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BLOG.LEGALWRITING.NET: The alleged poor writing skills of law students--Schiess's view
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The alleged poor writing skills of law students--Schiess's view
"Law students' writing skills are poor."
When a non-legal-writing law professor says this, I think it isn't true. Instead, here are the most likely explanations:
The professor is exaggerating the weaknesses of all students or extrapolating the weaknesses of a few students to all students.
We all do this, don't we? And the older we get the more we do it, yes?
The professor has unrealistic expectations of law students' writing skills because the professor has forgotten professor's own level of writing skill when the professor was a student.
I'm guilty of this, practicing lawyers are guilty of this, and certainly law professors are guilty of this.
The professor isn't equipped to reliably assess what is or is not good writing.
Law professors write law-review articles. The writing in law reviews is generally awful, but that's a generalization. Perhaps the writing of this particular, complaining professor is a true exception to the generally awful writing in law reviews. Maybe, but maybe not. Read it and see. And always remember that the articles the professor publishes are selected and edited not by peers but by students.
The professor is failing to communicate to students the professor's own expectations about writing.
No course--certainly not the first-year legal-writing course--teaches students how to write a timed essay exam. Poor writing perceived there can at least partly be blamed on the professor's failure to communicate expectations.
No course that I know of--certainly not the first-year legal-writing course--teaches students how to write a seminar paper. Poor writing perceived there can at least partly be blamed on the professor's failure to communicate expectations.
Source:"http://blog.legalwriting.net/2009/08/03/the-alleged-poor-writing-skills-of-law-studentsschiesss-view.aspx
