Academic legal writing : law review articles, student notes, seminar papers, and getting on law review / by Eugene Volokh ; with foreword by Judge Alex Kozinski.

[pt.] I. Articles and student notes: the basics. The initial step: choosing a claim ; Organizing the article ; Turning practical work into articles ; Budgeting your time ; Deciding what to set aside ; Choosing a title ; Summary
[pt.] II. Seminar term papers. Introduction: comparing seminar term papers and academic articles ; Figuring out what your instructor expects ; Finding a topic ; Budgeting your time ; Turning the paper into a publishable article
[pt.] III. Research. Identifying sample cases and incidents ; Understanding the law ; Knowing when to start writing
[pt.] IV. Writing. There are no lazy readers
only busy readers ; Go through many drafts ; If you see no red marks on a paragraph, go over it again ; If you need to reread something to understand it, rewrite it ; Read the draft with "new eyes" ; Finish the first draft quickly/defeat writer's block by skipping around ; React effectively to editing suggestions ; Use section headings ; Use a table of contents ; Note down all your ideas ; Things to look for: logic ; Things to look for: writing ; Profreading ; Editing: three exercises
[pt.] V. Using evidence correctly. Read, quote, and cite the original source ; Check the studies on which you rely ; Compromise wisely ; Be careful with the terms you use ; Try to avoid foreseeable misunderstandings ; Understand your source ; Handle survey evidence correctly ; Be explicit about your assumptions ; Make sure your comparisons make sense ; A source-checking exercise ; Summary
[pt.] VI. Cite-checking others' articles. Recommendations for cite-checkers ; Recommendations for law review editors
[pt.] VII. Publishing and publicizing. Consider publishing outside your school ; Working with law journal editors ; Publicizing the article before it's published ; Publicizing the published article ; Planning the next article
[pt.] VIII. Entering writing competitions. Why you should do this ; Competitions that don't offer publication ; Competitions that guarantee publication ; Competitions that offer a chance for publication ; Competitions that solicit published pieces ; Competitions that solicit unpublished pieces
[pt.] IX. Getting on law review. What is a law review? ; Why be on a law review? ; Which law review? ; "Making law review" ; Writing on: background ; Writing on: a timeline for after you start ; Special suggestions for case notes ; The personal statement
[pt.] X. Academic ethics. Avoiding plagiarism ; Being candid ; Being fair and polite to your adversaries ; Being fair to the law review editors who publish your article ; Preserving confidentiality ; Treating sources fairly ; Making data available
Conclusion. Appendix I. Clumsy words and phrases ; Appendix II. Answers to exercises ; Appendix III. Sample cover letters.