{"id":12996,"date":"2018-01-22T11:29:53","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T15:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/academic-resources\/the-writing-center\/guides-and-handouts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T14:26:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T14:26:53","slug":"guides-and-handouts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/academic-resources\/the-writing-center\/guides-and-handouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Guides and Handouts"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you need an accessible version of any of the documents below, please contact lawhelp@georgetown.edu<\/span>(This link opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Assessing Legal Authority<\/h2>\n

A Guide to Reading, Interpreting and Applying Statutes<\/a>
\nA Guide to the Basics of International Law<\/a>
\nHow to Use Binding vs. Persuasive Authority<\/a>
\nWhich Court is Binding<\/a><\/p>\n

Bluebook Citation<\/h2>\n

Differences in Citation in Scholarly and Practitioner Legal Writing<\/a>
\nBluebook Signals Explained<\/a>
\nCitations to International Agreements, Cases and Arbitration Under Bluebook Rule 21<\/a>
\nEverything You Wanted to Know that the Bluebook Does Not Tell You Clearly<\/a>
\nIntroduction to Bluebooking: Some Basic But Confusing Rules<\/a>
\nParentheticals<\/a>
\nBluebook Rule 18: Citation to Internet and Electronic Resources under the Bluebook<\/a>
\nSome Common and Obscure Bluebook Rules or How to Really Impress Even the Most Exacting Bluebooker<\/a><\/p>\n

Grammar and Style<\/h2>\n

Crafting Mid-Level Organization<\/a>
\nConcise is Nice<\/a>
\nTen Rules of Grammar and Usage that You Should Know<\/a>
\nGuiding Legal Readers Through Your Legal Document<\/a>
\nTips for Effective Organization<\/a>
\nTips for Effective Punctuation in Legal Writing<\/a><\/p>\n

International Law<\/h2>\n

A Guide to the Basics of International Law<\/a>
\nCitations to International Agreements, Cases and Arbitration Under Bluebook Rule 21<\/a><\/p>\n

Judicial Writing<\/h2>\n

The Appellate Court Bench Memorandum<\/a>
\nIn Chambers: Effective Writing Tips for the Judicial Interns and Law Clerks<\/a>
\nThe Trial Court Bench Memorandum<\/a><\/p>\n

Legal Analysis<\/h2>\n

Creating Effective Rule Statements<\/a>
\nA Guide to Reading, Interpreting and Applying Statutes<\/a>
\nGuiding Legal Readers Through Your Legal Thought<\/a>
\nHow to Craft an Effective Case Comparison<\/a>
\nIdentifying and Understanding Standards of Review<\/a>
\nPersuasive Writing<\/a>
\nUsing Cases in Legal Analysis Methods and Examples<\/a>
\nUsing Secondary Sources and Persuasive Authority<\/a>
\nWhat do you Mean What Do You Mean \u201cThere\u2019s More than One Way to Do It\u201d? Legal Analysis and the Rhetorical Setting<\/a><\/p>\n

Legal Research<\/h2>\n

The Art and Craft of Strategic Legal Research<\/a>
\nLegal Research Resources at Georgetown Law and Beyond<\/a>
\nA Guide to the Basics of International Law<\/a>
\nUsing Secondary Sources and Persuasive Authority<\/a>
\nYou Have Your Topic, Now Get the Research Done<\/a>
\nResearching for Administrative Law Internship<\/a><\/p>\n

Oral Advocacy<\/h2>\n

May It Please the Court: Oral Arguments in Law School<\/a>
\nMay It Please the Court: Additional Thoughts on Oral Argument<\/a><\/p>\n

Persuasive Writing<\/h2>\n

From Memo to Appellate Brief<\/a>
\nPersuasive Issue Statements<\/a>
\nPersuasive Writing<\/a>
\nWriting the Statement of the Case in an Appellate Brief<\/a>
\nWriting Effective Point Headings<\/a>
\nWriting for Trials<\/a>
\nWriting for Trial: The Motions in Limine<\/a><\/p>\n

Scholarly Writing<\/h2>\n

Checklist for Scholarly Writing<\/a>
\nChoosing a Successful Paper Topic<\/a>
\nCreating a Good Scholarly Paper<\/a>
\nDeveloping a Thesis Statement<\/a>
\nIntroductions and Conclusions for Scholarly Papers<\/a>
\n\u201cRighting\u201d the Write On Competition<\/a>
\nStrategies for Outlining Your Scholarly Paper<\/a>
\nThe Home Stretch: Revising and Polishing the Scholarly Paper<\/a>
\nTips for Getting Your Scholarly Paper Published<\/a>
\nTurning your First Draft of a Seminar Paper into a Final Draft<\/a>
\nYou Have Your Topic, Now Get the Research Done<\/a><\/p>\n

Transactional Writing<\/h2>\n

Tips for Achieving Clarity in Contract Drafting<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing for Practice<\/h2>\n

How to Write a Client Advice Letter<\/a>
\nEmailing Professionally<\/a>
\nHow to Handle an Assignment at your Summer Job<\/a>
\nIn Chambers: Effective Writing Tips for the Judicial Interns and Law Clerks<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing Checklists, Process, and Tips<\/h2>\n

Checklist for the Fall Legal Research and Writing Exam<\/a>
\nChecklist for Scholarly Writing<\/a>
\nChecklist for the Client Letter<\/a>
\nChecklist for the Memorandum<\/a>
\nChecklist for the Writing Process<\/a>
\nChecklist for the First Year Writing Process<\/a>
\nCrafting Mid-Level Organization<\/a>
\nConcise is Nice<\/a>
\nFinal Exam Tips<\/a>
\nGetting the Most Out of Your First Draft<\/a>
\nFormatting a Legal Document in Microsoft Word<\/a>
\nJust Do It \u2013 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination<\/a>
\nOutlining Tips and Techniques for Class<\/a>
\nOutlining for Exams<\/a>
\nTips and Techniques for Taking Notes in Class<\/a>
\nTen Tips for Transitioning to Legal Writing<\/a>
\nTips for Effective Organization<\/a>
\nTips for Effective Punctuation in Legal Writing<\/a>
\nTurning your First Draft of a Seminar Paper into a Final Draft<\/a>
\nWriter’s Block and How to Work Through It<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing for Law School Classes<\/h2>\n

Final Exam Tips<\/a>
\nTips and Techniques for Taking Notes in Class<\/a>
\nOutlining Tips and Techniques for Class<\/a>
\nOutlining for Exams<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing Samples and Cover Letters<\/h2>\n

Building a Writing Portfolio<\/a>
\nChoosing the Right Writing Sample<\/a>
\nGovernment Cover Letters<\/a>
\nRevising and Preparing a Writing Sample<\/a>
\nTop 5 Things You Need to Know About
\nWriting Samples<\/a>
\nWriting a Judicial Clerkship Cover Letter<\/a>
\nWriting Samples for Public Interest Positions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you need an accessible version of any of the documents below, please contact lawhelp@georgetown.edu(This link opens in a new tab). Assessing Legal Authority A Guide to Reading, Interpreting and Applying Statutes A Guide to the Basics of International Law How to Use Binding vs. Persuasive Authority Which Court is Binding Bluebook Citation Differences in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":12793,"menu_order":261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12996","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12996"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26731,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12996\/revisions\/26731"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}