Legal research
This position paper assignment is designed to develop both your research and analytical
skills. You should focus your paper on a legal position/angle that adds something new to
the literature. Do not use 1st person in a formal paper.
You should use contemporary data & sources in your paper. The cases and journal articles
should be post-2010 unless there is a seminal case that is still “good law”. Make sure to
review how to “shepardize” cases as demonstrated by the librarian Joe Noel in video 3 in
Module 1. Case law, journal articles, textbooks/treatises, legislative cites are all
appropriate sources (i.e., academic sources) while Wikipedia, ESPN, etc. are not
acceptable academic sources.
The paper should involve three major elements to be covered across various areas of the
paper (i.e., these are NOT section headings).
1. The case law including a clear focus on a landmark case in the chosen area (description
and discussion included) and relevance to your thesis statement (you have to take a
position versus just reporting on a general topic);
2. Compare and/or contrast the relevant legal literature and cases (this should help you to
clarify and support your position/approach/angle on this topic); and
3. An analysis based on the student’s synthesis of their own opinion, related case law,
literature, and the general subject matter (This is where you “push” your points —
supporting your points with cites from cases and journal articles will make your thesis
statement and the focus of the paper much more compelling and convincing). The reader
should be convinced that your position is legally defensible and your arguments/points are
compelling.
Minimum requirements
Proofread your work. Often times, spell check does not catch everything. Thus, you should
read your work out loud and you will be able to identify and correct mistakes because you
will be hearing it the same way a reader does when they first read your paper.
The length of your paper should be 10 – 15 pages (NOTE: Cover page, abstract and
reference list do not count toward that total). Use APA style for paper formatting (12 point
Times font with 1.5 line spacing; margins/headers/footers no wider than 1 inch)
Use APA style to format your reference list. A minimum of 10 legal/academic sources
should be cited (your textbook does not count toward the minimum number). Only cite
references that are included in the paper.
