A Course in Legal Writing

Name: A Course in Legal Writing
ISBN: 9787301355213

Zhang XiangPeking University Press2024

4.5

Word count: 134 words
Chapters: 40
ISBN: 9787301355213

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Summary

A Course in Legal Writing is a practical writing guide compiled by Zhang Xiang, a professor at Peking University Law School, from his years of teaching a course on legal scholarly writing. The book grew out of classroom recordings and lecture notes, preserving the spoken delivery and the immediacy of in-class questions and answers. The author adopts a "self-dissection" method, using his own articles as specimens to show readers the whole process from choosing a topic, building a structure and sorting materials to putting words on the page, in order to show that legal writing is not unattainably lofty but a set of techniques that can be acquired through observation, imitation and repeated practice. Apart from a "Prelude", an "Appendix" and an "Epilogue", the main text is divided into four parts. "Choosing a Topic and Preparing" begins with the disciplinary character of law as a normative and practical science, explains the three sources of a topic (practice, norms, theory), and covers searching for, reading, marking up, annotating, note-taking on and reviewing norms, cases and literature. "Structuring" discusses what an introduction must establish, how to draft a preliminary structure from an idea, subdividing, merging and re-drafting during writing, the layout of the body, the writing of transitional sentences and paragraphs, and what a conclusion should contain. "Concrete Operations" treats the arrangement and sorting of materials, rough and fine drafting, the reader's perspective, footnotes and citations, short and long pieces, abstracts and keywords, and the drafting of titles. "Rhetoric and Accumulation" discusses the "passive" and "active" rhetoric of legal language, an honest and meticulous style, how to revise a draft, and daily accumulation in both "argument" and "expression". The book runs to about 130,000 characters, in clear language with classroom slides, and stresses that it can be used the moment it is opened.

Editor's review

市面上教写作的书不少，但真正把“怎么写”拆到可操作层面的并不多。张翔这本《法学写作课》最难得的地方，是它从课堂里长出来：一个学分的四讲课，讲稿经学生录音整理成文，于是保留了讲课的口语节奏、反复叮嘱和现场问答，读起来像坐在北大法学院的教室里听课，而不是在啃一本方法论专著。作者大胆以自己的论文为样本做“自我剖析”，把一篇论文从灵光一现到成稿的全过程摊开给读者看——选题从哪里来、结构怎么强分、材料怎么排比、哪里该粗写哪里该细写、注释如何既支撑论证又不打断文气。这种“所见即所得”的示范，比抽象原则更能让人上手。书中对消极修辞与积极修辞的区分、对“修辞立其诚”的强调，也提醒读者：法学写作的第一要务是把话说清楚、说准确，文采是其次。对法科学生而言，这是一本可以放在案头、边写边翻的工具书；对年轻教师和社科研究者，其中关于结构、引注与修改的讨论同样有借鉴价值。

Who it's for

A good fit for

正在准备课程论文、毕业论文的法学本科生与研究生
需要撰写学位论文或期刊投稿的青年法学研究者与教师
法律实务工作者，希望提升法律文书与论证表达的严谨性
其他人文社科专业学生，想借鉴学术论文选题、结构与修改方法

Not a good fit for

寻找文学创作、散文随笔写作技巧的读者
期待系统法学理论教材或部门法知识讲解的读者
只想速成、不愿按步骤动手修改文章的读者

Reading tips

建议对照自己的在写论文阅读，读到“结构安排”“具体操作”时可停下来修改自己的稿子。
四个部分按选题、结构、操作、修辞的顺序推进，初读可顺序通读，写作卡壳时再按需回查对应章节。
书中附有课堂PPT图示与问答实录，读到示例时可回看原文论文，体会作者的取舍。
“修辞与积累”与“怎么改文章”适合在初稿完成后重读，配合逐段修改实践。

About the publisher

Peking University Press China · Founded in 1979

Peking University Press is a comprehensive university press whose publishing areas cover classical literature, popular science, social culture, world history, Western philosophy, and culture. Its catalogue contains 6,031 titles, with representative books including A Dream of Red Mansions, Relativity: The Special and General Theory (15th Edition) (with Einstein's classic papers on unified field theory and other topics), Elements, Conics, The Aristocratic Families of the Eastern Jin, The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume I), The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume II), and The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Representative authors include Cao Xueqin, Zhou Ruchang, Albert Einstein, Euclid, Apollonius, Tian Yuqing, Schelling, and Xian Gang. The press has developed distinctive strengths in classical Chinese literature and in the translation of Western philosophical classics, while also covering scientific classics and social and cultural studies. As public information is limited, this description is based only on the books in the catalogue and offers no further extrapolation.

Prelude
Legal Writing as a Skills Course
The "Self-Dissection" Teaching Method
"Read Much and Write Much"
The Four Parts of the Course
Choosing a Topic and Preparing
You Must Choose the Topic Yourself
The Disciplinary Character of Law
The Three Sources of a Legal Topic
From Practice
From Norms
From Theory
Searching Norms, Cases and Literature
Reading, Marking, Annotating, Note-Taking, Reviewing
Structuring
What the Introduction Must Say
Forcing a Structure from an Idea
Subdividing, Merging, Cutting, Re-drafting During Writing
The Layout of the Body
Logic, Logic, Logic—Three Times for Emphasis
Writing Good Transitional Sentences and Paragraphs
What the Conclusion Should Say
Concrete Operations
Structure Settled, Arrange the Materials
Several Problems in Sorting Materials
Rough Drafting and Fine Drafting
Always Keep the Reader's Perspective
Footnotes
Short Pieces and Long Pieces
How to Write an Abstract
What Keywords Are For
How to Draft a Title
Rhetoric and Accumulation
Three Sayings on Rhetoric
"Honesty" and "Meticulousness"
Legal Language: "Self-Chosen Poverty"
"Passive Rhetoric" and "Active Rhetoric"
Principles of Passive Rhetoric
Examples of Passive Rhetoric
Active Rhetoric: Practice Makes Perfect

FAQ

这本书适合非法学专业的人读吗？

适合。书中讨论的选题来源、结构搭建、资料梳理、粗写细写、引注与修改等方法，对人文社科各专业的学术写作都有参考价值；只是所举范例多为法学论文，非法学读者需要在方法层面做迁移。

这本书是理论著作还是操作手册？

偏操作手册。作者明确表示是从实际操作的角度讲如何写法学论文，内容来自课堂讲授，保留口语化表述和问答实录，重在展示写作过程而非阐释写作理论。

没有写作基础的大一新生能看懂吗？

可以。全书语言简明，作者以自己论文为例逐步演示，对初次接触学术论文写作的学生尤为友好；不过部分内容涉及规范检索与引注，最好在已有一次论文写作经历后阅读，收获更明显。

书里的示例论文能在哪里找到？

作者在书中以自己的论文为剖析样本，例如《财产权的社会义务》等；这些论文可在《中国社会科学》《法学研究》等期刊或中国知网检索到，配合书中讲解对照阅读效果更好。

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About the author

Zhang Xiang Author · China · 1976

Zhang Xiang, born in 1976, is a Chinese author. His works span a wide range of fields, including art history, literary knowledge, management, inspirational growth, examinations, and 3D modeling technology. Representative works include Landscape and Western Art, The Story of Literature, Common Knowledge of World Literature, The Harvard Business Review Leadership Handbook, Management Is a Technical Skill, A Vocabulary Guide for the Postgraduate Entrance English Exam, and 3ds Max & Unreal Engine 4: A Practical Tutorial on VR 3D Modeling Technology. His writing emphasizes organizing knowledge and offering practical guidance, serving a diverse readership of learners and practitioners. It should be noted that publicly available information is limited, and his personal background and experience are difficult to verify; this introduction is based only on the works recorded in the database, so no further inferences about the author's identity should be made.