Essay Writing Guidelines for Writing a Criminal Law Essay
Criminal law essay or legal essay writing is a common essay writing task for law school students. However, some law school students especially the first year law school students might have initial difficulties in writing their criminal law essays because they could be new to the style of essay writing in law schools compared to the essay writing they encountered during their undergraduate education.
Therefore, the first year law school students should study and learn the basic guidelines for writing a criminal law essay. The guidelines would help a first year student in overcoming the initial difficulties he would face in writing his criminal legal essay.
The guidelines for writing a criminal law essay:
- The lecturer could either assign a topic for the student or give the student the option of selecting his own topic. But whether the student is provided with a topic or given the option of selecting his own topic, he should still make a thorough and comprehensive research for the topic. You should study and read all the materials related to the topic such as textbooks, journals and magazines on criminal law, and articles on criminal law that covers previous and current issues or cases.
- You should search the online public access catalog of the university library to search for books and other materials on criminal law. If the library has section on law, you could obtain materials that contain the full text of court rulings on various criminal cases. If the library is equipped with Internet connected computers, you should make an online research on the topic for supplementing the materials you would obtain from the library.
- The structure of the legal essay consists of the introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction should clearly state that you understand the question or issue at hand and should be presented in short and concise manner.
- The body contains the paragraphs structured into several sections or chapters with a coherent flow of reading. The body has the arguments or interpretations supported by the facts or evidence based on the research you performed. The conclusion summarises the main arguments, points and supporting evidence you discussed in the body.