Advanced Research Topics in Health Law Seminar - Syllabus

Health Law & Policy Seminar - Syllabus
Spring 2008 (950-004), Tues. 4 – 6, Room 241
Professor N. Huberfeld
nicole.huberfeld@uky.edu; Office #258; 257-3281
Introduction
In this course you will write and present a paper on a topic in healthcare law,
meaning you will have an opportunity to perform in-depth research and to experience an
intensive and supervised writing process in the health law discipline. The point of this
seminar and its subject paper is not to survey an area of health law; instead, it is to
become an expert on one particular problem through an individual, self-chosen research
project. You will also practice writing well by following a strict schedule to organize
your thoughts and then learn about critique by presenting your topic to an audience (skills
that all lawyers must develop).
Course Materials
1. Fajans & Falk, SCHOLARLY WRITING FOR LAW STUDENTS (3d ed.) (required)
2. Strunk & White, THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE (highly recommended; small but
classic book on writing, available at Kennedy’s; you will use it forever)
3. TWEN (crucial for communication; web links and other class materials will
be posted, please register immediately)
4. Handouts (indicated by (H) in assignments)
Required Elements of the Seminar
1. Final Paper: Paper topics must be approved by the professor, but you will
have a wide range of possibilities. Your final paper must be no less than 25 and no
more than 35 pages in length (exclusive of table of contents and footnotes), and it must
include footnotes (not endnotes) that have been completed in BLUEBOOK style. You
must use 12 point, Times New Roman font, one inch top/bottom margins, and 1.25
left/right margins (essentially what you see in this syllabus, quite standard).
2. Other Written and Oral Requirements and Deadlines: You must
submit: (1) a thesis statement in class on week 4; (2) an introductory paragraph and
outline in class on week 6; (3) a good draft with footnotes on week 10; and (4) your
final paper by 12:00 (noon) on Thursday, May 1st. Also, you will be required to read
another student’s paper and to lead the questions and discussion of that paper when it is
presented during the last month of class. No writing will be required when you lead
class discussion, but you are encouraged to share proofreading and other editorial
thoughts with the author of the paper.
3. Class Attendance: Attendance is required; grades may be raised or lowered
to reflect attendance and/or participation, but everyone is expected to participate fully
and to the best of their abilities. The Honor Code governs this course. The Law
1

School’s rules regarding class attendance apply; a student who misses 25% or more of
the classes in this course will be disqualified automatically from receiving credit for the
course. The class will not meet while you are writing, which means you may have
TWO unexcused absences. Meetings to discuss your papers during the outline/draft
stage are also required and will be scheduled at the appropriate point in the semester.
Also, please plan that the last four classes, during which students present their papers,
will take the entire 4:00 – 6:00 time period (this is necessary to give everyone an equal
opportunity for presenting and then answering questions).
4. Grading: Failure to complete all assignments may result in a failing grade.
Work may not be submitted by e-mail unless an advance request is made and explicit
permission received from the professor. Late work will receive a grade of 0 (unless
truly exceptional circumstances exist). Assignment values are as follows:
Thesis statement: 5%
Outline: 15%
Good draft: 30%
Final paper: 35%
In-class presentation: 10%
Class participation: 5% (This includes but is not limited to general
participation in class discussions, preparedness for informal paper discussions,
and preparedness for leading assigned discussions during in-class presentations.)
Weekly Assignments
WEEK 1 (1/8/07): Introduction to Scholarly Writing and Choosing a Topic
Reading Assignment: SCHOLARLY WRITING FOR LAW STUDENTS (hereinafter
SWLS), Chs. 1 & 2; (H) George J. Annas, “Culture of Life” Politics at the
Bedside – The Case of Terri Schiavo, NEW ENG. J. MED. 352:16, 1710 (April 21,
2005); (H) George J. Annas, “I Want to Live”: Medicine Betrayed by Ideology in
the Political Debate over Terri Schiavo, 35 STETSON L. REV. 49 (2005)
WEEK 2 (1/15/07): Researching Your Topic
Reading Assignment: Read the syllabus; SWLS Ch. 3; (H) Jill R. Horwitz,
Making Profits and Providing Care: Comparing Nonprofit, For-Profit, and
Government Hospitals, HEALTH AFFAIRS (May/June 2005); (H) John D. Blum,
Feng Shui and the Restructuring of the Hospital Corporation: A Call for Change
in the Face of the Medical Error Epidemic, 14 HEALTH MATRIX 5 (2004)
WEEK 3 (1/22/07): The Writing Process
Reading Assignment: SWLS Ch. 4 & 5; (H) Paul Starr, THE SOCIAL
TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN MEDICINE, ToC and Part 1 Ch. 5 – The
Boundaries of Public Health; (H) Abigail C. Saguy, Kevin W. Riley, Weighing
Both Sides: Morality, Mortality and Framing Contests over Obesity, 30 J.
HEALTH POL. POL'Y & L. 869 (2005)
2

WEEK 4 (1/29/07): Thesis Statements Due at the Beginning of Class
The thesis statement is a short description of your paper topic (less than one
page). It should convey to the reader your idea, what you believe is true and/or
interesting about your idea, and how you intend to explore your idea. Be prepared to
informally discuss your thesis statement with the class.
Reading Assignment: SWLS Ch. 6
WEEK 5 (2/5/07): Work on introduction with outline; class will not meet.
WEEK 6 (2/12/07): Introduction and Outline Due at Beginning of Class
Your introduction and outline should be about 2-3 pages in length, and it must
include a draft introductory paragraph followed by an outline of the organization of your
paper. Your outline should include what you will discuss, why you have chosen your
particular areas of discussion, and what conclusions you believe you will draw. Be
prepared to informally discuss the substance and organization of your outline and how
your continuing research has modified your initial thesis statement.
WEEK 7 (2/19/07): Write! Individual meetings to discuss outlines and progress.
WEEK 8 (2/26/07): Keep writing!
WEEK 9 (3/4/07): Keep writing!
WEEK 10 (3/11/07): Spring Break (should be editing and re-writing your good draft).
WEEK 11 (3/18/07): Two copies of your good draft are due at the beginning of
class. This is not a rough draft, nor should it be your first draft; do not turn in work
product that you have never read in hard copy and edited. The good draft must contain
your best effort at footnotes at this stage.
The order of presentations will be determined; assignments will be given for
discussion leaders, and one copy of your good draft will be given to your assigned
discussion leader in class.
Reading Assignment: Please read SWLS Chs. 7 & 8 before you begin the rewriting
process for your final paper.
WEEKS 12 (3/25) – 15 (4/15): In-class presentations. Each 15-20 minute presentation
will be followed by a 10 minute discussion, which is to be lead by the student assigned to
read that presenter’s paper. Power point, other visual aids, and/or handouts may be used
but are not required. Please let me know if you require assistance with such materials for
your presentation.
Two stapled copies of your final paper are due in my office or my mailbox by
NOON on Thursday, May 1 st (the day before graduation).
Please see the last page of the syllabus for the University’s rule regarding plagiarism.
3

10 COMMON WRITING ERRORS COMMITTED BY STUDENTS
1. A quote should only be used if the author’s expression is unique, meaning you cannot
possibly summarize the language and do it justice. The general rule is to avoid quotes,
not to include them.
2. “Id.” is a sentence unto itself; in other words, a period must come after id. (and at the
end of every footnote).
3. If your sentence contains a quote, and that quote ends the sentence, the period is
placed inside the quotes, and the footnote superscript is placed OUTSIDE the quotation
marks.
4. Do not use contractions (don’t, isn’t, can’t). They are inappropriate in all forms of
formal writing (anything you write as a practicing lawyer).
5. Spell out all numbers under 100 (see the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, available in our
library).
6. When enumerating a thought, first, second, etc., do not change the numbers into
adverbs (firstly, secondly).
7. Avoid nondescript verbiage, such as get, thing, and interesting; it weakens your
writing.
8. Avoid common colloquialisms:
It is important to
The fact that
On top of (the author almost never actually means this)
In regards to (incorrect grammar: the correct phrase is “with regard to”)
Since rather than because (since indicates temporal concerns, it is not
interchangeable with because)
9. The passive voice should be used sparingly and intentionally.
10. Proofread your writing on paper, not on a screen, errors are caught more easily.
Also, do not rely on ‘spellcheck’ and ‘grammarcheck’ to proofread for you. Spellcheck
does not know the difference between actual words that have very different meanings, for
instance “possess” and “posses” or “the” and “them.” The reader can instantly see when
a paper has not been properly proofread, and the author loses credibility.
For more such information, see Strunk & White, THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE and the
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE.
4

The full text of the rule on Plagiarism is as follows (and can be found at this web link
http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part2.htm):
6.3.1 PLAGIARISM All academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to
their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own
thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about a question
of plagiarism involving their work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the
matter before submission.
When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows
ideas, organization, wording or anything else from another source without appropriate
acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism.
Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else's work, whether it be published article,
chapter of a book, a paper from a friend or some file, or whatever.
Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or
revise the work which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may
be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor,
but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone.
When a student's assignment involves research in outside sources or information, the
student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she has employed
them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around
the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple
changes while leaving the organization, content and phraseology intact is plagiaristic.
However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas which are so generally and
freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain.
5