Scholarly Writing Resource Guide
Scholarly Writing as Performance Art (podcast)
Topic Selection
Searching SCHOLAR and OhioLINK
Treatises and Practice Guides
Interdisciplinary Research
LexisNexis/Westlaw "Saved Searches"
Journal Articles and Current Awareness Services
Web Searching and Resources
Please contact the Law Library's Research Services librarians during their Research Services hours, or via email to research.services@law.csuohio.edu for help with locating or using any of the resources discussed in this guide.
Topic Selection
Selecting an appropriate topic for scholarly writing may seem more stressful than the writing itself. How can you find an interesting topic in which there's not too much, yet not too little, written?
Consider reviewing current issues and hot topics on news Web sites such as American Lawyer Media's American Lawyer, Law.Com, National Law Journal, and New York Law Journal, as well as Lawyers Weekly. You can browse news and current events on professional or advocacy organization Web sites, such as the American Bar Association, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, American Medical Association, and Arthritis Foundation. You may also want to check out Lawtopic.com, which lists over 90 paper topics and includes tips on writing a student article.
Legal issues in which Federal Courts have split decisions are often good topics for scholarly writing. In LexisNexis and Westlaw, try using the search statement circuit /2 (split or disagree!) in federal case files to identify such decisions. To narrow search results, add topical search terms or date restrictions to this general circuit-split search statement. Another way to find circuit splits is to use U.S. Law Week's circuit split charts, which are issued quarterly. Click on "Search all Issues" at the top, type in "circuit splits" and select "within headings only".
Beyond providing resources for conducting research on a topic, both LexisNexis and Westlaw have news and other materials that may help you to identify a paper topic. In LexisNexis, review the source files arranged under "Legal > Area of Law - By Topic," "Legal > Secondary Legal" (such as the Bar Journals, Combined and Combined Legal Newsletters source files, as well as the American Bar Association group of source files) and "Legal > Legal News," as well as "News & Business > News" and "News & Business > Market & Industry." In Westlaw, review the databases arranged under "Topical Materials by Area of Practice," "Legal Periodicals & Current Awareness" (such as Legal Newsletter Multibase, Legal Newspapers, and Notable Trials) and "Business and News" (such as the "Business & Trade News by Industry" and "Legal News" groups).
ACS ResearchLink has a Topics Search Page, which contains a database of real-world legal questions submitted by attorneys. When a student finds a topic of interest, they can apply to work on that topic with help from the attorney, if the student has a supervising professor. The resulting paper may be published on ACS ResearchLink.
Once you've identified an interesting topic, do a quick preliminary literature review to determine whether there are sufficient resources to discuss the topic as well as present your hypothesis and evidence-based conclusion. See other sections of this guide for more complete information on conducting print and electronic research for scholarly writing.
Searching SCHOLAR and OhioLINK
SCHOLAR is the electronic catalog for Cleveland State University's Law Library and University Library. CSU also participates in the state-wide consortia OhioLINK, which provides access to a state-wide central catalog and numerous research databases. For treatises and other materials on scholarly writing, search the SCHOLAR and OhioLINK catalogs with the subject heading Legal Composition. See also the Legal Composition Related Subject Headings.
Treatises and Practice Guides
CALI (Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) Tutorials
Connect to the CALI Library of Lessons for a list of "Legal Writing" and "Legal Research" Lessons available to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Students. You must register a personal password with CALI to use these CALI tutorials. [If you are a Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Student, and have not yet accessed CALI via our Law School subscription, Students click here .] In particular, note that the CALI Legal Writing & Research Lessons include "Punctuation and Grammar Basics for Law Students."
The CALI Legal Writing Lessons are also highlighted on the Tutorials and Instructional Research Guides page of the Law Library Web site.
Selected significant treatises and practice guides in the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library collection which provide a foundation in legal composition and scholarly writing include the following:
Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, and Seminar Papers / Eugene Volokh. Foundation Press, c2007. KF250 .V65 2007
Advanced Legal Writing: Theories and Strategies in Persuasive Writing / Michael R. Smith. Aspen Law & Business, c2002. KF250 .S58 2002
Advocacy Words: a Thesaurus / William Drennan. American Bar Association, c2005. K50 .D74 2005
The Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers: a Practical Reference / Deborah E. Bouchoux. Aspen Publishers, c2005. KF250 .B68 2005
Beyond the Basics: a Text for Advanced Legal Writing / Mary Barnard Ray and Barbara J. Cox. Thomson/West, c2003. KF250 .R38 2003
Clear and Effective Legal Writing / Veda R. Charrow, Myra K. Erhardt, and Robert P. Charrow. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, c2007. KF250 .C45 2007
Culture to Culture: a Guide to U.S. Legal Writing / Jill J. Ramsfield. Carolina Academic Press, c2005. KF250 .R354 2005
Effective Lawyering: a Checklist Approach to Legal Writing and Oral Argument / Austen L. Parrish and Dennis T. Yokoyama. Carolina Academic Press, c2007. KF250 .P37 2007
The Elements of Legal Style / Bryan A. Garner. Oxford University Press, c2002. KF250 .G37 2002
A Form and Style Manual for Lawyers / Ian Gallacher. Carolina Academic Press, c2005. KF250 .G35 2005
Guide to Legal Writing Style / Terri LeClercq. Aspen Law and Business, c2007. KF250 .L3913 2007
Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer / Anne Enquist and Laurel Currie Oates. Aspen Publishers, c2005. KF250 .E57 2005
The Lawyer's Craft: an Introduction to Legal Analysis, Writing, Research, and Advocacy / Cathy Glaser, et al. Anderson Publishing Company, c2002. KF240 .L374 2002
The Lawyer's Guide to Writing Well / Tom Goldstein and Jethro K. Lieberman. University of California Press, c2002. KF250 .G65 2002
Legal Writing Citation in a Nutshell St. Paul, MN : Thomson/West, 2008 KF245 .T47 2008.
Legal Method and Writing / Charles R. Calleros. Aspen Law & Business, c2006. KF250 .C345 2006
Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy, and Style / Richard K. Neumann, Jr. Aspen Law & Business, c2005. KF250 .N48 2005
Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Persuasive Argument / Robin S. Wellford. LexisNexis Matthew Bender, c2006. KF250 .W436 2006
Legal Research and Writing / Michael D. Murray and Christy Hallam DeSanctis. Foundation Press, c2005. KF250 .M87 2005
The Legal Writer / Mark P. Painter. PSA Consulting Jarndyce & Jarndyce, c2003. KF250 .Z9 P262 2003
Legal Writing: a Systematic Approach / Diana V. Pratt. Thomson West, c2004. KF250 .P73 2004
Legal Writing: Form and Function / Jane N. Richmond. National Institute for Trial Advocacy, c2001. KF250 .R53 2001
Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written / Mary Barnard Ray and Jill J. Ramsfield. West Group, c2000. KF250 .R39 2000
Legal Writing: Process, Analysis, and Organization / Linda Holdeman Edwards. Aspen Law & Business, c2006. KF250 .E38 2006
Legal Writing and Analysis / Linda H. Edwards. Aspen Publishers. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, c2007. KF250 .E378 2007
The Legal Writing Handbook: Analysis, Research, and Writing / Laurel Currie Oates, Anne Enquist, and Kelly Kunsch. Aspen Law & Business, c2006. KF250 .O18 2006
The Legal Writing Handbook: Practice Book / Laurel Currie Oates and Anne Enquist. Aspen Law & Business, c2006. KF250 .O182 2006
Legal Writing In a Nutshell / Lynn Bahrych and Marjorie Dick Rombauer. Thomson/West, c2003. KF250 .S68 2003
Legal Writing In Plain English: a Text with Exercises / Bryan A. Garner. University of Chicago Press, c2001. KF250 .G373 2001
Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language / Joseph Kimble. Carolina Academic Press, c2006. KF250 .K54 2006
The Modern Rules of Style / Paul Marx. ABA Publishing, c2007. KF250 .M39 2007
NLRB Style Manual: A Guide for Legal Writing in Plain English / National Labor Relations Board. The Board, 2000. KF250 .N2 2000 & Electronic
Persuasive Writing for Lawyers and the Legal Profession / Louis J. Sirico, Jr. and Nancy L. Schultz. LexisNexis, c2001. KF250 .S54 2001
Plain English for Lawyers / Richard C. Wydick. Carolina Academic Press, c2005. KF250 .W93 2005
Powerful Legal Writing in Ohio / Adam R. Fox and Jessica Gadsden. National Business Institute, c2000. KFO75 .F68 2000
The Redbook: a Manual on Legal Style / Bryan A. Garner, with Jeff Newman and Tiger Jackson. West Group, c2006. KF250 .G375 2006
Scholarly Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes, and Law Review Competition Papers / Elizabeth Fajans and Mary R. Falk. Thomson/West, c2005. KF250 .F35 2005
Successful Legal Analysis and Writing: the Fundamentals / Bradley G. Clary and Pamela Lysaght. Thomson/West, c2006. KF250 .C53 2006
Synthesis: Legal Reading, Reasoning, and Writing / Deborah A. Schmedemann and Christina L. Kunz. Aspen Publishers, c2007. KF250 .S36 2007
Working with Words in Business and Legal Writing / Lynne Agress. Perseus, c2002. HF5718.3 .A37 2002
Interdisciplinary Research
No matter what topic you select for your scholarly writing paper, to fully understand and appreciate the myriad issues involved in it, you will likely need to conduct interdisciplinary research in the life sciences, physical sciences, or social sciences. When researching in these areas, remember that current knowledge in these disciplines is primarily found in the journal literature, and one should never simply rely upon books.
In LexisNexis, consult the source files of the over 50 topical groups arranged under "Legal > Area of Law - By Topic." In Westlaw, review the databases of the over 40 topical groups arranged under "Topical Materials by Area of Practice." Each of these LexisNexis/Westlaw topical groups include news and journal source files and databases, in addition to traditional case, statute, and regulation source files.
The OhioLINK state-wide consortia provides access to over 100 Research Databases arranged in 40 topical groups. For example, the "Law and Legislation" group includes LexisNexis Academic, PAIS International, Papers First, Proceedings First, and Social Sciences Citation Index. The "Medicine and Health" group includes Alt HealthWatch, MEDLINE, Biological Abstracts, Papers First, Proceedings First, PsycINFO, and Science Citation Index. All of the OhioLINK topical Research Databases groups include WorldCat, an international library consortia catalog of over 43 million records of materials dating from 1000 BC to the present.
The Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library Web site includes links to numerous Legal Reference materials, Federal Legal Resources, and Ohio/Local Legal Resources, as well as Law Library Publications and Resource Guides. New Resource Guides, covering topics such as Health Law and Environmental Law, are being added on a continuous basis.
LexisNexis/Westlaw "Saved Searches"
When writing a paper or article, you may need to continuously search primary and secondary sources for information on pending court cases, legislation, and regulations, as well as a myriad of social and political events. LexisNexis and Westlaw allow you to save a search then have it automatically run for you on a periodic basis, saving you a lot of time and effort. These "saved searches" are called LexisNexis Alert searches and Westlaw WestClip searches. Search results can be delivered to you as a regular printout or emailed. For information on how to set up LexisNexis Alert and Westlaw WestClip searches, connect to the LexisNexis/Westlaw Saved Searches guide from the Law Library Publications and Resource Guides.
Journal Articles and Current Awareness Services
See the Finding Articles in Law Reviews, Journals and Other Legal Periodicals guide for an explanation of the legal periodical indexes and databases available to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law students and the CSU community. That guide covers print and electronic indexes, as well as electronic full-text journals. In particular, note OhioLINK's Electronic Journal Center and its 11 subject clusters, such as "Social Sciences," which includes Politics, Political Science, and Law journals.
Web Searching and Resources
If you're inexperienced with searching the WorldWideWeb, or having poor luck doing so, consult the Web Searching guide available from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library Law Library Publications and Resource Guides page. It includes information on evaluating Web sites, principles and guidelines for Web searching, Web directories, Web search engines, Web metasearch engines, and the Invisible Web.
Key Law-Related and Legal Research Web sites with relevance for Scholarly Writing include the following:
Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute: Law about - WEX: Category:Overview
FindLaw In the "For Legal Professionals" tab, under "Research the Law," note Practice Areas.
Jurist Note its Law Guides.
LexisONE Under "Legal Web Site Directory," note Practice Areas
The Virtual Chase Under "Database of Sources," note Legal Research link.
GPO Access U.S. Government Printing Office comprehensive portal to executive, legislative, and judicial resources.
USA.gov Official U.S. Government portal.
Thomas Library of Congress' comprehensive site of U.S. Congressional resources.
Association of American Law Schools
American Bar Association
In "Public Resources," under "Get Legal Help," note Lawlink: the Legal Research Jumpstation.
LER
September 2007