law essay structure

law essay structure

The Importance of a Well-Structured Law Essay

1. Introduction

This is essential to the understanding of how to write a good piece of written work, but it is particularly applicable to the writing of essays because it is the most open to the interpretation of students.

In a problem question, there will only be one correct answer, and it is the way in which it is set out and argued that will dictate whether it is a good answer or not. This means that a well-structured piece of work will get significantly higher marks than a poorly structured one. This is simple to understand if one looks at a piece of work as an answer to the problem. If the aim is to provide a solution, a piece of work which does not even form a conclusion cannot be a good answer. Therefore, it is the structuring of the piece of work that enables it to provide a solution.

Relevant to producing a sound piece of written work at Level 6 or 7, this essay will advocate that a law essay should be seen as a solution to a problem and should be structured as such, not as a descriptive piece of work. At the more advanced level considered in this piece, answers from problem questions, it is essential to understand that the structure of the answer is the most important element to the answer itself. This is because it is the structure of the answer that provides the solution.

2. The Significance of a Clear Thesis Statement

First, a well-crafted thesis statement helps take the stress out of essay writing as it gives you a clear goal to work towards. A clear goal is important as it will help keep you focused on the specific question that your paper is trying to answer. The last thing you want to do is ‘go off on a tangent’. This can happen without a clear goal. You may end up with an essay which has a lot of argumentative merit, but whose thesis is answering a different question to the one that was set! This is just a waste of time. Remember that markers often have to read a lot of essays. If they don’t appreciate the relevance of your thesis statement after an initial skim of your work, then you are in bad shape. This can lead to low marks, which will be an even bigger cause of stress for you. A poorly stated thesis can really mess up a good attempt to build an originally argued essay. This is because the writer will lose sight of it and either end up backtracking because the argument does not flow or deviate from the original thesis.

It should be clear by now that a well-structured legal essay is one that clearly and concisely articulates the arguments on which it is based. As with all written work, the most important part of the essay is the beginning. More specifically, it is the thesis statement that is the most critical. The role of the thesis statement is to inform the reader (i.e., your lecturer) of the particular argument you wish to take. Its significance can be broken down as follows.

3. Organizing Arguments and Supporting Evidence

In structuring the body of the essay, the hard part is now out of the way. The writer simply needs to enact the plan with an explanation of each point, and this is most effective in the simplest and most straightforward terms. An attempt at discussing too much can lead to a loss in quality. With each point explained, the writer should be looking to provide some sort of evidence, be it informative or, in some cases, a quote from a source. High-quality essays generally utilize informative evidence, as it can show a complete understanding of the point and is more interesting to the reader. Evidence should be fully explained and relate directly to the thesis. This is best done if the evidence is literally tied to the specific point. Often, people fall into the trap of explaining the evidence at the point it has been discussed, making the essay hard to read. Following this way, a more effective method is to explain the evidence just after it has been presented in the text. This will ensure that everything is explained in the simplest terms and that there is no lack of continuity.

In doing this, it is highly recommended that the writer also maps out the points of the essay plan, perhaps by re-stating them in a simplified form. With a clear thesis and a plan in place, the writer can now move on to developing the supporting evidence for the position that the essay intends to prove. It is important to note that the strength of the evidence correlates closely to how the thesis is supported. For instance, if a point of the essay is that American involvement in the war in Iraq has some merit, then it is absolutely crucial that the discussion explains in great detail what that merit is. Failure to do so only leads to a loss in the quality of the essay.

In a well-structured essay, a clear thesis always comes above all else, and that thesis presents the writer’s stance. A clear thesis is key to a good introduction and provides a direction for the rest of the essay. The introduction is intended to provide the reader with a basic roadmap of the points that the essay will illustrate. The same logic applies for the remainder of the essay, since in each movement from point to point, there is a need to explain to the reader exactly what was just discussed and how it ties into the thesis. Without this tool, the essay will make little to no sense.

4. Structuring Paragraphs and Coherent Flow

Finally, the C (Conclusion) closes the paragraph by seeing back to what exactly was the issue being looked at and what has been created through to the arresting or intriguing outcome.

The A (Application) is the most noteworthy piece of your paragraph. This is the spot where you reveal to the reader how the law applies to the facts of the issue being examined. You should show the reader how the rules you associated before transition the issue into law. This part is about logic and can be viewed as being like a law worked assessment stock.

The R (Rule) is the spot where you incorporate the rules or law which applies to that issue.

The I (Issue) starts the paragraph and tells the reader what legal issue you will be examining.

It is critical to understand that every paragraph exists to be a significant social event of a case. Each paragraph should contain one essential point or issue. Using the IRAC structure is fundamental here.

5. Conclusion

That notwithstanding, yet another plan should be made. No, this is not an error. This plan is a study plan and it is a personal plan. At times throughout the semester, make a summary of the course notes focusing especially on a difficult subject necessitating an understanding of the law. This will make your final study for exams much easier. This summary can consist of a written summary, flow charts, scribble notes, whatever! Now to the essay plan. Use your study plan to note the topics to be taken in for your essay. You’re already on the path to success. Your understanding and study of the law has led to the requirement of answering the theoretical questions being formed on those topics. You will use those points as the building blocks for your essay plan. The issue identification may serve as the introduction and conclusion to your essay. The heading will simplify future reference of the ideas and summarize these points, helping to verify the issues of the case. Use the writing the point tutorials to confirm the existence of these issues. The law and the facts are at your fingertips. Input then these will be the need to answering the question. The study plans are the layout of the blueprint of the essay. Case and statute databases will give you the materials necessary to answer the questions. By using this plan, the researching and writing of the essay will be the logical answer to the questions to provide an informed interpretation resulting from the synthesis of the law and facts.

There is no shortcut to anywhere worth going. An old legal saying goes: a legal case is never finished, just abandoned! Your plan is the key to your well-structured law essay. Expectedly, you will find yourself glued to your computer, reading, writing, rewriting, cutting, pasting, deleting, and moving and changing documents, often at ungodly hours. You must toil and so in order to provide an informed interpretation resulting from a synthesis of the law and the facts, which is the answer to the theoretical question. Without a plan, a well-structured law essay is lost.