7/23/12 Tips for Writing Good Legal Research Papers and Essays

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How To Research & Write A Legal Research Paper

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There is an art to writing legal research papers. Although somewhat intimidating to the
novice, once you learn the basics, writing legal research papers is no more difficult than
writing a term paper.

First of all, you need to know how to conduct legal research. There are a number of websites
which can assist you. Fee-based web research companies include Lexis and Westlaw. These
companies allow you access to court opinions (state and federal), statutes, rules of court,
Shepardizing of cases (discussed further later in this article), and other valuable sources for
inclusion in legal research papers. There is also a large number of websites which can provide
this information for free, such as Findlaw. United States Supreme Court cases and opinions
are available through Findlaw.

Second, determine what kind of research paper or essay you are writing. The different kinds
of legal papers can include: briefs for class assignments, analytical papers (term paper type),
bar exam format papers, appellate briefs, and actual legal document filings. The first three
types mentioned will be discussed here.

Class Assignments and Bar Exam Essays

If your assignment includes reading and briefing one or more court cases, the method of
briefing is easy to remember with the acronym "IRAC". The acronym "IRAC" stands for (1)
Issue; (2) Rule; (3) Argument; and (4) Conclusion.

ISSUE

In order to determine what the issue is, you need to know the parts of the case that
are in dispute. Often, facts are included in essay questions which are irrelevant but are
a trap for the unwary. These types of mistakes are the result of "red herrings." Bar
essay exam questions often have many facts that can sidetrack writers. The term red
herring is used because there is no such thing as a red herring, thus the name to
denote a false issue. The issue of a case is based on the pivotal questions which will
determine the outcome. When you write about the issue in law school assignments or
bar exam essay questions, it should be in the form of a question (e.g., "Did the
Quote Sales and Support
Plaintiff commit a material misrepresentation?").

RULE
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7/23/12 Tips for Writing Good Legal Research Papers and Essays

The rule in a case is the law or laws which govern the outcome of a case. For example,
if the case involves a failure to comply with the Miranda rule, you would want to cite
the Miranda case citation and mention cases which the United States Supreme Court
has decided since Miranda which modify strict adherence to the original Miranda rule.
Rules can include administrative rules, statutes, codes of conduct, case opinions,
executive orders, Attorney General opinions, IRS memorandum opinions, and other
guidelines.

ARGUMENT

The argument is where you use your knowledge and sources in applying the rule to
the particular set of facts presented. For example, using the Miranda case previously
mentioned, you would argue whether the failure of a police officer to give a suspect a
Miranda warning would bar any admission made by a suspect. Here's an example of an
argument: "While the defendant was not given a Miranda warning by police, his record
of prior arrests and convictions where he was given the Miranda warning put the
defendant on notice of his right against self-incrimination."

CONCLUSION

The conclusion is essentially your judicial opinion about the outcome of the case as
you have discussed it in your paper. Basically, you are "issuing a legal opinion." The
other type of legal writing is the regular term paper type. The following information is
a crash course in legal citation. If you intend to cite a case in any legal research paper,
you should know how to "Shephardize" a case. Shephard's is a book which contains a
history of all appellate cases decided after the opinion you are citing. In essence, was
the case overruled on appeal? Affirmed? Modified?
Citations

Here are some basic citation examples. Note that the first number in most citations
refers to the volume number of the source and the subsequent number(s) is the page
number(s). For a basic tutorial in how to cite sources in custom legal papers, check
out the website at law dot cornell dot edu.

LAW JOURNAL

Robert F. Nagel, How Useful is Judicial Review in Free Speech Cases? 69

Cornell L. Rev. 2302 (1984).

COURT RULES

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) = Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

CASE CITATION (Shephardized)

Children of Bedford, Inc. v. Petromelis, 77 N.Y.2d 713, 726-727, 573 N.E.2d

541, 553, 570 N.Y.S.2d 453, 464 (1991), vacated, 1242 S.Ct. 859 (1991).

STATUTES

42 U.S.C. § 405(a) (2000)

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