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87 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 147 (2009-2010)
Redirecting the Scope of First-Year Writing Courses: Toward a New Paradigm of Teaching Legal Writing

handle is hein.journals/udetmr87 and id is 155 raw text is: Redirecting the Scope of First-Year
Writing Courses: Toward a New Paradigm
of Teaching Legal Writing
SOMA R. KEDIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION          .......................................... .......147
I. FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING LEGAL WRITING         .....................152
A. Law Students as Writers: Baseline Comprehension of a First-
Year Legal Writing Student............................152
1. Basic Argumentation Skills .........................153
2. Basic Grammar and Composition Skills................154
3. Ability to Self-Teach..............................154
B. Law Students Entering the Discourse: The Needs of a First-
Year Legal Writing Student............................155
1. Legal Problem-Solving and Issue Spotting.  ..............156
2. Legal Organization..............................158
3. Legal Reasoning.................................158
1. THE EXISTING PEDAGOGY AND ITS CRITIQUES.       .................... 162
A. The Case Method in Legal Writing Pedagogy..........     .... 165
B. Legal Reasoning       ........................    ................ 168
C. IRAC........................................... 169
1. SHIFTING THE PARADIGM..                   ..................................... 171
CONCLUSION................................................... 177
INTRODUCTION
Read over this file and start drafting a trial memo to the court on X.
Here's some old research on the topic, but you'll have to update it as well
as branch out and find some case law on Y and tie it in since Z statute was
passed a    few years ago. We'll want the memo to be as comprehensive as
possible, because this is a new judge without much familiarity with the law
in this area. Can you have a draft to me by tomorrow?
Umm ... sure. Let me just chug a few Red Bulls and give me a few
minutes to pound my head against the wallfirst.
* I.D., 2006, The George Washington University Law School. B.A., B.S., 2002,
The Pennsylvania State University. The author was formerly the Assistant Director of the
George Washington University Writing Center and a member of the International Writing
Centers Association.

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