02/07/2025
*Essence of Legal Writing*
A webinar delivered in ALSA Legal Article/ Journal Department
By
Prof Chukwunonso Charles Ofodum Esq (PhD)
The essence of legal writing lies in its ability to clearly and persuasively communicate legal arguments to a specific audience, whether that audience is a judge, a client, or another legal professional. It involves more than just stating facts; it requires a deep understanding of the law, skillful analysis of facts and precedents, and the ability to craft a compelling narrative that supports a particular legal position.
Here's a breakdown of the key elements:
1. Clarity and Conciseness: Legal writing must be clear and easy to understand, avoiding jargon and legalese that could confuse the reader. It should also be concise, using precise language to convey the message effectively without unnecessary verbosity.
2. Accuracy and Precision: Every word and phrase in legal writing should be chosen with care, ensuring that the meaning is unambiguous and supported by facts and legal principles.
3. Persuasiveness: Legal writing is often persuasive, aiming to convince a judge or other decision-maker of a particular legal position. This involves presenting a logical and well-reasoned argument, supported by relevant legal authorities.
4. Audience Awareness: Legal writers must tailor their writing style and content to the specific audience. What works for a judge may not work for a client, and vice versa.
5. Structure and Organization: A well-structured document is crucial for effective legal writing. This includes a logical flow of information, clear headings and subheadings, and proper citation of authorities.
6. Ethical Considerations: Legal writing must adhere to ethical guidelines and principles, ensuring that the information presented is truthful and not misleading.
In essence, legal writing is a blend of art and science, requiring both strong analytical skills and effective communication skills to achieve its purpose of resolving legal matters and advocating for clients' interests.
Here are the general steps for writing a project proposal.
1 Define your objectives.
2 Understand your audience.
3 Research and planning.
4 Outline the proposal.
5 Write the introduction.
6 Define the scope and methodology.
7 Budgeting.
8 Team and qualifications
A STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON RESEARCH PROJECT WRITING FOR UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES OF EDUCATION AND POLYTECHNICS IN NIGERIA
should contain the tag numbers, tag which reflects the content and the page numbers. It should be well-numbered and unambiguous. In the main content, the figure/table should be well-labelled.
(The body of the work)
Chapter One: This is usually the introduction.
This describes the background, scope and purpose of the research. The rest of the report should be tied to the information supplied. The researcher should strive to present sufficient details regarding why the study was carried out. It shouldn't be rushed, a gradual build-up of the content from bottom to top is ideal. It should be closed with a linking paragraph that would disclose the objectives, constraints and limitations. Click Here for More Info on Writing a Good Abstract
Chapter two: This is usually the literature theoretical review.
This presents basically, the work done by others. It is on the ground work done by others that the current research is to be based, hence the review. It sums up the pros and cons of all past work but due credit should be given to the various Authors (see the guide on referencing on this website). The use of quotations should be less in use, more of paraphrasing (reading and making out meaning in your own words), making comments in the review is great as well, it just depends on the context. Click Here for More Info on How to Write a Literature Review
Chapter three: This is usually the research methodology.
Here the language used should be in past tense. It is a sum-up of the research design, procedures, the area and population of study. The data sampling and data sources are detailed as well. The method used, from all alternatives, should also be justified. The materials and equipment used is also included. Click Here for More on How to Write Research Methodology
Chapter four: This is usually for data presentation and analysis (results and discussion).
The results obtained in the research are presented here. Visual aids like graphs, charts and the likes should be used as well. The results should be discussed then compared with results of past Authors. The effects and applications of the results should be detailed as well.
Chapter five: This part houses the conclusions and recommendations.
From the results of the research, conclusions are made, then suggestions for improvement for other researchers with similar interest. Based on the whole happenings, recommendations are proffered.
References: This is a list of all the relevant journals, books and all sources of information consulted in the research work, either online or print. Plagiarism should be avoided at all costs, all quoted and exact words of different sources should be properly referenced, in-text and at the references' list/bibliography. MLA, APA and Chicago style are the commonest referencing styles. (See a comprehensive guide on this blog) Click Here for More Info on Referencing
Appendices: This is for all extra materials that were not added to the body of the work. This encapsulates extensive proofs, official data from case study, list of parameters, et al.
P.S: After writing, the researcher should painstakingly proofread the whole content for grammatical and spelling errors. This could be very distracting while reading the material.
The page numbers are easily distorted by changing font size and type, spacing et al. The final submission should be very clear, error-free(to a large degree) and as required by standard.
