ABSTRACT
When starting out at university, you will find it tricky to weave your own ‘voice’ into the views of others in writing, but it is something that becomes easier with practice.
Each point you make will need to be ‘backed up’ with reference to a primary or secondary source. You may include a quote from a particular judge or the controversial view of an academic on a particular judgment. Each of these would require a note being made of where you found the original information (you may remember this from Chapter 6 on legal research).
There are several reasons for this: first, it is good old-fashioned manners. If you borrow something, whether it be your sister’s favourite jacket, your mum’s car or your mate’s games console, you should really ask politely first. It’s unworkable to imagine all the law students in the UK asking permission of law reporters, judges and legal commentators, before submitting essays. The world would grind to a halt. So, we have a system where we reference any sources within our essay, giving credit to the original authors.
