Law Discussion Paper 5 Pages Minim

You are to submit discussion papers on a minimum of four (any four) of the seven chapters of the course materials. 

You are expected to refer to and integrate all (or in a long chapter most) of the readings in the chapter in your discussion paper on that chapter.   Where a chapter includes both cases and articles, you are expected to discuss both in your paper, using the articles to help you critically examine the cases.  In addition to the readings, you are expected to integrate discussion of our class discussion on that chapter into your paper.  One way that you might do this would be to write half to two-thirds of your paper based on your initial reading of the materials and your preparation for class and then complete the paper after class by commenting on your initial response to the readings – eg things you missed, other students’ responses that differed from your own, contentious issues in class that you anticipated or did not anticipate.  If you do this, please indicate which section was written before and which section after class.

The discussion papers are not intended to be a summary of the readings or of the class discussions.  You are expected to engage with and respond to the issues that the materials raise.  Try to look for themes or recurring issues within the section and discuss those as raised through the readings and classes rather than discuss each article or case separately.  These papers provide an opportunity for you to think about, integrate and apply the readings.

Discussion questions on each week’s readings will be posted in advance.  You may use these as a guide to your discussion papers but the intention is not that in your paper you simply go through and “answer” the questions posed.  The questions are intended to spark your critical engagement with the readings, to start you on a path that you then make your own – ie the questions can be a starting point but not the end point for your papers.  If you want to ignore the discussion questions altogether in your papers that is fine too but you should come to class prepared to discuss the questions. 

Each paper should be from five to eight type written pages, double spaced.