Academic Legal Writing - Eugene Volokh [157]
Some people suggest that you read some law review articles to get a sense of how these articles are written. I'm not sure whether this is a great idea; some articles aren't very well-written, and some professors—especially the great writers—can get away with things that others can't get away with. But if you'd like to do a bit of extra reading, you might read a few pieces from the most recent issues of the law review.
If the past competitions include practice editing and proofreading tests, do as many of the tests as you can; compare your results against the answer keys, if those are given. If there are no answer keys, compare your answers against those of some friends of yours who are also doing the practice competitions. (You can't work together with people on the actual competition, but there's no problem with cooperating on practice projects.)
You might also check http://volokh.com/writing/bluebooking, which contains some pointers to bluebooking exercises.
4. Talk to people about what to expect
If you know some people who are now law review editors at your school, or who were law review editors a few years before, ask them for tips. They will know the process at your school, and can give you more specific advice than this chapter can. You can also ask them for advice tailored to your own study skills, if they know you well enough or you explain to them how you work.
Finally, talking about the process can help make it less mysterious and intimidating. Being prepared is important, but feeling prepared is helpful too.
5. Review your professors' comments on your written work
Go over any comments that you've gotten on your past written work, such as the papers in your first year legal writing course. Most writers make the same mistakes repeatedly. Figure out what your weaknesses are, so you can avoid them while doing the write-on.
Your writing instructor will likely be happy to help you with this. Writing teachers like it when you come to them out of a sincere desire to improve your writing; and they often have specific advice that they'll be glad to pass along.
6. Clear your calendar
Try to make sure you have no other obligations during your writeon competition. If it's during Spring vacation, try not to do your class outlines that week—do them before, or save them for later. If you're working part-time, see if you can take the week off, and make up the lost time before or after. If you have children, do what you can to get the other parent or someone else to spend more time with them during the competition.
Try to avoid leaving town to see friends or family, even if it is Spring vacation. You might intend to do lots of work when you're on the trip, but it's hard to work when you're around people you haven't seen in months, and who understandably want your company. Going out to dinner with friends is fine; everyone needs a study break. But try to avoid more demanding commitments. (A student reports: “This is essential.”)
The writing competition requires you to do something that's new to you, under considerable psychological pressure, in a limited time. As I'll mention shortly, you'll want to finish your draft as early as possible, so you can edit it as many times as you can. You really might need most of your waking hours to do this. Even if you've found that the first year of law school hasn't been as time-consuming as you were initially told, this week will be quite a burden.
If, however, you can't get out of your other obligations for the week, don't use that as an excuse to just sit out the competition. It's possible for you to do well even if you also have to travel, work, study, or mind the kids that week—it's just easier if you can focus solely on the competition.
7. Figure out how your friends can help (including by staying quiet)
Your friends can't help you write or edit your paper, but they can