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How to Write an Award-Winning Jessup Memorial
byThe University of Sydney JessupTeam, 2007
muster 20,000 words to fill two Jessup me-
n September,
morials. you wonder
By January, how you'll check
you obsessively ever
the word count, praying not to exceed the limit.
The journey from a first draft to a finished memo-
rial is always challenging, sometimes gruelling,
but ultimately very rewarding. Below we share a
few practical tips and tricks from our own experi-
ence of drafting memorials for Jessup 2006-2007
which will hopefully assist teams embarking upon
the Jessup adventure for 2007-2008.
1. Start writing early
It is simple, but vital: start drafting your memori-
als early. Begin with detailed dot-point outlines
of your argument, and progressively build up to
comprehensively argued and footnoted submis-
sions. The purpose of committing an argument to
paper is to identify the strong from the weak ar-
guments, to invite collaboration from teammates,
and to set a framework in which to conduct fur-
ther research. Drafting should be regarded as a
supplement to the research process, not some-
thing subsequent to the research process - don't
wait to find the 'answer' to your problem before
you start drafting, because Jessup problems
rarely have an 'answer'! Instead, let the drafting
process and your emerging arguments direct and
focus your further research.
2. Research, research, research ... then stop
Thorough research is the lynchpin of a good
memorial. Don't discard an avenue of research
because you think it will be irrelevant. Instead,
pursue that avenue to satisfy yourself completely
of its irrelevance - you may be confronted with
that evidence in the oral rounds, and will need to
justify why you didn't rely on it or why the other
team's reliance is misplaced. In the early stages
of research, it is often helpful to use secondary
sources to provide overviews of a topic, but ulti-
1 ILSA Ouarterly * volume 16
mately you should use primary sources -treaties,
state practice, international decisions, UNSC/GA
declarations, ILC reports - to support your sub-
missions. Scour every footnote for possible re-
sources. When you think the ILC web site can
yield nothing more, keep lookingl Do not under-
estimate the impressiveness of a footnote burst-
ing with primary sources of law. However, you
must also realize that you cannot possibly find or
read everything (or fit it all in the memorial). So, in
the last week before the due date, stop research-
ing, and focus on refining your submissions. Your
memorials will benefit from this extra, undivided
attention in the last stages of drafting.
3 Be pedantic
When writing Jessup memorials, the virtues of
pedantry cannot be overstated. Marks which
you have earned through long hours of research
can be lost through such simple errors as poor
footnoting, incorrect citations or lazy expression.
Know the rules. Review memorials with a fine-
tooth comb. Ensure your style (of headings, cita-
tions, footnoting etc) is consistent. Remember
that content isn't everything: your memorials
should also be friendly on the eye for the reader,
so take a bit of time to ensure formatting makes
the page look aesthetically pleasing. This docu-
ment should look as good as if it were going to
the real International Court of Justice!
4. Be stuctured
A structured memorial is a good memorial. Your
headings should assist the delivery of your argu-
ment. The highest level of heading should ad-
dress the declaration you are seeking - but im-
portantly, it should be a submission, not just a
restatement of the declaration. That is, your high-
est level of heading should present, in one sen-
tence, the submission (the 'because' statement)
that will win you the declaration. Under that, you
a isue 1 October 2007
 I How to Write a Winning Memorial

can use subheadings to set out sub-submissions
which support elements of the main submission,
or present alternative submissions that will also
satisfy the declaration. If done properly, when
you extract your headings for the contents page,
the table of contents should read like a summary
of your case.
5. Work as a team
By far the most important lesson of our Jessup
experience was the necessity of working as a
team. When researching, ensure that other team
members also read everything that you read. Dif-
ferent perspectives are vital for a rigorous argu-
ment, and it is important to have someone to dis-
cuss the issues with - someone who shares the
same level of research. Team work also carries
over into the drafting process. We always drafted
in pairs. Drafting in pairs ensures that any weak-
nesses, inconsistencies or other pitfalls in the ar-
gument are ironed out as the drafting proceeds,
and don't come as a rude shock in the final stag-
es. Finally, regardless of the size of your team or
how you decide to draft or divide research labour,
it is important to work together, in the very lit-
eral sense of working in a common space. You
need a common area to store your materials, to
draft memorials, and to discuss the problem with
other team members. Jessup is too great a chal-
lenge to be undertaken solo: solidarity isvital, not
only for the maintenance of your sanity, but also
as the secret of success.
The 2007 University of Sydney Jessup Team won the Jes-
sup Cup at the International Rounds of the Jessup Compe-
tition, and also won the Dillard Award for the best overall
memorials submitted at the InternationalRounds. Team
members Lucas Bastin, Odette Murray, Fiona Roughle,
Natasha Simonsen, and Zelie Wood wrote the winning
memorials and this article.

E
Information about the 2008 Jessup Competition
ILSA is pleased to announce the release of the Competition Problem for the 2008 Philip C.
Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. This year's Compromis poses difficult and
emotionally charged questions about the inherent tension between preventing acts of terrorism
and protecting human rights. As registration deadlines are fast-approaching, ILSA encourages
students and schools to organize a Jessup team and participate in the 2008 Competition.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES FOR 2008 JESSUP COMPETITION

02 November 2007: Deadline for U.S. Team Registration

30 November 2007: Deadline for Non-U.S. Team Registration

Deadline for Final Team Roster Submissions

Deadline for Registration Waiver Applications

Deadline for Eligibility Inquiries

14 January 2008: Deadline for Submission of Memorials

ILSA aeartorly P volume 16 P issue 1 a October 2007 I