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Cyberspace Law Seminar, Spring 2005

Writing Timeline Mileposts

• The first two weeks -- from the time you first see this Web page until January 26, are the most important and demanding period for your seminar paper. This is the time during which you should be doing a substantial amount of "pre-research" each day, exploring on the Internet and elsewhere the range of possible topics, discussing your options with me (in person or by e-mail), perhaps changing or refining your choice, and ultimately settling on your actual topic. Clearly it is not something that can be done the night before it is due.

• Wednesday, January 26, at 11:30 a.m. is the final deadline to conclude the topic selection process, including your conferences or other exchanges with the instructor, your final selection and revisions in your description. By the 26th you are to settle on a sufficiently narrowed topic, and turn it in to my assistant before she leaves that day -- a topic that you and I have already tentatively agreed upon. Once I have formally approved and signed off on your topic . . .

• The next two weeks – January 27-Febrary 9 – is a period during which you should do enough research that you are able to hold a conference with me during the week of February 14th to discuss how your topic is holding up and your research is coming along. See "Conferences" for more insight as to what that involves.

• The outline.  (See "Outlines.") This will then give you three weeks to put together either (1) a detailed (at least three-level) outline of how you propose to organize your paper, or (if your hatred of outlines is so severe that it interferes with your doing your best work), (2) with my prior permission, a rough draft of your paper [with the possibility of a  – very limited – option of indicating, within brackets, what will be inserted where there are brief omissions]. The outlining option is very highly recommended. Outlines are due March 2nd by 11:30 a.m. This will give us some additional time for our  . . .

 
• Conferences March 3-4 and 7 are designed to enable you to get me committed to the approach you are taking, as represented in your detailed outline.

• Spring break is March 14-18.

• First final draft preparation, additional research. You will then have from March 21st (or from March 8th if you choose to use spring break week that way) until April 1st to do the additional research and writing necessary to prepare your formal "first final draft." Recall that a "first final draft" is a final, not a "rough," draft. It should be the best work of which you are capable. This draft is solely your work product, and it is, therefore, the major part of the research paper process for purposes of assigning a grade. (Subsequent drafts may include such direct input from me as you may find useful, and are, therefore, less representative of work uniquely yours.) If you've done your research early, and have a sufficiently detailed outline, writing your first final draft should be the fun part: putting into prose what you've already thought through and organized, revising and rewriting, tweaking here and there with your words the way a potter does with her clay. First final drafts are due April 1st by 11:30 a.m.

• Final final draft preparation, additional research and writing. On the assumption I can get the editing done April 1-4, we can hold one-on-one conferences the week of April 4th to discuss the necessary additional research, writing, organization, proof reading, and rewriting on your papers. This will leave you a little over a week to do that work. (It will also leave you the final week of the semester, beginning April 18th, free of obligations for this seminar.) The deadline for the “final final draft” will be April 15th at 11:30 a.m.