Upper Level Writing Offerings - Spring 2009

College of Law Academic Rule: Article IV., Section C .

Section C. Upper Level Writing Requirement

1. Each J.D. candidate who began law studies before August 2007 must have earned five writing units, at least two of which include a research component. No writing units with a research component may be earned until the student has completed 30 credit hours of course work. To earn a writing unit, the student must achieve a grade of "satisfactory" or "honors" on the writing project.
    
2. Each J.D. candidate who began law studies in or after August 2007 is required to enroll in and pass with a grade of C or better two (2) courses in Advanced Research and Writing.
   1. No student may enroll for more than 1 credit of Advanced Research and Writing in any one semester.
   2. Students who enroll in and receive a grade of S in Law Review, or enroll in and receive a grade of C or better in an Independent Study, Honors Independent Study or a course listed at registration as a Seminar will be deemed to have completed one (1) of the two required Advanced Research and Writing credits.

Upper Level Writing Unit Regulations
Adopted 10/25/00

1. Writing units only shall be granted for pre-approved projects that will require the work to be completed under the supervision of a member of the instructional staff. No writing units shall be granted for work previously completed by a student
   
   
2. To qualify for credit, all projects require feedback, and some may require redrafting or rewriting.
   
   
3. No credit shall be granted for work undertaken by a student in any project not supervised by a member of the instructional staff.
   
   
4. No credit is permitted for any work for which the student also receives compensation in any form.
   
   
5. No writing units shall be granted for the writing of exams, take home or in class.
   
   
6. The work must be the student's individual work. No credit shall be authorized for "group" projects. For the Moot Court Program, it is the student's responsibility to establish that part of any brief that is the work product of the student alone.
   
   
7. No more than two writing units shall be awarded for any project.
   
   
8. Moot Court and Law Review: the Faculty Supervisor for the project must certify the writing satisfies the requirements.
   
   
9. Each "research writing" unit requires a finished product of between 10-15 pages, including footnotes.
   
   
10. To qualify for two "research" units, a project must be a single, sustained project with a substantial research component that approximates a seminar paper.
    
    
11. Each unit of "practical writing" will be at the discretion of the faculty member and the approval of the Writing Unit Committee. No minimum page requirement shall apply to "practical writing."
    
    
12. Generally, no more than one unit may be awarded for any work associated with a non-seminar class. a. No more than one "practical" unit may be awarded for the basic required writings ina course. (That would have been required without the writing requirement.) b. No "research" credit shall be authorized for work which is in lieu of a final examination if astudent has an option to choose between a final examination or a paper.
    
    
13. When two units are authorized for a project, those units may be authorized as "research," "practical," or one of each.