Like all other subjects, there is a particular guideline for law assignments as well. Going against the guideline and making mistakes can cause major detection in your marks. As a student, you must ensure that your assignment writing receives the highest possible grade. To do so, you must first learn about the mistakes that students make so that you can avoid them in your assignment writing.
With the help of professional academic writers and law assignment writing service providers, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 most common yet major mistakes law students make in their assignments. Not only that, but we’ve also provided tips on how to avoid these blunders and get high marks on your law assignment.
10 Common Law Assignment Writing Mistakes
Here are the common mistakes students make in assignment writing. Let’s dig in to find out how to avoid them.
1. Not Answering The Main Question
The first mistake is that students do not properly answer the question that is supposed to be the main focus of their assignment. This was mostly due to the fact that many students only read the assignment question once.
They are so eager to begin their research and write their assignment that they fail to take the time to fully comprehend the question.
To avoid this mistake, schedule time to carefully study the question and analyze what it’s asking for before you begin writing your assignment. Break the question down into its constituent parts and separate the facts required, laws needed, and so on. You won’t miss anything if you try to understand your assignment topic in this way. Make sure to add at least a basic explanation or reasoning for every part.
2. No Valid Reasoning
Replicating an argument from a textbook or journal article in your assignment without giving a proper reason is another common mistake. It’s good if you compare facts in your assignment to similar case studies and draw valuable conclusions.
But just because it comes from an academic source does not mean it is correct to use it according to your assignment topic.
In law assignments, it is critical to provide realistic examples and situations to demonstrate the writer’s understanding capacity. Always strive to explain with examples and assess the reason behind using the circumstances that have been previously described.
Remember, when you start practicing law, you’ll spend a lot of time preparing arguments, so get some experience while you’re still in school.
3. Use Of Contractions And Personal Pronouns
Contraction and personal pronouns should be avoided in legal writing. Don’t use contractions until absolutely necessary. Saying “isn’t” instead of “is not” is an example of a contraction.
Similarly, avoid using the term “I” or other personal pronouns. “I believe that…” is not a good phrase to use. Instead, say, “It is evident that…” in light of the law. Making the habit of avoiding personal pronouns and contractions can help you make arguments based on law rather than opinion.
4. Lack Of Authority
Another common mistake is to add an argument or opinion that lacks authority. This happens when students incorporate well-reasoned ideas but fail to tie them to the law.
Don’t express an opinion and argument without citing authoritative law to back it up. Your professor isn’t very interested in your point of view. They want to see did you find a solid legal case to back up your claim.
When you have to present an argument, try to answer questions regarding it. Such as, How trustworthy the source is? How strong the argument is? What proof has been presented to back it up? You will be able to integrate more of your own reasoned viewpoint into your writing if you practice this type of critical thinking.
Another thing you can do is to organize your notes so that you can quickly and easily discover the most authoritative source for every legal theory you’re arguing about.
5. Misused Words
Choosing the proper words in the right order to convey your idea or knowledge is the most important aspect of legal writing. Students normally get confused about the right usage of words in their sentences. They claim that because there are so many words available, choosing the “best” one is impossible for them.
However, certain words are better than others when it comes to conveying your message while still being precise and correct. You can search online or get help from a dictionary to see the right use of a word in a sentence.
Obviously, you have to put in some effort if you want to make your assignment error-free. Also, keep an eye on easily confused words (such as to, too, and two) and make sure to use them rightly.
6. Grammatical Errors
Just like using the right words is important, good grammar is also the key to effective communication. The problem is not every law student understands the basic rules of grammar. They make grammatical blunders that confuse their readers.
Proofread your assignment so you can get rid of all grammar or spelling mistakes. Change the sentence structure if you are confused about any grammar rule in particular. You can also use AI tools to help you in your editing process.
7. Use Of Passive Voice
Students frequently use passive voice in their assignment wiring instead of active voice. Passive voice makes a statement overly wordy and shifts the attention from the main subject.
Active sentences on the other hand, often sound more direct and convincing because in active voice the actor is doing something (rather than taking a backseat as in passive voice).
Sometimes, passive voice isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are situations when utilizing the passive voice makes more sense than using the active voice.
Passive voice is perfectly fine when the activity is more essential than who is performing it. “My car was taken yesterday,” for example, is more appropriate than “Someone stole my car yesterday,” because it emphasizes the occurrence rather than an unknown offender.
To figure out the right use of active and passive voice, use this simple trick. Ask yourself who or what is doing the ‘action’ in the sentence. In an active sentence, the subject of the sentence is doing the action, while the ‘object’ is affected by the action.
But if the subject is unclear or undefined, or the sentence ends with or would need to include the word by to make more sense, it is probably passive voice.
8. Incorrect Use Of Quotes
Students often included information related to a case without giving a good thought to it. They know the case is important so they include a summary or quote to demonstrate that they understand the significance of the case for the list of legal issues they’re discussing. But this is not the right way to add quotes.
Instead of simply repeating the old case information and quotes, demonstrate how well you understand it by applying it to new facts. Even a single statement explaining a legal principle can suffice. Don’t forget to carefully cite the case at the end of the sentence.
9. Poor Conclusion
The majority of people take this section as an opportunity to restate their statements and highlight elements from the introduction. I’m not saying you can’t follow the trend; you certainly can. But don’t say the same thing over and over again.
You’ll need the correct conclusion so that your readers know the summary of your assignment. If you don’t include one, your assignment will appear incomplete.
Take your time to write a compelling conclusion for your assignment. So when your professors check your assignment, they know you’ve covered the issue thoroughly till the end.
10. Hesitate To Ask For Help
Students often try to figure out everything on their own when they are stuck in the process of assignment writing. As a result, they waste their time, energy, and sometimes interest as well.
If you are facing any problems, such as not understanding the requirements of your assignment, not having enough knowledge, and so on, never be afraid to reach out to your professor, seniors, parents, teachers, or others for assistance. You can take help from professional academic writers as well.
Make an appointment with your law professor if you have any questions specifically for him. Make sure you go into the meeting with specific questions; you’ll gain more out of it, and the professor will appreciate your forethought.
Also, get feedback before submitting your assignment. You can ask your seniors, classmates, family members, and professors (if they’re available) to go through your work and tell their opinion and suggestions.
EndNote
Having knowledge about the dos and don’ts of assignment writing before writing and submitting your assignment is always safe, effective, and wise.
Consult this list of common law assignment writing mistakes the next time you have to work on your law assignment. Avoiding mistakes will help you convey your message more effectively and make focus of your reader’s attention on what you’re saying rather than on missing commas or unnecessary words.
