Communication and study skills
Indirectly, while studying law, you are being asked to develop a challenging range of communication skills that will allow you to understand law, present arguments and legal analysis in assessment tasks and exams, and eventually perform well within professional legal contexts.
The following books and online resources can help with all aspects of legal and academic writing. I suggest that you put in some time and effort with any of these resources that appeals to you and seems helpful.
Remember: developing strong writing skills doesn’t have to be a matter of trial and error.
Resources on this page
- Writing skills - law specific
- Writing skills - ESL & language focus for law
- Writing skills - general academic
Writing skills – law specific : top of page :
Lisa Webley, Legal writing (2005)
UniM Law – K 101 WEBLTed Tjaden, Legal research and writing (2004)
UniM Law – KL 155 F1 TJADEnid Campbell, Richard Fox, Students' guide to legal writing and law exams (2003)
UniM Law – K 101 CAMP *** Recommended basic guide, with great examples of how to write hypothetical problem answers for different areas of lawEugene Volokh, Academic legal writing: law review articles, student notes, and seminar papers (2003)
UniM Law – K 101 VOLOBryan A. Garner, The elements of legal style (2002)
UniM Law – K 101 GARNTerry Hutchinson, Researching and writing in law (2001)
UniM Law – KL 155 K1 HUTC *** Recommended advanced guideRos Macdonald & Deborah Clark-Dickson Clear and precise: writing skills for today’s lawyer (2005) *** excellent guide to plain, clear legal English, with a focus on document drafting and letter writing
UniM Law – K 100 MACD
Legal Academic Writing Resources – University of Melbourne:
http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/LAWresources/
The Law Student’s Guide to Good Writing:
http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LWTA.htmMonash University Language and Learning online:http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/law/index.xml
Legalese:
http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/legalese.htm
Writing skills – ESL & language focus for law : top of page :
Michael Meehan, Graham Tulloch, Grammar for lawyers (2007)
UniM Law – K 100 MEEH *** Recommended guide to grammar and writing for lawC. van der Walt, A.G. Nienaber, English for law students (2002)
UniM Law – K 100 VAND
Writing skills – general academic : top of page :
Nigel Warburton, The basics of essay writing (2006)
UniM ERC – 808.0420712 WARB
Stephen Bailey, Academic writing: a handbook for international students (2006)
UniM ERC – 808.0428 BAIL
Robert Barrass, Students must write: a guide to better writing in coursework and examinations (2005)
UniM ERC – 808.042 BARR
Brian Moon and Bronwyn Mellor, Writing critical essays: a practical guide (2001)
UniM ERC – 808.066 MOON 7 day loan
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ *** Recommended Academic writing and language skills site
AIRport Gate 2 – Writing Lounge:
https://airport.unimelb.edu.au/gate2/ *** Recommended Academic writing, study skills and language skills site
BGSU - Writing Centre:
http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/acen/writerslab/handouts/index.htm
UniLearning:
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/main.html
http://www.ceu.hu/writing/mission.htm