Write-On Competition Requirements
The Emory Law write-on competition is composed of three major parts: the casenote, the bluebook quiz, and the personal statement, all produced during the two weeks of the competition. Journals base their membership offers on every student’s performance on these three components, though each Journal weights them slightly differently. For more information on the three major parts of the write-on competition, please expand the drop-down sections below.
Each Write-On Competition participant must write what is known as a casenote. The casenote is a document that presents a comprehensive, reliable summary of the existing law on an issue and suggests what the law ought to be. The casenote topic will not be disclosed prior to the competition. Participants will be provided an example casenote in their competition packet to give them a sense of what this specific genre of writing looks like.
FORMAL REQUIREMENTS
Independent Research is Strictly Prohibited
This is a closed library competition—all the cases and resources needed to write your case note will be in the competition packet. In addition to the main case, participants will receive related cases to be used in writing your casenote. These are the ONLY substantive materials that may be used when writing your casenote.
No Collaboration
Students are required to work independently throughout the Write-On Competition. Each individual who submits an entry to the Write-On Competition is subject to the Emory University School of Law Professional Conduct Code. Students may not discuss the Write-On Competition, the casenote, the citation quiz, or personal statement with anyone. You may not review any casenote written by a student during a previous year’s Write-On Competition, except for the sample casenotes provided in the Research Packet. The casenote is to be written solely from the materials supplied in the competition materials—no outside materials may be used.
Casenote Length
The length of the casenote may not exceed twelve (12) pages of text and twelve (12) pages of endnotes—not footnotes. Text and endnotes must be double-spaced, written in 12 pt. Times New Roman type. Students may not substitute more text for fewer endnotes or more endnotes for less text. This maximum page limit will be strictly enforced. Papers exceeding these limits will not be considered.
Casenote Citations
All text and endnotes must conform to the most recent edition of the Bluebook: A Uniform Style of Citation. Please rely on the Bluebook, not the sample casenotes, for the proper citation form. We will introduce errors into the citations in the sample casenote, so do not take those as a model! Do not use any other citation format.
PURPOSE OF A CASENOTE
In part, a casenote is a history lesson for a particular area of law. A good casenote identifies where the law began on a particular issue, traces important instances in which courts have diverged to adopt new tests or interpretations, and arrives at the current legal reasoning.
In tracing this history, you should show a thorough understanding of the pertinent case law, statutes, and any secondary sources provided. Once you have demonstrated an understanding of the legal analysis employed in this area of law, you should take a stance on whether the court in the main case (1) came to the correct decision and (2) used the correct rationale in making the decision. Thus, the two main purposes of a casenote are (1) to present a comprehensive, reliable summary of the existing law on an issue, and (2) to suggest what the law on that point ought to be.
Form of a Casenote
A casenote consists of four sections: (1) the “headnote” and fact section, (2) the law section, (3) the discussion section, and (4) the conclusion.
The headnote introduces a legal issue analyzed by the casenote. The headnote consists of two parts: (1) an initial categorization of the area of law analyzed by the casenote (this section denotes a broad topic for indexing purposes and can be followed by other key words), and (2) a brief quote or paraphrase from the main case that exemplifies the most important holding of that case. The facts section provides a concise summary of the facts of the main case. It should be approximately one page. This section includes the determinative facts (i.e., those that were important to the court), the procedural history of the case, and the holding.
The law section contains a brief history consisting of the development of the point of law that gave rise to the holding in the main case. This section consists of the cases that constitute the most direct authority for, or against, the holding of the main case; it is not necessary to discuss every case or source provided in the text of the section. Some sources may be omitted, while others are better suited for endnotes, where side notes to the cases or pertinent collateral issues can be discussed. In the law section, analysis should progress in chronological order through the case history. Remember not merely to summarize the cases. This competition is an analytical exercise, so think critically about each case used and how it is relevant to the development of the main case. The law section should lead the reader to the precise issue identified as being posed by the main case. Experiment with the law section until it shows clearly the different analytical theories used by the courts in approaching the problem and the controlling factual distinctions between the cases.
The purpose of the discussion section is to state what the court did in the main case. Discuss what legal approach the court applied and the cases upon which it relied in crafting that approach. Remember to discuss the majority or plurality opinion and each concurring or dissenting opinion. What issues were involved? What arguments were accepted? What arguments were rejected? What arguments were ignored? What were the court’s reasons?
The conclusion will reflect your opinion as to whether the court’s resolution of the point at issue was correct. Beyond that, you may want to consider whether the court used the proper reasoning, whether it ignored relevant facts, and whether it correctly interpreted existing laws. Try to support your opinions with specific examples, citing cases and secondary authorities.
The conclusion should offer some prediction or try to persuade the reader of a given viewpoint. Does the decision raise new issues for future cases? Does the decision solve problems, or does it leave the main issue unanswered? What are the real-life consequences of this case? What theoretical inconsistencies have been resolved? Is the dissent a better resolution? Do you have a better solution for resolving the problem?
The personal statement is a permanent addition to the Write-On Competition, first implemented in 2020. The Journals require students to include a personal statement in their write-on submission. Each Journal has a separate selection process, and weights the personal statement differently.
In the personal statement, students should discuss their diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences to explain how their membership will help the Journals become stronger, more diverse organizations. Since there is only one personal statement, students should not tailor their response to any specific Journal.
Applicants will be given a number of different prompts to choose from, as well as the option to depart from the prompts and write about a topic of their choosing.
In the 2021 write-on, students were given three double-spaced pages, or 750 words, to talk about themselves and show how they view the world.
The Bluebook Quiz serves to verify your ability to understand and follow the complex web of citation rules that are the bread-and-butter of Journal work.
Form of Quiz
The Bluebook Quiz contains twelve prompts which will result in the production of twelve fairly long and complex footnotes, each with multiple sources. The twelve prompts are completely independent of each other. The prompts take the form of prose narratives. The goal of the quiz is to turn each of these 12 prompts into a single rock-solid, perfectly Bluebooked footnote.
Form of Response
A template will be for students to fill in; do not alter the formatting or pagination of that template. Your quiz, when completed, should resemble 12 different footnotes.
No External Materials Needed or Permitted
Every bit of substantive information can be found in the prompt and the Bluebook. You will not need to look up or locate any materials whatsoever outside the competition packet and the Bluebook. Doing so can result in receiving sanctions.
For the Bluebook quiz, you may not use any resources other than The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation and its online edition. You may not use legal research engines (Westlaw and Lexis), any other resources on the internet, or any other books, style guides, or citation manuals.
No Collaboration
Students are required to work independently throughout the Write-On Competition. Each individual who submits an entry to the Write-On Competition is subject to the Emory University School of Law Professional Conduct Code. Students may not discuss the Write-On Competition, the casenote, the citation quiz, or personal statement with anyone. Any violations will be considered acts of academic misconduct.
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