Differences Between College Writing and Legal Writing
Dear 1L, If you want to do well in legal writing, have an open mindset.
🔹 When you wrote in college, you got rewarded for writing MORE.
—You had to write papers LONG enough to meet a page or word MINimum.
E.g., “must be at least twenty-five pages.”
🔹 But in law school, you get rewarded for writing LESS.
—Your memos and briefs must be SHORT enough to fit a page or word MAXimum.
E.g., “must be no more than twelve pages.”
—> If yours goes long, you’ll be penalized.
🔴 N.B. This is not a hypothetical!
—As a 1L, if your assignments exceed the page/word count, you’ll get major points off from your grade.
—And when you’re a lawyer, if you file a brief that surpasses the page/word limit, the court will often refuse to accept it at all!
***
👉 At first, you might think writing 12 pages in law school will be faster and easier than writing 25 pages in college.
It won’t be.
Learning to say the same thing in fewer words is a skill you’ll have to learn.
Don’t wait to start learning.
You have started today by reading this letter.
It is a short excerpt from a longer chapter in my book.
In it, I detail the 4 key differences between college writing and legal writing.
You can get your copy here:
Fondly,
💌 Amanda
P.S. If you’d like to keep receiving my Dear 1L letters this fall, you can sign up here: