Tips for law review write-on?

[Bizarro Jerry]

When our write-on competition was administered mid-semester (March), I thought I was going to lose it and was wishing it was during the summer, like so many others.  But now I'm loving it.

[just dot]

Ha, you've got me on that point.

I appologize- my initial response was meant to be funny, not accusatory. I was meaning to poke fun at how expansive the non-collabs can be- I don't think it is possible to not "officially" cheat unless you lock yourself in a secluded cell for the entire period.

Ok, fair enough.   

For the record, I'm a very ethical person and I would never, ever cheat on purpose.  Seriously. 

[uh huh.]

I think the thing that helped me most was to bluebook all of my sources, long and short forms, before even reading the problem.  That way, I was familiar with what sources I actually had before reading the problem, and I had the most important part of the competiton done (bluebooking was worth 60% of our write-on grade).  If bluebooking is worth less than the writing, bluebooking first can still help you because it's just one less thing you'll have to worry about as you (inevitably) edit with clock winding down to the last minute.

[wrhssaxensemble]

1. Follow directions. If the directions say the note needs to be printed on a sheet of parchment made from the wool of a lamb that is exactly 435 days old, do not use wool from a lamb that is 434 or 436 days old. But seriously, this thing is all about following directions. Margins, font, number of copies, method and time of delivery, what sources you use, etc. are all worth a sizable chunk of the grading.

2. Start early. You need to do that so you can...

3. Edit more than you write. Along with following directions, having perfect spelling, great grammer, and correct citations are key. As a 2L you're going to spend more time with the Bluebook and Chicago Manual of Style (at least I did) than you would ever want to. That's the skill they're looking for.

4. Organize everything. A dull but well-organized note will beat a genius but completely disorganized note every time.

Bottom line: this is about form over function. Get the form right, and if the function (the substance) is passable, you should be in good shape.

I agree. I wrote onto my journal by doing all of the above plus spending the whole write-on period focused only on this; took the days off from work etc.

[sepepper]

The part I am wondering about is writing on worth the extra effort. By that, I mean not just the time spent writing the Note to qualify, but the extra work required for law review during the rest of school. How much extra time is required for the work, and did anyone find that it took away from studying for other classes?

[jacy85]

The part I am wondering about is writing on worth the extra effort. By that, I mean not just the time spent writing the Note to qualify, but the extra work required for law review during the rest of school. How much extra time is required for the work, and did anyone find that it took away from studying for other classes?

No one can really answer this, as at varies widely from journal to journal, school to school.  In some cases, journal/LR isn't a lot of extra work.  In other cases, it is a huge time commitment. 

For me, it was a HUGE amount of work, but I would say that without a doubt that it was worth it.  It sucked, but I will always have that qualification on my resume, along with a line for being a published author.  And in this market, anything you have on your resume that might distinguish you from the next guy/girl is a good thing to have. 

[atomic40]

The part I am wondering about is writing on worth the extra effort. By that, I mean not just the time spent writing the Note to qualify, but the extra work required for law review during the rest of school. How much extra time is required for the work, and did anyone find that it took away from studying for other classes?

My school says is adds 15-20 hours a week.  I go at night so if I don't get on I will be bummed, but not that bummed.  My life is hell enough as it is working full time in a large firm and going to law classes three nights a week.