First Class Assignment – Legal Writing & Research Spring Semester – Prof. May

Please complete both the reading and writing assignments below for Monday, January 12.

Reading Assignment: Read What Are You Trying to Say? Part V (on TWEN).

Writing Assignment: Find an example of persuasive writing that is outside of the legal context. Your example may be an op-ed, an editorial, a blog post, an advertisement, etc. The only requirements in choosing your example are (1) your example must be primarily a written document (rather than a visual work); (2) it must be attempting to persuade the reader; (3) it must be substantial enough to allow you to analyze it (a tweet will not suffice!); and (4) it may not be a legal document, such as a motion, legal memorandum, or pleading.

Read your example and write up a short discussion and evaluation of the persuasive effectiveness of the example. Your write-up should be a maximum of two double-spaced pages in 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. Please attach a copy of your example.

In evaluating the persuasive effectiveness of the example, please consider the following characteristics. You do not have to cover every item on the list below, but do cover several (3 or more) items that best relate to your example. Please conclude whether you found your example to be persuasive overall, based on your review. In your discussion, please specify the textual support for your evaluation in each area.

• Whether the author provides strong authority in support and a logical argument;
• Whether the author is able to overcome any weaknesses in his or her argument;
• Whether the example has a compelling theme or theory that helps to persuade the reader:
• Whether the example uses storytelling effectively;
• Whether the structure and organization of the argument helps or hinders its persuasiveness;
• Whether the writing style helps or hinders the persuasiveness of the piece, specifically whether it is easy to follow, difficult to read (and the reason why, such as long sentences, excessive quotations, or overuse of jargon,), “catchy,” etc.;
• Whether the example reflects the author’s professionalism;
• Any other characteristics of your example that you find add to or subtract from its persuasiveness.

The write-up and example are due at the beginning of class on Monday, January 12.

NOTE: We will be using the same books this semester as in Fall. I will supplement these with additional readings as needed.

TEXTBOOKS

In addition to the following textbooks, we will continue to use selections from my own legal writing text, What Are You Trying to Say? A Guide to First-Year Legal Writing. The spring materials from WAYTTS are available on TWEN.

• Terrill Pollman et al., Legal Writing – Examples & Explanations (2nd Edition 2014)

• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th Edition)

• Tracy L. McGaugh, et al., Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (2014 Edition)

• Laurel Currie Oates & Anne Enquist, Just Research (4th Edition 2014). (Copies of this book are also available on reserve in the law library.)