The relationship between law and social change–Discuss the relationship between law and social change: does law follow or initiate social change? Give examples, use cases such as Eldridge and Sauve, provide arguments for and against, link your argument to one of theoretical perspectives (e.g., Marx, critical legal studies, feminist theory, critical race theory, etc.).
Viewpoints
Valid (scholarly/academic, not personal opinion) support/evidence/research
Multiple views/opposing arguments
Appreciation & refutation
Valid support/evidence/research
Cases/Examples
• Almost all topics involve an actual legal case, legislation or legal reference. Your paper can only truly address the issue at hand if you use & properly reference the actual materials in question. Find the actual court case or legislation in question, in its primary state. Do not rely on only others’ interpretations.
o Almost all federal & provincial (and even international) legislation is available online (Acts, Codes, laws, etc.)
o Most court cases are available online; remember many high profile cases have gone through more than one level of court!more than one way (be clear about how you are using it
• Case studies, legal references, historical references, etc.
• Valid support/evidence/research
• Get the facts right – verify with multiple sources
• If you are using examples, whose version of the ‘facts’ is it? It there an opposing view/version? How do we know what is ‘true’?
Substance
• Thesis – main premise of paper clearly identified in introduction, and maintained throughout paper
• Proposed arguments & support for each
• Issues/questions to be discussed/answered
• Be sure you are answering what you were asked!
Theories/Support
• Valid (scholarly/academic) support/evidence/research
• Explain clearly what the theory entails and how it relates to the issue/topic
• Multiple theories may apply; as well, one theory may often apply in
