The Basic Research Process
Additional Tips for Online Research
Getting Started
For further ideas and strategies, see these online guides:
Online Resources
Bluebooking Scholarly Legal Writing, Georgetown University Law Center (2016)
Citing Responsibly: A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism, George Washington University School of Law Committee on Academic Integrity (2020)
Richard Delgado, How to Write a Law Review Article, 20 U. San Francisco L. Rev. 445 (1986)
Publishable Notes Manual, Columbia Law Review (2011-2012)
Law Journal Notes Manual, Georgetown University Law Center (2018)
Books
Academic Legal Writing, 5th ed. by Designed to help law students write and publish articles, this text provides detailed instructions for every aspect of the law school writing, research, and publication process. Topics covered include law review articles and student notes, seminar term papers, how to shift from research to writing, cite-checking others' work, publishing, and publicizing written works. With supporting documents available on http://volokh.com/writing, the book helps law students and everyone else involved in academic legal writing: professors save time and effort communicating basic points to students; law schools satisfy the American Bar Association's second- and third-year writing requirements; and law reviews receive better notes from their staff. The Fifth Edition, based on the author's experience teaching his newly designed Intensive Editing Workshop and First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic, adds material on editing, rebutting counterarguments, writing strategy, identifying and using the key assets of the article, fighting "the curse of knowledge," and submitting articles to law reviews. It also adds extra examples of sound writing, as well as editing exercises.
The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers by The Grammar and Writing Handbook shows you precisely which rules need to be followed, how to choose the correct words, and the most effective way to structure every sentence to help you compose more persuasive, stronger material that's flawlessly written. The book includes a brief history of the English language, as well as comprehensive information on every thing from singular vs. plural, to composing a legal memorandum.
Just Writing, 5th ed. by From the authors of the widely praised Legal Writing Handbook, the Fifth Edition of this comprehensive guide hones in on the basic principles of grammar, punctuation, and legal style. Clear guidance, examples, and practical advice make this a perfect companion to legal writing texts and indispensable to the process of writing and editing legal documents.
The Legal Scholar's Guidebook by The Legal Scholar's Guidebook demystifies academic legal writing by providing concrete advice on topic selection, research strategies, and analytical frameworks. It is an essential resource for any serious legal scholar. Nascent scholars will find it a reassuring guide through a demanding process and experienced scholars will find it a source of encouragement. Wherever you are on your scholarly journey, the Guidebook is your compass. Scholars will benefit from: Chapter Brainstorms that contain Questions guiding entry into stages of the research and writing process. Squelch the Impostor tips that include advice to manage stress inherent at each stage of the research and writing process. Specific assignments to methodically guide the scholar through each stage. Examples, Guides, and Checklists that provide samples to help the scholar understand expectations at each stage.
Legal Writing: Academic and Professional Communication by Good legal writing is an inherently ethical practice and fundamental to professionalism and lawyering. Legal Writing: Academic and Professional Communication emphasises the link between legal writing and ethics as it guides readers through phases of the writing process and helps them develop effective legal writing skills essential for both academic and professional contexts. The book covers a range of academic writing commonly encountered by undergraduate and postgraduate law students including case notes, problem questions and essays. It also explores specific forms of legal writing required in the profession, through client letters, memoranda, appellate briefs and reports to support novice writers in understanding their ethical obligations and developing a professional voice.
The Modern Rules of Style: Write Like a Professional, 2nd ed. by Destined to take its place next to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style as an essential and timeless how-to guide! A brief, elegant primer on how to write vivid, interesting written material. You'll enjoy the continuing narrative of the lives of the would-be young professional Jeffrey and his successful professional sister Molly. You'll discover:* how to use introductory and trailing modifiers; proper use of the semicolon, colon, and dash; and how to use a noun clause effectively* how to spice up prose by varying sentence length* how to use "like" or "unlike" and the right way to use repetition to focus concepts* how you can build great paragraphs through the use of compelling sentences. In addition, you'll find hundreds of examples of how to incorporate these lessons, including many taken from current newspapers and magazines, as well as many examples of how NOT to write.
Plain English for Lawyers, 6th ed. by 
Scholarly Writing: Ideas, Examples, and Execution, 2nd ed. by Most law schools require upper-level students to write a sophisticated legal research paper on a topic of their choice. Scholarly Writing guides students through a five-step process of constructing their legal research papers, from topic selection to finishing the final product. Maintaining its example-based approach, the new edition includes additional sample excerpts to illustrate concepts throughout the text, and there is a second annotated full-length paper. Up-to-date information about legal research and organizational tools is included as are ¿bright ideas¿ for student writers, and even more cross-referencing. The text may be used as either a required text for a course in Scholarly Legal Writing or a companion guide for students working on legal writing projects independently.
Scholarly Writing for Law Students, 5th ed. by This book fills an important niche in legal-writing literature by teaching law students how to write scholarly papers for seminars, law reviews, and law-review competitions and how to have their work recognized. It helps novices and more experienced scholars alike to write papers with a minimum of anxiety and a maximum of creativity. Employing a process theory of writing, the text first describes the enterprise of scholarly writing and then discusses techniques for brainstorming topics and theses, researching, drafting, and revising for substance and style. It covers both traditional doctrinal topics and newer areas like empirical studies. There are also chapters on footnotes, avoiding plagiarism, law review practice, and dissemination of student work through publication and submission to national writing competitions. Appendices provide a sample law-review competition paper, answers to in-text exercises, sample syllabi for scholarly writing courses, and a rubric for evaluating and editing scholarly papers and articles.