Lecture notes
Writing Law Essays
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- Lancaster University (LU)
Information is provided on the correct way to write a law essay
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Writing Law EssaysEffective Written Communication
1. Tone
○ Consider your audience and nature of communications
○ Formal or informal?
○ Avoid redundancy ‘absolutely essential’
○ Objective and impersonal
○ Avoid words such as I, me, you, they, we and us
○ No need to write ‘in my opinion’
○ All words written in full
Formal Informal
○ Professional language ○ Everyday language
○ All words pronounced and written in ○ Will shorten/abbreviate words
full and correctly ○ May contain slang words
○ Does not include slang words ○ Unplanned/spontaneous/flexible
○ Planned/structured/rigid
2. Clarity
○ Avoid legal jargon and colloquialisms
○ Write in full sentences (short and simple)
3. Brevity
○ Get to the point, i.e. don’t waffle
○ Lord Denning in Miller v Jackson - “In summertime village cricket is the delight of
everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play
and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in County Durham they have their
own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The
wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield is kept short. It has a good club
house for the players and seats for the onlookers. The village team plays there on
Saturdays and Sundays. They belong to a league, competing with the
neighbouring villages. On other evenings after work they practise while the light
lasts.”
4. Structure
○ Use paragraphs and headings
○ Keep the text focused and relevant
5.Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
○ Know the rules
, ○ Incorrect SPaG can cost your chance of getting a job, or can cost your employer
a case
○ Magistrates and county court don’t have a capital letter
Commonly Confused Words
○ Advice/Advise
○ Practice/Practise
○ Licence/License (Licence is a noun, License is a verb)
○ Effect/Affect
Why is grammatical accuracy important in written language?
○ Grammatical inaccuracies change meaning
○ Legal English has a particularly formal and traditional style
○ Reputation/Client trust
When to use Capital Letters?
1. At the beginning of the first word in a sentence
a. Keeping bees is a rewarding hobby
2. Days of the week, and months of the year, but not seasons
a. On Saturday I saw the first shoots of spring, which was incredible as it was early
February
3. Names of Languages
a. My French is diabolical, but my Spanish is fluent
4. Adjectives describing connections to places
a. His weight varied according to his consumption of Polish sausage
b. He lives in a quiet Kentish village
5. Nationalities and Ethnic Groups
a. She is the leading Asian novelist of her generation
b. The British are fond of flag waving and queuing
6. Proper Nouns - Nouns referring to things, people, or places that are unique
a. The crowds trudged wearily across London Bridge.
b. There has been an unfortunate incident involving George Osborne.
c. The governing body for solicitors is the Law Society.
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