Academic Legal Writing - Eugene Volokh [2]
K. Inattentiveness to How Words Are Normally Used
L. Failing to Listen to Your Doubts
M. Using Needlessly Fancy Words
N. Tip: Read a Usage Guide
O. Clichés
P. Figurative Phrases
1. Overrelying on the figure of speech instead of on a substantive argument
2. Forgetting the literal meaning of the figurative phrase
3. Misusing the figurative phrase
4. Being tempted into using a figurative phrase that isn't exactly right
Q. Cultural Allusions (High Culture or Pop Culture)
R. Abbreviations
XV. WRITING: RHETORICAL PROBLEMS TO WATCH FOR
A. Unduly Harsh Criticism
B. Personalized Criticism
C. Caricatured Criticism
XVI. EDITING: THREE EXERCISES
A. Basic Editing
B. Editing for Concreteness
XVII. USING EVIDENCE CORRECTLY
A. Read, Quote, and Cite the Original Source
1. Legal evidence
2. Historical, economic, or scientific evidence
3. Newspapers
4. Transcripts
5. Web sites
6. Wikipedia
7. Avoid falling into others' bad habits
B. Check the Studies on Which You Rely
C. Compromise Wisely
D. Be Careful with the Terms You Use
1. Avoid false synonyms
2. Include all necessary qualifiers
3. Use precise terms rather than vague ones
E. Try To Avoid Foreseeable Misunderstandings
F. Understand Your Source
G. Handle Survey Evidence Correctly
1. What do surveys measure?
2. Errors in generalizing from the respondents to a broader group
3. Errors in generalizing from the question being asked
4. Errors caused by ignoring information from the same survey
5. Respondents giving incorrect answers to pollsters
6. An exercise
H. Be Explicit About Your Assumptions
1. Inferring from correlation to causation
2. Extrapolating across places, times, or populations
3. Inferring from one variable to another
4. A summary plus an exercise
I. Make Sure Your Comparisons Make Sense
1. Consider alternative explanations for disparities
2. Make sure that cost/benefit comparisons sensibly quantify costs and benefits
3. Say how many cases the comparison is based on, and how small changes in selection may change the result
4. Make sure your comparison at least shows correlation, even before you worry about whether it shows causation
5. Beware of “10% of all Xs are responsible for 25% of all Ys” comparisons
J. A Source–Checking Exercise
K. Summary
XVIII. WRITING AND RESEARCHING: TIMELINE AND SUMMARY
A. Budgeting Your Time
B. Summary
1. Choose a topic
2. Make a claim
3. Write a first draft
4. Edit
5. Publish and publicize
6. Think about your next article
XIX. A SAMPLE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL STUDENT ARTICLE
XX. TURNING PRACTICAL WORK INTO ARTICLES
A. The Big Picture
B. Extract
C. Deepen
1. Question existing law
2. Take counterarguments seriously
3. Reflect on your initial goal
D. Broaden
E. Connect
XXI. WRITING SEMINAR TERM PAPERS
A. Introduction: Comparing Seminar Term Papers and Academic Articles
1. Nonobviousness
2. Soundness
3. Writing and structure
4. Utility
5. Novelty
B. Figuring Out What Your Instructor Expects
C. Finding a Topic
1. Ask the teacher
2. Pay attention to the readings
3. Pay attention to the discussions
4. Pay attention to the news
D. Budgeting Your Time
E. Turning the Paper into a Publishable Article
XXII. CITE–CHECKING OTHERS' ARTICLES
A. Recommendations for Cite–Checkers
B. Recommendations for Law Review Editors
XXIII. PUBLISHING AND PUBLICIZING
A. Consider Publishing Outside Your School
1. You can
2. You should
3. Here's how
B. Choosing a Title
1. The three functions of a title
2. Start with a descriptive title
3. Try including your key innovative concept in the title
4. If you want to make the title witty, consider that only after you've made it descriptive
5. Edit the title especially carefully
6. Avoid case names
7. Avoid jargon, little-known terms, and statutory citations
8. Choose your role models wisely
9. An example
C. Writing an Abstract