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AN INTERNET BASED LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY WRITING PROJECT
Linda B. Samuels'
Richard L. Coffinberger"

INTRODUCTION
One of the social functions of higher education is to help students
learn. Of course, this statement begs the question: learn what? The
seemingly never-ending debate in the academic community is whether
college students should learn specific bodies of knowledge (subject
matter) or, alternatively, concentrate on improving their skills and
abilities in such areas as quantitative reasoning, critical analysis, and
oral and written communication. Which approach is more important to
a collegiate education? Does concentrating on skills leave little room for
content or can both content and abilities be integrated and achieved
simultaneously?
The practical answer to these questions is that college students must
master both skilldabilities and subject matter content to be capable of
effective participation in modern society. University curricula should
cover both these bases and it is a major challenge for curriculum design
to determine the proper balance between educational content and skills
for general education and for majors. Generally, undergraduate students
must study the general education content, which is often focused upon
the arts, the sciences, and humanities, as well as the content of the
academic discipline in which they major. They must also master the

Professor, Business Legal Studies,School ofManagement,George Mason University,

lsamuel&gmu.edu.
" Associate Professor, Business Legal Studies, School of Management, George Mason
University, rcofEnb@gmu.edu.
182 I Vol. 20 I The Journal of Legal Studies Education
skills and abilities necessary for life-long learning and responsible
citizenship, such as communication, reasoning, and critical analysis.'
Some of the courses in English Composition and Communication and
Mathematics are directly targeted to this latter goal, as are some of the
courses found in business school majors, such as Business
Communications and Information Systems. Other courses, such as
Finance and Marketing, are more content oriented, but can often offer
some skills-based experiences for students, often through the use of the
business case approach.
Professors who teach about the legal environment to business school
students must also find the "right" balance between teaching students
about the vast and complex academic discipline of law and providing
opportunities to improve their learning skills, such as in conducting
research, critical analysis, and effective communication.2 There is so

' In answer to the question, W h a t Should You Get Out of College?" posed by Julie
Flaherty, Richard C. Levin, President, Yale University, said 'We hope our students
emerge with, obviously, the capacity to read and think about the world, to do that with
clarity, to express themselves with clarity. But most of all to have acute critical
intelligence, to be able to think critically about issues, to analyze them, to come up with
their own conclusions under any circumstances." Kate Zernike, Tests Are Not Just for
Kids, N.Y. TIMES,August 4,2002, at 4A.In answer to Flahertfs question, W h a t Do
Employers Want?" Phyllis Palmiero, Executive director, State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia, said *. .. Every graduate should have these basic competencies:
be able to write well, have some level of technologic literacy, have the ability to perform
qualitative analysis, be scientificallyliterate, have strong oral communication, as well a~
strong critical thinking skills."Id.
* This challenge haa generated many scholarly suggestions from professors who teach
legal topics to business students. Most ofthese papers suggest pedagogical techniques for
strengthening the writing and critical thinking skills of business students. See, e.g.,
Robert C. Bird, Integrating Simulation Games Into Business Law Teaching, 19 J. LEGAL
STUD.EDUC.203(2001);Barbara E. Behr, The Positive Efectiveness of Controlled Student
Writing Activity: A Statistical Analysis, 3 J. LEGAL STUD.EDUC.46 (1985);Robert B
Bennett, Jr., B William K. Templeton, Writing t o b a r n Business Law, 13 J. LEGALSTUD.
EDUC.265 (1995);Lucien J. Dhooge, Appellate Argumentation in the Business Law
Classroom: Three Modest Examples, 17 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.263 (1999);Karla H.Fox
& Madelyn M. Huffmire, The Use of Court Reports and Other WritingAssignments in the
Business Law Curriculum, 9 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.117 (1990);Carolyn Hotchkiss, The
Internet as a Teaching Tool in Business Law: New Opportunities and New Resources, 15
J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.257 (1997);Ida M. Jones, Bridging the Gap: Using Contract
Simulations as an Experiential TeachingMethod, 6 J.LEGALSTUD. EDUC71 (1987);Lucy
V. Katz, The Packaged Brief Writing Assignment-Teaching Writing in a Business Law
Course, 9J.LEGALSTUD. EDUC.325 (1991);Brenda E.Ihowles, RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
& CASE STUDIES AS TEACHING/LEARNINGDEVICES IN A GOVERNMENTAL REGULATION
COURSE,4 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.78 (1986);Nancy K. Kubasek, A Critical Thinking
Approach to Teaching Environmental Law, 16 J. LEGALSTUD. EDUC.(1998);Nancy
Kubasek & M.Neil Browne, Integrating Critical Thinking into the Leg& Environment
of Business Classroom, 14 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.(1996);Murry E. Levin, Experiential
Learning: Use of a Class "ContractDin a Business Law Class,8 J.LEGALSTUD.EDIJC. 185
(1989/1990);Charles R. McGuire, Critical Thinking and Writing in Law Classes: A
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I 103
much to learn and so little time! Classroom time devoted to skills-based
learning often means that certain subjects can not be covered in depth,
or at all. So the dilemma is how best to create opportunities to tie
learning skills to learning subject matter, to turn students into
independent and life-long learners. ’
This paper describes what the authors believe is a novel assignment
that they developed and implemented in their undergraduate legal
environment of business courses. The project attempts to blend several
skill-enhancing activities, including Internet-based legal research and
memoranda writing, critical analysis of opposing arguments,4 and
persuasive writing in an issues context. Students have an opportunity
to consider a businessilegal or businesdethics issue in more depth than
can be provided in the classroom, thereby also enhancing content
learning. It is not an overly long project. However, this assignment
provides students an opportunity to use their higher level cognitive
thinking “processesof analysis, application, synthesis, and e~aluation.”~
Additionally, the assignment requires students to apply their values,
engaging their affective domain, “to take an evaluative stance.* The
paper summarizes and considers the feedback received from students
who completed this assignment during the Fall 2001 semester. It
concludes by considering the “lessons learned” from this undertaking
and makes recommendations regarding adoption of a revised project.

Suggested Briefing Technique, 7 J. LEGALSTUD. EDUC73 (198W1989);Andrea Giampetro-

Meyer & Nancy Kubasek, The Research Paper: A Tool for Developing Critical Thinking
Skills in the Legal Environment of Business Classroom, 9 J. LEGALSTUD. EDUC.317
(1991); Mary Anne F. Nixon & Edward M. Brayton, The Contractor’s Contract: A Tool for
Developing Critical Thinking Skills, 12 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.217 (1994); Nancy
Oppenheim, Cognitive Bridges: Law Courses Structured For Application and Knowledge
Transfer, 17 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.17 (1999); Peter C. Ward, Turo Legal Environment
Writing Exercises Following the Perry Scheme of Cognitive Development, 10 J. LEGAL
STUD. EDUC.87 (1992). See also, Symposium, Teaching Critical ThinkingThe PWS-Kent
Symposium Series in Legal Studies, 9 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.468 (1991).
“Imparting knowledge of fundamental subject matter is part of our task. A far more
important aspect of our work is to help students learn how to acquire knowledge that
ultimately may exceed our own, to apply it in efficient and reasonable ways, and to adjust
and grow when knowledge becomes outmoded and new needs for application emerge.”
David J. Reitzel, Critical thinking and the Business Law Curriculum, 9 J. LEGALSTUD.
EDUC.471, 471 (1991).
‘ Leon Botstein, President, Bard College said: “rhe primary skills Dearned in college]
should be analytical skills of interpretation and inquiry.. ..In this is also the capacity for
intelligent empathy, the ability to understand the other side even when you may not
share it. You should not be dependent on the sources of information, either provided by
the government or by the media, but have an independent capacity to ask questions and
evaluate answers.” See Zernike, supra note 1.
Reitzel, supra note 3, at 476-7.
’ Id. at 478,487-8.
184 I Vol. 20 I The Journal of Legal Studies Education

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Both George Mason University and its School of Management
continue to experience significant enrollment growth, especially at the
undergraduate level. Since available resources significantlylag behind
growth, the Legal Environment of Business course is generally taught
in relatively large sections of s i x t y to seventy students. At this time, it
is the only required law course offering in the School of Management
curriculum.'
The student body of the University and the School is very diverse,
with nearly half of all undergraduates coming from families in which
English is not the only language spoken and ofken not the primary
language for inter-family communications. Many of the students are
foreign born and have varying abilities regarding written and spoken
English. Of course, the native born English speakers also display varied
English language skills. Many students dread taking the required legal
environment course because of its language intensive nature and many
postpone it until they are near graduation.
University policy encourages opportunities for all undergraduates to
strengthen their skills in written communications and technology. To
this end, the university provides resources to support a Writing-Across-
the-Curriculum Program (WAC) and a Technology-Across-the Curri-
culum Program (TAC).Courseswhich contribute toward the strengthen-
ing of student communication and technologyskills are favorably viewed
by the faculty and administration. Additionally, all majors must develop
and designate a writing intensive course which is required of all
students majoring in that area. In response, the School of Management
designed and is implementing a "keystone" writing intensive course
which must be completed by all students prior to admission to the
school.' The course, entitled YBusinessModels: A Communications
Approach," is taught jointly by an English professor and a panel of
business professors. As part of this initiative, it was mandated by the
School of Management faculty that all other core courses also would
provide a supplementary writing experience within the next few years.
Since the Legal Environment of Business course is a core require-
ment, it was pedagogically prudent, as well as "politically" desirable, for
the course to provide students a meaningful opportunity for written
communication. Both authors alreadyhad a writing project assignment.
However, that assignment was revised in light of the faculty mandate
to interface with the coverage of the "keystone" course. It was decided
t o move the assignment away from descriptive writing and toward an
advocacy oriented writing exercise. Such an exercise represents a

' Commercial law is available aa an elective.

Admission to the George Mason University School of Management is selective. See
GMU Online Catalog at http://www.grnu.edu/catalog/management.html#acceptance.
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I 185
natural fit with the argumentative and decision-making orientation of
law and was not to be covered in the keystone course proposal. The
assignment also focuses on using information-based technology-the
Internet-for research sources.Lastly, the assignment requires students
to take a written position based on the arguments they researched and
reported.
THE INTERNET RESEARCH PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
The Internet Research Project is an individual assignment, which
must be completed by every student. It is worth approximately fifteen
percent of the course grade. See Appendix A for the project instructions.
Though the project is detailed on the syllabus and mentioned on the first
day of class, students are directed to begin work on the project a h r the
second of four exams are completed, during the eighth week of the
semester. In that way, students have sufficient background in the
course topics to make a meaningfbl topic selection and to complete the
project within the following month.
Of course, to do the project, each student must first identify an issue
to research. It was decided to leave this as open as possible: “a law and
business or business and ethics topic ... chosen from any issues related
to course coverage.” So students were given significant latitude in
selecting an issue for the project, though it must be related to either
’law and business” or “ethics and business” and must be supported by
resources available on the Internet. Students were encouraged to con-
duct their research project on a topic of interest to them and to seek
ideas from newspapers, magazines, TV or radio news broadcasts, the
textbook, discussions during class lectures, and/or by ”surfing the net.”
A list of “possible topics” for the project for those students who cannot
identify an issue of interest to them also was provided. See Appendix B
for the list of possible topic suggestions that was provided to the
students in Fall 2001. While most of these topics were provided to the
students, some were developed by students in previous semesters. One
of these topics, “Should prostitution be legalized?”was fairly popular in
the following semester. Appendix C lists additional topics developed
subsequent to the list used in Fall 2001, mostly by students.
Though all students undoubtedly had used the Internet to look at
particular websites and for email, their use of the Internet for research,
of any kind, varied and was probably limited in scope. Though some
students may have done some business research, few, if any, had ever
done legal or ethical research on the Internet. To help students, unfami-
liar with Internet-based research, two lists are provided as part of the
course materials. The first is of helpful legal environment websites.
This list contains general and legal search engines and addresses and a
sample of specific legal and ethical websites that may be helpful to
186 1 Vol. 20 1 The Journal of Legal Studies Education
students. It is attached as Appendix D. For the most part, these are
free resources available to anyone. Students are told that these websites
may help with the project, but it was not required that they be used.
Many students used the search engines listed and a smaller number of
students browsed particular websites that were of interest to them to
start off their projects. In addition, for completeness, students also are
provided with the web addresses for some major newspapers. Usually,
recent information can be accessed for free, but archival information has
a fee. This list can be found in Appendix E.
Each student's final paper must be word processed, using single
spacing and skipping once between paragraphs. The paper must be
organized as follows.

Page one lists and answers the following questions:

What is the law and business or ethics and business issue?

Why did you select this issue and why is it significant?
What steps did you follow to research this issue on the Internet
and which web sites did you visit?
Which was the most helpful web site and why?

Page two lists and explains:

Three arguments on the affirmative side of the issue(i.e.

supporting favorable action);
Three arguments on the negative side of the issue;
All arguments must be documented by a citation from a resource
on the Internet plus a printed copy of a relevant page from that
site.

Page three identifies and explains the student's position on the issue.

Pages four, five, and six are printouts of relevant information found on
three web pages (preferably from different web sites, cited on page two).

"he projects were due several weeks prior to the end of the semester in
order to provide sufficient time to grade the project and to return them
to students during the last week of classes.
HOW PROJECT GOALS INFLUENCED DESIGN
The Internet research project's primary goals were multifaceted. It
would provide each student an opportunity to:
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I187
Review the legal and ethical environment of business at the
midpoint of the semester to determine a topic which they wished
to consider in more depth;
Explore the legal and/or ethical research resources available on
the internet and experience the use of this technology for
research;
Research, analyze, summarize, and rewrite arguments support-
ing both sides of an issue;
Choose a position for advocacy after considering opposing argu-
ments and explain why that side was chosen, based on the
arguments;
Supplement the communication initiatives provided by the
keystone course for business majors;
Provide a graded activity t o be completed outside of class t o
supplement exam grades.

The assignment had t o be fairly short so that it would not unduly

burden students, given the heavy course content coverage, and so it
could be graded relatively quickly. It needed to address current issues
to capture student interest, to insure that data would be available on the
Internet, and to provide some level of assurance that it was done by the
enrolled student rather than recycled from prior projects or prior courses
or even purchased from an outside provider. Because students had to
explain their methods and attach printouts of sources from the Internet,
which are dated, the authors feel confident that most students com-
pleted their own project.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE
Though a small number of students had a great deal of trouble follow-
ing the directions and even understanding the assignment, most
students had little difficulty in completing the project. Unfortunately,
most students did not come up with their own topic, but chose one from
the suggested list. It is unclear whether this was done after considering
(and rejecting) their own ideas or whether most students just took the
safe and easy way out. In addition, several topics and one in particular,
proposing the banning of cell phones by drivers, was chosen by about
one-quarter of the student^.^
Student diffkulties with the project varied. Several handed in
research papers on a legal or ethical topic, treating the topic as they
would in a typical research project. Some of these papers may not have
been written for this assignment but may have been an attempt to

' Other popular topics were: employee monitoring(most1ye-mail);the minimum wage;

the livingwage movement;taxation ofonline sales; the Napster case and file-sharing; and
online gambling.
188 I Vol. 20 I The Journal of Legal Studies Education
recycle an earlier paper or even someone else’s paper from another
course. Several other students did the project, but did not follow the
designated format, though the instructors emphasized that followingthe
format was a requirement. This made evaluation more difficult. A
number of students failed to attach the pages from the Internet sources,
but this was easily remedied. Some students confused search engines
with web sites and wrote about the search engines, but never focused on
web sites that could provide information. Most of these problems can be
attributed to lack of attention to the requirements or an unwillingness
to do the project.
Most students easily got past these obstacles. They explained why
they selected their topic and how they went about researching it. Most
students were able t o list and explain three arguments for and three
arguments against an issue, though several students came up short,
especially on the negative side. The level of explanation and argument
varied with the critical thinking and ability level of the students, though
most made at least a passable effort and many did an excellent job. Of
course, their efforts in connection with the arguments pro and con were
generally reflected in the quality of their own positions. Not surpris-
ingly, choosing a position and advocating it was the most difficult part
of the project for students, though, again, most students performed
satisfactorily, and some far exceeded expectations.
Grading was done holistically with an overall letter grade, with
corresponding points and written comments. In cases where students
had done careful and thorough work, they received all or nearly all the
credit. Although each paper varied in its strengths and weaknesses, the
following are the basic criteria applied in reaching an assessment for
each project:

Does the project follow the instructions, include all parts, and
was it in memoranda form with adequate citations?
Is it a good example of business writing from the perspective of
clarity of communication?
How well are the opposing arguments handed? Is the student
able to state each argument and provide some logical supporting
explanation?
How well is the student position articulated? Did that position
draw support from some of the opposing arguments and refute
other arguments?
What is the level of sophistication of the arguments and student
position?
Was the supporting documentation of web pageprintouts
attached?
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I 189

STUDENTASSESSMENT OF THE ASSIGNMENT

To evaluate how well the assignment was perceived by students and
to provide guidance on how to improve the assignment in future
semesters, students in two of the classes were requested to provide
written responses to the following four questions:

1. Do you think that the Internet Research Project achieved its

primary goals? Why or why not?
2. Were the project directions for completing the project clear and
helpful? If not, please identify which components of the project direc-
tions need to be clarified.
3. What are your suggestions for improving this assignment in the
future? Explain.
4. Other comments about this assignment?"

The questionnaire was administered on the project due date. A chart of

all responses received is found in Appendix F. In all, ninety-seven
responses were received and all had at least some usable responses.
Ninety-five students provided useable responses to question number
one. The questionnaire listed the primary goals as:

Explore the legal and/or ethical research resources available on

the Internet;
Research, analyze, and present arguments supporting both sides
of an issue;
Provide each student a graded activity outside of class to
supplement their exam grades.

This is an abbreviated version of the actual goals, discussed above.

Over ninety-one percent of respondents indicated that the project
achieved its primary goals. The responses indicated that students
believed the project helped them improve their research skills. Another
frequent response indicated that the project challenged students to
evaluate their issue from opposing perspectives and that this was a
valuable learning experience. Some respondents also indicated that
they appreciated the opportunity to broaden the course grading criteria
by conducting research outside of the classroom. Other students liked
the project because it used the Internet rather than the library for
research, because it was linked to current issues, and because it pro-
vided an opportunity to deepen their knowledge on a topic of interest.

lo Students in the other two classes were asked to comment on the projects as part of
the University Student Evaluation of Teaching. Unfortunately, t h i s request did not
supply usable results.
190 I Vol. 20 I The Journal of Legal Studies Education
Slightly more than eight percent of the respondents indicated that the
project did not achieve its primary goals. While no common explanation
was provided to justify this opinion, several respondents indicated that
they would have benefited more from conductingresearch in the univer-
sity‘s library than on the Internet. Several students also objected to the
strict format, or experienced difficulty in using and locating legally
related web sites. Other students noted that the research could be done
without utilizing legally related web sites.
Ninety-seven students provided useable responses to the question
”were the directions to complete the project clear and helpful?” Nearly
seventy-fivepercent of the respondents stated that they were clear and
helpful and had no suggestionsfor clarification for the project directions.
While only one respondent indicated that the project directions were
unclear andor not helpful in completing the project, nearly twenty-six
percent of the respondents indicated that the project directions were
clear and helpful but suggested that the directions could be improved.
The most frequent suggestion was t o provide additional guidance on
how to cite sources. Students dissatisfied with the directions wanted
more structure, not less.
Sixly-six students provided suggestions for improvingthe assignment
in the future and other comments were provided in answer to questions
three and four. The most ofken cited suggestion was to allow more flexi-
bility on the length of the three sections of the paper. These responses
seemed to focus on dissatisfactions with limitations on page length and
sources. Three interesting responses suggested that the assignment
would be enhanced by providing: an expanded list of “suggestedtopics;”
a sample project paper; and allowing non-Internet based research.
THE “LESSONSLEARNED” BY THE PROFESSORS
Overall, the instructors were very pleased with the results of the
project. It was well received by most students and expanded their
awareness of the depth and breadth of legal and ethical research
resources available on the Internet. They learned a great deal about a
topic of interest to them that was related to the legal or ethical environ-
ment of business. In addition, the project presented students with a
useful challenge by requiring them to research, analyze, and articulate
arguments to support both sides of an issue. They had an opportunity
to critically evaluate the research results, take a position, and write a
persuasive supporting analysis. The emphasis was on critical thinking;
first, understanding and restating the critical thinking of other sources
and, second, deciding where they agreed and disagreed in formulating
their own recommendation. This was Merent from most other assign-
ments they have experienced, but will be helpful in their business
careers and in their daily lives. While not a lengthy assignment, it
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I 191
challenged students to exercise their critical thinking and expressive
abilities.
Despite its relative success in meeting the educational goals set,
several valuable lessons for improvement were gleaned from reading the
papers, answering questions, and evaluating the questionnaire respon-
ses. As a result, the authors recommend that others use this project
with the following revisions.
First, the list of suggested topics may have the effect of discouraging
students from selectingtheir own topic question. However, without a list
many students would find the selection phase of the project to be
difficult, so it is probably advisable to provide a list of suggestions. How-
ever, greater effort should be made to insure that no one topic is overly
attractive. One of the suggested topics was “Should the use of cell
phones while driving be banned?” This issue was chosen by over one
quarter of the students. While many interesting facts were learned
about this issue, the selection by so many made the grading process
more burdensome and repetitive than necessary. Moreover, when many
students do the same topic, there may be group collaboration. While
this is not necessarily bad if it helps learning, it gives unfair advantage
to collaborating students. One strategy to broaden the variety of topics
is to require students to obtain the professor’s approval for the issue
prior to mid-semester. This would empower the professor to keep track
of the distribution issues and to exert some control over the number of
students who research a specific topic. Another alternative would be t o
drop certain topics off the list if they are overused or to ban them
entirely.
Second, additional flexibility should be provided with respect to the
length of the sections of the paper in which students articulate argu-
ments in support of both sides of the issue and in which they present
their own position. The length of these sections was intentionally
limited to one page each t o lessen the burden of grading a large number
of projects within a short period of time. In addition, it was felt that
students should edit their work so that every word matters, and that,
therefore, a one-page limit was workable. However, providing students
additional flexibility on this aspect of the project can be achieved
without undue increase in the grading burden because most students
can be expected to produce a paper of only minimal length. Those
students who want to exceed expectationsshould have that opportunity.
Thus, permitting a range in these sections of one to three pages should
not result in a significant increase in the length of the “average”paper,
and would provide some leeway for the more detail-oriented student.
Sample citations should be provided as well as a sample completed
project.
192 I Vol. 20 I The Journal of Legal Studies Education
Several additional refinements can be made. On page one, students
should be asked to evaluate web sites. This would highlight the problem
with reliability that may be exacerbatedbecause of easy and inexpensive
information dissemination on the Internet. On page three, students
should be asked to include a business perspective to their analysis.
These additions serve the purpose of further challenging the student to
access the research data and to consider the effect on business manage-
ment.
One question that must be explored is whether the project gives
students an opportunity to develop their reasoning abilities. The
authors believe it does because students must evaluate the arguments
they research when they determine and support their own positions.
This includes the cognitive development skills of “integration of con-
cepts, analysis, and evaluation.”” That the assignment is written is
helpful as well.12 However, while the assignment encourages skill
development, it may fall short of standards for the development of
critical thinking, based on logic, because no attempt is made to teach
10gic.l~However, the idea that logic must be taught as part of critical
thinking is not universally accepted. It may be enough that students
begin by understanding their assumptions and inferences, though
certainly a primer in logic would not be ill advised.“
CONCLUSION
Given the availability of new research tools and technologies, an
Internet-based law and business or business and ethics related writing
project could become standard fare in legal environment courses. Most
legal environment courses cover a great deal of content. However, legal
studies faculty know that communication, critical analysis, and writing
skills are equally critical to success in the business world. Students need
to be challenged to present, in a cogent and concise manner, arguments
pertaining to the legal environment of business. They should have the
experience of evaluating research data, forming their own opinions
based on an analysis of the facts and the law, and of advocating that
viewpoint. The Legal Environment of Business course provides a perfect
vehicle for accomplishing these objectives through an Internet-based
research and advocacy writing project.
The law is such a complex and voluminous topic that most class
sessions focus on discussions of content. For many business students,

l1 Neil Browne & Daniel R. Hansen, The Hasty Embrace of Critical Thinking By
Business Law Educators, 9 J. LEGALSTUD.EDUC.515,516 (1991).
l2 Id. at 518.
Browne argues that critical t h h k h g which is based on logic is different than
persuasion which is the basis for legal reasoning. Id. at 525.
l4 RichardPaul &Linda Elder, THEMIMATUREG~~E~,CRITICALTHINKINGCONCEP~S
& TOOM 4 (2001).
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I 193
this course is their only opportunity to study law. As a result, the course
covers a large number of intellectually challenging areas of the law.
This project adds another dimension to the subject matter learning. It
takes up very little class time and provides an opportunity for students
to expand their technology, research, written communication, critical
analysis, and advocacy skills.
194 I Vol. 20 1 The Journal of Legal Studies Education

APPENDIX A
Internet Project Entry On Syllabus

INTERNET PROJECT Each student will research a law and business

or business and ethics topic on the Internet, chosen from any issues
related to course coverage.You can get ideas for this project from topics
covered in the text and/or in class, the “Interacting with the Internet”
section at the end of each chapter of the textbook, Internet activities on
the text website, current events in newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, the Internet. A list of some possible topics will be displayed
on the class websifddocuments library; however students do not need
to pick one of the displayed topics as long as the topic chosen relates to
business and law OR business and ethics. Students will hand in a word
processed, single-spaced (skipping once between paragraphs) six page
memorandum organized as follows:

Page one identifies the student and lists and answers the following
questions:
A-What is the law and business or ethics and business issue?
B-Why did you select this issue and why is it significant?
C-What steps did you follow to research this issue on the Internet and
which websites did you visit?
D-Which was the most helpful website and why?

Page two lists and explains three arguments on the a f f i a t i v e side

of the issue (i.e. supporting favorable action) and three arguments on
the negative side of the issue, each supported by a citation from the
Internet.
Page three identifies and explains your position on the issue.
Pages 4-6 are printouts of relevant information found on three web
pages (preferably from different websites, cited on page two).
This project will count a maximum of 60 points toward course grade.
APPENDIX B
Internet Research Project: List of Possible Topics

You should choose a topic that interests you and which can be stated
as a question to facilitate presentation of both sides of the issue in your
paper. Remember that the topic must be related either to law and
business OR ethics and business. You are not limited t o topics on this
list, though it is permissible to choose one of these topics. These topics
have not been tested to see what information is available. It is possible
that there may be insufficient information for some of them. If you
 2003 I Internet Writing Project / 195
have any questions as to whether a topic you are interested in is
suitable, ask me.

Should the use of cell phones while driving be banned?

Should the minimum wage be repealed?
Should airline passengers be subject to profiling?
Should all employers provide health insurance for full-time employees?
Should employers provide health insurance for part-time employees?
Should the federal Family and Medical Leave Act be amended to provide
paid leaves?
Should employment discrimination based on sexual orientation be
outlawed?
Should the copyright laws be amended to exempt file sharing sites from
its provisions?
Should states be able to tax goods sold over the Internet?
Should gambling via the Internet be legalized?
Should all decisions of administrative agencies be subject to a new trial?
Should all companies with more than 10 employees have a code of
ethics?
Should age discrimination laws protect workers under 40 years old?
Should companies warn about foreseeable misuse of their products?
Should all alternative dispute resolution settlements be made public?
Should plaintiffs who lose lawsuits pay the defendants’ attorney fees
and court costs?
Should disputing parties be required to try alternative dispute
resolution before they can litigate?
Should a federal tort reform law be enacted which caps and limits
product liability recoveries?
Should businesses serving alcoholic beverages be liable for injuries
caused by intoxicated patrons?
Should copyright protection extend to “re-imported”goods?
Should companies have control over web sites linking t o their web site?
Should the government limit criminal prosecutions t o cases where the
victim complains?
Should shrink-wrap agreements be enforceable?
Should the state exemptions under the federal bankruptcy law be
repealed?
Should the corporate limited liability be eliminated?
Should employers be permitted to monitor their employeeswhile on the
telephone or computer?
Should employers be permitted to read employee email?
Should mandatory arbitration of workplace disputes be prohibited?
Should consumers have a 7-day grace period to cancel all purchases?
Should manufacturers be permitted to set prices asked by retailers?
196 / Vol. 20 / The Journal of Legal Studies Education
Should insider trading be permitted?
Should auditors be permitted to consult for their audit clients?
Should insurance companies have access to applicant genetic testing?
Should a national ID (identification) card be issued?
Should prostitution be legalized?

APPENDIX C
List of Additional Possible Topics for Internet Research Project

Should smoking in restaurants be banned?

Should e-bay be responsible for lost or damaged goods?
Should software be patentable?
Should marijuana be legalized?
Should employers be allowed to reduce or eliminate health benefits for
retirees?
Should tobacco companies be liable for illnesses and deaths caused by
smoking?
Should "soft money" be allowed in federal elections?
Should stem cell research be permitted?
Should businesses prohibit workplace romance?

APPENDIX D
Helpful Legal Environment Websites

These websites may help with your Internet project. It is NOT required
that they be used.
www.profusion.com General search engine
www.yahoo.com General search engine
www.google.com General search engine
www.askjeeves.com or www.ask.com General search engine
http9Aawcrawler.fhdlaw.com Legal search engine
www .access.gpo.gov/su~docs/aces/aces140.html Federal Register
www.law.cornell.eduscode, www .findlaw.com/casecode United States
Code
www.law.cornell.edu/states/listing.html State laws
http://thomas.loc.gov Tracks federal legislation: congressional bills,
federal legislative information
www.findlaw.com Findlaw - for many aspects of the law
http://www.findlaw.com/lOfedgov/judiciddistrict-courts.html Federal
district court cases
www.fhdlaw.com/casecode/coWindex.html Federal circuit courts of
appeal cases
www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html, http://oyez.nwu.edu/ U.S.
Supreme Court cases
 2003 / Internet Writing Project / 197
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/hermes.search.htmlU.S. Supreme
Court cases
www.findlaw.com/llstategov/index.html State Resources
www .findlaw.cod0ltopicdOOadministrative/gov-agencies.html Federal
administrative agencies
http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/ Guide to Law Online
http://www.loc.gov/law/publidaw.html Law Library of Congress
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ US.Supreme Court
www.fedcir.gov US. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
www.courts.net Courts.net
http://legl.state.va.udis.htm Tracks Virginia State legislation
www.courts.state.va.us/brochure.htm Virginia’s Court system publica-
tions
www .courts.state.va.us Virginia’s judicial system
www.courts.nethralindex.htm1Virginia courts
http://www.generalcode.com/webcode2.html Municipal Codes on the
Internet
www.municode.com Municode-municipal codes online
www.vsb.org Virginia state bar
www.vba.org Virginia Bar Association
www.abanet.org American Bar Association
www.lawreview.org Law review articles
www.lib.uchicago.edu/-llouAawlistdinfo.htm1 httpd/legalminds.fmdlaw
. c o d Legal topics discussion groups
http://www.scu.edu/Ethics/MarkkulaCenter for Applied Ethics
http://www.atra.org/ American Tort Reform Association home page
www.uspto.gov U.S.Patent & Trademark Office
www.benedict.com Copyright issues
www.sec.gov Securities and Exchange Commission
http://www .americanexpress. com/homepage/smallbusiness .shtml
American Express Small Business Exchange
www.ftc.gov Federal Trade Commission
http://www.Rc.gov/bcp/menu-tmark.htm Consumer Protection - Tele-
marketing
http://www.adlaw.com/rd AdLaw - Resource Files
www.consumerlawpage.com Consumer law home page
www.wto.org World Trade Organization (WTO)
www.sice.oas.org/trade/nafta/n&atce.asp North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA)
www.virtualchase.com The VirtualChase
http://fi.eeadvice.com FreeAdvice
www.nolo.com Nolo- Law for All
https://www.mycounsel.com My counsel.com
www.lawyerexpress.com Lawyerexpress.com
190 / Vol. 20 / The Journal of Legal Studies Education
APPENDIX E
Helpful Newspaper Websites

Wall Street Journal http://online.wej.codpublidus

Wall Street Journal Europe
Wall Street Journal Asia
New York Times
Boston Globe
Globe and Mail Toronto
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Los Angeles Times
http://online.wsj.codpublicleurope
http://online.wej.com/publidasia
http://nytimes .c o d
h t t p h w w.boston.codglobe/
http://m.globeandmail.com
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
http://www .latimes.com

APPENDIX F
Internet Research Project Questionnaire Results16

QUESTION # 1 - Do you think the Internet Research Project achieved

its primary goals? Why or why not?

Yes, the project achieved its goals - 87

No, it didn’t - 8
Total 95

Positive Responses:

It improves research skills - 17

It helps in evaluating both points of view - 14
It enhances my grade 12-
It helps to deepen my knowledge of a topic I am interested in - 9
I can do research over the Internet without going to the library - 7
It helps me in being alert to new/current issues -5
-
I learn to research legal issues 4
It is a good format in order to write a thorough paper - 3
I learned about a new topic - 2
I study materials outside the textbook -2
I learn about life outside school - 2
I can use concepts presented in class
I have to respect specific requirements in order to achieve the goal
The selection of sites is challenging
It was a topic I knew about

l6 The authors wish to thank Adolph0 Laurenti, ABD, Economics, George Mason
University, for his assistance with analysis of the questionnaire responses.
 2003 I Internet Writing Project I 199
Negative Responses:

It would be more useful to learn how to do research at the library - 2

search engines permit to avoid legal web sites, and we used general web
sites instead - 2
The research won’t help me in the future
Due date too close to final exam
Research not related enough to the topics presented in class or in the
textbook
The format is too limiting
The flow of the paper is broken by the need t o account for the web-
sources
It would be better just to write a n essay on a legal topic
It is hard to find the related legal information
The requirement to present both side of the issue should be clarified
It is not clear which legal sources to use
There should be more freedom to select legal web sites
Students are clueless about many proposed topics
lstgoal is not achieved because students turn to consultant, not legal
websites
I do not like to argue for both the sides
Internet provides too much information on a topic, I got sidetracked.

QUESTION # 2 - Were the directions to complete the project clear and

helpful? If not, please identify which components of the project
directions need to be clarified.

Yes, they were very clear and helpful 19

Yes, they were clear and helpful 52
Yes, they were, but.. . 25
No, they weren’t 1
Total 97

Positive answer with comments:

Directions didn’t explain how to cite sources - 6

It was not clear how long the assignment should be - 3
It could be clearer - 2
Not clear how many arguments had to be posed for each side
(three or up to three) - 2
Not clear how to label sections - 2
Not clear how to express a personal opinion on both the sides
Not clear how much content was due in each section
Not clear what was needed off the web
200 / Vol. 20 I The Journal of Legal Studies Education
Not clear how to state my opinion?
One whole page for my stance is too much
It depends on my grade
Requirements were too restrictive for a paper
Not clear whether both sides had to be argued according to what they
say
It is not clear what the law says
How many examples had to be presented?
Not clear whether I had to use articles or research organizations briefs

Negative answer:

"he steps of the research were not well organized.

QUESTIONS # 3 & ## 4 - What are your suggestions for improving this

assignment in the future? Explain. Have you any other comment about
this assignment?

Loosen up the requirement on the format, make it more flexible and

with no limit on the number of pages - 13
Allow the use of more sources - 5
Change the space of sections in terms of pages - 4
Allow more than one website - 3
It was fun - 2
Helpful and interesting - 2
Fun and interesting - 2
Change the format from Internet project to research project - 2
I enjoyed it - 2
Allow double spacing instead of single spacing - 2
Move the deadline in the middle of the semester - 2
Allow oral presentations - 2
It is very time consuming - 2
Allow room for more historical background
Hard to find three arguments
Require use of legal sources only
Provide less guideline for each page
It was novel to explore both side of an issue
It is not easy to find information
I didn't know how to use all that information
It was a rewarding experience
I like the choice of my topic
It was fun to search the internet
Please more interesting topics!
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0 Academy of Legal Studies in Business 2005

 2003 I Internet Writing Project 1201
Further question for page 1: what are the bad aspects of finding
information over the Internet
Provide a better format for the structure of the project
Provide only topics that have been tested so we know there is material
about
Require less pages to be printed out
Make the project worth one exam grade
Allow the use of library sources as well
Provide asample
The scope of the project is too narrow
Helpful to increase my writing skills
It would be useful to ask about existing legislation
I would like to use Law library resources
Limiting the research to online sources makes difficult to access
information on pay sites that might be otherwise available for free in
hard copy