how to write a legal theory essay

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Writing your Legal Theory Essay: Strategies for Success

Note: this post is largely based on materials prepared by Chantal Morton for her workshop ‘Advice for a Legal Theory Paper’ (20 September 2016).

You’re eight weeks through second semester and the outline of your Legal Theory essay is due to be submitted to your lecturer. Worth 45% of your final mark, this essay is an important piece of assessment– and will require you to deploy skills not necessarily engaged in your first semester subjects.

Unlike Dispute Resolution or Torts , where you would have been expected to engage with cases, legislation, journal articles and law reform materials to respond to a specific prompt (i.e. ‘what are the pros and cons of online dispute resolution?’), Legal Theory asks you to engage with much broader normative and analytical issues – like the concept of law and its role in contemporary society. In doing so, you will be expected to draw on the work of a range of legal theorists from the core readings and beyond, and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of complex concepts and arguments.

The novelty of the assessment (at least relative to your experiences so far) might mean that this essay comes as a challenge – so the LASC developed this guide to assist you.

The post is structured in two parts: the first part will briefly summarise the “formal” staples of an excellent legal essay you should be familiar with from last semester. The second part will explore the unique requirements of the Legal Theory essay and provide tips and strategies to maximize your chances of understanding the task requirements and approaching the essay with confidence.

Let’s begin.

Part I: Stapes of an Excellent Legal Essay

Every excellent legal essay will have similar qualities that are dealt with by other LASC Materials (See Legal Essays – Understanding Your Task ; The Guide to Academic Success – Chapter 6: Writing Assignments for Law*). These include:

• An introduction that succinctly states their contention and provides a ‘road map’ of their essay;
• An effective and convincing argument that is supported by appropriate analysis of relevant sources, consistently developed across the paper and addressing counter-arguments;
• A clear and logical structure;
• Precise and formal language; and
• Good grammar and punctuation

You will be expected to conform to these writing conventions for legal theory. A good way of ensuring that you do address all of these criteria is to use the checklist for legal essay writing contained in chapter 11 of the Guide to Academic Success in conjunction with the advice contained in Part II of this post.

Part II: Requirements Unique to Legal Theory

As prefaced above, your essay will require you to interpret and evaluate the theories of key jurists, and ultimately make an argument based on, or in response to, those theories or concepts.

Unlike DR and Torts , substantial research is not required in your essay (although wide reading is always likely to benefit your understanding)You are being assessed on the depth of your understanding of a range of complex concepts and ideas, and your ability to develop and justify a reasoned argument in response to a specific prompt. You should therefore spend time you would otherwise invest trawling Austlii and WestLaw , on reading (and re-reading) relevant texts, and developing your knowledge of the core theoretical concepts and debates relevant to your topic. Where appropriate, this may include background reading of textbooks and wiki entries to establish the key issues and theorists engaged in a particular debate. You should then concentrate on the ‘primary’ sources for legal theory – the original texts of the theorists you will analyse. .

When it is time to start writing, remember that your argument in Legal Theory will make a normative or analytical claim, as opposed to a causal or empirical claim, where your claims are more pragmatic. Examples of both are provided below:

Now for those tips we said we’d provide:

Tip #1: Don’t forget to have an argument!

The Legal Theory essay requires you to understand, in a precise and rigorous way, the theories and concepts of your chosen theorists, but that’s only one part of the assessment. A common pitfall that students fall into is providing a very comprehensive overview of their chosen theorists and concepts, without subjecting those ideas to critical analysis and argument.

One simple but effective way of avoiding this trap is to use black font for descriptive sentences; and red font for sentences that are analytical or argumentative.

A good rule of thumb is that your essay should be at least two thirds should be comprised of argument/analysis.

Tip #2: Don’t argue in a vacuum

A lot of the theories, questions and debates you will engage with are decades (or even centuries) old. Don’t attempt to re-invent the wheel. Find out, and draw on, the thinking that others have done before you, rather than attempting to reason ab initio. Your analysis of that thinking – identifying the valuable insights and important advances – ensures that your argument is ‘original’ and reflects your own work. It is not expected that the primary ideas in your essay are genuinely ‘original’..

Tip #3: Define technical terms

Many theorists develop specific terms and phrases to describe complex concepts and ideas in their theories. Use this language precisely and accurately and be sure to communicate your interpretation of technical terms to your essay reader. You’ll also likely find that describing a technical term in your own words will strengthen your understanding of your argument.

Tip #4: Focus on justifying your argument

As alluded to above, you’re being assessed on your depth of understanding of key materials and concepts pertinent to the prompt you’ve chosen. That depth of understanding is demonstrated through the concise, logical presentation of an argument, rather than through direct exposition. Thus, what you leave out of your essay is just as important as the points you include – selecting relevant points is critical. Present your argument in full and only rely on materials that are relevant.

Do not try to reference every theorist covered in your materials (or every concept of a particular theorist). If you do, your teacher will (rightly) conclude that you’ve missed the point of the essay.

Tip #5: Show your workings (and references!)

The theories you’re dealing with are complex. For that reason, arguments and conclusions based on (or challenging) those theories should be expressed clearly, concisely and logically. Do not assume that your teacher can follow your leaps of logic.

For the same reason, you would always provide pin-point references for assertions. The theories you’re interpreting often lack consensus, and your reader may wish to check where you’re sourcing your arguments.

Tip #6: Spend time organizing your paper

Given the nature of some of the concepts you’ll be analyzing, it’s important to impose structure on your paper. Like any good essay, your paper should be broken into several sections with headings and even sub-headings expressing your main contentions. A poetic stream of consciousness is not appropriate. Remember, however, that a sentence or two is not a section, and that section breaks will not ‘mask’ gaps in logic or lack of connections between points.

Tip #7: Don’t over quote

In your essay you should be paraphrasing, summarizing and directly quoting theorists where appropriate. Take care not to over-quote though; long direct quotes should be used very sparingly as they detract from your analysis. It should not be necessary to present a ‘block’ (indented) long quote in an essay of 2,000 words.

Related FSG posts

• Research Plan Checklist
• Legal Essays – Understanding Your Task
• Research Essays – Understanding your task
• Research Essays – The Writing Process
• AGLC Formatted Template Essay
• How Do I Write a Legal Essay? (University of Sydney)
• How to Write the Perfect Law Essay Introduction (SurviveLaw)
• Your logical fallacy is

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How to Write a First-Class Law Essay

Studying law at university entails lots of essay writing. This article takes you through the key steps to writing a top law essay.

Writing a law essay can be a challenging task. As a law student, you’ll be expected to analyse complex legal issues and apply legal principles to real-world scenarios. At the same time, you’ll need to be able to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively. In this article, we’ll cover some top tips to guide you through the process of planning, researching, structuring and writing a first-class law essay with confidence. 

1. Start In Advance

Give yourself plenty of time to plan, research and write your law essay. Always aim to start your law essay as soon as you have the question. Leaving it until the last minute does not only create unnecessary stress, but it also leaves you insufficient time to write, reference and perfect your work.

2. Understand The Question

Do not begin until you fully comprehend the question. Take the time to read the question carefully and make sure that you understand what it’s asking you to do. Highlight key terms and annotate the question with definitions of key concepts and any questions that you have have. Think about how the question links back to what you’ve learned during your lectures or through your readings.

3. Conduct Thorough Research

Conducting thorough research around your topic is one of the most fundamental parts of the essay writing process. You should aim to use a range of relevant sources, such as cases, academic articles, books and any other legal materials. Ensure that the information you collect is taken from relevant, reliable and up to date sources. Use primary over secondary material as much as possible.

Avoid using outdated laws and obscure blog posts as sources of information. Always aim to choose authoritative sources from experts within the field, such as academics, politicians, lawyers and judges. Using high-quality and authoritative sources and demonstrating profound and critical insight into your topic are what will earn you top marks.

4. Write A Detailed Plan

Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to plan your essay. When writing your plan, you’ll need to create an outline that clearly identifies the main points that you wish to make throughout your article. Try to write down what you wish to achieve in each paragraph, what concepts you want to discuss and arguments you want to make.

Your outline should be organised in a clear, coherent and logical manner to ensure that the person grading your essay can follow your line of thought and arguments easily.  You may also wish to include headings and subheadings to structure your essay effectively This makes it easier when it comes to writing the essay as starting without a plan can get messy. The essay must answer the question and nothing but the question so ensure all of your points relate to it.

Start Writing Like A Lawyer

Read our legal writing tips now

5. Write A Compelling Introduction

A great introduction should, firstly, outline the research topic.  The introduction is one of the most crucial parts of the law essay as it sets the tone for the rest of the paper. It should capture the readers attention and provide the background context on the topic. Most importantly, it should state the thesis of your essay.

When writing your introduction, avoid simply repeating the given question. Secondly, create a road map for the reader, letting them know how the essay will approach the question. Your introduction must be concise. The main body of the essay is where you will go into detail.

6. Include A Strong Thesis Statement

Your thesis should clearly set out the argument you are going to be making throughout your essay and should normally go in the introduction. Your thesis should adopt a clear stance rather than being overly general or wishy-washy. To obtain the best grades, you’ll need to show a unique perspective based upon a critical analysis of the topic rather than adopting the most obvious point of view.

Once you’ve conducted your research and had a chance to reflect on your topic, ask yourself whether you can prove your argument within the given word count or whether you would need to adopt a more modest position for your paper. Always have a clear idea of what your thesis statement is before you begin writing the content of your essay. 

7. Present the Counter-argument

To demonstrate your deeper understanding of the topic, it’s important to show your ability to consider the counter-arguments and address them in a careful and reasoned manner. When presenting your counterarguments, aim to depict them in the best possible light, aiming to be fair and reasonable before moving on to your rebuttal. To ensure that your essay is convincing, you will need to have a strong rebuttal that explains why your argument is stronger and more persuasive. This will demonstrate your capacity for critical analysis, showing the reader that you have carefully considered differing perspectives before coming to a well-supported conclusion.

8. End With A Strong Conclusion

Your conclusion is your opportunity to summarise the key points made throughout your essay and to restate the thesis statement in a clear and concise manner.  Avoid simply repeating what has already been mentioned in the body of the essay. For top grades, you should use the conclusion as an opportunity to provide critical reflection and analysis on the topic. You may also wish to share any further insights or recommendations into alternative avenues to consider or implications for further research that could add value to the topic. 

9. Review The Content Of Your Essay

Make sure you factor in time to edit the content of your essay.  Once you’ve finished your first draft, come back to it the next day. Re-read your essay with a critical perspective. Do your arguments make sense? Do your paragraphs flow in a logical manner? You may also consider asking someone to read your paper and give you critical feedback. They may be able to add another perspective you haven’t considered or suggest another research paper that could add value to your essay. 

10. Proofread For Grammatical Mistakes

Once you’re happy with the content of your essay, the last step is to thoroughly proofread your essay for any grammatical errors. Ensure that you take time to ensure that there are no grammar, spelling or punctuation errors as these can be one of the easiest ways to lose marks. You can ask anyone to proofread your paper, as they would not necessarily need to have a legal background – just strong grammar and spelling skills! 

11. Check Submission Guidelines

Before submitting, ensure that your paper conforms with the style, referencing and presentation guidelines set out by your university. This includes the correct font, font size and line spacing as well as elements such as page numbers, table of content etc. Referencing is also incredibly important as you’ll need to make sure that you are following the correct referencing system chosen by your university. Check your university’s guidelines about what the word count is and whether you need to include your student identification number in your essay as well. Be thorough and don’t lose marks for minor reasons!

12. Use Legal Terms Accurately

Always make sure that you are using legal terms accurately throughout your essay. Check an authoritative resource if you are unsure of any definitions. While being sophisticated is great, legal jargon if not used correctly or appropriately can weaken your essay. Aim to be concise and to stick to the point. Don’t use ten words when only two will do.

12. Create a Vocabulary Bank

One recurring piece of advice from seasoned law students is to take note of phrases from books and articles, key definitions or concepts and even quotes from your professors. When it comes to writing your law essay, you will have a whole range of ideas and vocabulary that will help you to develop your understanding and thoughts on a given topic. This will make writing your law essay even easier!

13. Finally, Take Care of Yourself

Last but certainly not least, looking after your health can improve your attitude towards writing your law essay your coursework in general. Sleep, eat, drink and exercise appropriately. Take regular breaks and try not to stress. Do not forget to enjoy writing the essay!

Words by Karen Fulton

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• Sep 16, 2014

Tips from your Tutor: How to Write the Perfect Law Essay Introduction

After reading the first few sentences of a law essay, most markers will start to formulate an idea of the mark range. If they start with a Credit, Pass or Fail mark in mind, it becomes incredibly difficult for the paragraphs that follow to bring the paper back up into the higher mark brackets. Impress your marker from the get-go by following these tips…

1. Provide context

You may be keen to begin outlining your points in the first sentence of your essay, but it’s good practice to open your paper with one to three sentences of background information that provides context for the argument that follows. For example:

In 2009, the […..] Act was introduced to remedy problems of […..] However, from its inception it has been criticised for [.....].

2. Refer to the question

It’s good to have some brief background information in your introduction, but this is worthless if it is not related back to the question. Make sure you clearly refer to the question in your introduction by using its key terms throughout. For example, if the question is: “What has been the impact of the […] amendments?” you could refer to the question in the following way:

This essay will examine recent amendments to the [.....] Act and explore their effect upon […..].

3. Be specific

Be specific about where your essay will go. Which reforms or mechanisms will you focus on? Which one(s) will you avoid? Why? Will you draw on any comparative jurisdictions? Theories?

This essay will examine the effectiveness of civil litigation rules in relation to Summary Judgments only. Summary judgments have been chosen as the key area of inquiry because they are the major mechanism a judge can use to filter out cases that should not go to trial. This essay will draw upon the American experience to suggest that a higher threshold test is preferable to NSW’s current standard…

4. Provide a roadmap

After you outline the scope of your argument, you should provide a brief outline of your essay’s structure to assist the reader:

In section I, this essay will outline the key recommendations of the […..] Report. Section II will examine the implementation of these recommendations in the current [……] Amendment Act. In section III, the effectiveness of this amending instrument will be critiqued, before possibilities for reform outlined in Section IV.

5. Finish with your conclusion(s)

Students are often quite shy about putting their conclusion(s) into their introduction, but this comes across as polished and professional:

This essay will ultimately conclude that the threshold test for obtaining a default judgment is inappropriate and unfair, and should be raised to reflect the standard in [jurisdiction].

Marie Hadley is a lawyer, PhD candidate at UNSW, and tutor who loves teaching legal writing and problem solving skills.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: This story was first published on Survive Law on 22 August 2013.

Enjoyed this post? Sign up for the Survive Law weekly newsletter for more.

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Analyzing Law: New Essays in Legal Theory

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The articles in this collection cover a wide range of approaches to law and legal theory, including Analytical Jurisprudence, Legal Realism, Law and Economics, Critical Legal Studies, Feminism, and Critical Race Theory. The essays consider foundational questions regarding the objectivity of law, the nature of rules, the relationship of law and morality and the philosophical foundations of the common law, and offer critical inquiries into whether law systematically fails women and racial minorities. The contributors, who include some of the best-known names in legal theory from the United States, Britain, Canada, and Israel, are responsible for some of the most important and challenging work in legal theory today. A central focus of the essays in this work is the contribution of the well-known philosopher Jules Coleman to the various topics which are covered by the contributors.

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Legal Theory

The second coming of political liberalism, honoring statutory restraint in conflicts analysis.

• Katherine Florey

Confusion and Clarity in the Case for Supreme Court Reform

Chapter One

Introduction

Court Reform

Law Without Violence: Human Rights Adjudication as World Building

Non-extraterritoriality.

• Carlos M. Vázquez

Alienation in Law School

The linguistic and substantive canons.

• Brian G. Slocum
• Kevin Tobia

The Incompatibility of Substantive Canons and Textualism

• Benjamin Eidelson
• Matthew C. Stephenson

The Thrust and Parry of Stare Decisis in the Roberts Court

How To Write Law Essay?

23 October, 2020

8 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

If you are a law student, you have probably already faced the question of how to write an essay on this discipline. This is not an easy task because the requirements for a law essay often differ. In addition, you need to state your position and back it up with arguments clearly for others to understand. And to help you facilitate this process, we offer some preparation tips and tricks so that you could craft a decent work.

First things first, let’s discuss the legal essay scheme. It is rightly similar to the social science essay scheme. In both papers, it is necessary to explain a position on a particular issue or comment on a statement. For university law essay, especially in cases of specialties, it’s more complicated. There are several legal essay types :

• essay on quote explanation . Like in a school essay, the task here is to reveal the meaning of the expression and give a reasoned agreement or disagreement with it.
• essay on legal theory. The essence of this task is to describe one of the theories of law or any jurisprudence. This can be anything – for example, the theory that touches the Fifth Amendment.
• jurisprudence essay. In this assignment, you should review a specific case study or analyze the given document. Here, it’s important to adhere to special structure: first read the case, comprehend it, and only then give a critical account of this or that piece.

Law Essay Outline

The outline is one of the essential parts of law essay writing. At the point of creating it, you should jot down the structure of the main argument for each and every statement you deem appropriate for a text. This way, it’ll be much easier for you to organize the legal paper and facilitate its readability . 

For example, if you need to comment on the quotation, it’s better to start an essay with brief information about the author. Then, consider the meaning of the citation in the context of his time and compare it to current conditions, as well as note whether you agree with the statement or not. Remember – the main task is to have a solid opinion in which you’re 100% confident. If not, switch the quote.

In the essay on legal theory, state the history of the issue, highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the case you are analyzing. Try to draw a parallel with the present, to indicate how relevant it is now for contemporary law students.

While reviewing a specific legal case or document, you should not be distracted by elements irrelevant or unrelated to the subject and give descriptions of similar situations. Consistently assess the actions of subjects or conduct an in-depth analysis of the provided regulation.

Write all of the crucial points in a short plan and shorten the above information into a couple of sentences. Afterward, you’ll be ready to use the crafted outline and write a law essay according to its key points . 

Law Essay Structure

1. Introduction

Like any other type of writing, law essays start with introduction. A successful lead in is the one that captures attention instantly and forces readers to become interested in the law topic. In the beginning, you’ll need to clearly and precisely formulate a thesis statement of the entire piece, which you will then reveal in the following text. A great way to elaborate mediocre introduction with engaging filling is to state a concrete problem, controversy or issue that needs to be resolved.  

2. Main part

This is the main element of the whole legal essay. It should contain an analysis of the quotation, legal theory, specific case, or document. Plus, your opinions about this or that aspect should be argued: for example, by references to other papers or practices. Another beneficial way to develop the main body of your essay is to use specific examples from law classes, including activities and important discussions , if applicable. Also, don’t forget that your law essay should always follow the thesis and develop it throughout the legal paper. This is a critical point to consider, as any departure from the established scheme will distort your work’s content.

3. Conclusion

Your finishing remarks should formulate the outcome of what was written above. A reasonable conclusion should be brief and powerful , as well as connected to the introduction. Besides, a good ending should contain a thesis of the whole law essay. However, don’t try to repeat your thesis word by word. Consider rephrasing it instead of mentioning the same statements so that the information is more easily digested for readers. Plus, you’ll need to provide a critical analysis of your work. For this, explain why your main argument backed up by primary and secondary sources is the highest point of conviction. Hence, your readers will see explicit reasoning and be more inclined to believe the truth you outlined in the paper. 

4. Bibliography

A bibliography is a mandatory part of the work, and also the last one. At the end of your essay, you should list the documents (laws and other regulations) and books that were used in preparation for the article. Works cited page will help you validate the credibility of work and show readers that all statements and opinions are proven with relevant evidence. However, it doesn’t mean that your bibliography ought to be inserted just after you’ve written the entire text. To have a better vision of what source to pick for citing, include the list of used materials before writing the final version of your law essay. Accordingly, you’ll see sources in their entirety and easily cite them whenever needed. 

The sayings of influential and famous people imbue any work with an air of authority . This is especially true for essays on law: professors appreciate it when students reinforce their considerations with the opinion of leaders and experts in their field.

Quotes for an essay on law are quite easy to find on the Internet or specialized digests.

If you choose to close the paper with a quote, it’ll be a great hook which will keep readers impressed by the essay long after they digest it. But feel free to add meaningful sayings also in the introduction or in the middle of a paper. Either way, quotes are a tool that helps make your reading highly impactful and appreciated.  

These were the top advice on how to create a distinct law paper. We hope our advice will help you prepare an interesting and informative essay for college or university studies that’ll be graded with the highest mark. Once you manage to operate on the subtle art of legal essay writing, you’ll adjust to the complexities of its realization without difficulties. If you’re in doubt questioning your writing abilities, use custom essay writer service – we will create the best law essay tailored specifically for you.

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