are reading. (You will NEVER
have enough time during your exam preparations to read through all the
law reports again, so having a good stock of well-prepared, concise and
coherent, case summaries is also an invaluable aid when it comes to
revising for exams!). It is crucial that you begin, as soon as possible, to
develop a way of summarising cases effectively.
To help you in this, you should use the template shown below to
structure your summaries: this will help to guide you through the
process of preparing good case summaries for yourself. Much later on,
once you have mastered this skill, you may find that a slightly different
order or structure suits your particular purposes better, and, at that
point, you should feel free to adapt these suggestions as you see fit. But,
within this module, and for the time being at least, you will be required
to prepare and present your tutorial case summaries according to this
template. Hopefully, in this way, summarising and reading case law will
quickly become a much easier and more pleasurable experience.
Case summary template:

Citation: (case reference)

Parties:
Nature of Case:
Status of Court:
Facts:
Legal Issue(s):
Outcome:
Reasoning: (i)
(ii)
Comment: (i)
(ii)

Majority:
Minority:
Significance:
Obiter dictum:

Using the Template to Prepare your Case Summary

Step 1:

Citation

Begin by writing down the case citation; for example, Mandla (Sewa
Sing) and Another v Dowell Lee and Another [1983] 2 AC 548 HL.
Step 2:

Parties

Write down the names of the parties to the proceedings and, if possible,
identify the role played by each party. For instance, in Mandla, the
parties involved were Mandla (Sewa Sing) and Another (appellants) and
Dowell Lee and Another (Respondents). NB. The action is sponsored by
the Commission for Racial Equality.
Step 3:

Nature of Case

What is the court being asked to consider? Provide a brief statement of

the nature of a case indicating, for example, the area(s) of law covered,
its procedural status, and the broad legal principle on which it is based
(the headnote may help here). For example, in Mandla, the nature of the
case could be described as follows: civil, declaration, race, appeal,
action for unlawful discrimination.
Step 4:

Status of Court

Case law, as a source of law, relies heavily on the doctrine of judicial

precedent. One important aspect of this doctrine dictates that a lower
court is bound by the rulings of a higher court on a particular issue
(depending on the status of the courts involved, a subsequent court
either must follow the earlier courts determination of the rule to be
applied to a particular issue - binding precedent, or, where the
subsequent court has a higher status than the prior court or the two
cases concern different though related issues, may do so - persuasive
precedent). Therefore, it is important to state which court decided the
case and its position in the hierarchy of the civil or criminal court
structure. For example, we would note that Mandla was decided by the
House of Lords, sitting as a Court of Appeal (with 5 Law Lords) which, in
this context, is the highest court of appeal in England.
Step 5:

Facts

The facts of a case can be very simple, but more often than not they are
extremely complex, and the key to providing a good summary is making
sure that you include ONLY the essential facts (those that have a direct

bearing on the rule of law to be decided by the court). This means that
you will often have to read the whole case before you are able to identify
which facts are relevant; however, you MUST keep this section as brief
as possible. Ask yourself this: what has happened that has led one party
to institute legal proceedings against the other? In Mandla, the relevant
facts can be described as follows: Refusal to admit a Sikh son as a pupil
at a private school because the plaintiffs would not agree to the son
cutting his hair and ceasing to wear a turban in order to comply with the
School rules as to uniform.
Of course, there are many more details given in the case but you do not
need to list those in the summary. From your perspective, of writing a
case summary, the facts of a case are important only because they give
rise to the legal question that the court seeks to answer. So, limit
yourself to mentioning only those facts that are essential to showing
what the legal issue in this case is and how it arose. And if it helps to
draw a diagram and to summarise from that, then do it. Do whatever
you need to keep your summary of the facts as short as possible. Just
remember that when you write your summary you should aim to state
the facts in only a few sentences. You do not need to give all the
personal details of the parties or the whole history of events prior to the
court proceedings give only what is relevant to the legal question
here. The better you are at extracting ONLY the relevant facts, and not
writing down everything that you come across, the easier it will be
subsequently to determine what the issue(s) is(are) to which the legal
rule or principle formulated in this case applies, and the scope of that
rule or principle (ie. the fact-pattern for which this case constitutes a
precedent).
Step 6:

Legal Issue(s)

This step involves identifying the precise legal rule that lies at the heart
of the case; that is, it is a statement of the legal question(s) that the
court sought to answer. This is not usually as difficult as it might at first
seem to be, since a judge will often state in quite explicit terms both the
legal issue(s) and the legal rule(s) to be applied in the case. Again,
brevity is of the essence of a good summary and so one or two well
thought out sentences should be sufficient. In Mandla, for example, we
might say that the court had to decide whether there had been
discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origins contrary to s1(i)(b) of
the Race Relations Act 1976, applied to the facts, and thus, in particular,
(i) whether the no turban rule was one that could possibly be complied
with (ie. the meaning of the word can), and, (ii) whether it was
justifiable (ie. the meaning of the word justifiable).
Step 7:

Outcome

Here you should state the outcome of the courts decision and describe
how the court applied the law to the precise issue between the parties:
in whose favour did the court rule? What remedy was granted? Keep
this section brief; for example, in Mandla, Upheld Appeal: the no turban

rule was not one with which the plaintiff could comply without becoming
a victim of discrimination.
[NB. In cases where there is a minority judgment it should also be
noted].
Step 8:

Reasoning

It is fundamental to your understanding of the case that you are able to

demonstrate your knowledge of the courts reasoning. Why did this court
come to this conclusion? What reason(s) does it give to justify its
decision? Is it through the simple application of a legal rule, or is it for
some other reason (eg. public policy reasons)? Where there is
disagreement among the judges, you should make a point of trying to
identify how and why the reasoning in the majority and minority (or
dissenting) judgments differ. Courts in later cases may well build upon or
dispute this courts reasoning, or apply it by analogy to a different legal
issue, and the reasons given for the judgment here, both majority and
dissenting, may be useful in constructing arguments in those future
similar fact situations. Equally, since your grasp of the reasoning in this
particular case will help to develop and show your awareness of the
general point of law in question, you may be asked to comment on it
(eg. in a tutorial) or to criticise it (eg. in an essay or exam).
To summarise the reasoning, it is best to work through each judgement
in a case section by section. Once you have worked through one section,
try to establish how that judge creates a link to the next section. This
should help you understand the overall reasoning of the court and to
summarise the logic of the case as a whole. Thus, in Mandla, the
reasoning can be stated quite simply: the House of Lords upheld the
appeal, holding that there had been discrimination contrary to s1(i)(b) of
the Race Relations Act on the grounds that Sikhs are members of a
racial group defined by reference to ethnic origins, for the purpose of
the Act (a distinct population group with shared customs, beliefs and
traditions arising from a common past and giving social identity), even
though not biologically distinguishable from other Punjab peoples. In
particular: (i) the meaning of can refers not to whether one can
physically but to whether one can and still retain racial/ethnic
identity; and, (ii) the no turban rule was not justifiable since it was
not relied upon apart from its manifestations of ethnic origins.
Step 9:

Comment

Your comment on the significance of the case and your provision of a

statement made obiter should be brief and to the point. Thus,
(i) Significance of case: although not relating to gender, this case was
important in establishing that Sikhs are a racial group;
(ii) Obiter dictum: their Lordships stated that the Commission for Racial
Equality had acted properly in taking up the case; indeed, Lord Fraser of
Tullybelton held that some of the criticisms made by the Court of Appeal
on the Commission and its officers were entirely unjustified.

.......................
You should now be able to put this all together and construct your own
case summary.

Mandla (Sewa Sing) and Another v Dowell Lee and Another

[1983] 2 AC 548 HL
Parties:

Mandla (Sewa Sing) and Another (appellants) sponsored by the Commission for Racial Equality - and
Dowell Lee and Another (Respondents).

Nature of Case: Civil, declaration, race, appeal, action for unlawful

discrimination.
Status of Court: House of Lords, sitting as a Court of Appeal (with 5
Law Lords) which, in this context, is the highest court of
appeal in England.
Facts:

Refusal to admit a Sikh son as a pupil at a private school

because the plaintiffs would not agree to the son cutting
his hair and ceasing to wear a turban in order to comply
with the School rules as to uniform.

Legal Issue(s):
Whether there had been discrimination on the
grounds of ethnic origins contrary to s1(i)(b) of the
Race Relations Act 1976, applied to the facts, and thus,
in particular, (i) whether the no turban rule was one
that could possibly be complied with (ie. the meaning of
the word can), and, (ii) whether it was justifiable (ie.
the meaning of the word justifiable).
Outcome:

Upheld Appeal: the no turban rule was not one with

which the plaintiff could comply without becoming a
victim of discrimination.

Reasoning:

There was discrimination contrary to s1(i)(b) of the Race

Relations Act on the grounds that Sikhs are members of
a racial group defined by reference to ethnic origins (a
distinct population group with shared customs, beliefs
and traditions arising from a common past and giving
social identity) for the purpose of the Act, even though
not biologically distinguishable from other Punjab
peoples. In particular, (i) the meaning of can refers not
to whether one can physically but to whether one can
and still retain racial/ethnic identity; and, (ii) the no
turban rule was not justifiable since it was not relied
upon apart from its manifestations of ethnic origins.

Comment:

(i) The case established that Sikhs are a racial group;

(ii) The Commission for Racial Equality had acted
properly in taking up the case: some of the criticisms
made by the Court of Appeal, on the Commission and its
officers, were entirely unjustified (Lord Fraser of
Tullybelton).
..

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[Note: where there is a split decision, you must provide a summary of

both the Majority and Minority reasoning]

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Some points to remember:

1. Creating a case summary is meant to improve your study techniques

and your understanding of the law; therefore, there is no point in

simply copying down someone elses or merely paraphrasing the
headnote. That is simply to miss the point! In any event, none of that
will help you when you are confronted, as you will be in an exam,
with a case you have never seen before and asked to summarise it.
2. Ensure that you are familiar with the area of law the case is dealing

with. CONSULT your lecture notes or a textbook before reading the

case.
3. READ the whole case through before starting to summarise. Pick out

the relevant areas, underlining or highlighting as you go.

4. BEWARE!

Headnotes are prepared by editors and may (and

sometimes do) contain errors!

5. Brevity is ESSENTIAL!

A good case summary will demonstrate

concisely what is decided in a particular case. One of the most
important aims of your case summary is to identify the reason for the
decision, the ratio decidendi. This is the principle or rule of law that
must be employed to resolve the issue between the parties and
which, under the doctrine of precedent, is capable of binding
subsequent courts faced with the same issue. It is important,
therefore, that your summary is clear on what constitutes the legal
question in the case and what you understand the ratio decidendi to
be.

6. Finally, if you dont understand any of the terms used, consult a legal

dictionary: dont simply ignore them!

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PART II
As well as engaging you in practicing essential legal skills (eg.
summarising a case), your studies will also introduce to you two other
common types of writing: problem-based and essay assignments. In the
first type, you will be asked to provide written advice on the legal
solution to a practical problem. This type of legal writing requires you to
focus on the particulars of that problem and to identify the legal
principles and sources (ie. the legal rules), relevant to its solution. You
must identify and state clearly the legal issues raised by the facts as
presented and demonstrate how the relevant legal rules may be applied
to resolve them. In the second type, you will be asked to write about the
law, providing general descriptions and/or evaluations of different
areas/aspects of law. In both of these types you must state and defend a
point of view, and this requires a well-organised and logical argument or
discussion, with evidence, to support it.
We will now take a detailed look at the requirements for each of these
and at the skills they seek to develop.

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2. ANSWERING PROBLEM-BASED QUESTIONS

Introduction
The second most common form of assessment is the legal problem.
Essentially, this involves being presented with a given set of facts
together with an instruction to advise relevant parties on their rights and
remedies: this type of assignment is designed to test how well you are
able to apply the law. Different people approach this type of problem in
different ways and one such way is shown below. The most important
thing here is to keep an open mind to all the possibilities that a given set
of facts throws up; in other words, you must convince your examiner
that you are able to see all of the issues that arise for consideration and
that you are able to deal with them in a logical, structured and legally
accurate way.
Stage 1:

The Issue(s)

The first thing you must do is identify the issues that arise out of your
given set of facts. This will test the breadth and depth of your knowledge
and it is here that you will begin to reap the rewards for all that time
spent reading cases (case law is invaluable for providing insights into
how leading judges identify, from the facts of a case, the legal issue(s)
that arise for determination). You will need to read through the whole
problem at least once to get an overall idea of the area(s) of law
involved and you should also pay close attention to the question posed
at the end of the problem; for example, if you are asked to advise one or
more of the parties then ask yourself what, if you were that party, you
would want to know. This will help to reveal the legal issue arising for
determination. In any event, begin your answer by setting out the legal
issue(s), crisply and clearly.
Stage 2:

The Applicable Law

After you have identified the issues that arise for determination, you
need to set out the law applicable to those issues. This requires you to
cite the relevant statutory provisions, case law, etc, that represent the
current legal position in respect of the issues raised. If case law is
relevant, use it intelligently. Do not provide a shopping list of cases with
short summaries of the facts; rather, use the relevant point(s) from a
case to show how that case supports (or rejects) the existence of a
particular rule or principle relevant to the issues raised. Here, you will be
mirroring the approach taken by the courts when they give judgments,
citing authority for statements relating to the law. If there is no
authoritative source then cite a persuasive one (an obiter dictum, a
textbook or an article). If the law is unclear, then acknowledge this lack
of clarity and note any examples from legal literature where different
authors have expressed an opinion as to what the law should be (later
on, this will allow you to argue the point both ways, applying these

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different conclusions as to what the law should be to the facts of the

case). If you prefer one view over another, say so and why.
Stage 3:

Applying the Law to the Facts

Once you have identified the issues and set out clearly the applicable
law, you need to apply the law to the facts of the problem. Sometimes
these will resemble closely the facts from a particular case you have
read, and this may provide you with a clear starting point, but more
often you will have to reason by analogy or formulate your own
argument as to how this case ought to be decided, supporting your
conclusions with evidence in the facts; either way, you must make do
with the facts you have been given. Sometimes a fact necessary to
deciding the case will not be given in the problem, so it will be
impossible for you to conclude with certainty what the outcome might
be. Here you need to advance contingency arguments, covering all
reasonable possibilities. For example, if it is unclear from the facts
whether a party knew that a vehicle was stolen when she bought it (this
fact might be material depending on the area of law in question), then
you will need to argue the point both ways, saying that (a) if the party
did not know that the car was stolen (and so was in good faith) then ,
but, (b) if it was shown that the party knew that the car was stolen (and
so in bad faith) then. Alternatively, from the law of contract we know
that a contract can be terminated if there is a significant breach of
contract (what the courts refer to as a serious or material breach; one
that goes to the root of the contract), but if the breach is of a less
serious kind (a minor breach) this will only give rise to a claim for
damages. Very often, this will be unclear from the facts of the case as
presented and, in this situation, you will have to argue that (a) should
the court find that the breach is material then ., and, (b) in the event
that the court should find that the breach is not material then , noting
the fact that different remedies follow depending on whether a breach is
material. Again, if you think that the facts lean a particular way or if you
think you can substantiate one or other conclusion then say so.
Stage 4:

Conclusion

Having identified the issue, set out the law, and applied the law to the
facts, you need now to conclude, summarising your conclusions
regarding the legal rights and duties of the parties. Frame your
conclusion in relation to the issues identified and the question(s) asked;
for example, if you have identified that the issue for determination is
whether there is a valid contract between A and B, and you have been
asked to advise A, then you might conclude that there is a valid contract
between A and B and, accordingly, that you advise A to sue B on the
contract. Remember, in real life every argument has two sides and the
outcome of a case often depends on who can convince the court that its
version is the better one.

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3. WRITING A LAW ESSAY

Introduction
There is no short-cut to writing a good law essay: it takes time, effort and
careful consideration. You are strongly recommended to adopt the
following six-stage sequence when preparing and completing your law
assignments and essays.
1. Devise a strategy/formulate a plan
2. Locate and read your research materials
3. Plan your assignment structure
4. Write a first draft
5. Revise draft and acknowledge sources
6. Check final version and submit ...
1. Devise a strategy/formulate a plan
First, you have to be clear about what is expected of you in your
assignment. You can get a good indication of this from the way the
question is worded and/or from the keywords included in it. Some of the
more common ones are shown below:
Word/phrase

Action required

Analyse

Find and describe all of the main ideas, show how

they are related and why they are important.
Compare
Show both similarities and differences, emphasise
similarities.
Contrast
Set differing points in opposition to each other in
order to demonstrate differences.
Criticise
Give your own opinion about something and support it
with a reasoned argument [Remember: criticise does
not necessarily mean to find fault with!].
Demonstrate
Show by reasoned argument why a particular opinion,
judgment or assertion is true.
Discuss,
This is an opportunity for you to respond creatively to
Consider
a given question. What is required is a thorough
exploration
of
the
area/topic,
showing
your
understanding of the subject matter through reasoned
argument, reflection and response.
Evaluate
Examine the advantages and disadvantages of an
argument or attitude, its merits and its shortcomings.
You must include your own opinion/point of view.
Give an Account Provide the reasons for, or show the causes of ...
of
Identify
Outline the main features; list and describe.

Try to identify the main questions that require some more research
before you are able to answer them and allocate enough time to
complete all the tasks/processes involved: thinking, planning,
researching, writing, revising, finishing, submitting.
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2. Locate and read your research materials

Start by reading around the area: what is the current state of the law on
this topic? You might want to consult a textbook (and your lecture notes)
and follow references to primary and secondary literature. Keep a
detailed a list of sources:
Primary sources: legislation; case law.
Secondary sources: create a wide bibliography of secondary
sources including books and journal articles.
Reference books: dictionaries, encyclopaedias, or other reference
books that you need to consult.
Decide how you are going to access these resources: are they accessible
only in hard copy or are electronic versions available to you? Make
arrangements for accessing all the sources you know you will need at an
early stage, especially where you might be competing for limited
resources.
Now, locate, read and take notes, and follow up further references.
Distinguish in your notes between direct quotations and your
paraphrasing of someone elses ideas. Store the information carefully
you will want to avoid accusations of plagiarism! Keep a complete and
accurate record of everything you read: author, title, edition, date
and place of publication, volume and page numbers.

17

3. Plan your assignment structure

It is essential that you develop a coherent and consistent line of
argument throughout your essay assignment, so you need to decide how
you are going to turn this mass of data and information that you have
collected into a clear, logical and coherent answer. What is the central
question? How are you going to respond to it? What arguments will
support your case? What data, information, evidence will be required to
support these arguments?
You might find that it helps to sketch an outline of your essay (see
below). This will enable you to visualise how the different elements will
fit together and relate within the overall structure. For example, for a
short essay (500-1000 words), you might develop your argument by
arranging your material/ideas like this:

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SAMPLE ESSAY STRUCTURE (example only not prescriptive)

TITLE
INTRODUCTION

Here you need to provide the reader with a road map to your essay. Tell your
reader what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. It also helps
if you can give some indication of your expected conclusion.
Connecting statement

MAIN BODY HEADING

Set out your arguments in a structured way using, if you like, a few major
headings and sub-headings. A general rule of thumb is that each paragraph
should contain one essential point in support of your main argument and be
somehow linked to the next one. Remember to provide authority for your
claims (ie. a case, statute, or other authoritative source of law), or else
substantiate your argument by citing a textbook, monograph or article (for
example, saying that, in MacCormicks opinion ...).
Paragraph A
Claim
Supporting evidence
Substantiating opinion
Concluding sentence
Connecting word/phrase
phrase

Paragraph B
Claim
Supporting evidence
Substantiating opinion
Concluding sentence
Paragraph C
Claim
Supporting evidence
Substantiating opinion
Concluding sentence

Connecting word/phrase
phrase

Connecting statement

CONCLUSION
Draw together your main points. Be explicit about how you have achieved
what you set out to do in your introduction. Dont leave the reader dangling
between two sides of a debate: conclude by directly answering the question
asked.

4. Write a first draft

Now it is time to start putting it all together. Dont allow yourself to
postpone this phase till later: you need to start writing your first draft
early on. Some students say that they need to wait till everything is
clear in their mind before they start writing. Avoid developing that habit.
You need to get your ideas, thoughts and understanding onto paper
under the general headings of your plan as soon as possible, using your
outline as a guide. Dont worry if it all seems a bit haphazard: you can
refine your writing style later on. The best examples of finished work

19

always evolve slowly, developing through several stages of refinement.

The main thing is to persevere.
5. Revise draft and acknowledge sources
Aim now to express your ideas as clearly and simply as possible. Use
plain language and simple sentences. Be concise and to the point. Long,
rambling sentences may confuse a reader and this will not help explain
the arguments contained in them. Order your work logically. Construct
every sentence, paragraph, chapter and assignment carefully. Always
read and re-read individual paragraphs from the beginning each time
you add a new sentence, making sure that the progression of your ideas
is logical, coherent and consistent. And check the order of your
paragraphs: they need to reflect the order and development of your
argument. In fact, everything must fit together perfectly if you are to
achieve the result that your efforts deserve.
Now is the also the time to make sure that you can justify your claims.
You are writing primarily to convince, not to entertain with your
thoughts, and unsubstantiated statements are worthless in legal writing.
In other words, you will need to provide evidence to back up every
assertion and argument that you make. For example, if you want to
invoke a particular legal rule or principle then you must provide evidence
of its existence by citing the case or statute that created it; when you
argue for a particular point of view you must prove why it must be
accepted. Is it more logical? Does it have better consequences?
6. Check final version and submit ...
You will soon find that producing written work becomes a lot easier
because all your written assignments have certain features in common:
1. You must always provide an introduction and a conclusion in your

work.
2. Your work must be well organised: it must represent a coherent

3.
4.
5.

6.

7.

piece of legal academic writing, set out in full sentences,

paragraphs, etc.
You must express yourself clearly: your grammar and spelling
must be correct and your use of language must be concise.
You must demonstrate an accurate and adequate knowledge of
the relevant area(s) of law and of the secondary literature.
You must demonstrate your understanding of the subject matter
by your ability to analyse concepts, explain and examine relevant
doctrines and principles, and by grouping ideas together with the
facts presented.
You must present a well-organised and logical argument or
discussion, always including a statement of your own opinion or
point of view, with evidence to support or defend it.
You must always supply a footnote reference for every source you
cite, with full details of all your sources provided in a bibliography
at the end.

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When you are sure everything is complete, make a copy of your

assignment and submit it.

21

APPENDIX: SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

Structure
Does your introduction identify what the assignment is about?
Have you developed a clear argument/discussion throughout?
Are individual ideas linked together well?
Does your conclusion summarise your argument/provide an
answer?
Content
Have you identified all the main facts/issues?
Are all of the points you made relevant to the question?
Is it obvious that key concepts have been correctly understood?
Have you made appropriate use of case law, statutes, etc?
Have you included your own opinion?
Expression and use of language
Are all your ideas expressed clearly and concisely?
Is your spelling and grammar correct?
Research
Have you fully referenced all of your sources?
Is your bibliography accurate?
Presentation
Are you satisfied that the assignment is now complete?
Have you completed and attached a front cover sheet?
Have you kept a copy?

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following unpublished works were consulted in compiling this writing
guide:
A. Barratt et al, Writing Guide for Law Students, University of Cape Town
(unpublished).
S. Miller, Legal Skills Handout 2000/2001, University of Edinburgh
(unpublished).

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