How to write a law paper

First, consider the length and capacity of the article from the size of the subject

I have already said about the topic. When writing an article, the first thing to consider is to decide the length and capacity of the article based on the content of the topic.

The length and capacity of the article I am talking about are generally related, but different. Sometimes, the length of the article is small, but the capacity is large; sometimes, the length of the article is large, but the capacity is not very large. This is very similar to writing novels. Some novels are short in length and large in capacity. They are important themes of depiction, reflecting the world through a drop of water.

Generally speaking, the length of legal papers is short and long, a few thousand words, three thousand words or six or seven thousand words; long words or even tens of thousands of words. Considering the length and capacity of the article, it is necessary to decide how long to write the article according to the size of the topic, and how big the capacity is. For example, in the article I wrote, long, large-capacity, such as "China's other property rights system and its reconstruction," tens of thousands of words, published in "Chinese Social Science", because this is an important The subject matter, including all the systems and structures of his real rights, also outlined various specific real rights, and decided to write such a long article. The article "Prosecutorial Supervision and Judicial Justice of Civil Administrative Litigation" published in "Legal Studies" mainly deals with the theoretical basis, historical evolution, and system of supervision methods of civil administrative litigation prosecution, and is also a major subject. It also used tens of thousands of words to show it. On the contrary, in the article "Hoffman's calculation method and its application", the problem of interest calculation and deduction of compensation is explained. Therefore, only two or three thousand words are written. The problem is enough to explain. Of course, I also wrote the article "The Prospects for the Development of Civil Law in the 21st Century". XX has written a major subject, but only wrote a short article, which is based on the "theory forum" published in the newspaper. There is no way to accommodate large articles.

What should be explained here is that the length and capacity of the legal papers are generally 6,000 to 10,000 words. Such an article is better published in the journal. Too long an article, the publication should give you so many layouts, unless the article is particularly good, the general editor is very embarrassed, is not willing to provide you. Therefore, the subject matter suitable for thesis should be moderate, not too big, not too small. Generally, the subject matter of the paper should be considered in accordance with such standards.

When choosing the subject matter of the thesis, you should pay attention to a law, that is, the smaller the subject matter, the easier it is to write something moving. This is because, if a small subject makes a big article, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth and extensive argumentation, and it needs more materials. It is necessary to be more in-depth, meticulous and thoughtful in the argumentation. It is very difficult to make such an article large, because some people are not enough materials when they make such an article, the analysis is not enough, the problem is not deep, it is not clear, and the water is not solved. Such an article is unpopular and does not solve the problem. I look at the articles in some of the current provincial law journals. I have made such a problem, and I have nothing to say. There is almost no scientific research value.

When your writing is still not mature, you should pay attention to choosing small topics, strive to write better, and don't have too many words. It is better to use 5000 to 8000. Such an article is the easiest to publish. Articles smaller than 5,000 words are suitable for publication in newspapers; articles with more than 8,000 words are difficult to publish. According to this situation, the law of the law should pay attention to the above problems.

Under normal circumstances, there is no too successful grasp, do not write 30,000 to 50,000 words of the article, because the chance of publication is too small.

In short, it is necessary to choose a subject suitable for thesis to write a legal essay. The most important major subject matter is to keep the book and not to use it as a essay writing. In the future, I will talk about the writing method of the law monograph.

Second, determine the subject of the argument

The theme of the paper is the core and soul of an article. The theme is fixed and the basic structure of the article is fixed. Therefore, determining the theme is very important. In the "Cultural Revolution", the "main subjective theory" of literary works was enthusiastically advocated, and stories should be written and characters should be shaped according to the established theme. this is not right. However, in legal papers, it is necessary to adhere to the theme first. Without a good and correct theme, there is no good legal article.

The theme of the legal paper is the author's basic view of the research results of this legal issue. The legal paper is a manifestation of the results of legal research, in the form of serving the substantive content. To study the writing of legal papers is to show the results of legal research through writing. Therefore, the theme of the legal essay is to be summarized, and the research results of this legal issue should be summarized and determined as a central point of view, which is presented throughout the article.

Determining the subject of a legal paper is not difficult. Choosing a theme and extracting the core content of this theme is the subject of an article. The difficulty in determining the subject of a legal paper is whether the subject is correct, is it novel, and is not practical. This is the research value of this issue. If it is not correct, it is not novel, it is not practical, and the scientific research results have no value. Of course, this article will fail. If you have not written yet, you have already reached this conclusion. One of my students wrote a doctoral thesis, which was written on the strict liability of the tort law. This subject matter is very good. It is appropriate to use 100,000 words to explain this problem. However, his point of view, that is, the subject of this article is not completely accurate. His opinion is that in the principle of liability of tort law, in addition to the principle of fault liability, other principles of fault presumption, no-fault liability and fair liability are strict responsibilities. I believe that most scholars are opposed to this view, and it cannot be said to be correct. This is because strict liability has a specific meaning in the Western Tort Law. Of course, domestic scholars have different understandings of strict liability. However, it is not correct to strictly enforce the scope of such responsibility. of. The subject of such an article is not easy to say. In addition, one scholar wrote an article claiming that there is no system of compensation for moral damage in China's civil law. It is wrong for academics and practitioners to advocate moral damage compensation. This theme is completely wrong. China’s "General Principles of Civil Law" has affirmed such a system after several battles. Now, it is not based on the law. In fact, it is necessary to deny the existence of the system of compensation for mental damage. It is very appropriate to be criticized for such a topic. The purpose of criticism is to defend this hard-won civil law system.

I introduced the topic selection of one of my articles. In "Legal Studies", I published an article entitled "Infringement of the Right to Freedom and Its Civil Law Relief". This article was named "100 Laws of Excellent Research in Law Studies". The subject matter of this article was discovered in practice. I handled such a case that the unit illegally carried out compulsory treatment for employees for more than 20 days, and the court held that it did not constitute a violation of personal liberty. This is totally wrong. The focus of the debate is whether the right to personal liberty is the right to personality. The subject of my article is to determine that the nature of personal liberty belongs to the right of personality. Infringement of this right constitutes an infringement. This theme is very good, written, and naturally won the approval of all walks of life. When formulating the "State Compensation Law," it stipulates that the right to personal liberty is the right of personality. Infringing this right, it is necessary to pursue civil liability for infringement. This theme, at the time, was also novel and, in practice, also of great value. The reason why this article was awarded is justified.

You can also say an article. It is the issue of extended protection of personal rights. After 1986, the issue of personality rights stipulated in the General Principles of the Civil Law appeared to be protected after the death of the subject. There is a lot of disagreement about this issue in the theoretical world. After several years of research, I proposed the idea of ​​extended protection of personality rights. As a topic of an article, I explained it in detail and published it in Law Research. Of course, there are also scholars who oppose it. However, as a doctrine, there is indeed a value of its existence. Whoever criticizes and criticizes it is not better to argue?

The subject of the paper should be straightforward, and don't hide it. This is the opposite of literary works. The theme of literary works is concealed. The deeper the better, the different readers have different feelings. This is the best subject treatment method for literary works. When writing a law paper, you can't do this. You can't let the reader guess. The more straightforward the theme is, the better the reader should know it at a glance. The article written in this way is the superior work in the legal paper.

One more thing is that the subject matter of the article must be consistent and cannot be changed in the article. If this is not the case, the written article has no center and no basic ideas. This is not a real legal paper.

Finally, the theme of the article can be summarized. After the reader finishes reading this article, he can make it clear in one sentence. This theme refinement is successful. I once said this to students: the theoretical workers are going to complicate the simple things and show the profound theoretical connotations; the practical workers are to simplify the complicated things and to classify the complicated cases into one sentence. It is just as good as the law and the law. In the practice paper, it is necessary to enrich the theoretical connotation, but it does not mean that the subject of the article is complicated. The theme must be concise, and the theory must be profound. With this in mind, the article has been successful for more than half.

Third, determine the method of argumentation

The method of argumentation is the basic method of explaining the subject. The theme is determined, the method of argumentation is wrong, the argument is not good, and no good article can be written.

The first thing to be sure is whether the basic argumentation method of the article is argument or refutation.

In general, the basic argumentation method of legal articles should be an argument. It is the point of view in this article that is actually the basic argument of the article. Focusing on this theme, comprehensively expounding its correctness, necessity, and specific application methods, so that this view can stand up, others can not be approved, and the argument is established.

Sometimes, legal articles should also use refutation. Concentrate on a wrong point of view, conduct a comprehensive rebuttal, show the fallacy of this point of view, recognize its wrong nature, and overthrow the subject so that it cannot make waves in the theoretical world and let it have no market. There are also articles that use derogatory writing, but not many. As a result of the refutation, it is still necessary to establish their own views. Without their own views, there is no power to refute. There is a qualified teacher. When he lectures, he always criticizes others' opinions. A's opinion is wrong, and B's opinion is not right. C's opinion is not right. "But what is right, I don't know, I don't know. Has not been researched yet." Such a refutation has no power and no value.

Of course, in an article, both arguments and arguments are the most common. The arguments and refutations are well combined in an article, and the article is successful.

Second, we must study the specific methods of discussion.

Comparative methods, deductive methods, inductive methods, referral methods, review methods, etc., these methods can be used in the article. Sometimes when you do an article, you use a method of discussion. For example, writing an essay using the comparative method is a comparative essay. Introducing a foreign system, indicating that China can learn from its own practice, that is, the article of the promotion law.

In fact, in an article, especially in heavily weighted articles, it is often not only a method of argumentation, but a combination of various methods based on the specific needs of the article. In the eyes of beginners, using a variety of argumentation methods in an article is somewhat dazzling and unreasonable. However, as long as you persist in writing practice and often think about problems, you will definitely learn to use these methods of argumentation.

I have a student who wrote an article and let me see it. It is a litigation system that promotes the United States. It is how to do this system in the United States, how to operate it, but how to combine it with China’s actual situation. I came to China to learn from it and did not put forward one sentence. This affects the value of the article. When we write an article, we must pay attention to the study of practical value, and we should avoid such problems.

Fourth, the structure of the research article

In the writing of legal articles, structural problems are not difficult. The main requirement is to discuss it according to the theme chosen by the subject and the needs of the identified subject. The so-called "article intangible" mainly refers to this point.

Below, we introduce several common structural methods.

The first is the usual method of discussion. Some comrades are very similar in the way of summarizing this method of writing: "concepts, characteristics, evolution, meaning, composition, responsibility, and problems in application." In many legal articles, this is structured in such a way, and it is indeed a regular structural method that is often used. These issues must be addressed when discussing a system or a legal issue. By making these issues clear, the system is basically clear. However, in using this method, flexible transformations are made according to different situations. For example, this system was introduced from a foreign country. It is necessary to write more about the history of the introduction, detailing the ins and outs of the system, and drawing on the benefits of such a system. Write a more practical article, and work harder on the issues and responsibilities and problems in the application.

The second is the general argumentation method. If you write a system with a lot of content, you must introduce the general system, and you must introduce the specific system content. At this time, use the general argument theory to write, and the eyebrows are clear. At first glance, you can understand that the effect is better. . I used this method in my article "Research on China's Contractual Responsibilities." The first part clarifies the general issue of China's contractual responsibilities. The next section introduces various specific contractual responsibilities. This kind of structure is used for larger articles, and it is probably tens of thousands of words. Some people don't like this structure. I have an article with more than 40,000 words. I also use this structure. The responsible editor feels bad and has to change to the current practice of dividing into several parallel subheadings. Of course it is not bad.

The third is to judge the research methods. In 1990, I learned from Mr. Wang Zejian's practice, engaged in judgment research, and wrote dozens of such articles, forming a style. In the previous paragraph, Mr. Wang Zejian came to Beijing. We talked. He gave a high evaluation of this kind of research. I also said it during the lectures at Peking University. The structure of this research method is more flexible. It is always started with jurisprudence and judicial interpretation, analyzes, explains the jurisprudence, and explains the specific practices and solutions in practice. You can look at such an article I wrote. The reader's evaluation is that it is combined with reality, highly targeted, practical and theoretical, and readable, and the reader likes it.

The fourth is the review method. An overview of a problem is also a way to structure an article. This method is used in two ways. One is to summarize the discussion of a certain conference, and to summarize the research results of one year, all of which are the application of this structural method. The second is to summarize the specific theoretical issues and evaluate them at the same time. For example, on a theoretical issue, sum up a few points, analyze, discuss, and finally evaluate each doctrine. This structural method can be structured according to the problem and is more flexible.

The fifth is a straightforward method. For example, in an article, to say a few questions, one point at a time; to list a question, to illustrate a problem; to list another question, and then to explain the problem. This method is extremely simple and easy to use, and the article looks rather dull. When I was writing "Several Issues on How to Amend the Marriage and Family to Deal with the Loyalty of the Spouse", I used this structure. The first is how to stipulate the specific content of the loyalty obligation. The second is whether the loyalty obligation should be stipulated as legal. The third reason for divorce is the issue of damages for breach of loyalty obligations. The three questions are flat and there are certain new ideas.

There are many ways to structure articles, just introduce these kinds for your reference.

V. Questions about the expression of words

The expression of the legal paper, the text should not be fancy, to be level, to be refined, to have something to say, to be in place. Don't be sensational and slick.

Of course, at the time of writing, you can also make your own articles a bit more colorful, but not too thick. If you are too thick, it is not a theoretical article. At the same time, at the time of discussion, it is necessary to say that it is not afraid that readers do not understand, and they turn over and over and say that they waste both words and readers' time. I told some students that when writing a law paper, they should position the reader. When writing a research article, you should set the reader to be almost the same level as yourself. You should even think that the reader is higher than yourself. You can't think that the reader is a person who doesn't know anything. Then, the writing is the popular law article. Not a theoretical research paper. Only by setting the reader as an equivalent researcher can the starting point be high and the article be refined. If you are writing a law-enforcement article, then of course you should write according to the reader as an ordinary person, and follow the instructions of the reader who does not understand the law or rarely understand the law.

A friend of mine wrote an article about the responsibility of helping workers to change their jobs. The first manuscript wrote 30,000 words. Whenever a concept is encountered, it is defined and explained. It seems that the readers are all law blind. . I told him this opinion and said, "You can imagine that the readers are all legal experts, and try again according to such standards." The introduction of these concepts has been deleted, and the article has 15,000 words left. I helped him change it again, leaving 7,000 words, which is a very good article.

Write an article to be divided into sub-headings. Under the general heading, a large article is divided into sub-headings of different levels, called first-level questions, second-level questions, three-level questions, and four-level questions. In general, it is a three-level question, and it is also a lot of four-level questions. Different title levels require different questions. The first level questions use "one, two, three...", the second level questions use ",, ...", the third level questions use "1, 2, 3...", and the fourth level questions use ",, ...". In this way, the article will be eye-catching, well-organized, and will not be unclear. Nowadays, many scholars do not make such a distinction when writing, and the articles written are chaotic and difficult to understand. This should be improved. Of course, this sub-question is not absolute. It is even more impossible to write an article about Chinese medicine shop, A, B, D, and 2, 34. To combine the actual, how to divide, how to divide. However, since it is necessary to separate the questions, it is necessary to abide by the rules of the sub-topics. Of course, it is also possible to change the problem into several levels. For example, instead of 1.2.3......., use one, two, three, first, second, third, one, two, three, It is ok, but no matter what you use, you must have a clear hierarchy. You can't know how to do it yourself.

About the notes.

Comments should be written in the specification. The most standard is the annotation method of Legal Studies. When you are writing, you should take a good look at the method of commenting on the articles in Legal Studies, and strictly follow the instructions to make your own articles look good in form. The current comments are too non-standard, including for large scholars. Write an article to practice from a small place and develop good habits.

Sixth, about the idea

To write a good legal essay, you must carefully conceive, and comprehensively consider all the articles in accordance with the various requirements mentioned above, and must re-write the pen after considering the maturity. As some people have said, an article is brewing into the heart and can't help it. If you can't write it, you can start writing it. In my practice, I have to think about the gestation and conception of an article for a long time. I really want to know clearly. When I write, there is not much difficulty. The article of 10,000 words, one or two days Time can be written.

How to be conceived and to achieve a level of unhappiness? It is to have a mature idea of ​​space and volume, theme, structure, method of argumentation, and form of expression when conceiving and imagining; at the same time, how to begin, how to end, and the important passages and main Part of how to explain, carry out repeated thinking, lay down the draft, and even make changes in the heart again and again until you are satisfied. At this time, it is probably reached this level, and you can write.

Some friends often ask me if there is any skill in writing a law paper. How to use various netizens in the Internet: Tips for selecting a regular publication for publishing a paper. My answer is, first of all, the practice of thesis, there must be skills, such skills, nothing more than the netizens in the net: Tips: Please select the general skills of the regular publication, as mentioned above. Secondly, when the practice papers reach a certain level, there is no skill. That is, if the skills are applied to the level of proficiency, there is no need to pay attention to the writing skills. This is the highest level of skill. How to achieve such a realm, we must write more and practice, practice makes perfect. As long as everyone persists, they will certainly achieve results in legal studies and write good legal papers.