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CMLawLibraryBlog

The CM Law Library Blog seeks to inform the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law community about key legal education, research, practice, and law library news, with a particular focus on Cuyahoga County and Ohio as well as faculty research interests.

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Five Tips for Writing Better Papers

Amy Burchfield, Access & Faculty Services Librarian amy.burchfield@law.csuohio.edu | February 08, 2008 - 13:58

Research and writing for seminar papers and notes doesn’t have to be a painful process. Here are a couple tips from this week’s Scholarly Writing research seminar that might help you out this semester.

1. Keep a Research Log
“Uhhhh, where did I read that argument that could so support this point in my paper?” If you keep a detailed research log, you won’t be searching far and wide for the answer.

2. Gather Your Sources Early
“Hmm, I ordered all this great stuff from another library, but it hasn’t come yet.” Fact is, OhioLINK and interlibrary loan (ILL) can take time to arrive, so identify the sources you need quickly. Plus that saves you more time for writing.

3. Avoid Plagiarism
“But I didn’t mean to plagiarize!” Sorry, that one doesn’t cut it – there’s no need for intent in plagiarism. To get the details, see Avoiding Plagiarism.

4. Footnote, Footnote
“That law review article has how many footnotes?” They’re everywhere, and frankly, you can’t get enough of them.

5. Get a Second Opinion
“So, do you think this section needs some work?” This isn’t the time to be shy about sharing your work with others and asking for their honest feedback.


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