What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about writing a college essay? If you’re like most students, even the thought of essay writing can send chills down your spine. Things can become even more nerve-wracking when you have to write a legal essay.
Unlike a regular college essay, legal essays require thorough research and planning. You must have a deep understanding of the given law and carefully evaluate your thoughts on the same. Otherwise, you’ll just be making tall claims in think air without any concrete arguments and references.
However, finishing legal essays and assignments doesn’t have to be so difficult and stressful. If you start on time and invest plenty of time in research, it is possible to write an outstanding legal essay minus the nerves and jitters.
In this blog, we’ll outline a few effective tips to help you write an engaging and insightful legal essay that’ll fetch you good grades. Let’s get started.
1. Start in Advance
When it comes to writing an essay, the last thing you want to do is get things going a day before the date of submission. This will leave you with no time to research, gather your references, and revise your essay.
Instead, you should start preparing for your essay while you still have enough time. Check the deadline and work backward to estimate how much time you’ll need to research, write, and revise the essay. Also, make sure you keep a few buffer days just in case you fall sick or hit a dead end with your writing.
2. Understand the Question
One of the most common essay writing mistakes students make is to not read the question thoroughly enough. Needless to say, you need to read, evaluate, and analyze the question before you start working on the essay. It’ll help you understand precisely what outcome your teacher is expecting.
This is all the more crucial for legal essays because your thesis and content will entirely depend on your understanding of the given question. It’s also a good time to check the instructions and find out the specified format, word count, deadline, etc.
3. Get Your Research Right
You can’t write a compelling legal essay without performing extensive research
. Period. Once you’ve understood the question and guidelines, it’s time to digging deeper into the topic. Hit the college library and gather as many references as you can.
Also, make sure you consult your teacher and ask for advice on what books you should be reading. You can even form a study group with your classmates and divide the reading material among yourselves to speed things up. At the end of this step, make sure you have plenty of credible references and arguments to use for the essay.
4. Figure Out Your Stance
Unlike a regular college essay, legal essays require you to showcase your unique standpoint on the topic. If you’ve thoroughly read relevant materials from your textbooks and reference books, it’ll be easier for you to take a clear stand.
Make sure you feel strongly about your opinion. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult for you to substantiate it with relevant arguments and examples. Next, gather all the materials you’ll need to prove your point in the essay.
5. Prepare an Outline
The worst mistake you can make while writing a legal essay is to jump right in without a plan. Create a concrete outline for the essay, dividing it into meaningful sections and paragraphs. List the points you’re going to cover in each section and analyze how well your stance is being showcased.
6. Write a Hypnotic Introduction
Every essay needs a crisp, snappy, and compelling introduction. This is all the more crucial for a legal essay because you need to highlight your standpoint right away. Keep it to the point and mention the approach you’re going to take to prove your point. Also, don’t forget to explain the given question in your own words.
7. Ask for Help
Even if you thoroughly prepare for an essay, there will be times when you’ll hit writer’s block. For instance, you may find it difficult to rebut a counter-argument to substantiate your claims. Or you might struggle to find the right references to prove a particular point.
In such cases, all you need is a fresh perspective and some help from an expert. Start by reaching out to your classmates for a quick review of your paper. Discuss your problems with them and ask them for their point of view on the subject. Likewise, you could consult your teacher for advice related to a particular counter-argument or reference.
If your teacher isn’t particularly approachable, you can even read law homework answers here at HomeworkMarket.com. The platform connects you with plenty of experienced and resourceful online tutors who can guide you through complex problems in your legal essay.
8. Don’t Ignore the Conclusion
Pay as much attention to the conclusion as you’ve given to the rest of the essay. Make sure you effectively wrap things up by highlighting the main points and arguments you’ve covered in the body. Lastly, don’t forget to reiterate your opinion on the given topic.
9. Revise Your Essay
This is the time to read and re-read your essay to rule out any tonal inconsistencies. Also, you need to proofread the content and weed out any spelling or grammatical errors. Make sure you also use a plagiarism checker to eliminate any chances of plagiarism in your essay.
What steps do you follow while writing a college essay? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.
