Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing I - Texas Wesleyan School of ...

Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing I 

Fall 2010 - Section 6 (Afternoon) 

Professor Mark Burge 

Texas Wesleyan School of Law 

Syllabus and Course Information 

Course Subject: This three-credit course is the first part of a full-year course sequence 

on analysis, research, and writing skills necessary for solving legal problems and 

communicating the resulting legal analysis. The skills covered in this and other LARW 

courses are essential for all of law school and (especially) for law practice. 

Regular Class Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. 

Office and Contact Information: My office is Room 116. My email address is 

mburge@law.txwes.edu, and my office telephone is 817.212.3959. 

My Office Hours: I enjoy meeting with my students and welcome both drop-in visits and 

appointments. My current regularly-scheduled office hours are posted on the LexisNexis 

Web Course page. 

Teaching Assistant: My Teaching Assistant for this course is: 

Jessica Ortiz 

Email: ortiz7355@gmail.com; Telephone: 512.656.5775 

Library Hours: Current schedule posted on the LexisNexis Web Course page. 

Course Objectives: By the end of this course, a diligent student (you, I trust) should: 

• Understand the basic methods and objectives of traditional legal analysis; 

• Understand the hierarchy and structure of the American court system and the role 

that case law and statutes play in that system; 

• Understand the meaning of all American case and statute citations and be able to 

locate authority in both print and electronic media when given those citations; 

• Be able to read cases and statutes with a generalist lawyer’s understanding of their 

legal significance; 

• Be able to identify and synthesize rules from cases and statutes; 

• Be able to apply synthesized rules to given fact patterns; 

• Be able to properly and competently apply the TO REACT (a/k/a CREAC) paradigm 

in drafting written analysis of a single legal issue; 

• Be able to draft a complete traditional office memorandum that covers multiple 

issues and that is based on primary legal authority that has been provided to you; 

• Be able to draft proper basic Bluebook citations for any cases and statutes in the 

American legal system; and 

• Have experience conducting yourself in an ethical and professional manner in the 

use of legal skills, both in classroom discussion and in written work.

Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing I (Fall 2010) 

Section 6 (Afternoon) 


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Required Texts: 

1. Richard K. Neumann, Jr. & Sheila Simon, Legal Writing (Aspen 2008) (“Legal 

Writing”) 

2. Michael D. Murray & Christy H. DeSanctis, Legal Research Methods (2d ed. 

Foundation 2009) (“Legal Research”) 

3. Tracy McGaugh, et al., Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform 

System of Citation (LexisNexis 2010 ed.) (“ICW”) 

4. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia Law Review Ass’n et al. eds., 

19th ed. 2010) (“Bluebook”) 

5. Deborah E. Bouchoux, Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers (2d ed. Aspen 2009) 

(“Aspen Handbook”) 

6. David S. Romantz & Kathleen Elliott Vinson, Legal Analysis: The Fundamental Skill 

(2d ed. Carolina Academic Press 2009) (“Legal Analysis”) 

Grades: This course follows the law school grading requirements set out in the “Academic 

Standards” section of the 2009-10 edition of the Student Programs, Policies & Procedures 

manual for Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. The graded assignments for this 

semester are weighted as follows: 

Memo 1 (all components):.............................................................. 25% 

Memo 2:.................................................................................................. 50% 

Citation Exam (at the end of the semester):…....................... 10% 

Research Assignments:…………….................................................. 5% 

Class Preparation, Participation, and Homework…............. 10% 

Class Preparation and Participation: Note that ten percent of your final grade will be 

based upon your level of preparation for class and your participation in class. Among other 

things, this requirement means that I expect you to have completed the assigned readings 

and homework exercises, and also to participate in the in-class discussion and assigned 

activities. 

Class Attendance and Conduct: This course will follow the guidelines stated in the 

Student Programs, Policies & Procedures. These guidelines include the attendance 

requirements described in “Academic Standards” and the guidelines for classroom conduct 

specified in the “Code of Conduct.” A student who violates Code of Conduct section 3.2.5 by 

disrupting the classroom or otherwise interfering with the right of others in the class to 

learn may be asked to leave the class. In this course, (i) any non-emergency use of—or 

audible sound from—a wireless communication device (including cellphones, 

smartphones, and pagers), and (ii) any use of a computer for non-class purposes (including 

for games, texting, email, and internet browsing) is considered disruptive classroom 

conduct. Any student asked to leave the class for disruptive conduct will be counted as 

absent for that class meeting. The absence will count toward the maximum allowed 

absences.




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Course Web Site: This course, Legal, Analysis, Research and Writing (Burge) also has 

a web site associated with it through LexisNexis Web Courses. You should register for 

(add) this Web Course through your law school LexisNexis account. I often post additional 

class information on the site and also use it to send you emails. 

Email Correspondence: Email is often the most efficient means of asking certain 

questions about the course, and I encourage your use of email to communicate with me. 

Because one student’s question may cover a topic of interest to all, I may make both your 

question and my answer available to all students via the course web page or email; 

however I will not publish your name when I restate your question. 

Professor Burge’s Facebook Policy: Yes, I am on Facebook, but no, I will not be your 

friend. Nothing personal. I have a strict policy against “friending” current law school 

students, as that raises possibilities for miscommunication, misunderstanding, and 

perceived unfairness. Other professors may have a different policy on this subject. 

Law School Disability Policy: Texas Wesleyan School of Law adheres to a disability policy 

that is in keeping with relevant federal law. The law school will provide appropriate 

accommodation as determined by the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Patti Gearhart 

Turner, in consultation with the Director of the Counseling Center, Dr. Michael Ellison. 

Students must notify Dean Turner of any permanent or temporary disabilities and must 

provide documentation regarding those disabilities prior to the granting of an 

accommodation. Due to the law school’s policy of testing anonymity, students should not 

discuss their disabilities with professors. For assistance, students should consult with Dean 

Turner. 

Syllabus May Change: One purpose of this syllabus is to give you some idea of what lies 

ahead for the semester. However, I reserve the right to change any part of this syllabus 

during the semester, as circumstances warrant. For that reason, it is vital that you pay 

attention to announcements in class, as well as to e-mail from me or postings on the course 

website. 

An Overarching Warning You Hopefully Do Not Need: Failure to complete all of the 

assignments in this course—and there are many—may disqualify you from passing the 

course. Do not let that happen to you!




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Topics and Assignments – Part 1 

Orientation Assignment (Friday, August 13 and Saturday, August 14) 

(This assignment is the same for all LARW sections and is also stated on page 13 of the 2010-11 

New Student Notebook) 

Read Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Legal Analysis (Romantz & Vinson) and have written 

answers prepared for the exercises at the end of each chapter. I will be calling on 

you in class to discuss your work. 

(1) Week of Tuesday, August 17 

Topics: Introduction to Legal Analysis, Research and Writing; Reading and Briefing 

Cases; Federal and State Case Reporters. 

For this week’s classes: 

(1) Read Chapters 1, 5, 6, and 7 of Legal Writing and have a discussion-ready 

answer prepared for the exercise at the end of Chapter 5. 

(2) Read pp. 120-38 in Legal Research (Chapter 3, Part II “Reporters of Cases”). 

DUE IN CLASS TUESDAY, 8/17: “Maine Frames” two-page analytical memo. Bring 

two printed copies to class. You will turn in one copy. 

DUE IN CLASS THURSDAY, 8/19: Case briefs for Brown v. Kroger Co. and Quellar v. 

Walgreens Co. Each brief must not exceed one page. Bring two printed copies of 

your set of briefs to class. You will turn in one copy. 


Topics: Evaluating Legal Rules and Writing Rule Statements; Introduction to 

Citation and the ICW; Thesis Paragraphs in Legal Writing 


(1) Read Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of Legal Writing. Have discussion-ready answers for 

the exercises at the end of chapters 2 and 4. 

(2) For Thursday’s Class: Read the introductory material and Chapter 1 in ICW. 1 

(You will complete ICW Exercise Set #1 online before the upcoming deadline). 

You will also need to skim (a) the Bluebook Table of Contents, (b) “Bluepages” 

pp. 3-15, (c) Rules 10.1 & 10.2 (pp. 87-95), and (d) Tables T6 (pp. 430-31) and 

T10.1 – U.S. Geographical Terms (pp. 436-37). 

(3) For Thursday’s Class: Read Chapter 6 of Helene S. Shapo, et al., “The Thesis 

Paragraph” (from Writing and Analysis in the Law (rev’d 4th ed. 2003)) (PDF 

1 If the ICW book is not available in time for this assignment (and it might not be), I will post this 

reading assignment on our LexisNexis Web Course page.




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document posted on course web site) and have answers prepared for 

discussion of the following exercise in class: 6-A. 

DUE IN CLASS TUESDAY, 8/24: Rule statement assignment. Bring two printed 

copies to class. You will turn in one copy. 

DUE IN CLASS THURSDAY, 8/26: (1) Federal Cases Research Assignment and (2) 

Library Audio Tour Assignment. 


Topics: Working with Legal Authority; Introduction to the Office Memorandum; 

How “TO REACT” to a Legal Issue (a/k/a CREAC); Citation Form for Cases; When 

Citation is Necessary. 


(1) Read Chapters 8, 9, and 16 of Legal Writing and have a discussion-ready 

answer prepared for the exercise at the end of Chapter 16 (“Changing Planes in 

Little Rock”). 

(2) Read Chapter 7 in Legal Analysis and have discussion-ready answers for the 

Practice Exercises at the end of the chapter. 

(3) Read Chapters 2, 3, and 16 in ICW with your Bluebook handy for extensive 

reference. You will complete the ICW exercises on-line before the upcoming 

deadline. 

DUE IN CLASS TUESDAY, 8/31: Thesis paragraph assignment. Bring two printed 

copies to class. You will turn in one copy. 

DUE IN CLASS THURSDAY, 9/2: (1) State Cases Research Assignment, (2) ICW 

Introductory Quiz (print out final screen, write your name on it, and turn it in), and 

(3) ICW Exercise Set #1 (submit electronically before the beginning of class and 

print a copy of your Exercise Set #1 “Completion Certificate” to turn in). 

RECEIVE ON Thursday, September 2: Memo 1, Part 1 Assignment 

(4) Week of Tuesday, September 7 

Topics: Office Memorandum Format; Writing as a Process; Understanding a 

Complete “Discussion” Section: Thesis/Overview, Rule, Explanation of Rule, 

Application of Rule, Counterargument, and Concluding Thesis. 


(1) Read Chapters 14 and 15 of Legal Writing (on office memorandum format) 

(2) Read Chapters 11, 12, and 13 of Legal Writing (on writing process)




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DUE IN CLASS TUESDAY, 9/7: Explanation assignment. Bring two printed copies to 

class. You will turn in one copy. 

DUE ON Friday, September 10, by 10:00 p.m.: ICW Exercise Sets 2, 3, and 16. 


Topics: Introduction to Plain Language Writing Style and the Plain English 

Movement in American Law 


(1) For Tuesday: Read and be prepared to discuss George Orwell, Politics and the 

English Language (1946) (PDF document posted on TWEN). Also read pages 

73-90 in the Aspen Handbook. 

(2) For Thursday: Read pages 90-114 in the Aspen Handbook. 

DUE IN CLASS TUESDAY, September 14: Memo 1, Part 1 Assignment. 


Topics: Advanced Rule Explanation and Rule Application; Dealing with Multiple 

Issues; Parallel and Short Form Case Citation. 


(1) Read Chapters 4 and 5 in ICW with your Bluebook handy for extensive 

reference. You will complete the ICW exercises on-line before the upcoming 

deadline. 

(2) Read Chapters 17, 18, and 19 of Legal Writing. 

DUE ON Friday, September 24 by 10:00 p.m.: ICW Exercise Sets 4 and 5. 


Topics: Federal Statutes and Court Rules; Questions Presented and Brief Answers; 

Organizing Effective Paragraphs and Writing Effective Sentences in Analysis. 


(1) For Tuesday: Read the “Questions Presented and Brief Answers” packet posted 

on the course website. 

(2) For Tuesday: Read pages 50-70 in Legal Research (Chapter 2, sections V & VI) 

(3) For Thursday: Read Chapters 20 and 21 of Legal Writing. 

RECEIVE ON Thursday, September 30: Memo 1, Part 2 Assignment. 

DUE ON Thursday, September 30: QP & BA Homework Assignment

(8) Week of Tuesday, October 5 




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Topics: Writing Style: Clarity, Conciseness, and Use of Legal Authority (Citations and 

Quotations). 

For this week’s class: 

● Read Chapters 22, 23, and 24 of Legal Writing. 

*****DUE ON Tuesday, October 5: Federal Statutes and Rules Research Assignment 

(9) Coming up in Week 9: 

***** Completed Memo 1 (all parts) due on Tuesday, October 12 at the beginning of 

class. 

You will receive Part 2 of the Topics and Assignments 

later in the semester.




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ICW Exercise Assignment Instructions 

The Interactive Citation Workbook exercises you will complete this semester are a principal 

means through which you will learn Bluebook citation form, which will be tested on a citation exam 

at the end of the course. You will access and complete the required ICW exercises for this course via 

LexisNexis. 

To prepare for and complete these assignments, you should do the following: 

(1) Whenever you are ready to enter the answers for a particular exercise set, click on the 

Bluebook tab at the top of the ICW website, and then click on the particular exercise set 

that you want to do (the exercise sets are listed on the left side of your screen). 

(2) Register by putting your e-mail address in the “E-mail” space. In the space for 

“Primary Professor’s E-mail,” put: 

ortiz7355@gmail.com 

Leave the space for “Secondary Professor’s E-mail” blank. 

(3) Follow the on-screen instructions to complete each exercise set. You must complete all 

of the problems within each exercise set. 

(4) When you have completed the exercise, click on the “Done” tab. 

(5) Print out a copy of your Completion Certificate and keep it for your records as proof that 

you did the assignment, in case there is a problem with e-mail. 

The e-mail in which your completion certificate is sent will contain a date and time on which it 

was sent; that date and time will be used to determine whether your exercise was turned in on 

time. For example, if an exercise is due by 10:00 p.m. on September 10, and the e-mail with your 

completion certificate for that exercise indicates that it was sent on September 10 at 10:00 p.m., 

then the exercise was turned in on time; if the e-mail says that it was sent on September 10 at 10:01 

p.m., then the exercise was turned in late. 

In addition to the introductory quiz on how to work the ICW, several citation exercise sets are 

assigned to you this semester. For each exercise within the group, you are expected to get at least 

70% of the exercise correct. If you get less than 70% on any exercise, you must meet with your TA, 

notify me of the meeting, and redo the assignment within a deadline you will be given. For each 

exercise that you do not turn in on time, between one and five points will be subtracted from the 

citation exam portion of your grade, depending on the degree of lateness. To be eligible to receive 

a passing grade in this course, you must make a good faith effort on all citations in all of the 

exercises. You must work alone on the citation exercises, and it is a violation of the Code of 

Conduct of Texas Wesleyan School of Law to do otherwise.

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