7 Final Project
Project Description – Summative Assessment
The Final Project will outline, summarize, and explain all the research you have done on the client’s scenario. It should focus on the research resources and process — it is not a substantive memo in which you apply law to facts and draw legal conclusions. The purpose of the project is to identify research sources, explain information found in those sources, and organize research process and results so they can be communicated to a supervisor or colleague thoroughly and effectively.
The project is an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the research process you have been working on during the semester. Throughout the semester you reflected on your research process on a weekly basis and received substantive feedback. Now it is time to organize and synthesize all of that research to present a comprehensive, structured work product.
Project Substance
The final project should (1) clearly identify each resource, (2) summarize the information found in that resource, (3) explain how/where to find the resource, and (4) have a clear, logical organizational structure.
- Identify the Resource – Provide a title, author, chapter, name of the website, organization, government agency, statute, regulation, case, etc. A hyperlink does not count as identification of the resource. You can provide a hyperlink in addition to clearly identifying the name of the resource.
- Summarize the Information – Describe the information you found that is relevant to the legal issue and why it is relevant.
- Explain How/Where to Find the Resource – For some resources like cases or statutes, you will not need to explain how to find them. However, for government reports, proposed regulations, law review articles, treatises, or legislative history, for example, you should explain how to find the information so that a colleague or supervisor can access it. A hyperlink is not an explanation of how to find a resource. Links break or change. You can use hyperlinks in addition to explaining how to find the resource.
- Provide a Clear Organizational Structure – This is a complex problem raising several legal issues. Whenever you present your research to a colleague or a supervisor, you organize the information logically. Imagine that the colleague or supervisor is going to use your research in preparation for a meeting with the client. How can you present all of that research in a user-friendly way?
Project Form
There are many ways to present research information effectively and thoroughly. Some possible presentation forms are described below:
- Detailed Log – You might choose to use the research log you created at the beginning of the semester as a basis for your final project. You will need to reorganize some information and add more detail to descriptions of the substance and how to find the resource.
- Video – Many students enjoy creating a video in which they use Power Point slides to identify and explain resources and a