Study

Writing Competitions

• American Bar Association: Essays & Writing Competitions
• American Intellectual Property Law Association: Robert C. Watson Award
• The International Association of Defense Counsel: Annual Legal Writing Competition
• University of Richmond School of Law: Legal Essay Contest Catalogue (searchable by area of law, deadline, or prize value)

Announcements for new Writing Competitions appear in the Duke Law Daily.

Grammar and Style

Duke Law Library Resources

(an asterisk indicates that the text is on reserve)

• Bouchoux, Deborah, The Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers* (KF250 .B68 2005)
• Calleros, Charles, Legal Method and Writing* (KF250 .C345 2002)
• Charrow, Veda, Clear & Effective Legal Writing* (KF250 .C452 2001)
• The Chicago Manual of Style* (Z253 .C57 2003)
• Clary, Bradley, Successful Legal Analysis and Writing: The Fundamentals (KF250 .C53 2003)
• Enquist, Anne, & Laurel Currie Oates, Just Writing: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style for the Legal Writer (KF250 .E57 2005)
• Fajans, Elizabeth, and Mary R. Falk, Scholarly Writing for Law Students: Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes, and Law Review Competition Papers* (KF250 .F35 2000)
• Fajans, Elizabeth, Writing for Law Practice (KF250 .F353 2004)
• Gardner, James, Legal Argument: The Structure and Language of Effective Advocacy* (KF8915 .G28 1993)
• Garner, Bryan, The Elements of Legal Style* (KF250 .G37 2002)
• Garner, Bryan, Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text With Exercises (KF250 .G375 2001)
• Garner, Bryan, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (KF250 .G377 2002)
• Gopen, George, Writing From a Legal Perspective* (PE1408 .G67 2004)
• Gopen, George, The Sense of Structure: Writing From the Reader’s Perspective (PE1408 .G67 2004)
• LeClercq, Terri, Guide to Legal Writing Style* (KF250 .L46 2004)
• Neumann, Richard, Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure, Strategy and Style ( KF250 .N48 2001)
• Oates, Laurel, Anne Enquist, and Kelly Kunsch, The Legal Writing Handbook: Analysis, Research and Writing * (KF250 .O28 2002)
• Pratt, Diana, Legal Writing: A Systematic Approach (KF250 .P79 2004)
• Ray, Mary, Beyond the Basics: A Text for Advanced Legal Writing (KF250 .R38 2003)
• Ray, Mary & Jill Ramsfield, Legal Writing: Getting it Right and Getting it Written* (KF250 .R39 2000)
• Schiess, Wayne, Writing for the Legal Audience (KF250 .S35 2003)
• Schmedemann, Deborah, Synthesis: Legal Reading, Reasoning and Writing (KF250 .S36 2003)
• Shapo, Helene, Writing and Analysis in the Law (KF250 .S52 1999)
• Strunk, William & E.B. White, The Elements of Style* (PE1408 .S772 1979)
• Volokh, Eugene, Academic Legal Writing (KF250 .V65 2003)
• Williams, Joseph, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace ( PE1421 .W545 1989)
• Wydick, Richard, Plain English for Lawyers* (KF250 .W93 1998)
• Younger, Irving, Persuasive Writing (KF250 .Y68 1990)

Internet Resources

• Barger on Legal Writing
• Common Errors in English - Professor Paul Brians
• The Elements of Style - by William Strunk (portions of the text are available on-line at Bartleby.com)
• "Eschew, Evade, and/or Eradicate Legalese" - Professor Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law School
• Grammar, Usage, and Style - numerous writing resource links provided by ReFDesk.com
• Hypergrammar - the Writing Center at the University of Ottawa
• The Legal Writing Teaching Assistant: The Law Student's Guide to Good Writing - Professor Mark Grinker
• A Plain English Handbook: How to Create Clear SEC Disclosure Documents - provided by the SEC
• Plain Language: Improving Communications from the Federal Government to the Public - your tax dollars at work!
• Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• Rules for Writers - Professor Diana Hacker (requires Macromedia's flash player to run grammar exercises)

ESL Resources

Duke University provides services for international students through its International House, and maintains lists of local ESL courses and ESL writing tutors. The Graduate School's English for International Students program offers courses in academic writing specifically for international students for whom English is a second language.

• Mark Wojcik, Introduction to Legal English: An Introduction to Legal Terminology, Reasoning, and Writing in Plain English, 2nd Edition (2001)
• Legal ESL Resources - Saint Louis University
• ESL Grammar and Mechanics Resources - Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• ESL Grammar Exercises - ESL Study Hall, George Washington University
• Dave's ESL Cafe
• ESL Resources - from the Writer's Workshop, University of Illinois
• ESL Exercises - Available through Purdue University's OnLine Writing Lab (OWL)

Citation Resources

• Association of Legal Writing Directors Citation Manual
• CALI Bluebook Exercises (A registration link for first-time users of CALI is located on the right side of the screen. The form asks for a Law School Authorization Code; please ask your legal writing instructor, the writing consultant, or a librarian for the code).
• Citation Form for Briefs & Legal Memoranda (CALI Lesson)
• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation by Peter W. Martin (Cornell Law School)
• LexisNexis Interactive Citation Workstation (requires Macromedia's flash player)

Plagiarism

• A Primer on Academic Integrity at Duke Law
• Duke Law School's Rules on Student Misconduct (Rules 5.1-5.6)
• Law School Plagiarism v. Proper Attribution: A Publication of the Legal Writing Institute
• Citing Responsibly: A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism, from George Washington University Law School