Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing I Syllabus

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Library hours: Wednesday 12:00–1:00 p.m. Section 11: Brent Chapell, 817-658-1231, brentchapell02@gmail.com Library hours: T/Th 5:00-6:00 p.m. Required Texts ● Richard K. Neumann Jr. & Sheila Simon, Legal Writing 2d ed. (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer 2011); ● The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia Law Rev. Ass’n, et al. eds., 19th ed. 2009) (“Bluebook”); ● Manual on Usage & Style (Tex. Law Rev. Ass’n, 12th ed. 2008) (“the MOUSe”) (note: the MOUSe will not arrive in the bookstore until early September); and ● Tracy McGaugh & Christine Hurt, Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (2011 ed.) (“ICW”). Class Attendance and Preparation Class attendance is required. Students must sign the class roster to be counted present. Students arriving more than five minutes late will be counted absent. Students who leave the classroom without permission before dismissal will be counted absent. Excessive absences will result in the student’s involuntary removal from this class and (because this is a required lockstep class) law school. Consult the Student Programs, Policies, & Procedures manual for information regarding the maximum allowable absences. Read your assignments before class. If the assigned pages include exercises, be prepared to discuss the exercises in class. Some of the exercises may be assigned as writing exercises. Class participation is worth 5% of your total grade. Participation is not the same as attendance; to earn participation points, students must speak out in class, e.g., by asking or answering questions. Homework Policy; Penalties for Late Submissions Students must complete all assigned homework. A student who does not submit all assigned homework--even if the homework is late--will receive an “F”. Every homework assignment has a submission deadline. Deadlines are strictly enforced. Failure to submit assignments before the deadline triggers the following penalties: Major writing assignments (memos I & II): Assignments submitted up to one hour after the deadline incur a three-point penalty; assignments submitted one to two hours late incur a six-point penalty; assignments submitted more than two hours late receive zero points. Interactive Citation Workbook (“ICW”) assignments: Each assignment submitted after the deadline incurs a five-point deduction from the student’s score on the end-ofsemester citation exam.
Research and other assignments: Research assignments submitted up to one day late incur a ten-point penalty. Those submitted one to two days late incur a twenty-point penalty. Those submitted more than two days late receive no credit. Interactive Citation Workbook (“ICW”) Assignments Citation exercise assignments are assigned from the Interactive Citation Workbook. For each exercise, you must score at least 70%. If you score less then 70% on an exercise, you must meet with your TA and redo the exercises within seven days of the exercise’s due date. For each exercise that you score less than 70% and fail to meet with your teaching assistant and/or redo the assignment, five points will be subtracted from the citation exam portion of your grade. You must work alone on the citation exercises. You must make a good faith effort on all exercises. You must complete all assigned ICW exercises on or before December 10, 2011, or else you will fail the course. Grades The following components comprise students’ final grades in this course: Memo 1: 25% Memo 2: 50% In-Class Citation Exam: 10% Research Assignments: 2% each (8% total) Class Participation: 5% Other Assignments: 3% Electronic-Devices and Laptop-Computer Policy The use of cell phones during class is prohibited. “Use” includes but is not limited to voice, texting, and email. Students who violate this prohibition may be required to leave class and receive an “absent” for the day. I permit the use of laptop computers for note-taking; all other uses during class are prohibited, including email, instant messaging, and web browsing. You may not connect your computer to the Internet during class unless I specifically instruct you to do so. The TAs will monitor computer use. Violators will be required to turn off their laptops and will be marked “absent” for the day. I reserve the right to prohibit laptops altogether if students abuse the laptop-use policy.
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Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing I Syllabus

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