Legal Research and Writing

Writing Assignments #5&6: Research paper on Guantanamo detainees
Outline and thesis statement due Tuesday, March 27
Research (library assignment #2) due Thursday, March 29
Rough draft due Tuesday, April 3; Final draft due Thursday, April 5

For purposes of grading, this assignment counts double. You are strongly encouraged to do a revision of this assignment. Use a traditional, formal, paper format for this assignment, with footnotes or endnotes and bibliography in the “ Chicago style.” We will spend some class time going over the proper format. Sample footnotes and bibliography begin on page 16.

Drawing on the issues raised and the legal reasoning in the majority and dissenting opinions of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld , supplemented with your own research, write a 5-6 page paper on any legal issue raised in this case.

The introductory paragraph should state your theme or thesis. Not doing this is one of the most common mistakes students make. In an essay, like an OP ED, your reader should know what your position is from the beginning. After you have set out your thesis in the introduction, then you want to prove it. This is the body of your essay. Another common mistake students make is not to be specific enough. Be sure to give examples to support your arguments. Your mastery of the Court's reasoning in these cases is where you have the opportunity to show how well you understand these cases.

Your thesis should hold the paper together as you move from one topic to another. Be sure to use good topic sentences for each paragraph. In your conclusion, you want to return to your thesis and restate it.

In addition to the cases we read and discussed in class, you must also cite at least two references from law reviews in support of your argument. (National newspapers, e.g. New York Times, Boston Globe, and legal newspapers don’t count.) Use Lexis-Nexis to find relevant law review articles. You need to incorporate this material into your paper and show how it supports your argument. This constitutes the second library assignment.

Because this is a formal research paper, do not use “I.” Although you are stating your opinion, it should be in the form of an argument, supported with logical reasoning. Thus, instead of writing “I will show that using a number system in affirmative action is constitutional even though the Supreme Court rejected this method,” restate this as a declarative sentence, “Using a number system in affirmative action is constitutional even though the Supreme Court rejected this method.”

The outline and thesis statement must be handed in on time one week before the rough draft is due. We will not accept your paper if you haven’t worked on an outline in advance. Also, you must complete the research and hand in citations for the two references you plan to use and a one-paragraph summary of how the article helps your argument. This constitutes the second library assignment.

Do not plagiarize. Do not do anything that has even the appearance of plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty. If you have any questions at all about what constitutes plagiarism or cheating, talk to one of the instructors. Whenever you take someone else’s language or ideas, you must give credit to that author. This includes anything you may find on the Internet. See p. 17 for examples of plagiarism.

Some things to check before handing in the final draft:

Do you have a clear thesis statement?

Do you use topic sentences to guide the reader through your paper?
Are your footnotes/endnotes in proper format?
Is your bibliography in proper format?
Are the pages numbered?
Do you use one-inch margins and 11 point or 12 point font?
Have you checked spelling and grammar?