Thursday, September 10, 2009
Questions Presented and Thesis Paragraphs
Two of the most important part of a legal memorandum are the Questions Presented section and the thesis paragraph at the beginning of the Discussion section.
The Questions Presented section tells the reader what overall issue (or, occasionally, issues) you will address in the rest of memo. Since you haven't yet told the reader about the facts of your case, you'll write the QP in generic terms. Here is a short article that you may find helpful as you work on this part of the memo:
David E. Sorkin, Make Issue Statements Work for You
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1100023
Begin the Discussion section of your memorandum with a thesis paragraph. An effective thesis paragraph should state the overall issue and break it down into its main components (usually by stating a legal rule).
When you state the overall issue, state it in terms of your case (i.e., name names) rather than generically. Then state the broad rule that governs the overall issue. This rule serves as a road map of the rest of the Discussion section--in other words, the components of the rule correspond to the main issues to be addressed below. A legal rule should normally be stated in present tense using generic terms rather than in terms that are specific to your case.
The second paragraph of the Discussion section begins the analysis of the first main issue (the first component that was mapped out in your thesis paragraph). If it is a simple issue, one paragraph may suffice; identify the issue, state the applicable legal rule, apply the rule to your case, and state your conclusion. If it is more complex, however, you'll want to break it down into subissues, and address each one separately. To do that, begin by stating the issue and the applicable legal rule, then use the components of that rule as a road map of subissues to be addressed in the paragraphs that follow. (Think of this paragraph as a "mini-thesis" paragraph for the first main issue; it serves the same purpose for that issue as the main thesis paragraph does for the overall issue.)
These brief articles describe what goes into an effective thesis paragraph:
Susan Duncan, Thesis Paragraphs
http://ssrn.com/abstract=990435
K.K. DuVivier, Road Maps
http://law.du.edu/images/uploads/Lawyering_Process_/Duvivier_articles/jan%201993.pdf
(Both Chapter 6 in the textbook and, to a lesser extent, the above articles suggest that you ought to do more in a thesis paragraph than just identify the issue and state a rule that maps it out -- they say you should also describe how the rule applies to the issue and then offer a conclusion. I don't think those last two parts are essential; use your judgment in deciding how much to include.)
The Questions Presented section tells the reader what overall issue (or, occasionally, issues) you will address in the rest of memo. Since you haven't yet told the reader about the facts of your case, you'll write the QP in generic terms. Here is a short article that you may find helpful as you work on this part of the memo:
David E. Sorkin, Make Issue Statements Work for You
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1100023
Begin the Discussion section of your memorandum with a thesis paragraph. An effective thesis paragraph should state the overall issue and break it down into its main components (usually by stating a legal rule).
When you state the overall issue, state it in terms of your case (i.e., name names) rather than generically. Then state the broad rule that governs the overall issue. This rule serves as a road map of the rest of the Discussion section--in other words, the components of the rule correspond to the main issues to be addressed below. A legal rule should normally be stated in present tense using generic terms rather than in terms that are specific to your case.
The second paragraph of the Discussion section begins the analysis of the first main issue (the first component that was mapped out in your thesis paragraph). If it is a simple issue, one paragraph may suffice; identify the issue, state the applicable legal rule, apply the rule to your case, and state your conclusion. If it is more complex, however, you'll want to break it down into subissues, and address each one separately. To do that, begin by stating the issue and the applicable legal rule, then use the components of that rule as a road map of subissues to be addressed in the paragraphs that follow. (Think of this paragraph as a "mini-thesis" paragraph for the first main issue; it serves the same purpose for that issue as the main thesis paragraph does for the overall issue.)
These brief articles describe what goes into an effective thesis paragraph:
Susan Duncan, Thesis Paragraphs
http://ssrn.com/abstract=990435
K.K. DuVivier, Road Maps
http://law.du.edu/images/uploads/Lawyering_Process_/Duvivier_articles/jan%201993.pdf
(Both Chapter 6 in the textbook and, to a lesser extent, the above articles suggest that you ought to do more in a thesis paragraph than just identify the issue and state a rule that maps it out -- they say you should also describe how the rule applies to the issue and then offer a conclusion. I don't think those last two parts are essential; use your judgment in deciding how much to include.)