HOW TO WRITE AN

ASSIGNMENT
School of Law, MUST
August 2023 onwards
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SCHOOL OF LAW

SUBJECT: ____________ (Course Code)

NAME OF THE TOPIC: RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN INDIA

SESSION:

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

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CONTENTS

S. No. Title Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF RIGHT TO
PRIVACY
3. RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
4. PRIVACY IN VARIOUS REGIONAL HUMAN
RIGHT CONVENTIONS.
4.1 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
1950
4.2 American Convention on Human Rights, 1969
4.3 African Charter of Human and People’s Rights,
1981 (ACHPR)
4.4 African Charter on the Rights and welfare of the
Child, 1990

5. RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN INDIA

6. PRIVACY – A MULTIFACETED RIGHT
6.1 Bodily Privacy
6.2 Women’s Rights
6.3 Data or information privacy
7. CONCLUSION
Bibliography
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Table of cases

1. Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v. Union of India (Bichhri Case), AIR 1996 SC 1446

2. Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India, AIR 1996 SC 2715

3. S. Jagannath v. Union of India (Shrimp Culture Case), AIR 1997 SC 811

4. M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Calcutta Tanneries), 1997 (2) SCC 411

5. Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 SCC 241

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You can now begin writing your assignment and start with the
first heading ‘introduction’ and/or Background of the problem

Guidelines for formatting

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

1. Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
2. Use 1.5 space text throughout your paper.
3. Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman(TNR) in a legible size (14 for Headings and
12 for Content).
4. Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references
section. Page numbers appear TOP right within your header.
5. Use Standard Citation Format: ILI rules of footnoting (font size TNR 10). Microsoft word will
do it for you.
6. Word limit : 4000-5000 words approx.
7. Do not use statistics and data published in newspapers, magazines in the main text.
8. Extensive use of quotations or portions of judgements in the assignment is discouraged.
9. Wherever possible, a comparison of laws from major countries like USA, UK, France,
Australia and South Africa will add depth to your assignment and sharpen your skills of
research. Use of case studies in non-law subjects will help understand the practical applications
of principles taught in the class.
10. Do not leave abrupt gaps in between your writing and don’t forget to ‘justify’ your
assignment once you are finished writing.
11. Make good use of e-resources like JSTOR, Hein online etc.
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Tips on Writing
1. Knowledge of the research material

The comprehensive and adequate knowledge of the research area by the researcher cannot be
understated. It forms the backbone of the entire research process and is of vital importance at
the time of analysis, interpretation and report writing.

2. Organizing of research material

Material collected must be organized and the notes made on them manageable and properly
arranged with sufficient information which may be required. The research information must be
logically analyzed and represented in the correct sequence of time or occurrence.

3. Continuous report reflective thinking

Researcher constantly reflects on the material and data collected for a more comprehensive
legal research report.

4. Rough drafts

Prepare rough drafts which will help him with research interpretation and generalizations to be
more accurate and relevant to the research questions or hypothesis.

5. Rewrite and polish the rough drafts

Careful revision of the drafts helps in checking the development of the arguments in the report,
representation of the material as well as the cohesiveness of the entire report.

6. Preparation of the final bibliography

It is essential that from the very beginning of the research, the researcher must maintain a
bibliography of the literature read, consulted and incorporated in the research process. This
bibliography is generally appended to the research project. It should be arranged alphabetically
and be divided into various parts like name of the books, articles, reports and legislations
consulted.

7. Footnotes and head notes

The researcher must whenever citing another author’s work make due footnotes or endnotes to
add authenticity and reference to the report. There are various methods of writing bibliography
and footnotes like the blue book method, OSCOLA method etc.
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ERRORS TO AVOID

1. Analyze and synthesize; don’t just paraphrase 1

Don’t thankfully latch onto one article directly on your topic, wish that you had written that
very article, and then spend 25 pages just paraphrasing it, even with proper attribution (i.e.,
many footnotes, but most of them being id’s). In real legal practice, you will rarely be lucky
enough to find one unassailable authority that conclusively and unarguably resolves your issue.
If you can find incontrovertible authority on “all fours” with your case, by all means rely on it.
Most of the time, however, the law has to progress by analysis that synthesizes, mainly through
analogy and distinction, different pieces of a puzzle. Research papers should reflect that
complex process.

2. Avoid sweeping generalizations unless you can back them up with authority. Legal writing
involves argument and persuasion based on a reasoning process beginning with supportable
premises, not the mere assertion of a proposition. Statements such as “Congress should repeal
the ERISA preemption because all HMO executives care only about the bottom line” may be a
hit on the political campaign trail but detract markedly from credibility in legal writing, unless
supporting sources can be cited.

3. Avoid the “obvious.”

Unless you are making a really unassailable proposition, such as “The earth revolves around
the sun,” using terms such as “obviously,” “clearly,” “of course,” “unarguable,” “simply,”
“certainly,” and “well known” raise enormous red flags for the reader. If you have authority for
a proposition, cite it. If you don’t have any authority, perhaps the proposition is not as
“obvious” as you thought. Besides, if your point is really that “obvious” to everyone, why
waste time and space restating it?

5. Don’t apologize for your positions.

You rarely need to preface your statements with introductory quasi-apologies or such
equivocations as “In my opinion,” “I think,” “I believe,” or “I feel.” First, the reader of legal
writing really doesn’t care what the author “thinks,” “believes,” or “feels.” In this genre, the
only things that matter are what you can prove or logically support through reasoned analysis
and argument. Second, the reader automatically assumes that any proposition for which you do
not cite authority must be your own opinion, so there is no need for the reminder. Just make
your points and let them be evaluated for what they’re worth.

6. Any particular law in mind?

Avoid making broad statements such as “doing X is illegal” unless you can explain which
specific statute, regulation, or common law rule is being violated, and why. Be especially

1
Marshall B. Kapp, Writing Research Papers: 10 Top Tips, THE LAW TEACHER, Fall 1999, at 10.
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cautious about making the claim that “doing X is unconstitutional” unless you can back up
that claim with one or more constitutional clause(s).

7. Cite primary sources.

In a legitimate legal discussion, even the least strict constructionists at least begin by
examining and citing the relevant law itself. Constitutional clauses, statutes, regulations, and
judicial decisions are the primary building blocks of legal analysis; everything else is, literally,
commentary. You can’t write a good legal research paper based solely on citations to
secondary sources such as law review articles and textbooks. You have to begin with the actual
law. Then, you can argue about interpretation. Legal readers, in the first instance, want to know
what the law itself says, rather than what some law professor has to say.