Legal Argument: The Structure and Language of Effective Advocacy

I am a first year Law Student and I bought this book on my Legal Writing Professor's recommendation. I was a bit hesitant at first because it was more expensive than I could really afford, but I reasoned that it was a small investment compared to the $30K+ a year I was already investing in school. I have to tell you I LOVE this book! Mr. Gardner lays out how to make an effective Legal Argument step-by-step in an easy to understand manner. Learning to make effective and persuasive Legal Arguments is pretty much the essence of Law School. All Law School exams are graded based on your reasoning and logic skills. This book hands you the tools to ace your exams and writing assignments on a silver platter! I have tried lots of different study aides, and this is the first one where I felt I truly found the KEY to being successful in Law School. I am definitely going to keep this on my reference shelf throughout Law School and into my practice of law - it's that valuable. I know I will reap dividends for years to come from this investment, because the better grades I get in Law School, the better paying job I can get after graduation. This one is well worth it!

Ah, where to begin: This little book saved my law school career. For all the "writing" law students do in law school, very little time is actually spent teaching the student the nuances of constructing an argument. Of course, many people will have had many different experiences with their Research and Writing instructor--but for those of you who would like to see how it's done in clear and concise language, this book is for you. Professor Gardner doesn't waste time prattling on about himself, or his philosophy or for that matter what distinguishes good writing from mediocre writing. What he does do is demonstrate in a very simple and easy to understand manner how a writer should construct a legal argument. The principles he describes are simple, clear, and logical, and the best part is that the book can be used in any sort of persuasive argument. Professor Gardner has geared it towards legal writing, but the principles involved will make any argument better. Let's face it, legal writing is dry and to the point, but it's supposed to be, the writers aren't shooting for a Pulitzer. However, Professor Gardner insures that whether you are a professional-quality jazz pianist, a mediocre tennis player, or just someone who has to write an argument, even if you have to write bone-dry, mouthful-of-sand-under-the-blazing-heat-of-the-desert prose, your argument will stand up to intense scrutiny and will have a solid foundation. Buy this book for law school, buy this book for critical thinking classes, buy this book for use whenever you need to persuade someone else of the error of their ways, but whatever you do, buy this book. `Nuff said.