29 / 152
23
a.
Topic
The student must submit to the supervising faculty member for such member’s
approval a brief topic statement (not exceeding one page) describing the topic
selected and the scope and focus of the paper.
SUGGESTED DUE DATE:
By the end of the second week of the semester.
b.
Research Plan and List of Authorities
The student must submit to the supervising faculty member a research plan that
includes a list of authorities, relevant to the topic selected, which the student
proposes to examine.
SUGGESTED DUE DATE:
By the end of the fourth week of the semester.
c.
Outline
The student must submit to the supervising faculty member an outline of the
paper, showing the organization of the issues relevant to the topic, including what
the student will discuss and how that discussion will be organized; how the
authorities are to be integrated into a discussion of the issues; and the basic
structure of the student’s analysis and conclusions. (A detailed outline should
essentially be a “skeleton” for the first draft of the paper, so that, for example, a
mere list of authorities would not be adequate to meet this standard. At the same
time, students whose research and analysis lead them into new directions should
feel that they can improve on their outline for their first draft.)
SUGGESTED DUE DATE:
By the end of the eighth week of the semester.
d.
First Draft
The student must submit to the supervising faculty member a first draft of the
paper’s discussion and analysis of the topic with appropriate citations and
footnotes.
SUGGESTED DUE DATE:
By the end of the tenth week of the semester.
e.
Final Paper
The student must submit to the supervising faculty member the final version of
the paper for evaluation by the supervising faculty member. Because meeting
deadlines is an important professional obligation, and supervising faculty need the
opportunity to submit student grades in a timely manner
, no paper submitted
after the last day of the grading period for that semester will be deemed to
satisfy the Legal Writing Requirement.
An exception may be made where late