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Dilemma with Writing Sample - Clerkship


capitalttruth

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capitalttruth
  • Law Student

I am applying to the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, ONSC, and the Divisional Court. My writing sample is on an admin law topic - the standard of review of the duty to consult after Vavilov. My thing is I recently completed the paper as a directed research paper for a course this past Fall. I got an A on the paper but I have to condense the paper down to a digestible 15 pages for the courts. In condensing the paper, I feel like I am not submitting something as solidified, such as a paper from 1L. However, due to the jurisdiction of the federal courts and my interest in aboriginal and admin law, I feel my paper is a good topic. My only concern is that I've done a lot of work to condense it, it almost feels like a new paper. And I don't want to submit something that feels so new, if that makes sense. Wondering if anyone who did clerkships and remembers submitting a writing sample can help me out here.

Edit: I should note that I have a paper from 1L that was published in a peer reviewed law journal but the topic is a bit obscure, it's more of a philosophy paper than a law paper. While it is more polished than the one I am currently editing, the topic wouldn't capture the judges attention I don't think.

Edited by capitalttruth
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QMT20
  • Lawyer

If you're having trouble rewriting the paper to condense it, you could just submit the introduction, one analysis section, and the conclusion. You can cut the other analysis sections entirely and just indicate that you're submitting an excerpt from a longer paper. That's what I did and it worked out. I think I also included an abstract or an overview but I don't remember exactly. I also know other people who did that and it worked out for them as well. 

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capitalttruth
  • Law Student
1 hour ago, QMT20 said:

If you're having trouble rewriting the paper to condense it, you could just submit the introduction, one analysis section, and the conclusion. You can cut the other analysis sections entirely and just indicate that you're submitting an excerpt from a longer paper. That's what I did and it worked out. I think I also included an abstract or an overview but I don't remember exactly. I also know other people who did that and it worked out for them as well. 

Do you think brevity is something the courts appreciate in the samples? They mention a maximum 15 pages, but I wonder if it would look better if I followed your proposed method and my sample read about 7-10 pages instead. 

Even though I did well on the research project, I really wasn't satisfied with the final product and wouldn't feel comfortable send it out to the courts. The condensed piece looks much better. I am just going to go with that. I am almost done condensing it.

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QMT20
  • Lawyer
14 hours ago, capitalttruth said:

Do you think brevity is something the courts appreciate in the samples? They mention a maximum 15 pages, but I wonder if it would look better if I followed your proposed method and my sample read about 7-10 pages instead. 

If they say the maximum is 15 pages, it's fine to just submit 15 pages. 

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