Group Paper

ACC 205

Spring 2015

 

 

Students will work in faculty-assigned groups to write a legal research paper on a faculty-approved topic. The paper cannot be simply a discussion of the law in a particular field, but should address a recent problem or issue in a field through legal research. The paper should be focused on a single legal question. You may need to search law blogs and current legal news for hot topics. For example:

 

Bad Topic		Good Topic
Sports Law		“Current contract issues between athletes and agents”
Entertainment Law		“Fraud in reality TV” or “Contract issues with children in movies”
Hospitality Law		“Wage issues in hotel services “
Constitutional Law		“The impact of the same-sex marriage debate on businesses”

 

Some potential sources for topics include:

·         http://community.cengage.com/gecresource2/info/b/bus_law/

·         http://www.theconglomerate.org/

·         http://blogs.wsj.com/law/

·         http://www.lawprofessorblogs.com/

·         http://legalstudiesclassroom.blogspot.com/2011/02/featured-website-picturing-justice.html

 

The deliverables for this paper include: 

·         A draft of the paper, due near midterm. This draft must be reviewed by the Business Communication Center before being turned in.  Prior to writing the paper, students need to complete the College Writing Review program in BbLearn.  This online mini-session is an overview of the expectations college professors have of their students in terms of writing abilities. To complete the review, students will have to print out the online handout that accompanies the mini-session. Then they watch the mini-session Power-Point presentation via Bb Learn. Finally, students take the quiz at the end of the mini-session until they receive a score of 85% or higher. Finally, bring your writing assignment to the BCC, in room 114 for review.

·         A final revised paper, due near the end of the term.

·         A peer evaluation for your team for the draft and for the final paper. 

 

 

The paper shall include all of the following: 

1)      At least 4 court opinions as references.  Court opinions can be found online in many ways.  Cline Library has access to LexisNexis Academic which is a great source to search for court opinions.

2)      At least 2 law journal articles as references.  These also can be found in LexisNexis Academic. 

3)      Appropriate statutes or regulations related to the topic. 

4)      Citations should be in alignment with the guidelines at http://www.access-to-law.com/citation/basic_legal_citation.pdf. 

 

 

Specifications

 

Legal arguments or analyses often take the form of IRAC – Issue/Rule/Analysis/Conclusion.  This is a good format to use in your paper.  Each paper will be a little different depending on the topic and the specific question to be answered.  All papers should have the following: 

           

1)      An introduction

2)      A statement of the question to be addressed (Issue)

3)      Background facts on the issue

4)      A statement of the law in the area (Rule)

a.       Key cases

b.      Law review commentary

5)      An analysis of the law (Analysis)

a.       Set forth the different arguments for interpreting the law differently

b.      Apply the law as discussed above to the facts of the situation

6)      A conclusion

 

The order of those sections should make sense to the reader and should develop and explain the situation.  Internal headings are always helpful.  

 

The final paper should read as if one person wrote it.  It should be at least 15 double-spaced pages.  

 

 

Grading

·         A draft of the paper, due near midterm. This draft must be reviewed by the Business Communication Center before being turned in.  (140 points)

·         A final revised paper, due near the end of the term (100 points) 

·         Peer Evaluations (one for the draft and one for the final paper) (5 points each)

 

Rubric follows

Writing Assessment Rubric

Communication Learning Outcome (Undergraduate):  Graduates can communicate effectively in written and oral formats for a variety of purposes, situations and audiences.  Additionally, students can communicate effectively as both individuals and as part of a group presentation.

Performance Criteria	Exceeds Expectations (A paper to high B paper)	Meets Expectations (low B to high D paper)	Below Expectations (low D or F paper)
Content	Accomplishes purpose of assignment directly and completely in an exceptional manner. All major topics thoroughly supported by specific, accurate, relevant data.	Accomplishes assignment in a capable manner.  Covers major topics, but supporting detail somewhat lacking in specificity, accuracy, or references.	Accomplishes purpose of assignment only partially or indirectly. Little or no supporting data, or data presented is not relevant, specific, or accurate.
Organization	Exhibits exceptionally clear sense of unity and order, logical transitions, highly effective opening and closing.	Exhibits adequate sense of unity and order, most transitions effective, clear opening and closing.	Lacks sense of unity and order, ineffective/lack of transitions, ineffective opening and closing.
Style (Clarity and Conciseness)	Uses smooth, clear, readable prose in a superior way throughout, no clichés or wordiness, consistently effective word choice. Is exceptionally reader-centered, uses positive language, and lacks sexist language and non-relevant references to age, gender, or race.	Uses smooth, clear, readable prose throughout most of paper, few clichés, occasional wordiness, generally appropriate word choice. Is consistently reader-centered, uses positive language, and lacks sexist language and non-relevant references to age, gender, or race.	Lacks smooth, clear, readable prose, contains clichés and wordiness, generally ineffective word choice. Is not reader-centered, uses negative or sexist language, or makes non-relevant references to age, gender, or race.
Citation and Documentation	Correctly and clearly incorporates source material into the paper, documents sources accurately and correctly according to the assignment.	Incorporates no more than a few clarity problems incorporating source material or in documenting sources accurately and correctly according to the assignment.	Frequently incorporates source material unclearly or documents sources inaccurately or incorrectly.
Grammar and Mechanics	Contains few, if any, errors throughout in use of Standard English rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage.	Contains not more than a few errors per page in use of Standard English rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage but does not affect overall clarity.	Contains more than a few errors per page in use of Standard English rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage that makes the paper unclear or difficult to read.
Format	Displays an extremely professional, balanced appearance, pages are numbered, and any headings are descriptive, in parallel form, and extremely helpful to the reader.	Displays a professional, reasonably well-balanced appearance, pages are numbered, and any headings are generally descriptive, in parallel form, and helpful to the reader.	Lacks a professional, balanced appearance, pages are not numbered, and/or any headings are not generally descriptive, in parallel form, or helpful to the reader.