PLW 200
Fall 2019
Writing Assignment
Examination of Chosen Legal Practice Field
DUE TUESDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2019
You will write a 5-7 page paper (typed, double-spaced, as free of punctuation, spelling and grammar errors as
possible) which will describe, explain, and explore one legal practice specialty area in which lawyers work, who their
clients are, the type of cases they handle, the daily activities these lawyers engage in, and what they find rewarding
about their practice. Students will explore how people enter a particular specialty field, what skills sets are necessary
for success and what classes and law school experience do these specialty lawyers recommend.
In doing the research for this assignment, you should make use of the talks presented by our panelists as a starting
point. You must find articles, essays, books, commentaries, etc., which deal with your chosen topic. Ideally, you
would seek out an attorney or attorneys to talk to, but that is NOT required.
Your paper MUST include EACH of the following:
A) a concrete thesis statement;
B) an exposition of facts that address all of the questions of the assignment prompt;
C) at least THREE sources;
D) your own conclusions about the specialty area you examined; and
E) a brief bibliography/works cited page.
Additional notes:

Refer to the syllabus (“Ironclad Rules”) for technical requirements for execution of paper.

You may use Chicago, MLA, or APA style in either footnotes or endnotes with a bibliography or works cited
page, so long as you are consistent AND correct in your usage.
 Please bear in mind the University’s policy on academic dishonesty (plagiarism) as stated on the syllabus and in
your Student Handbook.
REFERENCE FORMATTING

All papers must be a minimum of seven (7) full pages. If you choose to do a cover/title page, it does not count
towards your total.

Pages must be typed in a 10-, 11- or 12-point font with normal (one-inch) margins. No billboards or haiku,
please.

Use APA OR MLA OR Chicago Manual of Style / Turabian for footnotes/endnotes (yes, citations are required
since you’re using sources) and for bibliography/works cited page (together these are your scholarly apparatus).
Whichever style you choose to use, your use of it must be correct and consistent.

All papers MUST be typed in a double-spaced format, with pages numbered and stapled, per the guidelines
in the Ironclad Rules section of your syllabus.

Please bear in mind the University’s policy on academic dishonesty (plagiarism) and the Honor Pledge as stated
on the syllabus. Plagiarism will result in a ZERO grade for this assignment.
How to cite Internet sources:
http://www.netlingo.com/more/citations.php