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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Avoid using outdated laws and obscure blog posts as sources of information.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.

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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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How to Write a First-Class Law Essay: Mastering the FIRAC Model

Law essays can be challenging, but they contribute significantly to the mastery of legal principles and enhancing a student’s legal research skills. A first-class law essay does not only demonstrate a thorough understanding of legal principles, but is also clearly structured and incredibly well-written. In this article, we will guide you on how to write a first-class law essay, delve into the FIRAC model of legal writing, and address frequently asked questions on law essay writing.

Below is an outline of the points that will be discussed in detail throughout the article:

Understanding the Essay Question and Planning

Comprehensive legal research, writing techniques for a first-class law essay, common faqs on law essay writing.

Table of Contents

The first step in writing a top-notch law essay is to understand the essay question and planning your response. You should take care to read and analyze the question provided, identifying the main issues, required legal areas, and the keywords that will guide your research. Create a rough essay plan, outlining the main arguments and research resources necessary to address the topic.

Thorough researched is necessary in order to write a first-class law essay.This involves examining relevant cases, statutes, academic articles, and other authoritative sources. It is crucial to:

• Build a strong foundation of understanding for the specific legal topics involved
• Identify any contrary viewpoints and conflicting interpretations of the law
• Familiarize yourself with critical legal developments that may affect your essay’s arguments

It is essential to keep track of your sources and their essential details, as you will need to reference them accurately in your essay.

Structuring a Law Essay: The FIRAC Model

The FIRAC model is a universally recognized method of organizing and presenting legal arguments in writing. It consists of:

Start by providing a concise and relevant summary of the facts and background of the issue beingaddressed. Be objective and neutral in your presentation, ensuring that your readers have a clear understanding of the context.

Clearly identify the specific legal issues that arise from the facts. This may involve direct questions or problems that need to be resolved by referring to legal authorities, such as legislation, case law, or academic commentary.

Set out the relevant legal rules, principles, and precedents that apply to the issues in question. Present a clear and comprehensive explanation of the legal authorities and how they apply to the facts.

d. Analysis:

In this section, critically analyze and weigh the various arguments and approaches concerning the legal issues at hand. Provide a detailed evaluation of the relevant legal authorities,discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and highlighting any ambiguities, disagreements, or gaps in the law that are relevant to the issues being addressed.

e. Conclusion:

Wrap up your essay by summarizing the main points, integrating your key findings and the implications of your analysis. Be sure to address the initial essay question and provide a clear answer or position based on your research and discussion. Finally, offer any recommendations or propose potential legal reforms if appropriate.

To ensure that your law essay stands out as first-class, it is essential to embrace effective writing techniques, such as:

• Clarity and precision: Use clear, concise language and avoid unnecessary jargon or verbosity. 2.Coherent organization: Organize your essay logically, ensuring that each section flows smoothly into the next.
• Strong argumentation: Build well-reasoned arguments supported by solid evidence, authoritative sources, and persuasive analysis.
• Critical thinking: Question assumptions, explore alternative viewpoints, and engage in thoughtful reflection and analysis.
• Proper citation and referencing: Adhere to a consistent citation style and accurately credit all sources used in your essay.
• Proofreading and editing: Always proofread and edit your essay meticulously, eliminating grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and awkward phrasing.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about law essay writing:

How long should my law essay be?

The length of your law essay may vary, depending on the specific requirements and guidelines given by your instructor or institution. Typically, law essays range from 1,500 to 3,000 words, but it is crucial to adhere to the specified word count in your assignment.

How do I choose a citation style for my law essay?

Consult your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor for the preferred citation style used in legal writing at your institution, such as the Bluebook, Oxford Standard, or AGLC. Always use one citation style consistently throughout your essay.

Is it acceptable to use non-legal references in my essay?

While law essays primarily rely on legal authorities, it may be appropriate toinclude non-legal references, such as scholarly articles, reports, or empirical studies, to support your arguments or provide additional context. Always check with your instructor or assignment guidelines if you are unsure about using specific non-legal sources.

Can I use headings and subheadings in my law essay?

Headings and subheadings help organize your essay and guide your readers through your arguments. They are generally acceptable in law essays unless prohibited by your institution’s guidelines or your instructor’s preferences. Be sure to use a consistent formatting style for all headings and subheadings.

How can I avoid plagiarism in my law essay?

To avoid plagiarism, always accurately cite and reference any sources you use in your essay,whether they are direct quotes, paraphrased ideas, or summarized information. Also, ensure that your essay is primarily composed of your own original analysis and ideas, rather than relying too heavily on other sources. Make use of plagiarism-checking tools to identify potential areas of concern and correct them prior to submission.

By adhering to these guidelines and employing effective writing techniques, you can enhance the quality of your law essay and increase the likelihood of earning a first-class grade. Always remain diligent, focused, and committed to delivering thorough and engaging legal analysis throughout your academic writing endeavors.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Law Essays

In addition to following the guidelines and writing techniques, it’s important to avoid common mistakes when writing your law essay:

• Irrelevant or excessive detail : Stay focused on the essay question and avoid providing unnecessary or excessive details that don’t contribute to your central argument.
• Lack of structure: Ensure that your essay is logically organized, with clearly defined sections and a coherent flow from one section to another.
• Misunderstanding the question: Read the essay prompt carefully, and make sure you clearly understand what is being asked before drafting your response. Seek clarification if needed.
• Unsupported claims or arguments: Back up your claims with solid evidence and credible sources. Avoid makingassertions without sufficient justification or analysis.
• Overly complex language or jargon: Write in a clear and concise manner, using language that is accessible to your readers. Be mindful of using overly technical terms or legal jargon without explanation.
• Plagiarism: Always provide proper citation and referencing for all sources used. Take the necessary steps to ensure your work is original and does not plagiarize from other sources.
• Inadequate proofreading: Thoroughly proofread and edit your essay to correct grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and clumsy phrasing. Additionally, make sure your citations and references are accurate and formatted correctly.

By avoiding these common mistakes and adhering to the aforementioned guidelines andwriting techniques, you will significantly improve the quality of your law essay and increase your chances of achieving a high grade. Remember that practice makes perfect, and continually refining your skills in legal writing and analysis will contribute to your overall success in your academic and professional pursuits. So, stay committed, diligent, and focused on producing well-reasoned and coherent essays that demonstrate your understanding and mastery of legal principles and concepts. 

Happy writing!

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How to Write a First Class Law Essay

A Fuel Crisis that Continues to Drown the UK

The Rohingya Refugee Crisis

• Tips for Students
• essay writing
• first class
• tips for students

Article written by Caitlin Graham, Lancaster University LLB graduate.

General Tips

Check further reading lists before finding your own sources..

Once you receive your essay question, before trying to identify your own primary and secondary sources, a good starting point is to have a look at your university’s further reading list for whichever topic the question is based upon and then research any of the relevant sources listed. Also, you can find sources by checking the further reading list of the relevant chapter in your main textbook. You can also ask for help from  professional research paper writers

Plan before you start writing.

Produce a plan which outlines what all of your main arguments are, how you will make the points, which sources you plan to use, and what your conclusion will be.  By having all of your notes and research in your plan in one place, this will prevent any confusion or stress trying to find something later on.

At the end of each main argument, link it back to the question.

You need to answer the question. To ensure you do this, at the end of each key point, include a sentence or two which links it back to the main question.

Make a vocabulary bank on a word document.

Making a list of words that are commonly used in essay writing and having it to hand or in a separate tab on your computer can be really useful if you get stuck whilst writing.

Use sentence starters such as ‘firstly’, ‘furthermore’, ‘therefore’, and ‘in conclusion’.

Using sentence starters will help ensure your writing is fluent and flows.

Only make direct quotations where it makes sense to.

It is not necessary to directly quote every academic commentator that you are making reference to in your essay; instead, for the most part, paraphrase.

Proofread your essay out loud before submitting.

It is very important that you not only proofread your essay before you submit it but that you do so out loud. This will help you filter out any incorrect punctuation and ensure that your writing flows.

How to Answer Each Section of an Essay

The introduction.

You should aim to do four things in your introduction:

• Set out any definitions of any key terms outlined in the essay title or statement of your essay. 
• State what the overall aim of your essay is.
• Explain how you plan to achieve this aim. 
• Provide a brief summary of what your essay will conclude.

The Main Body of the Essay

The main body of the essay refers to the two or three main arguments.  Aim to use a range of primary and secondary sources in this part.  It is crucial that critical analysis is used in this section in order to achieve a higher grade. This will mean engaging with primary and secondary sources and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each point.  Furthermore, whilst you should acknowledge both sides of the argument, you should finish by clarifying which side you find more convincing and why.

The Conclusion

A conclusion should:

• Summarise how the essay has achieved its aim.
• Echo what the essay’s position/opinion on the essay question/title is and explain the reasoning behind this.

Do not address any new points or arguments in the conclusion; only refer to ideas that you have already discussed.  Keep the conclusion relatively brief – a few sentences should be sufficient.

Imaan Fatima

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Technology, business, finance, health, product reviews and so much more , the art of producing a first-class law essay – tips and examples.

It is believed that law is a difficult subject to master for the beginners. Yet, if you follow the correct writing guidelines, analyse the grading rubric and outline your papers before starting the writing process, you can manage to get good grades in your essays. It is not difficult to craft a first-class law essay on any topic if you know the right writing rules.

The Lawyer Portal tells us the demand for lawyers grew substantially in 2021 and is still increasing in 2024. Almost 76% of UK law firms pick candidates from Oxbridge/Russell Group universities. That is to say, the competition in this field has increased more than ever, and you need to have standard legal writing skills if you want to thrive in academia and in the market.

This guide explores in detail the expert tips to craft law papers and earn the best grades. We shall help you assess your resources, plan your paper, research and structure your law project. Also, you will master the art of writing the best legal essay assignments in 5 easy steps.

Let’s dive into the details now.

5 Best Tips to Write a First-Class Law Essay

Wondering how you can get over 70% on every law paper? Well, you are at the right place. For crafting a first-class law essay, you will have to build a reliable, efficient and systematic approach to essay writing. We have shared the top-secret success ingredients for success in law papers below. These tips come from the experts of a popular law essay writing service online in the UK.

1. Set the Goals

The very first stage of writing a first-class law essay is that it should begin with a clear list of goals. You must know what you want to get out of your work. Most students have no idea at all about the marking criteria of the law papers. Before starting, you should at least have a look at the grading criteria.

To give you an idea, here is the assessment criterion for law homework followed by the University of Kent:

Pay close attention to the research question and learn about the topic in detail. Your theoretical arguments should concern the essay topic and provide a critical analysis of the related sources. Combine compelling arguments with a standard writing style, and your essay will be a hit.

2. Understand the Questions

The key to the success of first-class law essays is the ability to fully understand the questions you are given and address them properly. If you misinterpret the problem questions, you will screw up the entire writing process. The problem is that most students are so eager to demonstrate their knowledge that they end up answering the question in a really general way, which ruins their impression of the markers.

So, if you are asked to discuss, let’s say, the British constitution, ideally, you should first define the constitution and explain what it contains. Then, discuss how you relate the essay questions to the law clauses and provide evidence to the readers. A strong argument, backed by evidence, has great convincing power and helps readers understand your perspective.

3. Do Your Research

At this stage, you are ready to do some research for the first-class law essay introduction.

So, when you critically assess the law assignments, you will get leads for ways to structure your essay. But before you dive into the books, there is some preliminary work you need to do to ensure that you are just not wasting your time by reading irrelevant material. The best thing to do here is to make an outline of your essay.

For guidance, here is a Legal Research Outline by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, published on Scribd:

The idea is here to ensure a defined first-class law essay structure before you start writing. It will keep you on track and allow you to add only needed sections to your essays. If you struggle with the research and writing part, you can buy essays online from a trustworthy company because experts understand how to write your project in a better way.

4. Perform the Analysis

The analysis stage of a first-class essay on law does not take long, but it is worth giving it some thought. Go through all the arguments and counter-arguments that you have formulated during your research phase and add your thoughts about why those counter-arguments are potentially weak and can be rejected.

Here is how you perform the Case Analysis per the Macquarie University (via a document published on studocu ):

Before you answer the question in the law homework, critically evaluate the evidence you are using. Not only that, but you also need to prove to the audience that the counterarguments of your work lack weight. Keep your paper 100% plagiarism-free as academic writing requires students to avoid using the work of other scholars without giving them some credit.

5. Edit and Proofread

For first class law essay writing, you need to edit and proofread your law homework thoroughly before submission to the supervisor. Ensure that the introduction, main body and conclusion of the essay are written distinctively. There must be no grammatical, contextual, thematic or interpretation errors in your first-class public law essay. The paper should be custom-written and 100% unique. Also, make sure that you have proofread the homework at least twice before submission to your tutor.

First Class Law Essay Topics

Choosing the right topic for your law essay is important for success. You must choose the right topic to avoid ending up writing a poor essay. Here are some of the first-class law essay ideas that you may want to consider for writing your papers:

• The effectiveness of the insanity defence used in criminal trials
• Should the death penalty be used as a form of punishment for the criminals?
• What are the possible challenges and opportunities of legalising marijuana for medical reasons?
• Shed light on the social and legal implications of LGBTQ+ rights and same-sex marriages.
• What role can technology play in modern law enforcement plans?

First Class Law Essay Example

Here is a review essay on the topic ‘Response of law enforcement to spouse abuse: past, present and future’ , published by J.D. Hirschel on Taylor and Francis Online. A small introductory paragraph of the essay is presented below:

You can also contact your law tutors to provide you with a custom list of topics for first class essay for law students. You can choose your essay title from that list, if provided, as well.

If you follow this guide when crafting a first-class law essay, be certain that you will improve the quality of your papers. You should apply the legal knowledge to the research questions you are answering and ensure you use your intellectual flair in the process. Consider issues from different perspectives and craft solid arguments based on strong research.

However, wherever you feel the need for external assistance, you should immediately ask for it. Nobody knows how to craft a law paper better than professional law essay writers who have qualified as lawyers. When you want to achieve maximum grades in your papers, ask for the unparalleled academic support of such highly qualified writers.

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THE LAW STUDENT's GUIDE

For law students, by law students

The Law Student's Guide

We provide FREE first-class undergraduate law notes, presented visually to enable application to problem questions, for quick learning and revision, and support on understanding content for essays. 

We also offer 80%+ essay writing tutorials from two top-performing students with one being put forward for a UK national competition and scoring third. Not only do these dive deep into the entire essay writing process, but provide the essays themselves as examples. 

This project has been designed and created by graduate and final year law students with the aim of providing others with information, content and essay writing advice that we wish we received in our first and second year of university.

At the forefront of our site is the module guides. These contain a complete set of refined notes in a concise, precise and (where appropriate) visual manner. They are inclusive of the needed content you'll require for each module. In order to write good essays, problem questions and exams in law, you must have a great understanding of the law itself. These guides provide you with that with relevant case law, legislation, points of law and brief explanations on areas that cause common mistakes. We avoid wordy explanations to make them perfect as a quick learning tool, revision material and perfect for applying to a problem question - in which our use of arrows sets out how content should be applied in the correct order. 

Some universities spend surmountable time marking work that does not count towards your final grade and providing feedback, some just expect you to know how to write an essay. Sadly, too many universities are in the latter group. A key aspect of this guide is our first-class essay and problem question writing tutorials. We take high first-class essays and break down step-by-step how they were created. This includes starting the essay, how to research, how to take notes from research and organise, how to critically analyse and how to put it all together. You can be incredibly intelligent and have a good understanding of the law, but if you do not use these skills to write well, your grade will not reflect your ability. This makes these tutorials vital. 

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You may copy content, diagrams and notes in this resource, or parts of such diagrams and notes, in any medium, for non-commercial purposes as long as their authorship is acknowledged and you indicate the source as ( www.thelawstudentsguide.co.uk ). Content cannot be distributed to others for private or commercial use. 

You may not publish them for any commercial purposes, including charging a fee for providing access to them via a network. This licence does not affect your statutory rights of fair dealing. 

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